• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

precision sound from a jazz bass... is it possible?

andbaggio

andbaggio

Dec 16, 2011
126
24
49
Treviso, Italy
#1
Mine is just a curiosity since I've got my guitar player that asked me to get more of a precision bass sound but I've got a jazz bass sound.

Since I don't really know how a Precision sounds like (he says more "woody"), how can I get that sound from a jazz bass?

only use the bridge pick-up with a closed tone? please I need some advice. thank you
 
#4
No, it would be using the neck pickup. Adjust tone to your liking and your good to go. I'd take your bass to a music store and try to replicate the tone by a /b'ing your bass with a P. It won't sound exact but you'll get close enough.
 
#5
This is TB right? Fire the guitarist.

"More woody" is nonsense.

I'd truly be amazed if the guitard could tell the difference in basses in a blind test, especially in any sort of a mix (live or recorded).

That having been said, you can get close (maybe) by getting a neck humbucking J pup and scooping out your mids in your EQ section.
 
#6
prd004 got it. Don't go anywhere near the bridge pickup if you want a "precision" tone".
Also depends what sort of precision tone your buddy wants. One is the thuddy sound on flats, the other would be like Steve Harris - neck pup wide open and add some treble & grit.

BTW rolling back the tone doesn't remove "hum". That is at 60Hz (USA) and harmonice, 120Hz etc. What you are getting is RF interference. You can mitigate that by shielding your bass and keeping away from fluorescent lights , TVs and PC monitors.
 
#8
Roll off the bridge about 30% will get you close. If you have the Sadowsky preamp, you can roll off the VTC and that gets you even closer. The neck pup alone will sound a lot like the early single coil P but not like the split. That's why, IMO, you do need to have some of the bridge involved to get a bit more depth to the tone.

The other big difference is that the larger neck on the P has a big impact on the tone. What you can get with then J is close to the tone you get with the A neck P's. Close enough so most other players won't notice; not close enough so a P preferential bassist or sound guy will give it a pass.

FWIW, IMO/E
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kerem Koseoglu
#11
It wasn't exactly the same, but I was able to get damn close with the neck pickup soloed on my MIJ Jazz, which had Antiquity II pickups and some worn-out Fender Flats on it. Close enough that I'd probably call "BS" on any guitarist who could claim to tell the difference in a blind test.
 
#13
Well, you can put flats, pluck the strings closer to the neck and roll tone off.

A post 2001 Fender Jazz with the S1 switch could help too.
You can get close, but not identical to a true Pbass sound.
 
#15
Won't really sound like a P but a J has lots of tonal variety and can be P like by using mostly, if not all neck pup, with the tone rolled back a bit. Maybe foam mute under the strings to settle it down a bit. String choice is important too but doesn't have to be flats. Just not aggressive sounding steel rounds. Maybe nickel rounds from Fender. Sometimes a J may not be grabbing the "right " sound and needs to be manipulated into it. Flats on a J are great but that eliminates the growly aggressive tone that a J can do so well. Just not the right sound for some stuff. Very versatile bass. Ever thought of getting a P too? MIM is a very nice P bass. My son has an '06 with that modern C neck. Sounds like a P should and can be found in the 400.00 neighborhood.
Bob
 
#17
Haha, I just posted about this. I solo the neck pickup, play with the tone, and bump the mids on my amp's EQ

Caca de Kick said:
Rewire the pickup leads in series instead of parallel and slay the P sound because you'll have the added snap of the rear coil with the fatness of the forward coil. I left my Jazz wired this way, it kills!
Click to expand...

Any idea where you can find a schematic to this? I think it would be killer to install a 'S1' style switch that could go from series to parallel.
 
#20
I'd say that a Jazz neck pickup soloed gets closer to a Precision sound than two Jazz pickups in series do. Series is thicker in the low mids, but it still has some of those peaks and dips in the upper mids and treble that come from combining two widely spaced pickups, so it still sound Jazz-ish to my ears.
For the OP, I bet that soloing the neck pickup will be close enough for your guitarist. It won't totally nail a Precision sound, but it'll nudge you in that direction.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back