What’s your preference Jazz Bass or Precision.

[2thAche]

 

[Gorn]

It really all depends on the tonewood.

 

[TheSeagoats]

Jazz basses always sound just a bit too scooped for my tastes, and while I like the J shape better, the P bass has always given me exactly what I've wanted. Current main bass is an LTD AP-5 PJ style so I can mostly do either sound if I want to, I just very rarely want the jazz sound.

 

[lyonaudio]

Precision. With LaBella flatwounds.

 

[Ghastly]

Yes.

 

[brianrost]

In the last thread about this, I said P so today I will say J, then in the next thread about this I will say P again. It's only fair

My last two Js I rewired in series so they would sound more like a P.

 

[badinage]

I think I have 13 or 14 Ps. My one four string Jazz is a "1973 tribute" FrankenFender made of parts that only a bass geek would notice isn't the genuine article and also sports a 1-5/8" nut.

Lately I actually gig a Sire V5 five string (passive Jazz bass) about a third of the time, with the other two thirds split between G&L USA L2500s and various four strings (usually Ps) and an Ibanez 1806e (six string) every once in a while.

The point? I don't have a herd or a stable, I have a harem and happily enjoy the variety. Besides, the only people who notice are also amused and entertained by my propensity for dalliance. Fly and be free I say: both, all, whatever. It's just a bass.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Get yourself a StingRay Special and have the best of both worlds.

 

[roccobass]

All that Jazz for me! Just love the sound and feel of the neck and body. More ergonomic for me.

 

[Paul New]

In the last thread about this, I said P so today I will say J, then in the next thread about this I will say P again. It's only fair

View attachment 5146776

My last two Js I rewired in series so they would sound more like a P.

I said J last week, so today I'm all about a P.

 

[JesterR]

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I'm curious to know what bass players prefer a jazz bass or precision bass. Both are great. Do most consider the Jazz the ultimate go to, or can you get away with just about anything with the precision.. I'm just curious what others think.[/QUOTE

Over the years I've played and owned a PB, a JB, and for the last 19 year currently own a PBj VVT. Being honest, I've never thought of one being better than the other. While there is a difference in tonal palette, and ergonomics at the end of the day, to me they sound like a normal EB voice.

I will say I get a lot of complements on my tone from other bassists, my band mates and soundmen, and never had anybody suggest something different ( like, how can you stand that thing?) in over 40 years.

 

[jnewmark]

I play a Jazz most of the time, but I do own a Fender P, mostly for recording, if so asked.

 

[Tommy Sparks]

Probably the Jazz but I sure love my P bass.

 

[themickster]

I'm curious to know what bass players prefer a jazz bass or precision bass. Both are great. Do most consider the Jazz the ultimate go to, or can you get away with just about anything with the precision.. I'm just curious what others think.

There are many that think the P is the only bass worth having.

 

[Nedmundo]

I love P-basses, but prefer J-basses overall and I have three: 2003 Fender; 2010 G&L JB; and 2022 Sandberg California TT-5 Superlight. I like the necks, tone, and flexibility. Plus, I think fives work a little better as J-basses than P-basses. The Fender has Lindy Fralin's noiseless Split-Jazz pickups, which sound amazing, while the others have very low noise single coils that work extremely well on stage. (The G&L has Lace Man o' Wars, so I would expect low noise, but the Sandberg has regular single coils so it must be incredibly well shielded.)

My only "P-bass" is a 2007 G&L USA SB-2, which is fantastic and works best for some projects, no question. It has a very fast-playing J neck, and the MFD split-coil pickup is an absolute monster.

 

[Lowbrow]

You are really asking this question.

 

[Parzival]

Jazz. Only play a Jazz neck, but that's no problem as my P has a Jazz neck. Just love the sound of dimed passive Jazz pickups.

 

[Low End Scum]

When I started playing bass and my Ibby SDGR started to get a twist in the neck (tragic, my first bass RIP) I was looking at Fender P's and J's. I was a bassist for only a year or 2 after having been a teenage metal guitarist for years and all I knew was that a lot of big shots played Fender's. Or at least Fenders were the somewhat affordable ones that the big shots played as opposed to a Ric like Chris Squire etc.

My tone ear was so awful at the time I couldn't really tell a significant difference between the 2 instruments but I went J cause Geddy Lee had one. I've had at least 3-5 P's since then ranging from a G&L Custom SB-1 to a parts bass built to be like Steve Harris's P and I hated how I sounded on all of them. To me, they're like Ampeg and Orange amps. I love how other players sound on them, but I touch them and I just don't dig what my hands sound like with that gear. Now, I've been puttering around about Dingwall and remember reading somewhere (though I could be misremembering and way off base) that the Dingwall pickups are split reverse P pickups and I love how punchy they sound.

I guess I just don't think there's an "ultimate". They're tools that are an additive part of a sound you're creating. To use metal as an example, I've had people say you can't use XYZ for metal, but Iron Maiden used strats. This dude in this wild math metal group uses a Tele. You just use whats available and works for you

 

[C Stone]

P's with J necks or J's the last few years.
Played nothin but P's/FSO's for decades.
I still play P basses but just less often…