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Which is the P? Which is the J?
- Thread starter Coelho
- Start date
Well I was right the first time.
But I was wrong.
I'm glad there's a difference though, since I'm a P-bass lover. I don't want a jazz to be able to get the sound completely.
The audience would probably never know....
Actually I don't think the P and J with the neck soloed sound all that much alike. With the J/neck I don't hear the low mids of the P, it's a more open tone. That's with my specific instruments, YMMV.
Oh, I can't spew like I did in my last post and not play:
I think 1 = J and 2 = P
I get pizza!!! After having done the Munji short scale challenge with J basses with the neck pickup solo'ed, I got to know the nuances of that sound. I agree it doesn't have the mid grind of a classic P bass, but if comes pretty close, as evidenced by this thread.
Strong work and thanks for the effort you put into this!
i listened on my studio monitors and i listened on my headphones. thought differently with each one and i went with the opinion i got from the studio monitors...bah...surprised the headphones were better
Can I have anchovies???
To me, the J just sounded more "hi-fi," if you know what I mean -- cleaner tone through the bottom and mids. I have both a J and a P, and use them both, although I usually roll on the bridge pickup 1/2 to full, just to make the difference more apparent.
And BTW, I could only listen to the clips through the little speakers in the bottom of my ASUS netbook.
Yeah, same thing happened to me. After the OP revealed the answer, I went back and listened with headphones and thought the difference was pretty evident. The P sounded bigger and deeper. It didn't come through on my monitors though. I went back and forth between monitor and phones and the monitors definitely have a blind spot.
As a J-bass owner I really didn't want there to be a difference. It's subtle, but if you know what you're listening for, it's definitely there. I think the Strat/Tele analogy fits pretty well.
What's funny is that I bought a P bass a couple weeks ago but then returned it because it had a truss rod issue. I had sort of convinced myself that I wouldn't need to replace it since I could cover both basses with my J, but now I'm wanting a P again. On the other hand, they're close. Most people won't hear the difference. Only obsessive bass junkies. So I don't know...kind of torn.
For me, this thread reinforces the idea that I ought to be playing a P
/rick
err... I mean J
So many of us have the notion that a P is deeper, and these recordings give a first impression of #1 being deeper.
I think that notion has more to do with the amp and recording technology during the era when P was king. We tend to associate it with thumpy motown goodness. (not that there's anything wrong with that!)
But the P can be articulate-- it just articulates in a different way than the J, on a different frequency.
As for the p/j j/j difference, it's all in how the frequencies cancel each other and augment each other when the two are combined. There are TB'ers who could hold forth on the topic, but it's kind of like when one plays around with a 5 way switch on a strat.
I think that notion has more to do with the amp and recording technology during the era when P was king. We tend to associate it with thumpy motown goodness. (not that there's anything wrong with that!)
But the P can be articulate-- it just articulates in a different way than the J, on a different frequency.
As for the p/j j/j difference, it's all in how the frequencies cancel each other and augment each other when the two are combined. There are TB'ers who could hold forth on the topic, but it's kind of like when one plays around with a 5 way switch on a strat.
- Nov 9, 2009
- 360
- 100
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Reunion Blues, 64 Audio, Mesa Engineering, Ernie Ball.
I'm psyched that I got it right. For me, the give away was that the first one sounded like a single-coil. The tone was there, but the humbucking growl wasn't. I don't mean to rub it in or anything, but I'm pretty excited that I've been right about what I've been saying.
...still, the point is proven that a J can do a damn good job at copping a P's tone. Certainly, if I weren't listening closely, I'd have taken your word for it that they were both Ps.
...still, the point is proven that a J can do a damn good job at copping a P's tone. Certainly, if I weren't listening closely, I'd have taken your word for it that they were both Ps.
The OP said he'd tell us the true story on Sunday. By my watch, it's still Sunday. Still a chance he could pull that smug rug out from under us and reveal that it was the other way around...
In these challenges, ever notice how the difference always becomes more obvious AFTER the answer is given?
In these challenges, ever notice how the difference always becomes more obvious AFTER the answer is given?
i would have guessed wrong had i been playing. never occured to me that he'd have the bridge pickup off. but boy, that jazz pickup sure does an awesome precision pickup imitation. i'd totally buy that for a precision sound.
good playing, too, except you have to go to the Bb every third time the horns play the riff.
good playing, too, except you have to go to the Bb every third time the horns play the riff.
i would have guessed wrong had i been playing. never occured to me that he'd have the bridge pickup off. but boy, that jazz pickup sure does an awesome precision pickup imitation. i'd totally buy that for a precision sound.
good playing, too, except you have to go to the Bb every third time the horns play the riff.
Bassybill pointed that out as well. But oh, now it is too late.
I'm guessing you spent the last 35-years on a desert Island. LOL.... Average White Band playing Pick Up The Pieces.
I'm going through the same thing! Although I have a Sting sig bass and an Ibanex RKB900 (P-J with SD Quarter Pounders).
I've been jonesing after a P strung with flats like nobody's business, but after this A-B test and hearing Esperanza Spaulding's Jazz bass with flats on Austin City Limits has me convinced that I'll be perfectly happy with a Jazz bass with flats!
Until GAS strikes again I suppose...
People still had opinions on why they liked the subtle (apparently) differences between the two though, even if they did have a hard time differentiating them. If the tone was cranked a bit more the difference would be alot more blatant, not something that all bassists need in all situations, but if your using alot of midrange or a noticeable amount of top end then the differences would stick out alot more.
