Why did the J never dethrone the P?

[Greg Jones]

There's too many great basses out there to assume that one is above the rest.

Find what "speaks" to you and run with it.

That's what I did. For the kinds of music I do, a P bass works great and I love it. For other kinds of music, I can see there being better choices as demonstrated by the countless thousands of bands you can watch locally or on video streaming sites.

^^^ This ... but keep listening/experimenting. This old dog only recently got a P in hand (and got over the 'big neck' issue (it's not that big once I adjusted)

I’m going to have to get a jazz bass one of these days and figure all this out.

You should ... or at least spend a significant amount of time on one ... just to see. Me, I didn't have that option with my P, so I just bought it ... a risk ... but one that worked out.

 

[chadds]

What’s the answer?

I have one. “Because of the single coil P.” You knew Leo was right. You knew he’d made a bass that could sound like an upright and like “Spanish Boots” - Beck Ola. You fell for the style of the J then had to deal with the phase issues. You’ve been pretending and compromising ever since.

Please laugh. We need this in our world. Personally I loved my ‘57 P. Not a reissue. Neck moved everyday but hey. What’s been rigid resonant and a monster player? My ‘70 Telebass and my ‘51 ri MIJ P single coils. Obviously what works for me.

YMMV IMHO unless you’re paying.

 

[Phaidrus]

In Québec this is a daily expression, but apparently we speak a medieval French here, having been cut off a few centuries.

Some people have even tattooed it on their chest!

 

[butterfingers1]

You should ... or at least spend a significant amount of time on one ... just to see. Me, I didn't have that option with my P, so I just bought it ... a risk ... but one that worked out.

There are the new 2021 Squier Affinity jazz basses out, look and play real nice, seemingly a step up from the previous Affinity line, a bit more expensive, even the headstock dropped the name Affinity and simply says Squier Jazz Bass in big jazzy letters. It costs a carriage of groceries and I can’t tell the difference from a Fender.

 

[KJMO]

There are the new 2021 Squier Affinity jazz basses out, look and play real nice, seemingly a step up from the previous Affinity line, a bit more expensive, even the headstock dropped the name Affinity and simply says Squier Jazz Bass in big jazzy letters. It costs a carriage of groceries and I can’t tell the difference from a Fender.

I have the previous china made affinity jazz, and it's really nice. The stock ceramic pickups are not too bad. High output, beefy, but still sound like a jazz. Missing the sweet high end of vintage pickups, but good. My american standard, and my MIM jazz required fret work, but the affinity was perfect. And no routes hidden by the pickguard.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Who is that guy?

Scott Devine. If you’ve seen ads for Scott’s Bass Lessons or SBL he’s the guy. I first became aware of him probably about 8-10 years ago from his YouTube channel. He did concept discussions regarding theory and technique that were both approachable for beginners while also remaining insightful for folks with a bit more experience.

It was really great for awhile but eventually evolved into “5 reasons you should own a P” and “5 reasons you shouldn’t own a P.” His masterclass/interview videos are still cool to watch, but his run of the mill stuff has become bottom denominator that goes nowhere for several minutes to help his videos hit the 10 minute mark. I guess there’s a market for it, but I’d much rather watch Rick Beato who, although not bass specific, provides quality content that’s applicable to musicians in a more general sense.

 

[ashtray]

Thumpers gotta thump!

hahaha - joking! Both are great instruments, amazing in the hands of talented musicians. I’m more of a Jazz guy, but I like keeping a p bass around “just because”. (And I sound exactly alike on either instrument - I mean, I can tell the difference, but no one else seems to.)

 

[Greg Jones]

Thumpers gotta thump!

hahaha - joking! Both are great instruments, amazing in the hands of talented musicians. I’m more of a Jazz guy, but I like keeping a p bass around “just because”. (And I sound exactly alike on either instrument - I mean, I can tell the difference, but no one else seems to.)

You just triggered half of the TB community! Well done. (/thump)

 

[Obeseyus]

Why did the Stratocaster never dethrone the Telecaster?

Well, it did. The Stratocaster is the bestselling guitar type in history. Of course, plenty of people still love the Tele, and Fender sells tons of them, but the Strat is the king.

 

[BucketOfFish]

First come, first served.

 

[Acoop]

"Dethrowne The P?" ... Bizarre question. ... 10-years ago you couldn't give away a P-bass. ... And it had been that way since Jaco hit in 76/77. ... The main difference between the two basses is, The P-bass has 1-pickup and the J-bass has two and every bass today, regardless of the make, that has two pickups is copying the Jazz Bass and not the P-bass. ... Over the last 40-years the Jazz Bass has been the prize clone for most upscale builders like Sadowsky or Lull. ... Why? Because you can do more with a J-bass than a P-bass. ... Leo called the Jazz his Cadillac of basses for a reason.

 

[Greg Jones]

"Dethrowne The P?" ... Bizarre question. ... 10-years ago you couldn't give away a P-bass. ... And it had been that way since Jaco hit in 76/77. ... The main difference between the two basses is, The P-bass has 1-pickup and the J-bass has two and every bass today, regardless of the make, that has two pickups is copying the Jazz Bass and not the P-bass. ... Over the last 40-years the Jazz Bass has been the prize clone for most upscale builders like Sadowsky or Lull. ... Why? Because you can do more with a J-bass than a P-bass. ... Leo called the Jazz his Cadillac of basses for a reason.

Kind of what I said ... BUT ... the Jazz can NOT do what the P does as well as the P does it. Never has, never will. The opposite is also true of course. I don't give a single $#@$ what Leo called anything. I don't play a Cadillac, I play bass. Use your ears. Use your body. Figure out what works for YOU to create the best example of the sound YOU hear in YOUR head. Simple. LOL (not really) Good luck.

 

[logdrum]

The PJ is a sleazy politician because it plays both sides. Both P and J are doomed IMO.

 

[Geri O]

Okay, after the inevitable 10 pages of comments, I can’t resist the question any longer.

So one bass or the other completely obliterated the other in terms of popularity and sales.

If you have bonded with your bass and it turns out to be the loser of such an exercise, would you really give a d@mn?

As for me, heck no. I’d be happy to be the absolute last man on the heap playing the instrument that suits me.

(I’m worse than NASCAR fans. The wreck has already happened, but I keep coming back to look….)

 

[Robot.G]

For what it's worth, Sweetwater has 65 J models listed, and 58 P's (4 string Fender models). 5'er Fenders are 14 J's and 4 P's. Squier is 18 to 14 in favor of J's in 4 stringers, for 5'ers, ALL the 7 Squier models are J's. Not sure if that means anything definitive, but it does mean that they sell enough J's to justify the expenses of creating and marketing that many J sub-models. And apparently the market for budget 5 string P's is not worth bothering with.

Interesting. I was just going to look at the J vs P offerings on Fender's own website. The number of J offerings vs P offerings doesn't necessarily mean they sell more J's than P's but it may be an indication. Who knows?

 

[kerrycares]

It did in my house.
I have 4 jazz basses and only keep a P bass around in case someone will pay me to play it.
For me the Jazz bass is sleeker, more versatile sounding and better looking.
Even though the P was my first real bass , I have never liked the way it looks.
lol!

 

[butterfingers1]

I’m worse than NASCAR fans. The wreck has already happened, but I keep coming back to look….)

And please do, the more the merrier .

 

[retslock]

These days I play Precision or Jazz style pickup configurations but all are 5 string. After playing those for years now, when I pick up my ‘73 Precision 4 string the neck feels so THIN. It’s all relative.

 

[Nebadon2000]

I posted this a while back in 2020; Nothing definitive but interesting

"I got these Fender sales numbers from Reverb; found them interesting. Did research because I bought Fender Ultra P and recommended the store I bought it from to a friend. He was told by Salesman they no longer stock Ultra P[but could get one] only Ultra J since the out sell the Ultra P [P/J] 10 to 1. When he asked about American Pro Versions was told Jazz sells 3 to 1 over Precision at his store.

New Sales----All Sales
Ultra P[/J] 27/ 44
Ultra J 77/ 96

Am Pro P 67/ 237
Am Pro J 137/ 298

Performer P[/J] 44/ 101
Performer J 45/ 128

Player P 209/ 669
Player J 290/ 921"

 

[Hounddog409]

On paper, the Jazz has everything to dethrone the Precision as the most widely used type of bass, such as:

• A faster, smaller and thinner neck that is most likely more comfortable for more people;
• Two pickups for a wider range of tones, including a neck pickup that most of us couldn’t distinguish from a P’s when soloed in a blind test; and
• Offset body that is more comfortable to play while sitting down.

So, why did the J never manage to dethrone the P in your opinion?

Dethrone? What?
You make it sound like everyone prefers a Pbass. I doubt its the king of anything.

Fender sells more Jazz basses than P's as it is.