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Jazz fretless sound like a Precision fretless?


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Posted

I’ve got a fretless Jazz bass but I’m not really after the Jaco tone, as much as I admire his talent. I want more the P bass fretless tone, ie, Pink Floyd - Hey You, Sting, David J of Bauhaus. I can’t afford the TF fretless or an older fretless P bass so can I get a P bass fretless sound out of my fretless Jazz using pickup balance, tone, eq settings etc?

Posted

[quote name='CliveT' post='465073' date='Apr 17 2009, 02:45 PM']I’ve got a fretless Jazz bass but I’m not really after the Jaco tone, as much as I admire his talent. I want more the P bass fretless tone, ie, Pink Floyd - Hey You, Sting, David J of Bauhaus. I can’t afford the TF fretless or an older fretless P bass so can I get a P bass fretless sound out of my fretless Jazz using pickup balance, tone, eq settings etc?[/quote]

I think (hopefully someone else will correct me if I'm wrong) that flatwound strings + neck pickup soloed will take you as close as possible. Whether that's close enough for you or not, you won't know until you've tried it.

S.P.

Posted

[quote name='Stylon Pilson' post='465077' date='Apr 17 2009, 02:49 PM']I think (hopefully someone else will correct me if I'm wrong) that flatwound strings + neck pickup soloed will take you as close as possible. Whether that's close enough for you or not, you won't know until you've tried it.

S.P.[/quote]

Yep... that's as close as you're ever going to get without modding the bass...

Posted (edited)

Yup, WoT is right - he knows a thing or two about fretless Fenders. Since the front pickup is in the same area as on a Precision the tone will be close enough with perhaps a slight reduction in volume when you compare them - however that's what your gain is for on your amp.

Edited by The Bass Doc
Posted

Mmmm, I have to say the tone on my fretless Precision is a world away from the neck PUP solo'd on my fretless Jazz. There's a whole lot of bass in the Precision that the Jazz can't match. For sure this might just be my basses, but I suspect that if you could get a decent Precision tone out of a Jazz neck PUP, no-one would ever buy a Precision.

Posted

Thanks for the replies guys. I know I won't get an exact P tone from the jazz but working more with the Neck pickup seems to be the way to go. And, I have the bridge pickup if I want to change things a bit too.

Posted

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='466805' date='Apr 19 2009, 04:36 PM']You could replace the volume control with one that also has a push/pull series/parallel switch similar to the one the S1 jazz basses had.[/quote]
+1
It shouldn't affect the cosmetics of the instrument & is easily reversible.

  • 7 months later...
Posted

This is the closest I've found to a Precision fretless tone from a Jazz type fretless. Great tone and exactly what I'm after.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1KJKRG4ZoY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1KJKRG4ZoY[/url]

Posted

[quote name='CliveT' post='666205' date='Nov 26 2009, 01:31 PM']This is the closest I've found to a Precision fretless tone from a Jazz type fretless. Great tone and exactly what I'm after.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1KJKRG4ZoY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1KJKRG4ZoY[/url][/quote]

Problem is you simply don't know what he's actually playing and what he's playing through. Of course a Jazz can sound something like a Precision - for example an Audere with the preset vintage tone engaged - you've just got to paly around with playing style, strings, electrics, electronics, and amplification.

Of just get a Precision :)

Posted

[quote name='Beedster' post='666216' date='Nov 26 2009, 02:45 PM']Problem is you simply don't know what he's actually playing and what he's playing through. Of course a Jazz can sound something like a Precision - for example an Audere with the preset vintage tone engaged - you've just got to paly around with playing style, strings, electrics, electronics, and amplification.

Of just get a Precision :)[/quote]

Very true. It's from a DVD so there will have been post production taking place. I imagine the original must be in the right ballpark though.

Posted

[quote name='Starless' post='666820' date='Nov 26 2009, 10:17 PM']If you have a really nice Jazz then maybe you could do a trade?........

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=65517&hl=maple+fretless"]WITH THIS ONE[/url][/quote]

Very nice, but I don't think you'd trade for a stock MIM fretless Jazz. I wouldn't !!

Posted

[quote name='Hit&Run' post='466816' date='Apr 19 2009, 04:01 PM']+1
It shouldn't affect the cosmetics of the instrument & is easily reversible.[/quote]

+2. S1 mod is the way forward. Dirt cheap, reversible, and the old tones still available should you need them.

Posted

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='667366' date='Nov 27 2009, 03:00 PM']+2. S1 mod is the way forward. Dirt cheap, reversible, and the old tones still available should you need them.[/quote]
If you're handy with a soldering iron you can try wiring the pickups in series first before you lay your cash on the table for a switched pot a-la S1. I've heard switching from paralell to series makes quite a difference.

Posted

Listening to the audio samples on the Lakland website are useful. They have samples with rounds and flats on many basses, and the 2 pickup basses they solo each pickup as well as both together. Whilst they don't have a fretless sample it was obvious that the neck pickup on their Jazz basses was close to the Precision pickup tone.

Posted

The Jazz bass neck pick up does come close - there is no doubt that with modern eq and effects you could get something darn close to a P-bass.

Remember however that the P-bass pickup is a humbucker whilst in the Jazz is a single coil - so it is going to have a good bit more bottom end thump than a single coil. You could of course get some twin coil Jazz bass pickups - like the DiMarzio Super Jazz pickups - i.e., they don't suffer the electromegnetic interference that normal Jazz bass pickups do and tonally, certainly in the neck position, have a good bit more welly than standard Jazz bass pickups.

[url="http://www.dimarzio.com/site/#/pickups/"]http://www.dimarzio.com/site/#/pickups/[/url]

I have these on a fretless Jazz and find them more versatile than "normal" Jazz pickups

Wasn't Pink Floyds "Hey You" David Gilmour on his JayDee fretless - wonderful tone - wonderful playing.......

Posted

[quote name='dmz' post='667841' date='Nov 27 2009, 10:58 PM']Wasn't Pink Floyds "Hey You" David Gilmour on his JayDee fretless - wonderful tone - wonderful playing.......[/quote]

I didn't know that, I presumed it was a fretless P. What style of fretless is the JayDee ?

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