I play all stock. That's all I gotta say about that (mumbles in a Gump kinda way.....)....
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What does an authentic Jazz bass really sound like? Small rant warning.
- Thread starter CaribooBass
- Start date
What does an authentic Jazz bass really sound like?
Anything you want it to with the two pickups, particularly with the controls on amplifiers these days.
Anything you want it to with the two pickups, particularly with the controls on amplifiers these days.
My Jazz bass is the most authentic of them all. Everything else is a wannabe.
I would have challenged you on that, but I don't have my AV '62 Jazz Bass any longer (I sold it in the mid '00s).My Jazz bass is the most authentic of them all. Everything else is a wannabe.
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But I do have a photo of it and some recordings with TIJFs on it.
A lot of us like jazz basses. Sometimes we modify them. Sometimes we don’t.
A lot of us like P basses. Sometimes we modify them. Sometimes we don’t.
A lot of us like P basses. Sometimes we modify them. Sometimes we don’t.
Is a Jazz a good mod platform? Yeah, probably.
Is a Jazz ONLY a mod platform? No, not even close.
Do you imagine no one changes P pickups? There are plenty of aftermarket Ps from quarter pounders to relentless...
Would you say a P can't stand on its own because some people put in a set of Geezers?
Do you think active P basses don't exist? plenty of Ps with preamps, doesn't make a passive P irrelevant any more than the existence of an active J makes a passive J passé.
Do you have a coherent thesis for this (what you admit is a) rant?
Do you need a P (or your Warwick) to sound like your trucks diesel engine, Bark like your Heeler or sound like the Flute in the TCB Band?
In short WT actual F is your point?
Jazz basses sound terrible until you find the right strap for them. Then it's sonic bliss, totally stock with no mods. Duh !!
The question isn't really valid. Define modifications vs your statement that the whole world can't just play a totally standard Jazz Bass.
Changing pickguard is just looks, so is it mainly with tuners, bridge/pickup covers, or even the color of the bass. If Fender did basses in 100 colors, then people wouldn't modify the color, but the inside would be identical on all of them still. What makes it a Jazz, the color or the shape, or the pickup placement? It's the sum of a lot of parts sure. People like to modify, because they can, because Fender doesn't make 100 different colors. Other companies copy Fender's design, because it's the most popular shape in the electric bass history, but they have to do something to set them off of Fender's, so they make up silly things like high mass bridges or onboard preamps etc - they voice the pickup a little differently, which gives different nuances, just like Fender made changes in their pickups over time, just because of manufacturing advantages.
All that isn't really the Jazz Basses fault, or Fender's for that matter - and congrats for trolling up a statement like "nobody ever never ever plays an unmodded Jazz Bass anymore!", there's nothing like selfconcluded scientific facts
I've had two "authentic" Jazz Basses. One was a 1965 Jazz that I bought in 1966. I ran it with both volumes and the tone wide open and got what I call a very round sound out of it. Played it through high school and some college and then toured with a nightclub group in the early 70's playing 5-nights a week, 50-weeks a year for 3-years. It never did sound like a P-bass and I didn't want it too because it produced much different and higher harmonics. You can get all kinds of sounds out of it by playing with the individual volumes for each pickup as well as the tone control. For me though, the best sound was run all of them dimed. That produced that round sound I like.
Unfortunately in 1976, our house was burglarized and all my touring gear was stolen. Finally in 1985 I was able to buy another Jazz. It is a 1982 Jazz with the 60's Slim C-shape neck with a 7.25" radius, just like the neck on my '65 was. However it has both an all-maple neck, and the 70's era pickup spacing (4" center to center). Because of the pickup spacing which puts the bridge pickup almost 1/2" closer to the bridge, it has a noticeably brighter sound than my '65 did. It also growls more easily than my '65 did. Just dig into the strings a bit right over the bridge pickup and it will growl at you all night long. It also has a LOT more sustain than my '65 did and I attribute that to the maple neck. I really miss my '65 Jazz but if I got it back, my '82 would still be my primary Bass.
Back in the 60's and early 70's, we never had a "mid" control, let alone both a low-mid and a high-mid control. Virtually all modern amps do. I have Eden and DNA amps, which both produce clean and clear sound and I had just a touch of boost (up to 1:30) to the low mids at either 250Hz or 500Hz depending upon the amp. That slight boost in the low mids gives presence and definition to my bass when playing in a group. It still produces that "round sound" that my '65 did, just a bit brighter. I still dime the controls on this passive Jazz, and NO!, I'm not going to be modding it. That would only ruin the sound I'm getting from it now.
It also records better than my '65 did, but my '65 sounded quite good in pro recordings too. You can have my Jazz when you pry it from the cold dead fingers of my son, long after I'm gone because he has lusted over it for years (he also plays bass) and I've willed it to him.
Me and my '65 Jazz in late 1971 or early 1972 with my Standel amp behind me:
Here's I'm playing my 1982 maple-necked Jazz:
This is a better picture of my '82 Jazz
I absolutely love my Jazz Bass!
No, mine suck. Full of wrong notes.
Ah, I do miss my '83. Basically same spec but with a one piece pickguard rather than control plate. First real instrument I ever bought, and by far the best-smelling one. Sold it for a good rate to a player who promised me first refusal if he ever moved it on and then immediately flipped it for 30% more within a few days. So it goes, unfortunately!
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
There is no one "jazz bass sound" - strings alone make a difference. Certainly it has a more diverse pallete than a P.
Oh Lordy, one of these threads again….
This is the other side of the argument for sure! I thought that's why God, or someone like God invented the P/J?
For me the J bass with both PU on just sounds like a poor P bass...I never really got it.
Owned a few, sold all of them in short order. Watched umpteen shows which I think all sounded kinda meh. The only J bass tones I can relate to is Jaco and Geddy neither of which I particularly like and everything else is just...meh. Probably why Ive always played a P bass.
Owned a few, sold all of them in short order. Watched umpteen shows which I think all sounded kinda meh. The only J bass tones I can relate to is Jaco and Geddy neither of which I particularly like and everything else is just...meh. Probably why Ive always played a P bass.
In the 50+ years of playing and using and trying many different Fender Jazz basses I feel I can safely say...
The tone depends on the specific Jazz bass in question.
It took me decades to figure out but it turns out I'm more of a single humbucking pickup shortscale player.
The tone depends on the specific Jazz bass in question.
It took me decades to figure out but it turns out I'm more of a single humbucking pickup shortscale player.
Evidently P basses cause back pain, so we have that to think about too.
I was a jazz bass guy from 75 through 15. Then switched to P when I realised that the simple thunk of a fretless Precision with flats was what I was really looking for
I was a jazz bass guy from 75 through 15. Then switched to P when I realised that the simple thunk of a fretless Precision with flats was what I was really looking for
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