PROBLEM SOLVED Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass... no thump?

Seems to me that favoring the bridge pup on ANY Jazz is not going to give you any sort of thump - you need the neck pup for that... I've owned a few of the MIM Active Jazz Deluxe's, and never had any problem getting plenty of thump out of them, by favoring the neck pup, and using the on board EQ to get there...


- georgestrings

 

Did you think of trying something like this out? http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/fender-deluxe-pj-bass

I think the j bass just might not be your sound.

 

+1 to the deluxe pj bass. A jazz bass just isn't going to sound like a precision bass. You need that split coil "P" pickup. The PJ gives the best of both worlds, although I prefer the Jazz body and neck. Since you would be giving up the American Deluxe Jazz, go with the American Deluxe P maybe....

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/fender-american-deluxe-precision-bass

One thing is for sure. If you don't LOVE a $1700 bass, you shouldn't keep it!

 

There is nothing wrong with playing a Squier on gigs. I used one last weekend on an important gig and all I got was a request to bring the Squier back. Use whatever works for you.

 

Possibly a silly question, but are you finding it thin with both pickups turned up full? If so, try backing the bridge volume off a little and it should instantly sound fuller in the mids.

 

I had a situation with my MMSR5 like, i think sometimes you need some time to find the tone of the instrument ..
About a month I was regretting buying it and thinking of changing to another, but once I found the tone I could not be happier with the bass ...
In the worst case you can sell it and buy something else, but if I were you I would keep it and play a for a while...

sry for my google trans english, not my native leguage... :v
working on it...

i hope my advice can help you.

 

this sounds like the same reaction I still have to this day (31 year playing bass) when I move from a single pickup fender style (precision or, yes, stingray) to a dual pickup bass of ANY format.

unless the neck pickup in the dual-pickup-bass is a precision style in some form (like the bart mk1 pups in my BTB 556) then you simply can't solo that pickup to get a satisfying traditional rock bass sound out of it since you are used to the fullness of a precision bass.

jazz basses with both pups on actually scoop the mids AND the output level lowers a bit when both are full on. This is why jazz basses are great for slap... you have built-in mid-contour control by setting the levels of the pups the same. I have a jazz and this is the same with my btb, in fact the output level drops DRAMATICALLY when both pups are on full in my btb. However that is only output level - turn up the amp's gain to compensate (or the output level on my ebs multicomp in my case) and voila, it's great two pickup scooped/phased-mids tone.

However a jazz bass doesn't nail the rock tone with neck pup solod, as someone pointed out, so add a bit of the bridge pup to it but not full on.

Don't forget that john paul jones (led zeppelin) played jazz basses for most of that band's biggest records and got arguably THE DEFINITION OF CLASSIC ROCK BASS TONE. So you CAN get the tone, but it'll never be quite as lower-midrange-full as you get from a precision style pickup in the precision-style position.

anyhow - more importantly, the folks here are right. don't keep it if jazz basses turn out not to be your thing.

 

I can get plenty of thumpy mids out of my Jazz (American Special)... rolling off the bridge and tone about 40% gives a pretty convincing Precision-style tone.

 

Any meaningful exchange must include a definition and agreement on the terms and nomenclature you use.

Define "thump" please.

Secondly, you are not comparing apples to apples.

Two single coil jazz pickups together cancel out certain midrange freqs that "P" bass has in spades. AND, your also comparing it to a Stingray. Different animals.

PLus an active Fender with a preamp that renders a "scoop" to the overall.

A Passive jazz bass with alnico single coil pickups wound in a traditional voicing will take you in a different direction.

 

Turn the neck pickup up and the bridge pickup down and you will get the 51 p-bass tone. Also boost mids on your amp.

 

A jazz bass is probably just not your cup of tea. As soon as I hear you say "thump" I think P-Bass. Maybe that's more the sound and style you're looking for.

 

Bingo. The two offset coils in a "P" configuration is the magic.

 

Yup.... two wide thin fat coils wired in series is gonna sound REAL different from a tall narrow single coil... even a dual coil Jazz pickup won't sound the same !

 

Since it's a Deluxe, I'd suggest bumping the mids and lows on the onboard EQ as well.

 

Joe Osborn might argue with you about that, as would I. It's not 100% dead-on, but it's absolutely close. And of course, different pickup designs within the P and J types also have their say.