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Not huge fan of the J-bass sound but...


ChunkyMunky
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[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1432305613' post='2780275']
For me, it's the offset body that I find off-putting.
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Same here, my old Jazz has a Precision shaped body and I much prefer it.
It's a shame Fender don't make a Jazz bass with a Precision body.
Leo did go on to do that with the G&L JB-2, but I was disappointed with the tone so I sold mine.

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I've always been a Precision man but now I'm playing in a functions/covers band I'm really appreciating what the Jazz has to offer. There were some songs that required a bit more 'tightness' than the Precision could offer.
Hand on heart the full on P bass sound is more pleasing to me but the Jazz is filling the current position with aplomb. And they look damned gorgeous to boot.

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My jazz bass sounds HUGE :)

It can do a sort of P bass but it's still not a P bass, in which case I'd buy a P bass if I really wanted 'that' sound. I don't think a single coil will ever sound quite like a split coil however much knob twiddling you indulge in.

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[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1432315232' post='2780439']
I don't think a single coil will ever sound quite like a split coil however much knob twiddling you indulge in.
[/quote]

Well I think that's on the money... mind you, some people need little excuse to indulge in knob-twiddling. ARF, ARF!! :crazy:

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1432284238' post='2779946']
Then it's down to how you address the bass, just as with any bass, there's no mystery... it's still in the fingers. ;)

[/quote]

This all the way.

I love a Jazz bass, for me the range of tones is not just from the controls. A jazz seems to be the bass that I have noticed the biggest variations in tones by how I play rather than just how I have set the tone or pickup mix on the bass itself. Where the strings are plucked (is that the right word? I have never had to think of a word to describe it before!) makes a massive difference, even a half or 1 inch shift in position I have found changes the sound in a big way.

I seem to 'get on' with a Jazz bass, it never lets me down. I love listening to other people play a Stingray, but in my hands they sound dreadful! Maybe people have similar experiences with a Jazz.

Love this video...

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGyrGTuMhzo"]https://www.youtube....h?v=jGyrGTuMhzo[/url]

and this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vUNUo3TbyI

Edited by interpol52
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[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1432293878' post='2780082']
Maybe not [i][b]exactly[/b][/i] like a P - but within a band mix at volume, I think most bass players would struggle to tell the difference with their ears. Very few punters could and the vast majority wouldn't give a monkeys anyway!

With a bit of judicious EQ, I can make my J basses sound enough like Ps (to me) that I don't need a P bass. That's why I no longer have any P basses! Precision connoisseurs will disagree of course, but to my reasonably discerning ears it is close enough ;)
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Agree, a mate of mine has a very Precision sound with his band - in the mix. When playing without the guitars you can tell it`s a Jazz but when it`s all going on, very Precision-like. I`d love to love Jazzes but they just don`t sound right in my hands, just in everyone elses :(

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I think I've said before but both pickups on full, tone wide open and . . . BOOM! that's THE sound. Never had a problem with it sounding weak either. My Jazz sounds feckin' huge! I agree with Conan on the front pickup thing. It's not 'quite' the real thing, but IMO it's pretty darn close and in the context of a full band, even closer. I think I might be in the minority when it comes to the rear pickup however. I absolutely loathe the sound of it by itself, I dislike Jaco's tone intensely (or any other rear bias tone) but that is just my personal thing. I'm sure people hate both pickups on full. When it comes to the best example of the tone, the main man for that sound HAS to be Larry Graham. He for me, IS the Jazz bass tone. The punch and 'pop' to the notes, growl in spades, that is what it's all about!

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Just been thinking about my Jazz Bass roots, I started on a Mex Std, bought it purely as a practice bass as the tonal variety was so huge, different pickups and placement of hand could get me the tone I wanted quickly. I ended up upgrading it quite quickly as I was smitten.
I still love recording with a Jazz, especially when in the mood to tweak with the tone after. Never did gig a Jazz Bass though, my old P Basses were too firmly established, I missed out on an experience there.



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The whole 'getting a j to sound like a p' thing is why I love my modern player jazz. The coil tappable humbuckers give you so many options and comparing the neck pup solo'd set to single coil compared to set as a humbucker, you really can get much much closer to a p sound than with a standard j bass.

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