The Fender Jazz S1 switch.

The S1 for the Precision makes a world of difference! For the jazz... it did not do much in regards to versatility.

 

Haven't tried it out on a P-bass, but did so on a Jazz and it was, to me, well, bull****.

 

Also, if you don't find a bass you really like, but like the S1 feature you can always just get a DPDT switch.

 

I've only tried an American P with S1, and it sounded awesome.

Haven't tried an American J with S1 yet, but I plan on it.

 

My Reverend Rumblefish XL has a similar feature; one position puts both pickups together in series, which is what the Fender S-1 switch does. With the pickups in series, they act like a huge humbucker. The output should increase by about 10% and the tone should be thick and fat. If that doesn't happen with an S-1 equpped Fender, something is wrong!

 

i have both p and j basses with s-1 switches. i find the tone of a p with the s-1 engaged to be interesting but somewhat weak. i find the tone of the j with the s-1 engaged to be very p like and powerful. it alters the sound greatly and it is not subtle. in the end however, i bought my jazzes because they are jazzes and my p's because they are p's. the s-1 does not change this. i have never used the s-1 on either a p or j for recording. i occasionally will use the s-1 through my rig using a j but i really find it to be unnessesary as i am using an alembic f-1x pre amp and that has a lot of flexibility and is rather warm sounding. p's and j's are designed to work closely with an amp as they have minimal controls themselves. the s-1 makes slight changes in tone a little easier on the fly. most p players may want to add a little twang here and there, j players a little more bottom now and then. that is what the s-1 was designed for and that is exactly what it does. if you find a good p or j and it has an s-1, judge it as a p or j first. peace, jeff

 

I have a Jazz with the S-1 and give it an enthusiastic endorsement. No, it's not a P with the switch engaged, but it's thick with growl at the same time. The acoustics where we are playing regularly are terrible and this bass has been the best at cutting through.

 

the S-1 mod is quite useful, but it really depends if you like that tone.

you really need to play one to decide

 

To the Group -

I ran across this link recently. It's not perfect but it beats trying to describe the S-1 switch in words.



Check it out -- you may find it helpful!

 

When the S-1 is engaged on a Jazz Bass, it makes it sound more like a Precision Bass. Excellent!
When the S-1 is engaged on a Precision Bass, it makes it sound really thin. Who needs that??

 

I've had both too, and I agree with this. I did use the S-1 on the J for recording once, and it was great. I used it at gigs sometimes too, but generally preferred the straight J tone.

Overall, I thought it was more useful on the J than the P, because it's nice to get that fat, series humbucking tone sometimes. The volume jumps a bit, the low mids fatten up, and the highs pull back a little. As jwl says, it's not a subtle change.

On the P, I never used it, and I used to wonder why anyone would want to thin out the tone on a P bass. It doesn't work on mine anymore because my Seymour Duncan pickup has only two conductor wire, but in my new band I probably would use it due to the diversity of the material. I tested another P recently with the S-1, which sounded great through the store's rig. So I've come to believe that the S-1 has its place on a P.