Punch from a Jazz Bass

[Smooth_bass88]

The bass tone on the first several Led Zeppelin recordings in anything but “scooped” and although it isn’t exactly documented, it’s safe to assume that many (if not most) of those tracks were recorded with a Jazz Bass. So I don’t where people get this idea that a jazz is scooped. Does it have the honkin’ mids of a p bass (with both pickups full)? Not really, but it’s far from “scooped” sounding.

 

[wompwomp]

The bass tone on the first several Led Zeppelin recordings in anything but “scooped” and although it isn’t exactly documented, it’s safe to assume that many (if not most) of those tracks were recorded with a Jazz Bass. So I don’t where people get this idea that a jazz is scooped. Does it have the honkin’ mids of a p bass (with both pickups full)? Not really, but it’s far from “scooped” sounding.

i'm pretty sure people get the idea that the jazz bass is scooped sounding because the jazz bass is scooped sounding.

to me playing a jazz bass feels a lot like playing a 34" strat, very scooped, very liquid, very wiry sound. the wide open stock sound is not my fave so I use a mute and it definitely tames the scoop.

jpj would employ a mute at least part of the time particularly on the early Zep recordings.

 

[Count Bassie]

Well it's been an interesting and entertaining inquiry, thanks everyone for taking part. If it continues, let it roll... But for my part I think I'm going to stop and spend a little more time with what I've got here. Maybe I've zealously overlooked something I've already put time into and haven't finished exploring- like the Hamer mod with Ric p'ups, the knobs which I always set the same way, but maybe could switch things up with a bit.
The answers don't anyways involve buying something...

 

[Count Bassie]

Well, think of where the pickups are located on a jazz....The further away they are from each other in placement the more extreme the highs and lows will be. Hence, creating more of a midrange scoop.

Re-thinking this.
When I use both pickups on the Thunderbird, then turn down the bridge p'up volume a bit, the tone fills out and warms up considerably...

 

[BassicJazzy]

Re-thinking this.
When I use both pickups on the Thunderbird, then turn down the bridge p'up volume a bit, the tone fills out and warms up considerably...

You are wise to gather input but as you can see everyone has a different take on what these basses sound like. So much is individual taste plus playing style. I will bet you that, if he were alive, Jaco could take a $200 bottom of the line Squier and make it sound like pretty much any bass you could think of perhaps with a little EQ and some compression dialed in? I'll also bet you can get the punch you want out of one of your basses, if you experiment.

 

[TonyP-]

I'll go ahead and upset some people and say punchiness is more of a technique thing that it is a bass type thing. A J bass can get a pretty versatile set of tones.

There is some truth to that for sure.
Along with some slight equipment augmentations. (The right compression, active tight sounding pickups).
There are a few ways to end the race for sure.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

I'm asking about how prominent the singular quality we call "punch" is with a Fender Jazz Bass. Seems like an elementary, newb type question, but I'm deciding between a Jazz and a SUB Stingray, and haven't played a Jazz in a pretty long time...
Simple question. I don't want to make one sound like the other, I'm just trying to help myself make a decision here, so I'm throwing this goober of a post up here.
Go ahead, have a field day with it!

One of the things he's doing to get that sound is plucking the strings back by the bridge. That's very effective with a Jazz Bass. I've only played Jazz basses since 1966. My first was a 1965 Jazz that I bought in 1966 and toured with for 3-years. It was stolen in 1976 and I couldn't find another Jazz with that same neck shape, profile, and radius until 1985 when I bought my '82 Jazz bass. My '82 Jazz has 70's era pickup spacing of 4" center to center, which puts the bridge pickup almost 1/2" (0.4" to be exact) closer to the bridge of the Jazz. That gives it a distinctly brighter sound than my '65 had.

Also, because the jazz has two pickups, as you move your plucking position closer to or over the neck, you will get a darker, warmer, and smoother sound. As you move it towards the bridge, you will get a much brighter and more percussive sound. This presumes the two volume controls and the tone control are all the way up so you get everything out of those pickups.

I typically pluck in front of the neck pickup a bit but if I think I need a warmer, darker sound I'll move up towards the neck another inch or so. If I want a brighter more percussive sound, I'll play right in front of or over bridge pickup. If I want my bass to growl, I'll dig into the strings right over the bridge pickup. Again, an change of an inch in either direction from your default positionwill make a noticeable difference in the sound. The more you move from where you were, the greater the difference in sound will be. If you're playing a single pickup bass, the differences aren't nearly as much but they are still different.

I couldn't see for sure if he was playing a Jazz, but absolutely he is plucking down right in front of the bridge for that bright percussive sound. He had so much attack to his sound, I thought he was using a pick until I saw his hands. If playing a Jazz bass, I'd also recommend putting a little boost in the low-mids. I run my boost up to 1:30 at either 250Hz or 500Hz, depending upon the amp I'm using and what it can address. Don't turn it up too much or your sound will Honk at you. That boost in the low mids though gives the bass presence and definition in the mix.

 

[JIO]

The new one will be in the company of a couple other distinctive voices I've got in the shed:
Epi Thunderbird w/ TB+ p'ups...
Modded Hamer w/ Ric 4003 p'ups/ harness...
Fretless Westone Spectra w/DiMarzio Model One p'up.
I like the idea of the Stingray, and the P-Bass is a "can't go wrong" bass. But I'm thinking the Jazz represents the broadest palette, and that seems like a good idea for someone like me, who's not going to be buying a lot of instruments. I'm really looking to get engaged with what works for me and to stop thinking about this.
That's how I was in my early years, and I miss it.

I gravitated to a Jazz bass over a P-bass because of the nut width being familiar to my hands as a T-bird player. (specifically my '64 II's 1.5" nut) I also like the way a Jazz bass looks (over a P) which for me isn't as shallow as it sounds - I've always been a visual person (artist) and the way something I own looks has always been a criteria whether it was guitars or bikes or anything really. But over the years I have acquired basses of all forms of looks and feel and love them all for their unique qualities visually, playability and sound delivery. Having said that, I own more J's than any other type of bass.

A Jazz bass is a perfect fit for our Bond Girl material both live & recorded -

 

[JIO]

I'll go ahead and upset some people and say punchiness is more of a technique thing that it is a bass type thing. A J bass can get a pretty versatile set of tones.

word

 

[Aussie Player]

Do something noone does with a jazz bass..........
Treble volume on full
Bass volume about 7ish, you'll hear it.
Tone about 1/4 to 1/2.

More punch than you ever heard from a jazz bass.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

I gravitated to a Jazz bass over a P-bass because of the nut width being familiar to my hands as a T-bird player. (specifically my '64 II's 1.5" nut) I also like the way a Jazz bass looks (over a P) which for me isn't as shallow as it sounds - I've always been a visual person (artist) and the way something I own looks has always been a criteria whether it was guitars or bikes or anything really. But over the years I have acquired basses of all forms of looks and feel and love them all for their unique qualities visually, playability and sound delivery. Having said that, I own more J's than any other type of bass.

A Jazz bass is a perfect fit for our Bond Girl material both live & recorded -
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View attachment 7227096

Your comments make perfect sense but when I saw your Jazz, I had t o laugh a little bit. I see you have removed the big chrome Ashtray pickup cover from yours. I had a 1965 Jazz that was unfortunately stolen along with all my touring gear back in 1976. I removed the one over the neck pickup on mine. Below is a shot of me playing it with that chrome Neck Pickup Cover removed. You can also see my Standel amp peeking out between the guitarist and our female vocalist.

With my '82 Jazz, neither the neck nor the bridge pickup covers had been mounted. I was working at the music store when a guy brought it in to trade it in towards a different bass. It was in mint condition and the Chrome pickup covers had not even been removed from their plastic bags yet. The guy handling the transaction immediately took those out of the bass case and put it in our accessory case to sell separately. So when I bought that bass, the covers did not come with it. I like the freedom that gives me to change my plucking position as needed at any time to make my sound warmer and smoother, or brighter and more percussive.

Notice the all-maple neck and the 70's era pickup spacing. I bought that bass because the neck felt the same as my '65 did and every other Jazz Bass I picked up after mine was stolen had a fat neck. The 70's era spacing with the 4" center to center measurement puts the bridge pickup 0.4" closer to the bridge than the standard 3.6" center to center spacing, which my '65 had. My '82 has a brighter sound than my '65 and a lot more sustain. I'd love to have my '65 back but prefer the sound of my '82 Jazz.

 

[JIO]

Your comments make perfect sense but when I saw your Jazz, I had t o laugh a little bit. I see you have removed the big chrome Ashtray pickup cover from yours. I had a 1965 Jazz that was unfortunately stolen along with all my touring gear back in 1976. I removed the one over the neck pickup on mine. Below is a shot of me playing it with that chrome Neck Pickup Cover removed. You can also see my Standel amp peeking out between the guitarist and our female vocalist.

View attachment 7227154

With my '82 Jazz, neither the neck nor the bridge pickup covers had been mounted. I was working at the music store when a guy brought it in to trade it in towards a different bass. It was in mint condition and the Chrome pickup covers had not even been removed from their plastic bags yet. The guy handling the transaction immediately took those out of the bass case and put it in our accessory case to sell separately. So when I bought that bass, the covers did not come with it. I like the freedom that gives me to change my plucking position as needed at any time to make my sound warmer and smoother, or brighter and more percussive.

Notice the all-maple neck and the 70's era pickup spacing. I bought that bass because the neck felt the same as my '65 did and every other Jazz Bass I picked up after mine was stolen had a fat neck. The 70's era spacing with the 4" center to center measurement puts the bridge pickup 0.4" closer to the bridge than the standard 3.6" center to center spacing, which my '65 had. My '82 has a brighter sound than my '65 and a lot more sustain. I'd love to have my '65 back but prefer the sound of my '82 Jazz.

View attachment 7227155

Yes, the bridge cover/'ashtray' for me would be in the way of palm-muting which is something I commonly incorporate. I also commonly play over the bridge pu w/a pick (while palm-muting) ala Carol Kaye so the neck pu cover is not in my way. I occasionally play finger style above the neck pu/cover, but not often. I get low-end from my amp and definition from the bass. Different strokes etc...

So the covers holes on your '82 weren't drilled into the body/pg from the looks of it - keeps a clean look. Mine is a '66 so the holes were already there. It was refinished by Marty Bell as it was stripped when I got it.

And otherwise - I always love seeing your 'vintage' (sounds more topic appropriate than 'old' ) band pics! You had some big hair back then!

 

[Smooth_bass88]

i'm pretty sure people get the idea that the jazz bass is scooped sounding because the jazz bass is scooped sounding.

to me playing a jazz bass feels a lot like playing a 34" strat, very scooped, very liquid, very wiry sound. the wide open stock sound is not my fave so I use a mute and it definitely tames the scoop.

jpj would employ a mute at least part of the time particularly on the early Zep recordings.

my vintage 1962 Fender jazz, my USA Lakland 4460 and my Geddy Lee bass must anomalies then

do you think the bass tone on "tom sawyer" is scooping sounding???

 

[Geri O]

If there are mids dialed out, the result will tend to be scooped more than if the mids are dialed in. The subjective thing is true to a point, I would say, generally. But it's a question of balance, yes of course.
And the snark is noted. You might not like my response to Tony, but it's not about being difficult. No need to defend anything. I'm just interested in a pursuit here.

These discussions always bring out peoples’ interesting interpretations of what is said…

For instance, did you know that one person’s counter-statement is another man’s snark?

Actually, I did.

It’s all yours from here. Good luck with whatever point you are trying to make. It’s nice to be secure in my interpretations of my tone.

Ooooh, that might have been snarky. Sorry….

 

[Ritter667]

Get a good grip with both your hands on the neck of the bass, hold it body upwards behind your back, over your shoulder, take a heavy swing, and I promise you a clean knockout to whoever gets in the way!

Here's one situation where a high mass bridge actually might help slightly improving the impact of the punch.

Do please be aware though that most people will react rather disapproving to this kind of violent behaviour and that you might get in trouble with the law following.

 

[Count Bassie]

These discussions always bring out peoples’ interesting interpretations of what is said…

For instance, did you know that one person’s counter-statement is another man’s snark?

Actually, I did.

It’s all yours from here. Good luck with whatever point you are trying to make. It’s nice to be secure in my interpretations of my tone.

Ooooh, that might have been snarky. Sorry….

Lol, yeah. Putting my words you didn't like in question marks, using excursions like "error...", yeah I interpret that as "snark".
Sorry.

 

[Count Bassie]

You are wise to gather input but as you can see everyone has a different take on what these basses sound like. So much is individual taste plus playing style. I will bet you that, if he were alive, Jaco could take a $200 bottom of the line Squier and make it sound like pretty much any bass you could think of perhaps with a little EQ and some compression dialed in? I'll also bet you can get the punch you want out of one of your basses, if you experiment.

I broke out the bass that I reserve some discomfiting feelings about, but it tends to get a lot of good remarks for concerning sound. History aside, I started experimenting with it, and it's getting some stuff I hasn't come to appreciate until last night.
So I've got some conflict with it, but yeah...

 

[Count Bassie]

I broke out the bass that I reserve some discomfiting feelings about, but it tends to get a lot of good remarks for concerning sound. History aside, I started experimenting with it, and it's getting some stuff I hasn't come to appreciate until last night.
So I've got some conflict with it, but yeah...

I've got some conflict with typos in the morning also. Coffee.

 

[BassicJazzy]

I've got some conflict with typos in the morning also. Coffee.

Ha! Autocorrect plus my lack of proof-reading skills are my #1 nemesis. No amount of coffee fixes that!

 

[Count Bassie]

Lol, yeah. Putting my words you didn't like in question marks, using excursions like "error...", yeah I interpret that as "snark".
Sorry.

Gotta redo this, it's typo city and I want to be clear to @Geri O ... (Too late to edit)

Lol, yeah. Putting my words you don't like in quotation marks, and using expressions like "errr...", I interpret that as "snark".
Sorry.