Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Why did the J never dethrone the P?
- Thread starter JazzyJacuzzi
- Start date
I’d be curious to know the actual sales numbers, but, from a distance and looking at boutique and pseudo-boutique builders, I feel like Jazz and jazz-style instruments are typically the flagships with PJs and double bucks coming not too far behind. Straightforward P basses seem to be more of a Fender thing.
Google search data since 2004 appears to support the “P is more popular than J” assumption, though there’s no telling exactly how this data correlates to sales.
In case my link doesn’t work:
In case my link doesn’t work:
I was looking for something different in a bass while on eBay several years ago when I came across an auction for a Hofner Ignition Club bass described as being one of a small group of manufacturing prototypes being offered for sale. The price was right so I figured, why not? I'll never be able to afford a Hofner Club made in Germany so I bid and won that auction.
When I got the bass I soon restrung it with flats like I used on all the basses I've ever owned (until I switched to nylon tapes). It sounded fantastic so I decided to take it to a demo recording session.
When I took the Hofner out of my bag at the recording studio the engineer saw it, made a face, and asked if I wanted to use his '60s J bass. Even though it had flats, I declined but he kept on touting his J so I told him I'd record a short demo of both for him and let him decide. We recorded both and he wasted no time in choosing the Hofner. After recording the demos he asked me if I would sell him the Hofner. I declined and have been using it frequently since. More recenty a keyboard player also asked if he could buy the Hofner from me for his studio.
That Hofner Club "dethroned" my P and J basses including my DIY SCPB. In fact that Hofner was the only bass I used for several years up until I suffered a minor stroke three years ago that made playing it more difficult...but it's getting a bit better.
When I got the bass I soon restrung it with flats like I used on all the basses I've ever owned (until I switched to nylon tapes). It sounded fantastic so I decided to take it to a demo recording session.
When I took the Hofner out of my bag at the recording studio the engineer saw it, made a face, and asked if I wanted to use his '60s J bass. Even though it had flats, I declined but he kept on touting his J so I told him I'd record a short demo of both for him and let him decide. We recorded both and he wasted no time in choosing the Hofner. After recording the demos he asked me if I would sell him the Hofner. I declined and have been using it frequently since. More recenty a keyboard player also asked if he could buy the Hofner from me for his studio.
That Hofner Club "dethroned" my P and J basses including my DIY SCPB. In fact that Hofner was the only bass I used for several years up until I suffered a minor stroke three years ago that made playing it more difficult...but it's getting a bit better.
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
Exactly.
Why are these kinds of issues so often described as a false dichotomy; as an either/or proposition?
A P bass fits 90% of players needs but whether they see it that way is another issue.
Maybe, he had several basses available including three Js. The '60s J strung with flats the other two were '70s strung with rounds.
The bottom bout is a no go for me on the jazz, just hate that body shape big time....Looks like it got sprained and swelled up down that way, lol
^This.
It was a different product intended to appeal to a different type of player.
The one thing that is probably most key to Fender’s success as a company is the fact they effectively market only two guitars and basses. And at any point in time one of each is the most popular product in its class. Anytime the Strat and/or PB aren’t their best selling guitar and bass, the Tele and/or Jazz is.
There’s enough variety in the look and sound that a huge number of players never feel the need to wander off the reservation looking for greener pastures. Whether that was by design or luck is immaterial. It still kept Fender in a dominant position for most of a century, and with no end in sight.
Last edited:
This matches my experience - and these things seem to shift as to what's in fashion. I worked in guitar stores/vintage shop in the 80's and 90's and Jazz Basses (particularly if talking vintage) were MUCH more sought than P's at that time - and it was reflected in the prices. Of course, there were always some players who favored Ps but they sure seemed like a relative minority then. Clearly Ps have really regained in popularity over the last 20 years. Even more extreme with Mustangs - could hardly give them away back then but they've become much more appreciated since.
In most settings where I ever used one or heard one, I didn't notice any real difference to give me a preference.
They both sound like a bass.
They both felt like a bass.
I liked them both. Like another poster said- "to each their own".
They both sound like a bass.
They both felt like a bass.
I liked them both. Like another poster said- "to each their own".
During the course of evolution, changes may or may not represent improvements (most do not), and changes may coexist with prior versions or supplant them. Personally, I am surprised that the P/J configuration on a J style body hasn't become the most prevalent flavour. That said, IMHO the difference in tone between a P pup and a solo neck PUP on a J bass is "barely there", and can be "corrected" with eq. Many seem to feel that's not the case, but no one flinches at the change from P to reverse P position....go figure
this is interesting… the relationship is the opposite if you don’t include “fender”, but then again, the search for “jazz bass” I suppose might have a lot of other things included (eg, folks interested in bass in jazz music). But the P comes on top again if you do P bass and J bass.
