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What would a beefier Jazz Bass be?

#162
Delano humbuckers did the trick for me.

Body Front.jpg
 
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#166
Another vote for Model J's.
I wanted more beef and they deliver. OTOH, it sounds more like generic bass guitar without the ability to cut through a busy mix. Sometimes the neck sounded too much like a P bass.
My other Fender with more beef and cut through is a Stingray!
 
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#168
I own a AO 64 passive jazz and also found it "thin" at first. Yeah the lows are extended deeper but I just wasn't getting the heft I heard when listening to other J bass players (classic rock to metal).

It took a while before I learned a couple things that really helped me out achieving the sound I wanted. First was to get a compressor. It really fattens up the D and G strings on all my basses but especially so for my jazz and stingray. Second was to roll the volume back to 90% on either pickup (both at 90% or 90% on the lead and less on the other). For whatever reason when the volume is up to 100% on my neck pickup it creates this hump in high midrange that makes my bass sound lacking in the lows. I then increase the amp volume to make up the drop in volume. Third, instead of increasing the low midrange (around 200k), lower the high midrange (800-1000k). Now it sounds fatter like the rock/metal bassists that I hear. Of course all jazzes are different but that's what my passive 60's position jazz needs to get a "fatter" sound.

You may already know and tried this though and just want a new beefier jazz
though (I didn't read the thread). If I was going this route I'd get an active jazz style bass with humbuckers.
 
#169
I’ll add my take. I have a CIJ geddy sig jazz bass. I love it. It’s loaded with dimarzio model J’s. They are pretty hot so I get good output from them. My main player is an early 90’s ibanez ATK300. It’s a very aggressive, punchy bass. I mean, they named the bass from the word “attack”, so yeah, that’s accurate IME.

What I’m try to get to, I feel the ATK filled in the missing holes for guys who feel the traditional jazz lacked the way the OP described. I didn’t own a jazz bass for years, so my ears weren’t tuned in to that particular sound. I’ve always had P basses. But now that I’ve had that geddy jazz for a few years and my ears know the J bass sound better now, and I’ve been playing my ATK for over 20 years, they have very similar sound profiles in a way. Quite different though at the same time. Anyway, I think the ATK could be a good choice for guys who feel the jazz bass is too thin sounding or too scooped.

Took me forever to get there, sorry, but I do think an ATK would be a great choice to “replace” a jazz bass.
 
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#172
This is what I call beefed up vintage J-Bass:


Probably added low end to signal. 80hz -100hz.

Recording session for this song, 67 or 68 J bass:


Maybe changed cap?

I was doing some PA work for a band week ago, and Lady that played Epi Eb-0 with Mudbucker have almost same tone as bass riddim player from Heptones. ;)
 
#174
I've had a Fender Jazz for decades and love it. Later on, I got a Smith and a Pedulla... moving from those back to the Jazz (or Lakland), I agree: the Fender/Lakland feel "thin" (and makes the Lakland feel overpriced.)
(I think you mean that you like the sound, but don't like they way the bass body & neck "feel.")
Maybe the solution is getting something like a Smith with the series/parallel switches so the pickups can be in series at least... or, picking up a used Smith with jazz bass pickups (over your price range, but you may have to "level up!")
Or, just buy the bass body & neck you like and have a luthier fill the pickup holes, and drop in the pickup system you like.
 
#175
Boneless said:
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?
Click to expand...
I changed all the Jazz Bass Single Coil Picups for Noiseless Fender Pickups which are basicelly Humbucker Pickups
 
#179
Lately I'm finding not to be shy with amp EQ with my Jazz. Being aggressive with boosting lows and/or cutting mids seems to be working well for a heavy rock tone. I'm also gradually experiencing what worn-in Hi-Beams sound like and I feel like they were a missing piece to the puzzle.
 
#180
Boneless said:
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?
Click to expand...
The precision bass pickup is a humbucking pickup and as such emphasizes mid-range frequencies. Mid-range frequencies are easiest for the human ear to hear which is why a P-Bass "sounds" fatter than a Jazz Bass. The two single coil pickups of a Jazz bass especially in tandem are producing a wider frequency range than the P-Bass even though your ears don't perceive it.
 
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