Precision is a Chevy, Jazz is a Ferrari

[Jefenator]

Not the best vehicular analogy IMHO. I'd liken the P to a basic sedan and the J to a hatchback or station wagon. Slightly more complex in design w/ a little more flexibility - but nothing too esoteric.

 

[butterfingers1]

Don’t buy a piano, it is a one-trick pony.

 

[Tom Bomb]

On the fence with a spunky black PJ …
hoping it's not an electric fence.
​

 

[Auspuff]

Leo Fender himself said so.

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"By the end of the 1950s though it was time to expand the Fender bass category and Leo Fender and his staff turned their attention to a new “deluxe” bass guitar design in 1959. And just as the Stratocaster expanded on the Telecaster rather than supplanting it, this new bass would complement the Precision by offering great tonal versatility and a design that went beyond the utilitarian to the realm of the sleekly stylish. If the Precision was a Chevy, the new deluxe model would be a Ferrari."

Own both, and really live.

 

[Outbush]

On the fence with a spunky black PJ …
hoping it's not an electric fence.
​

Well, an electric fence is like a G&L L2000. Barbed wire fence is your J bass & plain wire a P bass. Sheep netting is sort of like an Alembic. They’re all pretty useless after someone careens through it in their Ferrari though

 

[Tom Bomb]

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Well, an electric fence is like a G&L L2000. Barbed wire fence is your J bass & plain wire a P bass. Sheep netting is sort of like an Alembic. They’re all pretty useless after someone careens through it in their Ferrari though

 

[Black Out Jazz]

The P bass is like the eldest son, with all the blessings and fortune, the jazz bass is kinda like the red headed stepchild. Happy thanksgiving everyone!

pffft

 

[PDW30]

There are pot holes here that can bust the axle of the tallest pickups and some people still insist on driving Ferraris. Not only are the roads bad but all of nyc now has a 25mph speed limit with cameras everywhere. If you own a fast car and take it to the track I understand, but driving it from a to b makes no sense to me.

There's a story of a football (soccer) player who played for Arsenal (North London). He bought himself a Ferrari, probably out of the petty cash from his salary. He used to take 1 1/2 hours over a very short drive to the ground because the car was too low to go over the speed bumps on the obvious route. Didn't hear of him getting too much sympathy.

 

[Gorn]

There's a story of a football (soccer) player who played for Arsenal (North London). He bought himself a Ferrari, probably out of the petty cash from his salary. He used to take 1 1/2 hours over a very short drive to the ground because the car was too low to go over the speed bumps on the obvious route. Didn't hear of him getting too much sympathy.

I used to watch a lot of Top Gear and the guys would go on all these road trips with Ferraris and lambos and what not and it looked like a lot of fun on empty, winding European roads. They also owned cars like that in their personal lives, because they’re millionaire car enthusiasts, but they didn’t drive their kids to school in them. I can’t understand the point of driving one for every day purposes.

 

[PDW30]

By coincidence, before I found this thread today my first Jazz bass arrived yesterday. It's a Glarry - £70-odd new. Not a Fender, but works and makes a nice noise that's definitely not P-bass.

So what car by analogy? Maybe, given the factory strings, something where the first job out of the showroom is to put better tyres on? (Actually, unlike my Glarry P-bass, these strings seem to be sort-of OK, but I might still swap them on principle)

 

[DJS]

I know this will make me unpopular, but I see the precision as a Toyota Corolla and the Jazz as a Toyota Camry.

I like this. Reliable, practical, ubiquitous, and probably not going to attract women.

 

[turf3]

I'd call them:

Precision: Chevy
Jazz: Buick
Ferrari: Alembic

Whaddya say? Did someone else put the same thing already in the 13 pages I didn't read?

 

[Bill Poulin]

Leo Fender himself said so.

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"By the end of the 1950s though it was time to expand the Fender bass category and Leo Fender and his staff turned their attention to a new “deluxe” bass guitar design in 1959. And just as the Stratocaster expanded on the Telecaster rather than supplanting it, this new bass would complement the Precision by offering great tonal versatility and a design that went beyond the utilitarian to the realm of the sleekly stylish. If the Precision was a Chevy, the new deluxe model would be a Ferrari."

I have been a Gibson bass player for many years, a Gibson EBo, then a Gibson Ripper. But about a dozen years ago I was looking for a new bass, and a friend introduced me to G & L's. I purchased a G & L ASAT. Had it custome made and love it better than either of my Gibson's. Guess I would call it my Cadillac.

 

[bassmike2010]

Leo Fender himself said so.

Invalid Link Removed

"By the end of the 1950s though it was time to expand the Fender bass category and Leo Fender and his staff turned their attention to a new “deluxe” bass guitar design in 1959. And just as the Stratocaster expanded on the Telecaster rather than supplanting it, this new bass would complement the Precision by offering great tonal versatility and a design that went beyond the utilitarian to the realm of the sleekly stylish. If the Precision was a Chevy, the new deluxe model would be a Ferrari."

Well... after viewing (first page of) these responses and their bias, you can call me... Jay Leno.

 

[jim chapman]

Leo Fender himself said so.

Invalid Link Removed

"By the end of the 1950s though it was time to expand the Fender bass category and Leo Fender and his staff turned their attention to a new “deluxe” bass guitar design in 1959. And just as the Stratocaster expanded on the Telecaster rather than supplanting it, this new bass would complement the Precision by offering great tonal versatility and a design that went beyond the utilitarian to the realm of the sleekly stylish. If the Precision was a Chevy, the new deluxe model would be a Ferrari."

I don't care what Fender sales blurb said what. I've played several of both over the past 55 years (and driven a lot of old cars, too) and if the P is basic Chev, the J is a mid-range Oldsmobile at best.

 

[Whitebeard]

I know this will make me unpopular, but I see the precision as a Toyota Corolla and the Jazz as a Toyota Camry.

So many great basses available now and priced accordingly. I can see your Corolla & Camry rating in the price range of today's instruments. If a guy played a Fender for years making a switch to anything else would be uncomfortable both sound and feel wise. Would take a significant amount of playing the new instrument to get used to it. I'm interested in where companies like Dingwall and Ibanez have taken their fanned fret multi scale basses. Especially Dingwall. The scale/s of their six string model B = 37" E = 36.25" A = 35.5" D = 34.75" G = 34" C = 33.25". I haven't played one but logically I'd bet the intonation is more precise than the old standard 34" or even the Ibanez six string which is 35" - 32.5"

 

[h2otorched]

25882948[/URL], member: 378241"]The precision is a Vega.

Bobby Vega!

 

[Low Main]

I checked my auto policy and my insurance agent will not write coverage for my slot pole G&L L2000 Series E basses.
He said way too much power in the hands of an untrained operator. I might lose control and wipe out everything else on the road.
He did say that it was OK if I took my 1980 L1000 out on an enclosed racetrack during the week when no one else is around.
If I keep control of it under those conditions, then it's OK to gig with it on Friday.

 

[amper]

The Precision was created by Leo, the Jazz Bass was developed by sales/marketing. Need I say more?

I'm not saying the Jazz Bass is inferior

The Jazz Bass was also created by Leo, not by "sales/marketing".

 

[amper]

Then what is a P/J?

A mistake.