Getting the best tone out of a Jazz bass

[Lozz196]

On 05/02/2022 at 10:58, Cat Burrito said:

I have used Ampeg in the past but I tend to use an Orange AD200B through a 4x10 Orange cab. It's in the practice amps too. Every amp I try. I take out any other bass (Hofner, Rickenbacker, Precision, Thunderbird) and the issue isn't there.

Your other basses are a bit more “muscular” in tone Tim, so that could be why your wife is of the opinion that the Jazz is lacking in comparison.

[Cat Burrito]

2 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Your other basses are a bit more “muscular” in tone Tim, so that could be why your wife is of the opinion that the Jazz is lacking in comparison.

Absolutely, and it's the opinion of not just her but bandmates & I too. The single coil Jazz is similar to something like a Burns Bison, to me at least. 

 

I still maintain that it must be possible to get a more meaty sound from a Jazz and there have been some interesting replies so far 😎

[Lozz196]

I forgot to mention on my original post, as well as setting the pickups the way I did I also used nickel rounds rather than steels, gave a warmer/fatter tone.

[nige1968]

External pre?

[Boodang]

Another option if you like the feel of the Jazz but want a beefier tone.... replace the single coil pups with some Thunderbird ones (Mike Lull makes some nice ones) or replace each jazz pup with a musicman one for a monster sound!. Will need a luthier to do a bit of routing, and there's no going back, but it will give you a bassier tone for sure.

[borntohang]

Series is absolutely the way to go for a big beefy jazz sound. I'm also fond of the Dimarzio Model Js which are almost so far from a stock J that they're different pickups entirely, but they do sound huge in a mix. You don't get the toppy 'acoustic air' of singles mind, so Series/Parallel is a more versatile option if you want to switch on the fly.

[gareth]

23 minutes ago, nige1968 said:

External pre?

Sadowsky’s are made for jazz pups

[Boodang]

3 minutes ago, borntohang said:

Series is absolutely the way to go for a big beefy jazz sound. I'm also fond of the Dimarzio Model Js which are almost so far from a stock J that they're different pickups entirely, but they do sound huge in a mix. You don't get the toppy 'acoustic air' of singles mind, so Series/Parallel is a more versatile option if you want to switch on the fly.

The model J is a great pup but as a split coil it's not going to give you that single coil toppy air. Having said that, if you want a beefier tone this is a great choice and the coils in each pup can be switched series/parallel as well. So lots of tonal choice. 

[Vin Venal]

I think depending on the pickups, and more specifically the pickup location, some jazz basses have a natural mid scoop when pickup volumes are matched. Some kind of phase cancelling thing I don't understand.

 

Most solutions suggested here seem to be to favour one pickup or the other, and boost low mids, so I spose that makes sense.

 

I prefer noiseless pickups on Jazz basses, which is cheating really cuz they're single coil shaped humbuckers basically, but I prefer the slightly thicker sound.

[borntohang]

The MJ's are far more jazzy as an internal parallel pickup with 500K pots - lots more treble in there then. Wired series they're just huge and brutish in all formats. I hear they're ridiculous with a preamp but I think that would be just too much output for me. 

[chris_b]

If both volume controls are on full a jazz bass will sound a little anaemic. Back one of the volume controls off about 10% (I back the bridge pick up off) and the sound gets beefier.

[cheddatom]

If there's not enough bass in your sound, wouldn't you just turn the bass up on your amp?

[Cat Burrito]

2 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I forgot to mention on my original post, as well as setting the pickups the way I did I also used nickel rounds rather than steels, gave a warmer/fatter tone.

Already there 😎

[Cat Burrito]

1 hour ago, cheddatom said:

If there's not enough bass in your sound, wouldn't you just turn the bass up on your amp?

Yep, doing that already 👍

[Geek99]

4 hours ago, Vin Venal said:

I think depending on the pickups, and more specifically the pickup location, some jazz basses have a natural mid scoop when pickup volumes are matched. Some kind of phase cancelling thing I don't understand.

 

Most solutions suggested here seem to be to favour one pickup or the other, and boost low mids, so I spose that makes sense.

 

I prefer noiseless pickups on Jazz basses, which is cheating really cuz they're single coil shaped humbuckers basically, but I prefer the slightly thicker sound.

This. I got some from bc member matte_black 

[cheddatom]

2 hours ago, Cat Burrito said:

Yep, doing that already 👍

You boost the bass more for the jazz than you do the P? But it still lacks bass? Maybe try a cut in the upper mids?

[Sparky Mark]

7 hours ago, chris_b said:

If both volume controls are on full a jazz bass will sound a little anaemic. Back one of the volume controls off about 10% (I back the bridge pick up off) and the sound gets beefier.

^^This. More low end; reduce bridge vol 10%. More mids; reduce neck vol 10%. Both vols 100% = meh.