Not a P bass if it has a J neck?

[StickyDBRmf]

Once again facetiousness flies deftly above the heads...

[Beer of the Bass]

I thought back in the 60s you could special order a Precision from Fender with a Jazz width neck, still called a Precision and marked Precision on the headstock? Few would argue that that was not a Precision bass.

Edited May 7, 2021 by Beer of the Bass

[Reggaebass]

20 minutes ago, Beer of the Bass said:

I thought back in the 60s you could special order a Precision from Fender with a Jazz width neck, still called a Precision and marked Precision on the headstock? 

Yeah I think you could, I just missed out on buying a 78 precision  a few years back, it had the letter A on the neck heel for the jazz neck , edit, this was it 

Edited May 7, 2021 by Reggaebass

[Killed_by_Death]

 

Fender decides if it's a Precision, they invented it by adding frets (for precision).

From my looks at what FENDER are willing to call a Precision, it's the body that matters. This is a Precision Blacktop:

The split-coil pickups & position are what give a standard, modern Precision most of its distinctive sound.

The stiffness of the neck always matters & a thicker neck is often stiffer, but it's not impossible for a Jazz neck to be as stiff as a Precision neck.

 

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

Just to reiterate, I haven't engaged with the FB naysayers. There have been a few that have commented in my stead, so no need for me to do so really 😂

For my money, it's all about the scale, the split pick-up and the position.

Granted the neck depth, type of timber, cut etc may have a part to play, but none as significant as the first three I mentioned. 

[Killed_by_Death]

 

Often a really simple change will breathe new life into a dull-sounding instrument, give it a nice stiff neck (if the current neck is flimsy), or swap in 500K Ohm pots for the 250K Ohm stock pots.

 

[Beedster]

Yep, big part of the issue (or non-issue) is the terms 'Precision Neck' and 'Jazz Neck', which are generalisations at best (OK, Fender Jazz Basses usually have thin 38-40mm nut neck, but so do many Fender Precisions). Manufacturers such as EBMM and Ric vary neck width across instruments without the dichotomous labels. 

What made me chuckle reading this thread this morning was that there's often talk here about just how boring Fender's 2-model line of basses is, no real innovation or improvement, yet it seems - given that most of us probably own one or other, and given that about 80% of the basses ever produced were one or other - we, the worlds leading forum of bass connoisseurs, can't actually agree on what makes a Jazz and Jazz and a Precision a Precision

My view, the defining characteristics in order are

 

1. Pickup: single split coil for Precision/twin single coil for Jazz)

2. Body shape 

3. Neck width: 38-40mm neck will feel like a Jazz Bass to the player

4. Colour: A Precision should be 3tsb/tort and a Jazz black/black

5. Strings: Precisions should always be used with heavy steel flatwounds  

6. Bridge: a Precision with a Badass is of course an abomination

7. Circuit: a Precision with an active circuit is likewise an abomination

 

OK, I'll admit it got a bit subjective from 4 onwards

 

[Munurmunuh]

8 minutes ago, Beedster said:

38-40mm neck will feel like a Jazz Bass to the player

With dainty enough hands, it's possible to find quite enough difference between just 38mm and 40mm. That sensation most people get when playing an old-fashioned 1¾" 50s P neck, I got just crossing that minuscule chasm from 38mm to 40mm 😅 Felt like being a kid arriving at big school.

[Downunderwonder]

25 minutes ago, Beedster said:

a bit subjective

Subjective is putting it mildly when Fender label their instruments Precisely no matter how they Jazz them up with badarsed bridges and active preamps.

[Waddo Soqable]

10 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

Yeah I think you could, I just missed out on buying a 78 precision  a few years back, it had the letter A on the neck heel for the jazz neck , edit, this was it 

I think this one would nail the coffin of the naysayers, ( tho respect to HKH for not rising to their bait)... it's a P bass, made by Fender, marked as a P bass, sold as a P bass, and it has a Jazz neck, no doubt taken straight from the Jazz bass neck production line..   The defence rests.

[Beer of the Bass]

1 hour ago, Waddo Soqable said:

I think this one would nail the coffin of the naysayers, ( tho respect to HKH for not rising to their bait)... it's a P bass, made by Fender, marked as a P bass, sold as a P bass, and it has a Jazz neck, no doubt taken straight from the Jazz bass neck production line..   The defence rests.

I guess an A-width Precision neck would have forked off from Jazz bass production quite early in the process, since the J would get block inlays and binding in that era. Presumably the same stack of blanks, though.

[Munurmunuh]

Was the A neck available before the Jazz was first released?

[Reggaebass]

26 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

Was the A neck available before the Jazz was first released?

Good question Ricky, I’ve seen a 69 P with an A profile but that’s after the jazz was released 

[Rich]

14 hours ago, Beedster said:

4. Colour: A Precision should be 3tsb/tort 

5. Strings: Precisions should always be used with heavy steel flatwounds  

7. Circuit: a Precision with an active circuit is likewise an abomination

 

You won't be wanting to borrow my bitsa P any time soon then :lol. 

[spencer.b]

On 08/05/2021 at 11:00, Ricky Rioli said:

Was the A neck available before the Jazz was first released?

I've only ever seen on it 70s basses but I found this on TB 

Necks on all Fender basses were available from A to C width from when they started using the neck stamp code with the model number, year, and neck width letter, in the early '60s.

But it was extremely rare to see special ordered necks until later.

I have a 66 B neck on a P which is apparently quite rare, for example.

 

 

 

[diskwave]

For what its worth yes I think the thick 70's P necks do add some heft to the tone....dont know about J necks.

[Slappindabass]

I have a 78 p bass with an A neck. Deffo a precision!

[thebrig]

I owned this 1971 Fender Precision a few year's ago, 38mm at the nut, and 71/2" radius.

It played and sounded great, I just wish I still had it. 😟

[Quatschmacher]

On 07/05/2021 at 08:13, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I’ve played a few SLO ‘Ray’s over the years and nobody ever says they are not a proper Stingray

How? Besides the first one I got to try, I’ve never managed to find a SLO and I really want one. 

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

I ordered mine direct. MM no longer show them as an option sadly.

Stingray HS Starry Night with SLO neck and MHS.

I've not yet seen one other in this spec.

Edited May 11, 2021 by hiram.k.hackenbacker

[Quatschmacher]

1 hour ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I ordered mine direct. MM no longer show them as an option sadly.

Stingray HS Starry Night with SLO neck and MHS.

I've not yet seen one other in this spec.

I missed the deadline for ordering before they discontinued them. I needed the cash for a house move. Still hoping to find a used one that doesn’t cost the earth. 

[Owen]

In my experience a brass nut makes up for less heft from a skinny neck.

[Beedster]

3 minutes ago, owen said:

In my experience a brass nut makes up for less heft from a skinny neck.

That's a robust looking device you have there Owen

[Reggaebass]

8 minutes ago, owen said:

In my experience a brass nut makes up for less heft from a skinny neck.

That’s quite a tease Owen 😁 can I see the rest 

[Owen]

6 minutes ago, Beedster said:

That's a robust looking device you have there Owen

I often tell myself that if you wait for long enough absolutlely everything will float throught the FS forums on here. This lovely 73 "A" neck with authentic 70's brass nut came up years ago and it is a very lovely thing.