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What strings bring out the best in a Jazz?

thiocyclist

thiocyclist

Sep 19, 2012
1,163
173
#1
My Jazz Basses are great and all but the tone always needs so much help compared to everything else I play. The Jazz is a lot more nasal and it gets on my nerves. I usually use nickel rounds by DA. I'm wondering if I ought to try something else. Sometimes new MIA Jazzes have a good tone to my ears that's a bit more cutting and aggressive.
 
#2
I wonder about this too. Also, what strings sounds best on a MIA Jazz, and what strings sound best on a MIM Jazz? Or, perhaps, there is no difference?

I currently have Slinkys on my MIM Jazz, and while not awful, maybe they don't give the best possible tone. But I don't know what else to try.
 
#5
Toptube said:
stainless strings tend to resist some of that nasal sound VS. nickel strings.
Click to expand...

This I think.

I have had the same problem, experimented, and ended up using standard .105 gauge stainless steel roundwounds.

When I do get completely fed up of the Jazz being a bit thin and nasally I just pull out my P bass with heavy flats on. When that ends up sounding too muddy I switch back. Playing both regularly helps me appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of both.
 
#6
Curt Mangan nickels sound sweet on fender deluxe active jazz, even unplugged. Though he does not handle this brand, check with Jason at Bassstringsonline.com for suggestions. He really knows his stuff, and he has GREAT PRICES for fellow TB'ers.
 
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#7
believe it or not, I use Fender Nickle rounds on my '95 MIA Jazz, and always have. It sounds like a Jazz to me all the time. However, on my Mexican Jazz, I had to change the pickups to the ones used on MIA Jazz basses; different strings were'nt doing it for me, but the new pickups made all the difference. As far as the " nasal " tone of the Jazz, I really don't get this. I can get my Jazz to sound different with EQ and the Tone control on the bass; a P bass pretty much sounds like a P bass, imho.
 
#9
You like cutting and aggressive? If you don't mind the feel, I'd suggest stainless. Of the ones I've tried, my favorite are Rotosound 66s, followed closely by and in some aspects surpassed by D'Addario ProSteels. I tried Hi Beams, but I broke the A within a week (almost certainly something wrong on my end, and I got extra replacements and sets free of charge). They sounded good, a little rounder than the Rotos, less biting, but between the way they felt, I like my strings a bit stiffer, and the strings breaking, I didn't feel like slapping the new set on. I'm keeping it for the future, but in my experience, the Rotos and the ProSteels are really good. Don't pass over anything, though, lots of people like Hi Beams.
 
#12
Hard to say, but as was mentioned above, if you like a hard, aggressive, tone, probably steel strings. Which brand? No idea, I like a warm, mellow, vintage tone, so I prefer nickle.

I found the stock pickups in my Hwy One to be less than adequate so I swapped them out for a set of Lollars, but for you I'd probably recommend Delanos.
 
#13
thiocyclist said:
My Jazz Basses are great and all but the tone always needs so much help compared to everything else I play. The Jazz is a lot more nasal and it gets on my nerves. I usually use nickel rounds by DA. I'm wondering if I ought to try something else. Sometimes new MIA Jazzes have a good tone to my ears that's a bit more cutting and aggressive.
Click to expand...

Stainless steel strings.

High tension - D'Addario Pro Steels
Low tension - DR Hi Beams
 
#14
jnewmark said:
As far as the " nasal " tone of the Jazz, I really don't get this. I can get my Jazz to sound different with EQ and the Tone control on the bass; a P bass pretty much sounds like a P bass, imho.
Click to expand...

There's always an annoying upper-mid honk that's not there on a Ric or a P Bass or even a Stingray. The neck position solo has less than the bridge position solo. In the scooped blend mode it's still present and starts to sound phase-y. I have heard this on every single Jazz I have ever touched, just like how Rics and Ps all sort of sound like they are "supposed to".

But sometimes the factory strings on an MIA Jazz seem to have less of this--maybe they're steels. I'll have to try it out. I guess nickel is supposed to have more mids, but I thought it was low mid not high.

Also, I do like cutting and aggressive tone on a Jazz but only if it can be reigned in with technique and controls. A lot of what I do requires a fat thud. The funny thing is the nickel strings sound great with EQ, I just get annoyed as I don't have to EQ my other basses.
 
#15
I have a AVRI Jazz and had to change the pickups to the CS series to finally get the tone I was looking for. I don't know what pickups Fender uses in their AV series but they totally suck. Most of us have to mod the basics of any bass to get where we need to be tonality wise, whether it be PUPs, strings, set-up or even the amp.

FWIW: I don't think you can ever go wrong putting a set of flats on any bass. All rounds lose their presence after a while and need to be replaced - flats get better with age.
 
#19
Just finished installing a new set of Curt Mangan stainless steel 45-105s on my stock Squier standard jazz bass. Never sounded so good!! It sounds as good, if not a little better than my MIM Jazz V with Dunlop nickels 45-125s(1 week old), badass bridge, and quarter pounder pickups. They are a little rougher than nickels, but this is the first stainless set I have ever played. If they smooth out at all, I WILL be putting a set of these on my MIM V. I am now a stainless steel believer!
 

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