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Precision or Jazz Bass ?

#41
I gone back and forth w/P's & J's
over the years and my personal
preference is P. I mosty play
SR4's now but will be picking up
a '57RI P in the very near future.

For me it's the feel & humbuck tone.
I used to like the J & MM Sterling cuz
of the narrow neck/string spacing & I felt
I could play easier/faster. That has
changed for me somehow - I now prefer the
chunkier neck & find P's & Rays more
comfortable (& prefer the P tone).

Smaller hand bassists might feel
better w/a J.
 
#45
papjason said:
I want to buy a Fender American Bass..
But I dont know which one?
A Precison Bass or a Jazz Bass.....

Can anyone help me??
please....

Jason
Click to expand...
I'm surprised that no one has suggested G&L yet! Get a G&L L2000 and you'll be happy! I've been on a tone hunt for a number of years, and have owned a few Jazz Basses in that hunt. They've got great clarity, but they seemed to lack oomph IMHO. I finally got down to trying a G&L L2000 and I've found my tone.

Link Removed

Mine looks like this but with a maple fretboard. I found my used L2000 Tribute (Korean made) at BassNW for $399, but you can buy them new on Ebay for $499.

The pickups are humbucking and emphasize the midrange but still have plenty of bass! The knobs are: volume, treble cut & bass cut. The switches are: pickup selection, parallel/series, & passive/active/active with treble boost. Unlike other basses, you can control both treble and bass cut when in passive mode!

I've found that in parallel mode I can get a very Jazz Bassy tone from any pickup combination. In series mode with the neck pup soloed it sounds a lot like a Precision Bass. In series mode and active w/treble boost with the bridge soloed you'll get a very Stingray tone! It's truly an amazing bass. See if you can try one out.
 
#50
In my defence, I hadn't played (or even looked at ) a Jazz since 1969 and that one was beatiful.

Last summer I stopped in to the local "Whhoooo Duuude, look at all the guitars" and started looking at Jazz basses. played acouple and asked the kid if they still made them with the stacked or concentric knobs. Kindly and gently the kid said that Fender never did. I was posative that the one I played in 1969 had conentric knobs. O well.

Any way get the Jazz first and P second.

Best of Luck,
Wesley R.
 
#54
If you want simplicity...get the P.

I bought one specifically because I got tired of f'ing around with knobs switches and what have you.

I have an Eden head that I leave flat. That with my P-Bass is truly "plug'n'play".

However, they have a very cool Jazz at my local shop. But I don't really care for a Jazz neck (or any more knobs than two)...but oh well.

At some point I might get a Jazz body and put a Precision neck on it and wire it up like a P. I do think the Jazz has the sexiest looking bass body.
 
#55
Sundogue said:
If you want simplicity...get the P.

I bought one specifically because I got tired of f'ing around with knobs switches and what have you.

I have an Eden head that I leave flat. That with my P-Bass is truly "plug'n'play".
Click to expand...

Ah, a man after my own heart. I've also got an Eden head and a Lakland Bob Glaub Skyline (basically a P-Bass), and I freaking love the combination. For a bass with only 2 knobs, a P-Bass (I've also owned the Fender "real" version) is surprisingly versatile. And yet, it's always clear that it's a P-Bass.

On the other hand, I *also* have a Lakland Joe Osbourn Skyline (basically a Jazz Bass). I go through periods where it's my main bass, and then switch back over to the Glaub. In general, when my band has two shows that are close together, I play one with the P and one with the J, but honestly there are certain songs where one bass is clearly preferrable to the other. We're just not yet at the point where I can switch between basses from song-to-song without feeling like an ostentatious wanker.
 
#57
Dude, you gotta listen to me! G&L - George (Fullerton) & Leo (Fender). The L2000 was the last bass that Leo Fender (of Fender) designed. It was his latest and greatest, combining all he had learned making the Jazz and Precision and the Stingray. It has it all! All the tones you're debating about are here in one package.

Here are a few US models on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/G-L-L-2000-Bass...oryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/G-L-L-2000-Bass...oryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/G-L-L2000-4-Str...oryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

You're going to love it!
 
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#58
fourstringbliss said:
Dude, you gotta listen to me! G&L - George (Fullerton) & Leo (Fender). The L2000 was the last bass that Leo Fender (of Fender) designed. It was his latest and greatest, combining all he had learned making the Jazz and Precision and the Stingray. It has it all! All the tones you're debating about are here in one package.

You're going to love it!
Click to expand...

At last, the voice of reason! Though I appreciate the simplicity of a P bass (my back up bass is an old G&L SB-1 which is basically a P bass), my G&L ASAT (which is very much like a L2000) does it all.

r
 
#59
dgce said:
At last, the voice of reason! Though I appreciate the simplicity of a P bass (my back up bass is an old G&L SB-1 which is basically a P bass), my G&L ASAT (which is very much like a L2000) does it all.

r
Click to expand...
Yahoo! Another G&L enthusiast! I know that a Precision Bass has a unique voice, and so does a Jazz. I've just found that, apart from hearing them on CD's, it's really hard to tell them apart. With proper eq'ing and fiddling on my L2K I can get a very P-Bass tone and the same for Jazz. I think this guy should give it a chance.

Don't listen the voice in your head telling you to look at the headstock label!! There's a reason why Leo sold Fender and Music Man and started G&L. There's a reason why he retooled the pickups and electronics. It's better! IMHO of course.
 

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