Jazz or P Bass neck effect ease of play?

[DocTrucker]

I suspect that this is likely to be a uniquely personal preference but thought I'd ask any way to make sure I'm not missing anything obvious!

 

I've got two 4 string basses; a Squire Jazz Vintage modified, and a project pbass made from a short scale Harley Benton that's now sporting the neck from a bronze series BC Rich Warlock, which I never got along with the body.

 

I really like both, but for some reason tunes seem easier to play on the PBass. Is it common to find a specific neck shape makes playing easier or is it more likely that I need to take a closer look at action etc?

[Lozz196]

I find a Precision width neck easier to play, I suppose it’s due to me having played them for years, when I play a Jazz width neck I find my fingers fall over each other in fast complicated parts. But I’ve had to swap to the J-width as I’ve arthritis in my left thumb and playing these is less painful. So the thing for me to do is play only the J-width to get more proficient on it.

[asingardenof]

I wouldn't necessarily say one was easier to play than the other, but I don't play that quickly whereas I understand that those that do tend to prefer the slightly narrower string spacing of the Jazz.

[Paolo85]

33 minutes ago, DocTrucker said:

 

I've got two 4 string basses; a Squire Jazz Vintage modified, and a project pbass made from a short scale Harley Benton that's now sporting the neck from a bronze series BC Rich Warlock, which I never got along with the body.

 

I really like both, but for some reason tunes seem easier to play on the PBass. Is it common to find a specific neck shape makes playing easier or is it more likely that I need to take a closer look at action etc?

 

So, is the P bass a short scale? That would make it easier to play for most people.

Else, the answer could be both. Some people work better with neck of a certain shape. But unless the two basses have similar action, nut cut at a similar height (very important), and strings with similar tension, you'll never know for sure it's the neck shape that makes the playing easier.

Also, the difference between P and J is roughly 4mm in terms of nut width. But there are other elements such as the type of frets, thickness back to front, or the type of finish that you may find more or less comfortable, and not all Ps and Js are the same in that respect.

Edited May 7 by Paolo85

[DocTrucker]

Thanks all. It never occurred to me that the nut width may be different on the two basses. I'm going to keep playing them all and look really close at setup soon.

 

I wanted to know what to look for soon as I still want to build up a dual humbucker five string at some point, and would rather that sat in my sweet spot!

[DocTrucker]

6 hours ago, Paolo85 said:

 

So, is the P bass a short scale?

 

It was a short scale! I bought it off ebay (only £60!) as I wanted a PBass in the fold and then realised it may be short scale before it arrived, which it was. I had already planned to swap over the pickups and hardware from my older project Warlock, but then decided to swap the neck too. Neck fit like a glove, scale from nut to bridge checked out, and was able to get intonation set ok.

 

 

It's very light, but perhaps having a light one in the group isn't a bad thing for when my back's having an off day!

[DocTrucker]

I've also stumbled across some folk suggesting through body stringing being preferred for mainly fingerstyle players. Does that make a great difference to the feel too? None of mine are through body strung.

 

Edit: Scrub this question. Found a good chat on it via a web search and synopsis on the balace seems to be negligible difference.

 

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/thoughts-on-thru-body-vs-bridge-stringing-on-same-bass.1484499/page-2

Edited May 8 by DocTrucker

[dclaassen]

As with most things to do with instruments, it’s mainly up to personal preference. I’ve got big beefy hands, and prefer the feel of most jazz necks. I know from experience though, that I also can quickly become used to playing on a different profile. Fivers are, for me, even more a matter of getting the right feel. Play lots of them before you buy.

[martthebass]

I used to think I had a quick and easy answer to this and would have said - Jazz.  However I think I now need to qualify it by saying, long or shortscale? light or heavy playing? i.e. it's conditional.  For lighter playing I prefer a shortscale with a 40mm nut; I also like the 38mm but find my hand gets a bit 'congested' on these at the nut end.  When I want to dig in I prefer longscale and Jazz profile.  If I had to pick one for all seasons it would be the EBMM Sterling neck.....so I guess still mainly a Jazz.

[T-Bay]

For what seems a small on paper difference, I find a massive difference between a Jazz and P neck. The Jazz feels spot on and ‘right’ whereas the Precision feel like I am trying to play a cricket bat. 

[gjones]

I prefer Jazz necks but I have a MIJ P bass with a 57 style neck (wide but shallow) which I also really like.

 

I have a Precision Elite which has a neck which is wide, but not particularly shallow, which I'm not very fond of.

 

I also have a USA Stingray which has a wide and quite deep neck that I'm not too keen on. I'm selling it because I just bought a Sterling SUB Stingray4, which has a lovely Jazz style neck and which I prefer to the USA version. 

[Bassfinger]

I don't really have a preference.  I rotate to a different bass every few days so get to play and practice regularly on all profiles and sizes, so I'm comfortable with them all.