j bass or p bass?

[bin4christ]

my cousin is gonna buy a bass...
he listens to green day,my chemical romance,fall out boy,the bravery n stuff like tt...
which of the 2 above basses is recommended?

btw,besides looks,wat's the diff between the 2 basses?

 

[jbarks]

very big difference

the single-coil sound you get with a jazz bass is *usually* sharper/clearer and with more attack. p-basses are good but jazz basses can have more tones due to the added pickup at the bridge. of course if you've got a p-bass with a jazz pickup at the bridge then it also adds to your tonal range available but there's also a very different way in which the pickups are wired (series vs. parallel).

also the neck profile is very different. jazz necks are very thin and fast while precision necks have been known to be called baseball bats. of course there's always the option of changing the necks -- that's the good thing about fender basses; all the necks are interchangeable.

p pickups generally have a more rounded sound to them imo.

if you wanna sound like the bravery, get a rickenbacker the MCR bassist uses a red jazz bass for most gigs, but FOB uses a p-bass. Green Day's bassist also uses a P-bass -- he's actually got his own signature bass, the Fender Mike Dirnt Precision bass.

my suggestion? go down to swee lee and try both out, and settle for yourself. it's hard to describe the difference in sound

 

[iverson763]

Most obvious difference is the pick-ups. Precisions have a single split coil, while jazzes have 2 single coils. But with all the deluxe, artist series what-have-yous that fender has nowadays, you can get split coils, humbuckers, single coils in almost any imaginable combination. Of course it comes with a price... heh.

the neck is also different. actually that's what pple tell me. i can't judge cos my 5 string jazz has a fatter neck than my 4 string pbass. but apparently, pple prefer the precision neck

I own a 62's Pbass and an american jazz bass V. The jazz bass gives you a bit more versatility as you can balance the sound between the 2 single coils and imho, i think the jazz can emulate the pbass tone with some volume and tone contrl, not vice-versa. I mainly play rock, pop and church/hillsongs stuff, and prefer my jazz. but if your cuz likes mainstream punk/emo/pop, the precision will do fine. Hey, they're both gooood basses!

It's preference really... try it out and see which one he likes best! Just an advice... if you want made in US fenders, sty away from the fender highway-1. IMO, the finish looks like crap and the sound is terrible for the price you're paying. Save up for the american series... it's painful but worth it. Happy hunting!

 

[iverson763]

Most obvious difference is the pick-ups. Precisions have a single split coil, while jazzes have 2 single coils. But with all the deluxe, artist series what-have-yous that fender has nowadays, you can get split coils, humbuckers, single coils in almost any imaginable combination. Of course it comes with a price... heh.

the neck is also different. actually that's what pple tell me. i can't judge cos my 5 string jazz has a fatter neck than my 4 string pbass. but apparently, pple prefer the precision neck

I own a 62's Pbass and an american jazz bass V. The jazz bass gives you a bit more versatility as you can balance the sound between the 2 single coils and imho, i think the jazz can emulate the pbass tone with some volume and tone contrl, not vice-versa. I mainly play rock, pop and church/hillsongs stuff, and prefer my jazz. but if your cuz likes mainstream punk/emo/pop, the precision will do fine. Hey, they're both gooood basses!

It's preference really... try it out and see which one he likes best! Just an advice... if you want made in US fenders, sty away from the fender highway-1. IMO, the finish looks like crap and the sound is terrible for the price you're paying. Save up for the american series... it's painful but worth it. Happy hunting!

 

[bin4christ]

i heard tt the j bass can be slapped while the p bass is
'not strong enough'...
also,is the p bass louder than the j bass?

 

[wangdexian]

Any bass can be slapped.
It's just that spilt coil pups don't really cut it for slap, IMO.
Most people prefer jazz necks, the jazz profile is generally slimmer, while the P neck is chunkier.
The jazz single coil pups are mostly mid range inclined, while the P spilt coils are what people describe as deep sounding, rather bassy.
Bring your cuz to a store and let him know for himself.

 

[jbarks]

i heard tt the j bass can be slapped while the p bass is
'not strong enough'...

pbasses can be slapped, no problem there. just the tone la if you want a good pbass for slapping, check out the american deluxe precisions. those are tone monsters!

 

[exin]

P pickups invented Funk! ... i prefer jazz though .. i think IMO is a very versatile instrument ..

 

[dude]

i was using a p then i switched to a j. i dont think i want to touch a p bass again. thats how good it is. still the same old words, try it out.

btw, whats the difference between split coil and single coil? i heard that either one produces more noise. is that true? and superkicky, what do you mean my necks are thin and fast? thin i know, but fast?

i was thinking about getting the highway 1 jazz but im deterred already. haha. im using a MIM jazz, so i thought it might be better to get one thats MIUSA. i mean like changing my MIM standard jazz for a MIUSA highway 1. is that a bad idea?

 

[dude]

oh yeah, i was wondering what are non-funk fender models. im not really a funk person but i like the jazz bass a lot cos of its versatality.

 

[dude]

oh yeah, i was wondering what are non-funk fender models. im not really a funk person but i like the jazz bass a lot cos of its versatality.

 

[thor666]

it would be a waste if your MIM was perfectly fine and u traded with a MIA H1 simply because of the origin of country. Remember that you can never get the exact same feel/setup/intonation as your current bass. furthermore it'll be hard for you to see the flaws of whatever you trade until you've used the bass decently long enough.

that said, if you hate that feel/setup/intonation, by all means trade it away.

maybe if you want, you can look at the Fender MIJ P+J models. You kinda get the best of both worlds but also a compromise on the P+J, since the specs are either different from the Jazz or the Precision.

 

[rottenramone]

..

thor666: I completely agree with you, but there's always the resale factor of American Fenders which can command a higher price than a Mexican one.

 

[exin]

Yeah, i have to agree with Thor666 also .. doesn't mean that it's MIA means it's better ... workmanship wise i guess but feel your bass. I still love my Korean-made Hamer Cruise Bass .. if i still had it .. i think it beats all MIA stuff flat IMO ..

 

[jbarks]

btw, whats the difference between split coil and single coil? i heard that either one produces more noise. is that true? and superkicky, what do you mean my necks are thin and fast? thin i know, but fast?

jazz bass single coils "suffer" from the 60-cycle hum, but if you shield your bass properly and turn up both pups, it's barely noticeable. as for the difference, here's from harmony central:

What is the difference between a J pickup and a P pickup?

There are actually three major varieties of pickups for electric
bass. The P, or Precision Bass, pickup is made of two distinct
parts. The two parts are mounted in an offset manner so that
each one picks up the vibrations of two strings. The signal is
combined before being sent to the volume/tone circuit. These two
distinct halves of the pickup are each a single coil and are wired
in opposite directions to reduce hum. P basses usually have one
pickup.

The J, or Jazz Bass, pickup is made in one piece and is slightly
narrower than the P style and is long enough to pick up signal from
all of the strings. The J style pickup is a single coil. J basses
usually have two pickups, one nearer the neck, and one nearer the
bridge. The bridge pickup tends to produce a thinner tone than either
the other J pickup near the neck, or the Precision style pickup.

The third type of pickup is called a "soapbar" due to its shape.
It is also a one piece pickup, like the J style, but is usually
about twice as wide as the J style. The soapbar can be wired in
several configurations, including single coil and humbucking.

also note that there's a difference between the wiring too i.e. series vs parallel.

my definition of "fast" means that the neck lets me run up and down it at a very reasonable clip. ibanez 6-strings have fast necks for a 6-string bass, fender jazzes are the fastest i've used for 4-stringers and.. yeah. it depends lots on the action too la :/

 

[dude]

thanks thor. it really made me rethink about selling my fender man.

 

[subversion]

if you want a P/ J/ Stingray versatility, then check out Ibanez's RD500, featuring a humbuking bridge pickup that splits for a jazz tone. so it's virtually a 3-in-1... 8)

 

[jbarks]

i don't mind that... i dunno how the basswood body would sound though if they made it in ash or alder i'd buy straightaway

 

[exin]

hor! . basswood has a metal sound to it .. crunchy! ..

 

[dude]

damn, the RD500 is a great big beauty. -smacks lips-