Which is the P? Which is the J?

[shirojiro]

Great game, great groove too!

I'll go with (based on what I think I hear in the mids...)

1 - J

2 - P

But they sound pretty darn close, even with headphones.

Great playing, man!

 

[jmercer91]

no bridge pu = no fair. i'm gonna have to say 1p 2j

 

[Stereo Joe]

I'm not super keen on the soloed neck pickup on the J either.... It seems to me like the 'classic' jazz bass sound is defined by the combination with the bridge pickup. This doesn't really seem like a comparison of the tonal characteristics of the basses in their common usage, but rather an attempt to prove that a J bass can sound like a P...
I'd be more interested in hearing how each sits in the mix with the jazz running both pickups.
Cool idea, but I think I'm missing the point...

 

[abraun]

1 p
2 j

 

[jdthecrazy]

1. J
2. P

 

[Surly]

I'd be more interested in hearing how each sits in the mix with the jazz running both pickups.

Than it would be too easy.

 

[FretlessManiac]

Definatly
Song 1 is a Jazz bass
Song 2 is a Precision Bass

you can hear it in the attack

 

[mongo2]

Can I call foul since the Jazz's neck pickup is soloed?

I'm not super keen on the soloed neck pickup on the J either.... It seems to me like the 'classic' jazz bass sound is defined by the combination with the bridge pickup. This doesn't really seem like a comparison of the tonal characteristics of the basses in their common usage, but rather an attempt to prove that a J bass can sound like a P...
I'd be more interested in hearing how each sits in the mix with the jazz running both pickups.
Cool idea, but I think I'm missing the point...

I never use the bridge pickup on a J.

Here's my main J:

Link Removed

 

[Stereo Joe]

I never use the bridge pickup on a J.

Here's my main J:

Link Removed

That's awesome! Point taken. Just out of curiosity, with the similarity between a soloed neck 'J' and a P-bass, is there a reason you prefer the J?

 

[JustOpenYourMind]

I say

1. P-bass

2. Jazz

1 sounds fatter in the lower mids.

2 has more attack and has a more nasal sound

 

[smeet]

I say:
1 - P
2 - J

Personally I run my Jazz on 100% bridge most of the time, with some boosted lows from my preamp.

 

[beavisd]

I say:
1=P and 2=J.

 

[tb420]

J
P

The J was louder because you had the neck at 100% volume, whereas the P was at whatever level you keep it normally. Probably ~75%

Also, can I get the chords for that song? Heard it on an old Invalid Link Removed. *NSFW*

 

[willsellout]

1. P
2. J

 

[bassbenj]

I say

1. P-bass

2. Jazz

1 sounds fatter in the lower mids.

2 has more attack and has a more nasal sound

This is my thinking too. Plus 2. just sounds like my J. On the other hand I don't own a P and have never owned a P bass so I'm not really familiar with the sound. I'm just assuming that a P sounds fatter than my J based on everyone raving about them here.

But then as I recall the last P/J shootout had me guessing the fatter sound was the P and that turned out to be wrong.

 

[marc40a]

1. P
2. J

 

[sonic assassin]

That's awesome! Point taken. Just out of curiosity, with the similarity between a soloed neck 'J' and a P-bass, is there a reason you prefer the J?

i do the same thing. the single coil is a little thinner. more snap to it.

i also prefer the look and feel of the J. its a lot easier to get in 5 string.

 

[Korladis]

Can I call foul since the Jazz's neck pickup is soloed?

No. Not everyone who has a bass with two pickups uses them together all the time. One of the points to having two pickups is being able to get more than one sound. I almost never use my bass's pickups together; I usually have either just the bridge pickup on or just the neck pickup on.

 

[bassplayeroreo]

first one jazz second one p

 

[interp]

Here's an interesting experiment:

Before you reveal the answer, reverse the order and run the clips again. See how many people can hear the difference.

I've been playing various Fender P and J basses for over 40 years. Presently I have a 58 P and a 62 J. I can get the J to sound exactly like the P, but not the other way around.