Looper Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Just wondering if anyone can shed any light on this for me. I have three basses, two p copies and a mex jazz. The jazz is a far better bass but lacks the bassiness of the other two. The acoustic sound, and therefore the amplified sound is just lighter, I'm compensating with the eq but still not able to get same richness. The two p's have plywood bodies so I'm surprised that, to my ear, they sound better. I doubt its the strings, one p has rounds, the other flats, and the jazz has flats. Is it to do with the woods, or is it a precision vs jazz thing? Any thoughts welcomed. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceonaboy Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Have you tried raising the neck pick up on the Jazz? Just a thought that maybe its set too low in the body Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 There's all sorts of things going on. The P pup has a huge low-mid emphasis which results in 'audible' bass (but not necessarily low bass). The J pups are more full range so you might need to roll off the treble to appreciate the bass that (in the vast majority of J basses) [i]is[/i] there. Also the acoustic sound isn't always indicative of the amplified sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceonaboy Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Quality of pick ups is a big game changer too mate. I bought a Seymour Duncan pup for a P bass build and the sound off it is awesome. Plenty of bass from that bad boy . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Try adding more Shirley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Sometimes cheap pickups can have a very "unbalanced" sound. Too loud, too much treble (or, as in this case, bass). Some Mex pickups are known for not having the best tone either... It's complicated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 I've got a Mexican Jazz and it's not lacking in bass. In fact I keep the treble-cut/tone turned right up because to me, if you wind it the other way the bass gets too much. Sorry to disagree with Iceonaboy, but take the pups right down to the bottom and give the strings space to breathe. You could also raise the action a bit on the bridge, this too may help. Here's mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 As Adrenochrome says, it`s mainly the difference in the pickups. Precision pickups have that huge low-mid presence which equates to a real solid audible low-end. I`ve always found that a Jazz has more low-end, but is much tighter and specific, so it just doesn`t seem as bassy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1376903697' post='2180449']Sorry to disagree with Iceonaboy, but take the pups right down to the bottom and give the strings space to breathe. [/quote] I think what he was getting at was that if the neck pickup is lower than the bridge pickup, then the overall sound (with both pickups selected) might well lack a bit of bass response, as it will be dominated by the (less bassy) bridge pickup. Makes sense to me. But of course, lowering both pickups equally should still give a balanced sound, just less of it. Still - that's what amps are for! Not sure what you mean by giving the strings "room to breathe" though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looper Posted August 19, 2013 Author Share Posted August 19, 2013 Thanks for all the input. I'd have to say that I really don't think it's the pick-ups, i've messed with them on the jazz, and one of the p's is a p/j. It's the sound of the basses themselves, the jazz has a light bright sound, both acoustically and plugged in, which was why I tried flats, but it still lacks the bassiness of the other two. Can't help thinking that either plywood has great bass resonance or maybe it's something in the chunkier precision neck? It's just that the jazz is lovely to play, but the sound from the p's is making me play them more. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 The person who plays the bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Do you have both pickups all the way up on the jazz? Try rolling one off a bit, might be the mids you are missing compared to the precision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 (edited) [quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1376901719' post='2180415'] Try adding more Shirley. [/quote] Bravo! I think you've just discovered that the Precision sounds better than the Jazz. Next step - sell the lot and buy a decent P! Edited August 21, 2013 by dannybuoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1377078397' post='2182965'] Bravo! I think you've just discovered that the Precision sounds better than the Jazz. Next step - sell the lot and buy a decent P! [/quote] My jazz is more bassey than my P or my PJ. Also any 2 pup bass has more flexibility on sound. Ps are too rigid, unless you want one sound alone and that's it. IMHO... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Weird. I've got a standard Squier Jazz with stock pups and it has tons of bass available. I did make few tweaks - swapped all the pots out for 500k and put a .1uF tone cap on it so I could roll off more treble, and a series switch for a thicker sound when I want it, but it was pretty big sounding before all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bagsieblue Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 For my money the biggest 'mod' you can make is your strings..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borisbrain Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 I've had a Mex Jazz for several years, but recently bought a Jap P 'cos I wanted one. A combination of underpowered pickup and a fat neck on the P sent me pretty quickly back to the Jazz. I know this won't be everyone's experience, but I personally can't fault the Mex Jazz which has been a loyal servant for many years. I know that a lot of people switch out the pickup on their P, but I personally can't be arsed, having only recently bought the P. The J however is always ready to offer full-range tones - given sympathetic amp EQ settings, of course. Low mids on the amp EQ can often speak volumes... BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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