Thinking about that next bass…

[Major Seven]

Come tax return time I’m thinking about grabbing a second bass to play out in my bands. Right now I’ve gotta 2014 American Professional P I bought brand new. I’ve had a slew of other basses I’ve owned and traded over the years, Ric 4003, Gibson Firebird, couple 4 string MIM Jazz’s. I do have a circa 2000, 5 string MIM Jazz but I just don’t love it and I don’t know if it’s because it’s a 5 string or just the feel of this one. I’m debating on getting a 4 string American Jazz or another American P. Would a 4 string American Jazz feel better than the 3 MIMs I’ve owned? My P just feels phenomenal. Never played better.

Between P and J I noticed the Jazz has a longer reach to the lower frets. Not much, like 3/4" but it feels very different than a P. Stand them up
side by side and you can see the nut on the J is higher.
If I hang around mostly below 7th, 9th frets, the P is more comfortable for longer periods.

My MIM jazz feels just as good as my MIA after doing the detail work they skipped when it was made.

 

[Mo Boogs]

american jazz will be the same as the mim for the most part. unless your others were poorly set up or you are prone to placebo.

imho there are two types of players: find what you want and stick to it, or “a little bit of everything” types. i was the former, now i enjoy the latter.

P bass guys are always p bass guys. dont fight it.

imho get another p and admit you dont need it, or go wild and try something new. and make the p a nice one as you dont have a million basses so you owe it to yourself. and if you go new accept that it will look/feel/sound different and embrace the variety.

my rabbit hole was i was a j bass guy, but i wanted the standards. but i just threw it out the window and stuck to what i liked. so a lot of 4003’s. then i took a risk with dingwall and now i have 3. so i am a jazz, 4003, and dingwall (fanned fret stingray, lets be real) guy now. the rest are variations on those.

and i am happy

So the first bass I ever played was an old Olympic white American jazz with flats in the band room at high school. It was owned by the school and felt amazing. Love the feel of the jazz, but the sound of a P. I also do own a shorty - an Epiphone EB0 with the single humbucker. I upgraded it to a dimarzio and did the shotke diode mod like Jack Bruce. Absolutely rips.

 

[pbass2]

More about not wearing out one bass and having a couple to choose from for gigging. I’m also thinking about throwing some Labella flats on my 5 string jazz. I absolutely love them on my P.

Flats on a J are killer. One of mine has DTFs on it--sounds classic. That might transform that bass for you. If not, and you need a five string for your gigs but you still don't love the Fender, why not move that and focus on upgrading/finding a better fiver that you'll really want to rock?

 

[sleddogn]

Maybe check out some non Fender basses?

Yeah, like the previously mentioned Firebird

 

[sikamikanico]

More about not wearing out one bass…

Wearing out? Give it another 10 years and you’ll just start wearing it in properly

But yeah, I get the impulse for variety. Def try some new strings on the jazz, that’s a good place to start…

 

[jd56hawk]

Come tax return time I’m thinking about grabbing a second bass to play out in my bands. Right now I’ve gotta 2014 American Professional P I bought brand new. I’ve had a slew of other basses I’ve owned and traded over the years, Ric 4003, Gibson Firebird, couple 4 string MIM Jazz’s. I do have a circa 2000, 5 string MIM Jazz but I just don’t love it and I don’t know if it’s because it’s a 5 string or just the feel of this one. I’m debating on getting a 4 string American Jazz or another American P. Would a 4 string American Jazz feel better than the 3 MIMs I’ve owned? My P just feels phenomenal. Never played better.

Not sure about American Fender Jazz bass feeling much better than an MIM, but I bet you'll think this one does.