j bass and p bass.

[hysteria]

ok i have googled and wikied this, what im looking for is people's opinions.

i'm looking for a new bass soon and am relatively new to it. in fact, i just play by reading tabs, and have no teacher that i can ask this question to.

so i was wondering what the difference in tone between a p bass and a j bass is. words like 'creamy' and 'chunky' come up a lot, and i have no idea what that means. but the sound i want is something like the strokes bassist's when he plays juicebox (i'm pretty sure that he isn't using a pedal, but then again i'm new to this). reccomend me?

 

[aquanaut]

j bass / p bass

for f**ksakes, this stupid qiestions keep popping up all the time....

 

[hysteria]

for f**ksakes, this stupid qiestions keep popping up all the time....

well like i said, i've already used other internet resources to find out more (mostly because i knew i'd get a response like aquanaut's). what i want is maybe the opinion of experienced bassists who have played both, or the advice of people who play a similar genre. not a generic one size fits all answer.

 

[yuujin]

hey hysteria.
hes actually using a musicman.

 

[hysteria]

hey hysteria.
hes actually using a musicman.

thanks, but

"Fraiture plays a Fender Jazz Bass (the same model his grandfather bought him) and a Rickenbacker. Lately he has also been seen playing a Fender Precision Bass and a Music Man StingRay"- taken from wiki.

so he plays both, but it doesnt say which one he uses in that song, and i cant tell the difference apart by ear.

and i also want the opinions of people on the tone of the 2 basses in general.

 

[yuujin]

well thats what i saw on the juicebox mtv.

 

[hysteria]

oh ok. lol i didnt chek there. thanks

 

[jackyboyboy]

No matter how hard u type to copy using the same bass, same pick ups, same strings, same pre-amp, same amp. The tone still varies abit. Tone is something that is to an individual. U can receive 1million replies in this trend. But u must tyr urself to see how to colors the tones n basslines.

 

[shinobi]

key differences between precision and jazz basses

p bass
tone: powerful low frequencies
design: thicker C-shaped neck, narrower nut

j bass
tone: stronger mid and high frequencies. tonal versatility of the 2 pickup combinations
design: offset body, thinner jazz neck, wider nut

if you really wanna achieve the juicebox tone, my bet is with an active bass. traditionally, neither bass is active. they are both passive basses. active basses have an onboard preamp built into the bass such as the musicman stingray. you would probably need a drive pedal, though i doubt one is used for the actual recording

 

[rottenramone]

hmm.. that's a musicman sterling. but i suggest just play with a pick with your current bass lah. at most just change strings for that bright zingy sound, or if u even wanna be more cheap, just boil your strings in water before playing.

many bass cliches that's being used:

plays like butter
barking mids
bright
muddy
growl

etc

 

[visa]

why don't you just try them both, and buy the one that feels and sounds better to you? that's what we all did for ourselves, really.

 

[engz]

yeah trying is always the best way to do things. and there are many reasons to that.

1) music jargons are used pretty differently. "powerful" to one musician may be "meek" to another. "buttery" to one may be "twangy" to another. basically everyone's ears like and describe sound differently =]
2) there're too many ppl in the world that are pro towards certain brands. like pro-warwick, or pro-fender. these ppl will automatically give u a biased review based on what they like, which may not be wat YOU like =]
3) even if someone could accurately give u advice on the 2, no one can tell u what kind of "feel" u'd like on a bass... hence trying it out is always a better thing... some ppl love the thickness of the P neck... others simply despise it...

but if u just want my simple advice, then here goes...

- a jazz bass is generally more versatile. how do u know this? more ppl use jazz compared to precision.
- genre-wise, precision dominates in the punk arena, whereas jazz dominates in the rock arena.

personally for me, i think i have the best compromise. the jazz bass special. basically a P body, with a J neck, a J pup at the bridge position, and a P pup at the neck position. basically its a P bass, that can sound remotely like a jazz when it needs to =]

lastly... i believe we musicians are very emotional deciders, therefore sometimes ur brains has so many reasons to buy a particular bass, whereas ur heart just wants to buy another one that doesn't really convince the brain... so we usually end up following our heart, and screwing all the advice that we've asked around for =P i know this is true for me at least...

 

[shinobi]

just to clear some misconceptions,

a jazz bass is generally more versatile. how do u know this? more ppl use jazz compared to precision.

jazz bass is more versatile, but not because of its popularity, but because it has 2 pickups while the precision has 1. with 2 pickups you can mix them. with just one pickup you mix balls

- genre-wise, precision dominates in the punk arena, whereas jazz dominates in the rock arena.

this is an over-generalisation. in the first place you have to prove that fender actually dominates the bass market

personally for me, i think i have the best compromise. the jazz bass special. basically a P body, with a J neck, a J pup at the bridge position, and a P pup at the neck position. basically its a P bass, that can sound remotely like a jazz when it needs to =]

it's p-bass special, not j-bass special. where fender is concerned the only time 'jazz' meets 'special' is the jazz bass from fender japan's aerodyne special series (AJB-110DMC) and it has dimarzio collection j pups at both bridge and neck positions.

the precision bass from the aerodyne special range (APB-105DMC) only has 1 split dimarzio collection pup

the AJB-110DMC is not distributed outside japan. but i have seen the APB-105DMC in US online stores. both are easily identifiable by the flame maple top in transparent finish

in the 2 photos above you will clearly notice the difference in body shape of the 2 guitars. the jazz is senget and this is known as the offset body. it makes the length of the bass effectively longer, which makes it a pain in the ass to squeeze into some gig bags

on a side note, the CIJ fender jaguar bass is not a reissue of the original MIA version. it was redesigned based on the same concept. the reason why it is called 'Crafted In Japan' instead of 'Made in Japan' is because CIJ fenders do not copy the designs of MIA fenders, but are designed from scratch, inspired by the original american versions and licensed by fender.

anyway it is impossible to use words to accurately explain sounds unless they are in technical jargon

 

[engz]

just to make sure ppl dont think i'm stupid =]

i didn't say the jazz was more versatile BECAUSE its popular. i said the proof of its versatility is its popularity.

ok, i guess i overgeneralised the areas where the fender dominates. i guess i was mentally comparing only fender, and disregarding all other brands, for the sake of this thread that is. this is a jazz and precision comparison thread after all right?

and last but not least, i'm sure i'm not as stupid as to not know my own basses model =] click on this link below

http://www.guitarcrazy.com.au/images/Inventory/Guitars/Fender/Basses/JassBass_Special_1987_hs.jpg

the picture is a little small, but its readable. it REALLY is a jazz bass special. its the same model that duff mckagan uses. he's the bassist of guns n roses and velvet revolvers =]

 

[shinobi]

.:: Fender®.com ::.

dude that photo is a 1987 jazz bass special. it isn't in production

 

[aquanaut]

J bass or P bass?

J bass, jazz bass, designed and built by leo fender.
Jazz basses have an off set body and a narrower neck and two single coil pick ups.
the on board passive controls are volume, volume, tone.

most sought after jazz basses are those made in the 60's and the 75 (1975) ones.
see jaco pastorius for 60's jazz bass and for 75 ones, see marcus miller.

P bass, Precision bass, also designed and built by leo fender.
Precision basses have bodies like those of a stratocaster, early Precisions have telecaster like bodies but with two cutaways.
the neck is slightly wider than a Jazz bass.
the single split coil humbucking pickup is the heart of the Precision bass sound.
the single split pick up and its volume & tone controls are on the pick guard that occupies about 75% of the body and comes in many colours.

most sought after precision basses are those from the 60's.
see james jamerson of the funk brothers from motown, bob babbit funk brother #2 and currently john paul jones on the led zeppelin tour.

there are many copies of the jazz and precision basses in the market.
squier by fender have the 'beginner packs' that come complete with bass, amp, strap, tuner, input jack, soft case at under 300 singapore dollars.

 

[trowaclown]

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. For my ORD present to soft, I'll type out an faq.

 

[shinobi]

maybe you can also throw in photos of your fretless project once it is done

 

[trowaclown]

Photos being developed...Actually I haven't sent them for developing... But yes! I'll get them done by this week.

 

[Z3r0_G]

Please Make This A Sticky!