What would a beefier Jazz Bass be?

[Bunk McNulty]

Any other ideas? And any offerings in the €500-ish range?

Never say never, but it's gonna be tough at that price. One of the reasons I have a Lakland USA Joe Osborne is because of this. And yeah, he's playing with a pick.

 

[Bassiclees]

Good to see so many have seen the DiMarzio Jazz PU light.
Notably I’ve never heard Nordstrand PU that wasn’t powerful and amazing.
Dunno why people knock them but the Squier Affinity platform is a great and very affordable start.
Affinity + Pickups and strings and you are in Boomville and under budget.

 

[Geogio]

Repeat what you just wrote 10 times.. you've answered your own question...

and I don't understand the term "beefier" do you mean a heavier sounding jazz bass? I don't know how to do that except maybe Quarter Pounders or over wounds but you know Jazz basses sound really sweet with A2s and A3s in them. Whats it's all this A5 stuff? More is better? So what! A2 is a nice sweet spot.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I would have suggested an SX jazz back in the day. Now Squier or Harley Benton as far as budget bass.

 

[Stephen Shapiro]

EBMM Caprice. Fits the description very well.

A G&L L2000 might fit the bill too.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

A beefier jazz bass? I would suggest a Stingray.

 

[lunarpollen]

My honest advice.... This is what the controls on your amp* are for... You change instrument types, you adjust your amp settings to compensate... There's probably no need to modify or replace your Jazz Bass...

* or your VT Bass pedal, or your outboard pre-amp, etc.

 

[aus_bass]

Try a set of flats. I have Fender medium flats on mine. A match made in heaven. Plenty of beef to be had.

 

[TwototheValley]

Try a set of flats. I have Fender medium flats on mine. A match made in heaven. Plenty of beef to be had.

Agree….I love flats on a Jazz.

 

[kevmac]

the Epiphone Thunderbird Std. IV does that for me, even more so is their Explorer.
I never go there but noticed it when test driving during the honeymoon. quite nice.

In that case perhaps an Epiphone Embassy pro would have a similar tone and a more conventional shape. I also own an old G&L SB-2 that is a Jazz bass on steroids in every respect.I don't know much about the newer ones though.

 

[HertzWhenIPlay]

Ibanez ATK

 

[Chrisk-K]

Get a P.

 

[sonojono]

I get no problem “beefing up” my Jazz bass with this!

 

[SkylineFiver]

Maybe you should get what John Paul Jones used on Led Zepplin I, II, III etc…
That was pretty boeffy.

 

[two fingers]

I've always been very ambivalent regarding Jazz Basses. I don't like them, they feel thin, I only kind of like both pickups open all the way, and still I think it's a bit thin, I don't like the bridge pickup soloed or preponderant, the neck pickup lacks the heft of a Precision.

Still, I've found myself needing a full-on Jazz Bass-like sound sometimes, especially played with a pick. The alternatives:

- PJ combination. It sort of works but you tend to have quite a difference between the lower and the upper strings.
- double split. Very nice, very aggressive, looks a bit crap.
- double humbuckers. They don't have the pick attack you get with a Jazz Bass and they tend to sound more throaty. When it's modern sounding humbuckers, they tend to sound a bit too "hifi" in my experience.
- Stingray. It can play that kind of role (bright, tight) but it's overly mid-heavy and a bit too grindy, even boosting the bass or cutting the mids.
- jazz + humbucker (the other way round basically doesn't exist), this seems like the most viable solution, and in fact I had a look at an Ibanez ATK800 (I think) which sort of does the kind of stuff I need.

Any other ideas? And any offerings in the €500-ish range?

What is an example of this "picked jazz bass" sound that you "need"?

 

[5StringBlues]

Tuba

 

[jdjk7]

I've always been very ambivalent regarding Jazz Basses. I don't like them, they feel thin, I only kind of like both pickups open all the way, and still I think it's a bit thin, I don't like the bridge pickup soloed or preponderant, the neck pickup lacks the heft of a Precision.

Still, I've found myself needing a full-on Jazz Bass-like sound sometimes, especially played with a pick. The alternatives:

- PJ combination. It sort of works but you tend to have quite a difference between the lower and the upper strings.
- double split. Very nice, very aggressive, looks a bit crap.
- double humbuckers. They don't have the pick attack you get with a Jazz Bass and they tend to sound more throaty. When it's modern sounding humbuckers, they tend to sound a bit too "hifi" in my experience.
- Stingray. It can play that kind of role (bright, tight) but it's overly mid-heavy and a bit too grindy, even boosting the bass or cutting the mids.
- jazz + humbucker (the other way round basically doesn't exist), this seems like the most viable solution, and in fact I had a look at an Ibanez ATK800 (I think) which sort of does the kind of stuff I need.

Any other ideas? And any offerings in the €500-ish range?

I mean... Jazz basses can be fat as hell. Woody too, with just the neck pickup. Seems like you might just not be treating it right at the amp, i.e. you're EQing it wrong or the amp does not have the right sort of EQ to make the Jazz jump out.

I'm sure there are good P/J basses out there, but I'd rather have a P or a J-- P/J is both and yet neither.

What makes you think the Jazz sound is "thin", anyway?

 

[mcrawfordmusic]

I would try a preamp like the Sadowsky SBP or Aguilar DB925.

Or...boost bass and low mids on your amp.

 

[Bass V]

In that case perhaps an Epiphone Embassy pro would have a similar tone and a more conventional shape. I also own an old G&L SB-2 that is a Jazz bass on steroids in every respect. I don't know much about the newer ones though.

the 2 I mentioned were a total surprise for any Jazz aspects and held back ever mentioning it in other context for it's surface absurdity, but if the Embassy can pull it off for the open minded purists then size wise it's a win if preferring something more compact. the PUs are different so we're talking about a critter almost as disparate as the SB-2, and to emphasize / clarify I like my pair for such deep throatiness from the bridge PUs with that Jazzy tinge but use those basses strictly for heavy Rock.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

I've always been very ambivalent regarding Jazz Basses. I don't like them, they feel thin, I only kind of like both pickups open all the way, and still I think it's a bit thin, I don't like the bridge pickup soloed or preponderant, the neck pickup lacks the heft of a Precision.

Still, I've found myself needing a full-on Jazz Bass-like sound sometimes, especially played with a pick. The alternatives:

- PJ combination. It sort of works but you tend to have quite a difference between the lower and the upper strings.
- double split. Very nice, very aggressive, looks a bit crap.
- double humbuckers. They don't have the pick attack you get with a Jazz Bass and they tend to sound more throaty. When it's modern sounding humbuckers, they tend to sound a bit too "hifi" in my experience.
- Stingray. It can play that kind of role (bright, tight) but it's overly mid-heavy and a bit too grindy, even boosting the bass or cutting the mids.
- jazz + humbucker (the other way round basically doesn't exist), this seems like the most viable solution, and in fact I had a look at an Ibanez ATK800 (I think) which sort of does the kind of stuff I need.

Any other ideas? And any offerings in the €500-ish range?

Don’t quite understand your stance; put flatwound strings on a JB and play it giving prevalence to the neck pickup and with the right amount of tone .. it will sound anything but thin !
Humbuckers are just needed to kill hum ..



There’s not a lot of difference from P-basses equipped with certain types of PUs.