Jazz Bass in the mix

[BassAdder60]

Gigged last night and used my Player Series Jazz bass which is now back to stop pickups and Nickel Roundwounds. 
 

In the past I ran it to try and mimic a PBass ( neck pup on full, bridge in 50%, tone full on ) but last night ..,

 

I used it with both pickups on full, tone  on full and then used my EQ pedal to boost 400-800hz. 
 

It sounded amazing in the rock band with gut rumbling lows ( deeper than a PBass ) and using the MXR 6 band EQ pedal I could put back some mids that get scooped with both pups in together. 
 

It fitted every song very well and it’s the first time I think I understood what a Jazz bass can really sound like. 
 

With EQ adjustment it sounded really good and different to the PBass thump. Better ?? Not sure but I like it and it’s worked out well. 

[Supernaut]

Yup... that's a Jazz bass. 

[Lozz196]

The lows are def deeper on a Jazz, I really like where they sit, and is probably why I’ve always scooped the mids and boosted lows/highs on my Precisions. I’m sure if Jazz basses came stock with Precision width necks I’d have been a Jazz player.

[Delberthot]

Whenever I've played passive jazz basses I've always had both pickups and tone full on and boosted the mids on my EQ. It's my favourite jazz bass sound

[BassAdder60]

40 minutes ago, Delberthot said:

Whenever I've played passive jazz basses I've always had both pickups and tone full on and boosted the mids on my EQ. It's my favourite jazz bass sound

Exactly this ^
 

I was trying to emulate a PBass tone and avoided the both pups on full sound. But increased my amp volume, added mids in my MXR EQ pedal and I found a new great tone that is deep in the gut bass with punch and clarity 

[Lw.]

Well, yeah. 

 

People often talk about making their J sound like a P but in reality they do not sound close. It's the same the other way - J's don't sound like P's and P's don't sound like J's. 

 

That's why you've got to have both. 

[Geek99]

Do non bass players care ? I suspect not

[neepheid]

2 hours ago, Geek99 said:

Do non bass players care ? I suspect not

 

I'm not even sure this bass player cares...

[Burns-bass]

3 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

I'm not even sure this bass player cares...

Not this one. My view is the bass makes little differnce, the EQ and amp does.

[Guest]

On 01/07/2023 at 10:20, Supernaut said:

Yup... that's a Jazz bass. 

 

[Baloney Balderdash]

12 hours ago, Geek99 said:

Do non bass players care ? I suspect not

 

I honestly don't get this attitude.

 

Why even play if the people you play for couldn't care less and just wants to be entertained?

 

You might as well perform a clown sketch then. 

 

Why I make music for people who actually care about music.

 

To me music is sacred and the most advanced form of communication we humans are capable of, and the stuff that makes up Top 40 is a perversion, a sacrilege abomination.

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[peteb]

59 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

I honestly don't get this attitude.

 

Why even play if the people you play for couldn't care less and just wants to be entertained?

 

Does an audience care about small differences in the way a bass guitar sounds in a mix? Will they even recognise the difference? No, of course not.

 

However, they do want to be entertained by musicians who do know and care about such things. They want to hear great music with its own personality, to which such small details contribute. 

 

I would also add that when you get on a stage, it is your job to entertain an audience as well as to communicate the music you are playing to them in the best way that you can. 

 

[Bassman68]

22 hours ago, Delberthot said:

Whenever I've played passive jazz basses I've always had both pickups and tone full on and boosted the mids on my EQ. It's my favourite jazz bass sound

Exactly the same…

My regular gig is with Jazz basses & my go-to tone is always both pickups full,

I then sweep the mids, during soundcheck, on my EBS Microbass3 to find the sweet-spot in the particular venue, We don’t use backline so I find it helps with my IEM mix?

I leave the rest to the sound guys, what comes out front is down to them….

Edited July 2, 2023 by Bassman68

[Supernaut]

2 hours ago, Munurmunuh said:

 

A watched pot never boils. 👍🏻

[neepheid]

2 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

 

I honestly don't get this attitude.

 

Why even play if the people you play for couldn't care less and just wants to be entertained?

 

You might as well perform a clown sketch then. 

 

Why I make music for people who actually care about music.

 

To me music is sacred and the most advanced form of communication we humans are capable of, and the stuff that makes up Top 40 is a perversion, a sacrilege abomination.

 

 

That's an impressively tall horse you're sitting on.

[Marvin]

I played in a blues r&b covers band a few years ago where I mainly used my Jazz bass. I'd got into the habit of using only the neck pick up. I thought it sounded good for the band. Then we played a venue where just using one pick up was bringing up the dreadful hum you can get. I played the whole gig with both pick ups on with the same settings on the amp. My wife recorded a few songs and the bass sounded very different to how I thought it would on those settings. It sounded almost like an upright bass. I was rather pleased. So that's how it's remained. 

[alexa3020]

I think P bass and J bass are so different in tonal character. To my ears a p bass has loads more mids - almost honky in comparison and a j bass is naturally scooped.

As much as I love my p bass, it's not the right bass for the majority of tracks in my band (rock) and the j sits much better.

If you are reliant on your backline for the mix - pub gigs for example, then it definitely does matter. If you've got pa support and a decent sound guy at foh then probably not so much.

[Geek99]

1 hour ago, neepheid said:

 

That's an impressively tall horse you're sitting on.

That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day @neepheid

I’ve only ever met one audience member who even thought “the bass sounded good” and I’m not 100% sure her comment would have been different if I’d been playing a jazz bass instead. I doubt “sacrilege” was her abiding principle 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Geek99

[BassAdder60]

I also think it all depends on the music / band etc. I’ve seen many bands where you can hardly hear the bass player ( often by choice ) and in that situation what he / she plays makes zero difference.

But in a band with a strong bass sound ( rock trios etc ) it’s something that does make a difference for sure to the band sound. 
May not make a difference to the audience yet again maybe it does because if the band as a whole sounds good you’ve done your job well. 
For me it was a nice discovery hearing a Jazz bass in a rock band environment where it tried to sound like a Jazz bass and not mimic a PBass. 

Edited July 2, 2023 by BassAdder60

[bloke_zero]

People might not be able to articulate or specifically notice what the bass player does, but surely a bass player that has thought about and sought for their tone, feels good and sits in the mix is going to make an objective difference to how the whole band sounds and feels? I couldn't tell you one thing about water colour painting, but I'd be suprised if brush selection had nothing to do with me thinking "oh that's kind of cool" when I see a nice daub. Passion never goes out of fashion.

[neepheid]

1 hour ago, bloke_zero said:

People might not be able to articulate or specifically notice what the bass player does, but surely a bass player that has thought about and sought for their tone, feels good and sits in the mix is going to make an objective difference to how the whole band sounds and feels? I couldn't tell you one thing about water colour painting, but I'd be suprised if brush selection had nothing to do with me thinking "oh that's kind of cool" when I see a nice daub. Passion never goes out of fashion.

 

Yes, but all I want is to be heard, while sounding good in a band context, and I'm the one who defines "good" as the chosen subject specialist for the evening.  I will have given zero thought to, nor sought the opinion of the audience - and that is because the vast majority of them don't have one.

[Old Horse Murphy]

I'm much more of a P Bass fan than I am of Jazz Basses but when listening to live recordings of my band have always been surprised just how much better to my ears a Jazz sounds compared to a P Bass. It's not as warm and cuddly as a P Bass but the depth of the lows and articulation of the overall sound really impresses me each time. 

[LeftyJ]

On 02/07/2023 at 14:26, peteb said:

 

Does an audience care about small differences in the way a bass guitar sounds in a mix? Will they even recognise the difference? No, of course not.

 

Well MY audience prefers the bridge pickup in the 70s position.

 

Kidding, of course. However, I regularly do have other bass players (either in the audience, or from the other bands we shared the stage with) comment on my tone. While I definitely don't play for the bass players in the audience, their comments are most valuable to me 

Edited July 3, 2023 by LeftyJ

[neepheid]

3 minutes ago, LeftyJ said:

Well MY audience prefers the bridge pickup in the 70s position.

 

You fscking liar!

[LeftyJ]

Just now, neepheid said:

 

You fscking liar!

LOL, you were just in before the edit