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Why a Jazz bass?
- Thread starter Oobly
- Start date
I bought a jazz bass cuz the Sires looked really interesting and the v7 seemed pretty cool at the time (no p7 yet, few m3 reviews).
Sire makes a great bass, but Im still not sold on jazzes. Every once in a while, it sounds perfect to me, but it usually doesnt last long.
To me, its like the worst parts of a p and a stingray put together.
Sire makes a great bass, but Im still not sold on jazzes. Every once in a while, it sounds perfect to me, but it usually doesnt last long.
To me, its like the worst parts of a p and a stingray put together.
Pretty simple for me,way back in1968 the only bass I owned was a $69.99 Japanese made Kingston,I figured I should probably upgrade to something better if I was to become a serious player so I bought my guitar player friends’ ‘65 L series Jazz Bass for $200.00. It became my standard to compare all other basses to over the years and for me,the “ sound in my head” was always that bass.It only was replaced as my #1 when I switched to 5 strings in ‘92 and still today my favorite 5 strings are Jazz Basses, the secret to the sound of a Jazz is to not simply “ dime” the volume controls which will kill the low end,experiment with different ratios of the controls.
An active Jazz can cop a million tones. A wide open jazz is the sound in my head.
My Lakland j is all a j can be. Great tonal range and plenty of growl, slim, fast, narrow neck, comfortable body.
My actual Fender Jazz is an Aerodyne, which is a pj. Does the p thing well, can dial in some growl with the bridge pup, and the best neck I've ever played. Best of both worlds.
But I really consider the Lakie my j.
My actual Fender Jazz is an Aerodyne, which is a pj. Does the p thing well, can dial in some growl with the bridge pup, and the best neck I've ever played. Best of both worlds.
But I really consider the Lakie my j.
jaco, geddy, I prefer the offset body look to that of the precision, I REALLY like block inlays on a jazz....
oh, and the sound is pretty good too LoL
oh, and the sound is pretty good too LoL
Nice. Off the top of my head, all I could think of was Duff
All about the comfort and playability of the neck for me. Never really considered myself a Fender man until I broke down a bought a Player Jazz, for historical purposes of course - one of the foundations of bass guitar. Decided to get a Vintera 60's and I feel a bass from that era would have been what I was looking for all along, the thin-C profile makes it even better for me than the modern C profile.
Back in the day, studio guys had to have a "Fender Bass". For better or worse, we still live in a Fender world. People know the sound. "Plug n play".
A Jazz can approximate a Precision. A P can't do a J. If I could only have one bass, it would be a Fender Jazz.
A Jazz can approximate a Precision. A P can't do a J. If I could only have one bass, it would be a Fender Jazz.
Rage/Audioslave were a huge influence when I started playing. I loved the sound on those albums, and nothing looks cooler than a maple neck with black blocks.
I got one because I needed that jazz bass sound. Frankly, I've always disliked the body shape - I find it uncomfortable when sitting as it shifts the neck further away from my body, and it rarely sits properly on a stand. My personal preference leans toward a precision Bass sound... I do like Jazz necks though.
I happen to have an article with the same title as this thread: Why Jazz Bass? . Some key points are:
- It supports minimalism because one can get by with a single bass
- It provides a wide sonic versatility
- It is simple enough to keep one playing instead of fiddling
- It is a widely accepted industry standard
What I like: two pickups tone versatility, neck shape, what folks like Jaco and Benny Bunuel could do with it.
What I don't: heavier and slightly more bulky than a P-bass, keeping it in vertical position without a stand, finding one with the right amount of warmth at the neck pickup is not so easy.
You have to own both models in my opinion.
Very smart move --> build a bass with a P-bass body and a jazz bass neck!
What I don't: heavier and slightly more bulky than a P-bass, keeping it in vertical position without a stand, finding one with the right amount of warmth at the neck pickup is not so easy.
You have to own both models in my opinion.
Very smart move --> build a bass with a P-bass body and a jazz bass neck!
Me too. P was too wide and thick.
I sold my Hofner Beatle bass with it's slim neck to buy the J. Super fast neck and very comfortable. Played with a pick and dead flats through tubes/JBLs to get the cleanest full tone. Both pickups wide open.
With all the echo chambers we played in, it was just right, especially for our Chicago/BS&T cover band.
Never looked back for decades.
Until about 20 years ago when I came across an active, 3-band eq '83 Ibanez Musician PJ. 1.6" nut, smooth neck, Dead ground wounds. With my HPF and the 3 band eq I can beat any rig into submission.
It' s my only bass for now.
