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Pick players using a jazz bass?
- Thread starter Joe164
- Start date
Greg Lake - King Crimson - In The Court Of the Crimson King, all Emerson Lake And Palmer through Brain Salad Surgery
Peter Giles - King Crimson - The Wake Of Poseidon
Peter Giles - King Crimson - The Wake Of Poseidon
Yo guys. I'm seriously considering investing in a fender classic series 70's jazz bass. I currently play a standard precision with seymour duncans, and i'm looking to upgrade to something "better". I play with a pick and favour bright, punky "SVT-esque" tone.
So can you pick players give me the verdict on how a Fender (MIM or MIA whatever) generally sounds played with a pick? Soundclips would be ideal, but i just want to know if i'd be making a mistake.
Would i just be better off buying a better precision? I only really have about £500 (around $700 i guess) to spend, and im really looking at fender.
thanks
If you turn the neck pup up & the bridge pup down, w/ the tone all the way up, imho it sounds like a p bass.
I've been mostly a fingerstyle player, but when playing with a pick I love J basses. The growl comes through a little more, and they sound aggressive and clear.
And due to pain in my right index finger, I've had to switch to a pick lately. For a gig last Saturday, I chose my Jazz V, partly for the slightly narrower string spacing that works well with a pick. It was great, with thick old school tone when played with a light touch, and lots of growl when digging in.
And due to pain in my right index finger, I've had to switch to a pick lately. For a gig last Saturday, I chose my Jazz V, partly for the slightly narrower string spacing that works well with a pick. It was great, with thick old school tone when played with a light touch, and lots of growl when digging in.
It's a very cool old school vibe. Growly mid-rangy and that attack is very distinctive. Dee Murray (Elton John)?
Good point, if you're hooked on your picked P Bass tone, picked J Bass is a different animal. You'd be wise to visit a music store and try picking on a J before you buy one.
That's something I will check out at my next band practice, my jazz gets surprisingly growly with the neck pup all the way up though even when the bridge pup is off.
You would not be making a mistake...J's sound awesome no matter what you hit the strings with - pick, fingers, bow, baseball bat! Klaus Flouride of The Dead Kennedys...no. 1 J Bass pick user...B. Shepherd of Soundgarden always used a J picked...
I have played J's with a pick for 25 years as well as P's - and you really gotta have one of each to have a full quiver.
I have played J's with a pick for 25 years as well as P's - and you really gotta have one of each to have a full quiver.
the bassist from Swervedriver gets a fantastic tone out of a picked Jazz.... I'm a pick player myself, and I find when I'm going for a growly edgy tone I prefer the tone of a jazz bass with both pickups on and tone controls dimed over a P bass with the tone dimed. The precision is good for getting an in-your-face trashy-punky kind of sound when picked aggressively, but the Jazz gets a different sort of edge, and has a more pristine bite that I prefer. That said, more often than not (meaning: those times when I don't need a snarly edge to my tone, where i'd prefer something rounder) I'd reach for a Precision and roll the tone down somewhere between 5 and 7 for a really strong classic rock tone with enough edge, but none of the "trashy" sound I'm not as into. So depending what you're going for... but try em both out, and don't be afraid to experiment with the knobs. The volumes on a jazz bass have a lot of interesting combinations.
alot of people who play j's with a pick seem to play geddy lee jazzes, geddys have quite a different sound to a traditional J bass
He uses a pick for sure, but typically he used to play a Stingray. Nowadays he plays a vintage P Bass...
i play sometimes with pick for punk songs and i really like the tone on my Jazz bass. its a MIM with an Alder body and rosewood FB. i usually solo it to the neck pick-up but it also sounds great with both pups on. it doesnt have the fatness of a P, but it has lotsa treble and mids.
my set up is: Jazz with D'Addario Roundwounds (EXL 170), bass is at around 7, mids at 9, treble at 5 or 6.
my set up is: Jazz with D'Addario Roundwounds (EXL 170), bass is at around 7, mids at 9, treble at 5 or 6.
I actually prefer the sound of a J bass played with a pick to the sound of a P bass played with a pick. Something about a P bass played with a pick sounds to hollow to me... I'm not sure how else to describe it, and I'm not saying that it's not a good tone, but I don't dig it.
On the other hand, I love the sound of a J bass played with a pick. Really aggressive, grindy, growly, ballsy, but still warm, organic, and fat with the right set of strings and pickups. I prefer an alder/rosewood J.
Also, the only time I dig overdrive or distortion is when I am playing a J bass pickstyle. Something about that single coil bite and rawness really compliments a TS-style overdrive for a growly, midrange overdrive bass tone.
On the other hand, I love the sound of a J bass played with a pick. Really aggressive, grindy, growly, ballsy, but still warm, organic, and fat with the right set of strings and pickups. I prefer an alder/rosewood J.
Also, the only time I dig overdrive or distortion is when I am playing a J bass pickstyle. Something about that single coil bite and rawness really compliments a TS-style overdrive for a growly, midrange overdrive bass tone.
