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Why a Jazz bass?
- Thread starter Oobly
- Start date
My first "real" bass, and the first bass I bonded with, was an MIM Jazz bass. In fact, the first bass I ever played at all was a Jazz bass. I eventually traded that MIM toward a Rick, but found later on that I need to keep a Jazz bass around. When I've had problems with my hands/tendons, a Jazz bass always got me through. I've done a lot of learning on them, learned how to work on basses by fixing them, and improved my musicianship in no small part on them. I also found them to be pretty versatile instruments.
While I love many other basses, I found it's smart for me to keep a Jazz around.
Oh, and heavy on the bridge pickup with chorus, great sound.
While I love many other basses, I found it's smart for me to keep a Jazz around.
Oh, and heavy on the bridge pickup with chorus, great sound.
OF course a part of it is the ubiquity of Fender products, but the big part of it is fashion. There. I said it.
Anyone who's worked or paid attention to retail knows that that certain axes or styles of instruments run in cycles.
When I first worked stores in the 70's, Precisions ruled, you couldn't GIVE away a Jazz Bass. A few hardheads rode Rippers and EB's, and the occasional Ric. Thunderbirds were the fancy alternative in rock.
Into the 80's, fancy or tech-y basses caught on: This was the advent of BC Rich, Alembic, Pedulla, pre-Gibson Tobias, and all the Japanese basses that reflected that idiom, Aria SB, BB Yamahas, Ibanez Musicians, etc. Even SD Curlee's ! And a lot of Fender guys walked away to the hard-hitting Music Man basses. The big introduction and adoption of low-impedance pickups with active tone control. 9v batteries . . . .
Then people started to feel that style axe was a bit high-falutin', and you looked up and saw Will Lee, Geddy, and lots of guys with Jazzes, propelled along by the resto-mod axes like Sadowsky and Nash and the rest, and there you are. Bolt-neck instruments replaced neckthrus. Now just as many prefer passive to active. Guys would pay big money for brand new basses, built to look like they'd been in the same old beer joint for 30 years: Attention spans are so short they want it aged, faded, and beat up looking RIGHT NOW.
This sort of thing happens in electric guitars as well as musicians . . . . . and the market moves thru time. Just like with Harley-Davidson, everybody has to have the same thing . . . . so they can be different !
Anyone who's worked or paid attention to retail knows that that certain axes or styles of instruments run in cycles.
When I first worked stores in the 70's, Precisions ruled, you couldn't GIVE away a Jazz Bass. A few hardheads rode Rippers and EB's, and the occasional Ric. Thunderbirds were the fancy alternative in rock.
Into the 80's, fancy or tech-y basses caught on: This was the advent of BC Rich, Alembic, Pedulla, pre-Gibson Tobias, and all the Japanese basses that reflected that idiom, Aria SB, BB Yamahas, Ibanez Musicians, etc. Even SD Curlee's ! And a lot of Fender guys walked away to the hard-hitting Music Man basses. The big introduction and adoption of low-impedance pickups with active tone control. 9v batteries . . . .
Then people started to feel that style axe was a bit high-falutin', and you looked up and saw Will Lee, Geddy, and lots of guys with Jazzes, propelled along by the resto-mod axes like Sadowsky and Nash and the rest, and there you are. Bolt-neck instruments replaced neckthrus. Now just as many prefer passive to active. Guys would pay big money for brand new basses, built to look like they'd been in the same old beer joint for 30 years: Attention spans are so short they want it aged, faded, and beat up looking RIGHT NOW.
This sort of thing happens in electric guitars as well as musicians . . . . . and the market moves thru time. Just like with Harley-Davidson, everybody has to have the same thing . . . . so they can be different !
i am an upright guy and wanted to get a p bass and a jazz bass in an "attempt" to cure my GAS.
i had a slab P and also traded an ABG for a precision and a jazz bass. the new p couldn't compare to my slab P and off it went. what surprised me was how awesome the jazz bass sounded. great tonal options! and i agree with the comment about being able to play soft much easier.
now i am in the minority where i dislike the 1.5" nut. waaaaay to thin for me. i have big hands and usually play a DB neck so the jazz neck is a tough conversion. my jazz is at the luthier right now getting a new musikraft neck with a 1.75" nut and baseball bat profile.
it's the opposite of what people usually do - normally people put a jazz neck on a precision.
i had a slab P and also traded an ABG for a precision and a jazz bass. the new p couldn't compare to my slab P and off it went. what surprised me was how awesome the jazz bass sounded. great tonal options! and i agree with the comment about being able to play soft much easier.
now i am in the minority where i dislike the 1.5" nut. waaaaay to thin for me. i have big hands and usually play a DB neck so the jazz neck is a tough conversion. my jazz is at the luthier right now getting a new musikraft neck with a 1.75" nut and baseball bat profile.
it's the opposite of what people usually do - normally people put a jazz neck on a precision.
The neck takes me right at home. The sound versatility and the ergonomics of the instrument as well.
I had '72 Fender P that I sold when I needed some cash – got a great price for it though. Found a 1996 American Jazz Deluxe on Craigslist for 1/4 of what I got for the P. No real reason I bought it other than it looked and played real nice, and wanted a change. Replaced the horrible active pickups with EMG JVX's and now she sounds like the real deal.
Love the shape, playability and versatile tone options. The deluxe body is slightly smaller (to accommodate the 2 extra frets?). Mostly play on the neck PU to get a nice deep almost-but-not-quite-a-P tone, and go to either just bridge, or bridge with a bit of neck dialed in for songs that call for that jazz bridge tone. Never both pickups dimed, haven't found a use for that yet.
Love the shape, playability and versatile tone options. The deluxe body is slightly smaller (to accommodate the 2 extra frets?). Mostly play on the neck PU to get a nice deep almost-but-not-quite-a-P tone, and go to either just bridge, or bridge with a bit of neck dialed in for songs that call for that jazz bridge tone. Never both pickups dimed, haven't found a use for that yet.
Up until I got my first J (around 1992), I had a P derivative, then an actual 76 P and a 63 Dano Longhorn. I really liked the scoopy tone of the Longhorn with both pickups on. The J has two pickups, so when I first plugged one in, there was that tone that I liked with a much snappier tone and playability! After getting my first J, the ability to get 3 very distinct tones with just the volume knobs was a plus. I was hooked and still am to this day.
I never actually cared that much for Jazz Basses. Guring my once-a-week GC visits, they had a MIA Jazz on blowout sale for around $450. Hmmmm - had to check it out. It BLEW ME AWAY! It was SOOOO much better than the others I had played up to that point. Of course I bought it and thus began a quest to find better and better Jazz basses. The quest goes on and it is a fun ride to be sure. They really are great basses when you find the best ones for your style.
The body style, neck shape, color, all that stuff wouldn’t matter, as long as it has THAT sound - both pups 100% up, tone all the way, or flat, if it’s active controls.
That’s the sound I’ve been drawn to for many years. I love it for finger-style and thump and pop playing (can’t stand “slap”...).
My current and heart-and-soul forever bass is a Mike Lull M5V which is a jazz-style 5-string bass. Similar to the Fender, but with many refinements. Not to mention, That Sound! Absolutely perfect in every way for me.
That’s the sound I’ve been drawn to for many years. I love it for finger-style and thump and pop playing (can’t stand “slap”...).
My current and heart-and-soul forever bass is a Mike Lull M5V which is a jazz-style 5-string bass. Similar to the Fender, but with many refinements. Not to mention, That Sound! Absolutely perfect in every way for me.
All of the above. I love the aggressive tone you get from the 70's pickup spacing. A lot of the greats and my favorites have played and still play Jazz Basses.
I'm deadset on getting a Classic Vibe 70s Jazz bass in the near future, I just haven't pulled the trigger yet. The person that convinced me was actually my girlfriend, she heard me play one at a guitar shop. Her response was 'Why shouldn't you buy it? It's only $350 and I'm going to have to pry it out of your hands."
I'm deadset on getting a Classic Vibe 70s Jazz bass in the near future, I just haven't pulled the trigger yet. The person that convinced me was actually my girlfriend, she heard me play one at a guitar shop. Her response was 'Why shouldn't you buy it? It's only $350 and I'm going to have to pry it out of your hands."
I was a hardcore pbass player for many years. It started with curiosity. And then, after a band rehearsal with an SX Jbass (which I bought after deciding to try a medium scale bass) it was clear that there’s was something worth investigating in the Jbass world, I found that the Jbass offered a variety of tones/attributes that I would like to explore.
A great Bass. Maybe not for everyone (although I can’t see why) but worthy of consideration.
A great Bass. Maybe not for everyone (although I can’t see why) but worthy of consideration.
