I have one of each and they are both my #1 basses depending on the situation. Precision has a boom attack before you hear the note. Jazz has a lighter attack and creates the effect that the note simply appears without an introduction. Precision is polite with how it sits in most mixes - almost asking permission to provide a little low end to the rest of the band. Jazz is in your face and demanding. If I'm playing C# on my Jazz and the rest of the band is in C, they sound like they are in the wrong and I'm right. Love them both but prefer the feel of the Jazz.
Philip, This is a fantastic video especially for a confused guitar player trying to learn bass. Your explanation of the differences of those two models of the Fender bass was exactly what I was looking for... concise, easy to understand and with visual aids. Thank you. Awesome channel. I'm getting a lot out of your bass course as well.
@@somedude8242 Thanks for your reply. Funny you should mention a short scale bass. My friend just took delivery of a Hofner violin bass from Germany. It plays like a guitar. Short scale and frets closer together. Nice instrument. Not the overseas copy.
@@somedude8242 That's one thing I found myself wondering, especially because we've seen Philip with his Mustang so often: Where does the Mustang fit in among the Precision bass and Jazz bass? Maybe that's a future video.
The band you’re playing in, and what instruments are in the mix, makes a big difference. Sometimes you want those wide-range Jazz Bass frequencies to fill up some space, and sometimes you need a P Bass’ mid focus to sit in a busy mix. I once heard the generalization that J Basses do better in smaller ensembles, and P Basses are the better tool for bigger bands. In my experience this is a decent rule of thumb.
In my experience, owning a Jazz Bass was fundamental for learning the bass and developing my musical personality. Seven years later, I bought a 2007 Fender MiM Precision Bass, and this bass truly made me a musician. In my opinion, the "less is more" vibe of the Precision Bass is what distinguishes a bass player from a musician. You start to think more about the whole rather than the bass part, if you know what I mean. Btw, this P-Bass remains my primary bass; I wouldn't trade it for anything.
This is an outstanding video and I wish I had seen it when I started playing. Both basses are awesome, and Leo Fender gave us a great gift with the Precision and Jazz.
Started in 1982 with a J-bass knockoff that I recall weighing around 20 pounds. Graduated to an 83 P-bass the next year. I still own it. The neck is definitely a different feel--if I'm on a J-bass or a Music Man, I can really tell the difference in my fret hand. Love both, but I'm more of a pocket groove guy anyway, and I love the simplicity of the P-bass.
You deserve a lot more subs, you’re a natural and produce very high quality stuff. I’m a guitarist who just picked up a MIM J Bass to learn on largely because I found a good used one at a great price locally. A close guitarist friend has a P bass so we have both and can trade I guess. I like the narrow neck and the body comfort for sitting, which I mainly do. Tones don’t matter as much for me as playability for learning and just playing for fun. If I get into it maybe I get other basses but it’ll probably do me just fine for a long time.
Excellent primer on the fundamental differences. My compliments on a eloquent, concise, explanation on the differences and benefits of each instrument. Hell, yeah!
I agree 100%, they way i look at it is If i want to stick out in a mix then i’ll play the Jazz bass. If i want to lay back and not be “heard” then i’ll play the P. Sometimes when i’m mixing my own recordings and i’m playing with a P- I wont think what does this mix sound like with this bass i think more of what does it sound without it. And typically it’s thin and dull and the bass just brings it all home.
I love the Jazz aesthetics, but the Precision's tone and feel is where I feel "home". One day I'll build a Jazz body, PJ, P neck franken-bass... with flats of course lol
I have used p style basses throughout much of my time as a bassist and even after playing everything from music man to even a hofner I keep coming back to the p bass for its simplicity especially in terms of recording and my playing style feels out of place with most instruments so p bass always speaks to me
Great video for beginners, Philip. Good job! Some famous players did like to play a Jazz bass, but only use the neck pickup, like the great Joe Osborn. The sound is almost as mid focused as a P bass, especially with flats. Joe got some great sounds! Others favour the P, but liked the Jazz bass neck more, so they simply swapped necks, 😄. (Try doing that with a Gibson or an Alembic..., 😉). The most famous bassist who did this later in his career was the great Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn. Adam Clayton used to play his famous ‘73 sunburst Fender P with a Jazz neck too. In the early ‘70’s (late 1970-1972) Fender had the option to have a P with a Jazz neck. One famous user was Nate Mendel, with his ‘71 Candy Apple red Fender P. Others loved the Jazz bass, but liked the neck of the P bass more. One famous player liking this was Tim Commerford (Rage Against The Machine). Even Jaco Pastorius had a maple board late ‘70’s P neck on his fretted Jazzbass he used in his instruction video around 1985! He just might have wrecked the original neck... I love and use all the options: Fender P’s and J’s and hybrids; both with flats and rounds! Love ‘em! 🖖
Your ending visualization exercise reminded me of a pithy comment I saw on another video on a similar topic: “When you want the bass to be heard, play a J bass. When you want the bass to be felt, play a P bass.”
I personally prefer P basses. My Squier 60's vibe has a rather slim P bass neck with only a nut width of 40mm's, the neck is also rather flat so its a joy play on! I've put some EMG GZRs in it and it sounds really good for basically any Genres. I'd love to try a PJ or PH someday tho.
I've been looking for a review that covered these exact issues, and I've found it. This will immensely help anyone who is trying to decide which to get. I've owned (and still own) 3 Jazzes, and I've played a P. For me, it's about feel. I've always gravitated towards the Jazz for tone and neck feel. Great video!
Bonus Facts were for me! All about the P/J configuration with a Jazz Bass neck for me. 🤤 I started with a P/J and played the hell out of it and then switched to a Jazz Bass and played the hell out of that. Now I have a P/J with a Jazz neck and I couldn't be happier. The tone of a P Pup is just so good but I also really like having the versatility of "cleaning-up" (sterilizing) the mids by adding in some of that J Bridge and I love that flat virtuosic feel of the Jazz neck.
This is the most detailed and interesting comparison video I've watched on TH-cam! Thank you for diving deep into this and also reminding us of the fact that's it's about what feels good to each individual!
My own first electric bass was an economy version of the modern P-bass built by Epiphone with the Gibson Explorer headstock that I got at age 16 in ‘96. When I chose to upgrade to a more professional-grade instrument four years later, I was short-sighted enough to think “been there” and that I didn’t want another P-bass. An active J-bass was winking at me when I went on the market in 2000. Much as I’m glad I chose that as my model for the following 19 years, I occasionally daydream that I’d instead gotten a hybrid. If I’m no mistaken, 2000 was when Fender had just begun marketing the basses with the P-bass body and the split-coil neck humbucker but with the J-bass bridge pickup and neck. That seems like the best of both worlds, the punchy neck tone, the sound pallet and a slimmer neck. Hearing a couple of colleagues playing the hybrid model has kind of fueled my interest. I should ask, Philip. Is that a Moog synthesizer? Which model?
I went to the Fender Mod site, ordered a Mocha Burst bass, and specified the PJ configuration. Sure, it cost me over $2K, but I believe I have the perfect bass guitar. My bass teacher got excited and played it the entire session, and didn't charge me at all, LOL! It is the perfect bass. It did cost me... and my second bass is a Hofner Ignition series violin bass (less than $500), like Paul McCartney used in his early Beatles years. That one's in the shop now. The luthier is fixing it up now. It will have flatwounds and sound more like a stand up orchestral string bass. For many years I played saxophone, alto and bari, plus a year of cello. These are my first guitars, and as a recent retiree, I am overjoyed with the great sound the Fender makes. I would highly recommend the Fender Precision bass (with the PJ configuration option on their MOD website) above all other contemporary Fender basses. My expert (and teacher) seriously covets it!
I just picked up an American Original 60’s P I love P basses Maybe it’s just what I’m used to I grew up playing my dads old P bass as a kid So I’m super bias But whenever I play another bass I always wish it was a P . I played a jazz for the first time a few years back and it felt great in the hand. But I like the sound of the P better And I like how it makes me play (if that makes sense)
FYI, the neck pocket in Jazz and Precision basses are actually not the exact same dimension, so I direct swap can lead to either a sloppy or impossibly tight fit. That has been my experience with neck swaps, anyway!
I have one of each. I use the P for 60's and some 70's stuff. I use the J for almost everything else. If I had to pick one I'd choose the P Bass. The split pick-up makes that oh so sweet BASS SOUND...
I started playing bass as a teen, and got kind of peer pressured into thinking More is More Better. I played a 5-string with active pickups for years and then got sick of it and fell off bass. I'm twice as old now, recently picked up a PJ Mustang and it's been amazing. Love just running the P pickup and thumping. Your on stage hypothetical is spot on for me.
It so hard to choose between the two. I lean toward the J bass personally. I feel like I can get pretty close to the P tone with it, but then have other options with the bridge pickup. For a while, my set up was P-bass with flat wounds for blues/country/soul stuff and a Jazz with roundwounds for rock. Recently, I did get a new P/J that I have rounds on that I get the best of both worlds from. My desert island bass is my American Deluxe Jazz, but it's more about that particular bass than it is the P vs. J question. Assuming I have batteries on the deserted island.
You absolutely nail when you say both can do it all. I always preferred the aesthetics of the Jazz bass, probably because more of my heroes played them (John Paul Jones, Jaco, Les Claypool on occasion). But I do find myself gravitating to the growly P-bass sound. I played a Jazz bass for 20 years that I never really bonded with and ended up turning it into an electric Sarode and at the moment my go-to bass is a MIJ Jaguar bass (full scale, 2 jazz pickups, the original model). I also have a 1985 MIJ Squier fretless P-bass that sounds and plays amazing. Honestly, once you have a Fender designed bass in your hands, the instrument won't get in the way of any playing style or sound you need. Great video, if I had seen it 30 years ago, I might have bought a P-bass as my first real bass and ended up being in a famous rock band instead of as a struggling Sitar player ;)
I started out on a P bass, eventually bought a Jazz bass which became my number one for a long time before I stumbled upon a limited run P/J that Fender did in 2016. Now, I have two slightly different configured P/J basses plus the Jazz as an alternative. P/J truly is the best of both worlds imo, but I keep the Jazz because it has that really cool and snappy tone with both pickups fully on with a bit of overdrive that the P/J can't entirely achieve. I somewhat agree with the take of trying both before going with a P/J. It really gives you a understanding of why it's such a great combo. But it also doubles as a P by simply muting the bridge pickup, so if you're leaning towards P I would definitely check one out. They usually have a Jazz type neck as well though, so they're not always just simply a P with a second pickup.
Awesome tone!!! I have a heavy jazz body with a heavy, super wide, super chunky fretless precision neck. Fralin pickups, John East preamp. Strung with La Bella Gold Flats .85 .65 .45 .29 tuned down to standard tuning. A vast gulf of space from string to string. Good times.
Hey Philip, Watching from Germany. I really enjoy the content you create! You have such a unique and cool way to share your knowledge and experience. Thanks for that :) keep it up, man
There is another option, another classic bass Leo Fender has created aside from the P Bass and J Bass. It is the Music Man Sting Ray which many rock and slap bass players use exclusively. This is my goto bass indeed.
Nice job! For many years I had one of each - I considered these the "hammer and screwdriver" for a bass players toolbox. Although a Stingray might be a nice addition to that toolbox...
I have those three 😊 American standard P with flats, 1964 P with 2 active EMG jazz pickups (in 60s Jazz bass configuration) and a StingRay Classic 2 band EQ. All great for different tasks for different reasons and I love them to bits!
The advice on imagining yourself playing the bass is very good, I like that. The way I was taught was to see what the player in the band you loved most played - it was John Paul Jones so I went for a P bass because I couldn't afford a Jazz ;-) I swapped for a Jazz in 1984 and much prefer it, but I keep a P bass (or a PJ with a Jaguar neck - more versatile and nicer neck) around. It's best to try out each type first, but don't get hung up on the feel of the bass - you can get used to differences. Make sure you have one that sounds good to you. Neither is better or worse, it's simply what works for you.
Greetings from Bucharest, Romania. Always leaned more towards the Jazz bass. But both are cool. I have a nice Mike Lull 5-string P for when I want that traditional vibe, but most of the time I'm playing a modern J (with 35" scale and 5 strings) :)
Loved this video! Very informative, nice to learn more about the differences between basses. I personally prefer the P-bass sound, nice and moody 😄 So, when's the video about the upright coming? I recently rediscovered a band I used to listen to years ago, Stray Cats, love the bass in that 😁🎶
Guitar center sells a Squier Precision bass starter packs, that have an additional Jazz Pickup added, called The Affinity Special, with a jazz neck. This is a totally a no brainer. The price is great, the bass quality is great and the versatility is great! What more could a beginner want or need, and you get a free amp too. Both the P bass and jazz bass are great basses, this way you kind of get both.
Lol, I was waiting for you to mention another Great J-Bass player. Geddy Lee, of Rush, He was the main reason I chose to build a J-Bass from a kit....he uses every nuance that the J-Bass provides and then some. I'll have some Kent Armstrong pickups in the kit, but am thinking of getting some Tom Brantley Geddy Lee signature ones down the road.
The P bass is the one I'd want to go to lunch with...if it were a person. But I am in my 60s and a new bass playing convert. Have a Fender P bass, a Stirling Classic RAY24 and a Sire V3P. Switching back and forth a lot and spend most of my practice between on or the other. I'm starting to see how they all have their now place. Now I get why bass players seem to own several basses.
I have a 1973 telecaster bass, and a 1968 telecaster bass body parts bass. I love a single pickup, passive, fat necked bass. The charm of simplicity, indeed. I am very OK with not being noticed. I just bought and tried a 1977 Guild B-301A. It wasn't for me, so I am letting a mate try the guild. If he likes it, he will trade to me his 2006 Fender highway one jazz bass. I never have been a fan of the offset body. Stay tuned.
Love my Fender Made in Mexico Jazz Bass with black flatwounds and Seymour Duncan Vintage pickups. Recently (from someone on TH-cam) discovered playing with just the bridge pickup but the tone right off (I.e. treble wound right off). Always something new to learn. Just ordered a Sire U5 PJ bass. Short scale ‘cos I’m getting on a bit and the J Bass gives my pain in my fretting hand in long sessions.
Just acquired a 2006 Fender Highway One American P Bass...it just sings, it plays and sounds great...also have a Marcus Miller Sire P7 PJ-style 4 string with active EQ and an 18V system...these basses are incredible - and not just for the price. string through body, this one is Alder, a Jazz-style neck with the satin finish so it's FAST and super comfortable, p-Bass pickups and a Jazz pickup at the bridge, including a passive/active switch!...with some active basses, your battery dies, you're done...this allows you to flip a switch and play on...The mid sweep is DYNAMIC...can't say enough about the Sire...I toured years ago playing exclusively a 5-string Fender Jazz and loved it, but man, if these Sire basses had been around, I'd have probably switched!...but the P-Bass is SOLID gold sound, in the most reliable and recognizable bass guitar ever...it's passive and essentially does ONE thing tone-wise, but it's so warm, round, and punchy all at the same time, it's like an adventure every time you pick it up...if you're going to do just one thing...do it RIGHT, and the P Bass is RIGHT...
Both basses are such a good choice because i will play according to the music, i will be locked in a groove with the drummer in certain genres, or i will be doing some more energetic playing like slapping with gospel, they are both so good. P bass with flatwounds is amazing sounding though.
Thanks for this video! As a guitar player looking to learn a bit of bass and to get one for home recording, this was extremely helpful! I’ve always wondered the difference between the two! I think there’s a p-bass in my future!
I have a Jazz Bass and my friend has a Precision Bass and I think it kinda fits as our reaction to For Whom The Bell Tolls couldn't have been more opposite. I see use of the 19th fret and go "Hell yeah, that's sick!" whereas his response was "What the hell?" I think the biggest reason I went with the Jazz Bass was that bridge pickup, I like the more trebly nature of it. The neck taper is just a little added bonus
P Bass with Jazz neck ftw. G&L has some awesome customization options for this, and the Lakland Duck Dunn signature comes stock in this configuration I believe. Nice video!
As you alluded to at the end, after you've played around with different options you can always customize. I like the P body but J necks and one of the basses that I wish I still had was a J that had two P pickups. I've also seen a couple of really cool PMM basses with a MM pickup in place of a J. Another cool one I played was a J bass that someone had put Thunderbird pickups in. Great era for gear that we're in right now!
Cool video. I'm in love with my Ibanez TMB-100 (it's affordable, quite beatable and PJ), but if I were about to buy a Fender I think I would go for a Precision (or a JMJ Mustang!). By the way, I would love to hear you talk about the upright.
Flatwounds on a jazz bass cuts through the mix very well where the precision couldn't (in my experience). I've been using stainless steel flats on my jazz for the past 15 yrs. Everyone loves the sound I get. My fingers love it most of all.
Philip, just to clarify: As a long-time player of jazz basses, my overwhelming experience is as follows. The pickups on a standard VVT (volume/volume/tone) passive Fender Jazz Bass cannot be blended - UNLESS - both pickups ARE NOT run at full volume (unfortunately output drops significantly in this mode). When one pickup is run at full volume and the other is not, the sound of the dominant pick up over-rides the other, so in essence there are only three sounds possible on a passive VVT jazz bass when you're running either, or both pickups at full volume: i.e. 1) Neck pickup...ala John Paul Jones. 2) Bridge pickup... ala Jaco Pastorius, or 3) Both pickups on full - the classic jazz bass mid-scooped tone due to 'comb-filtering' ala Marcus Miller or '70's Anthony Jackson (before he went exclusively to the 6-string). Of course, this can be fixed if the bass is re-wired with a VBT circuit (Volume, Blend, Tone) and obviously does not apply to jazz basses with active circuits. The good thing is though, that in the absence of the ability to truly 'blend' the pickups when one is running at full volume, there are many tonal nuances possible just by moving the fingers and plucking at different positions on the string, and these render any perceived advantages gained i.e. by the ability to micro blend pickups, almost moot IMO.
The best video explaining the difference between the two basses. Thanks so much. I have a Vox 1982 standard bass which I am guessing it's a P Bass. But would like to know what you think.
My favorite is the PJ(P-bass pickup the neck J-bass pickup on the bridge on a Precision body for those not in the know), my style is a lot like Billy Cox, hold a solid line & throw curve balls during drum fills. Jazz basses are definitely faster, have a great sound, P basses have more of a growl in my opinion, both are great basses & you can't go wrong with either. The PJ gives me my favorite tone, I usually run the P PU wide open & run the J at about 50%, gives me punch with a hint of twang. I no longer own a Jazz bass, but my favorite was the Deluxe with Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups, one of the best sounding basses I've ever owned & I regret selling it.
Absolutely great video comparing the instruments. I play in an atypical band. The P-bass & J-bass players do exactly what you describe. P & the first drummer create a really solid groove, whilst the J-player and other drummer/percussionist deviate from it, solo and spiral or just play over it in a different time. I & they never realised they chose their instruments based on how they prefer to play, I guess it was: unconscious, derived from their idols or just luck. BTW I generally play a chorded 8 string in a rhythm guitar style. Yep 3 basses, 2 drummers & a woman that screams.
I am new to bass, but as a longtime guitar player, it is odd to me that the bass community seems to argue *either* P bass *or* J bass. I don’t typically see the same argument in the guitar community of either Telecaster or Stratocaster, for example. For guitarists, the answer is both/and.
Philip ... this video is fantastic. So well explained, well demo'd and sound-wise you really get a good feeling and impression about both the P-vibe and the J-vibe. I own both and I love both so much but admit I love the P just a little better, and as you mentioned I like to groove more with the drums (and make the crowd go up and down) rather than being in the spotlight with my bass ... but also the feel of the P-bass neck ... P or J... in the end you can't do anything wrong, right ? Keep it coming those vids ... it's really great.
I started with a "pj" configuration but I didn't new anything at the time,one year later I had my first J bass ..only to have my first P bass nearly 2 decades after. own both of them and I couldn't choose one or another...depending the situation, the feeling, the mood , the music etc you pick the one is the most appropriated...Since I have my first p bass 10 years ago, I couldn't vizualize my music life without it..but it's also been more than 20 years am first a J bass player..I prefer the look of the J, the versatility...At the contrary I love the tone of aP (especially with heavy flat on it) and how the neck makes me play differently...if I do covers, I will choose a P for Motown and basic rock, but I could use a Jazz in every situation (and I did)...nonetheless, the tone of the P is the best in the mix, when recording...to me it's a impossible choice because it will depends of those variations...One could also do very good jazz and soloing with the P and do excellent fundamental stuff with the J..I played in band from 2 people to 12 pieces jazz ensemble, mostly with the only jazz I used to have..but now I ve got several options..and don't wan't to choose..also changing from one to the other is putting a kind of nice changing helping the creativity..changing is also very good for progression because one needs to adapt..now to me I have no preference between neck profiles...it s not the same and changes a lot of things but it s quite nice to enjoy this difference... Also I think to practice on diverse instruments can really help like when I go fretess first time, muscular memory but also the habits ofdifferent neck shapes and the habit to fret always ON the fret (like Jaco expalin in his 1985 teaching video) made this passage easy and until the 12 fret, never had tone issues on the fretless (with "marked" frets on it) If I could suggest a thing is that if you re not a pro, there are many evolution in lower budget range nowadays with brands like Sire , some improvment ofSquier, and even Harley Benton is really cheap price for goodquality for beginners...with 500 bucks you buy both..but the best option in quality/priceto me for this range is Sire...they make instruments that are sometimes better than fender mexico,or possessing features you ll find only on 1500 bucks instruments for a price very affordable...If you are pro they can do the job..That said, I would not recommand to buy 2 different basses if you are a total beginner.. very good video (I learned nothing but "im a vet" lol) but it is very goodand I think will help many tochoose, well explained, no mistakes...clear!! last, if I had to choose a desert Island bass, only one choice possible, I would choosethe J..because it 's more versatile, I prefer the look, and the neck is less demanding...but I would never have this choice to do and I hope that life will never push me to keep only one bass ofmy little collection ( 7 basses, 2 j b 5 ,one active, one passive, one j b 4 passive, one jb fretless, 2 p bass and a third with a "PJ" style configuration)..no matter the brand (i mean it s not has to be Fender) but to me they are the only options (with a semi hollow in the future)..all the rest I don't care
I tend toward a PJ myself. I love to toll off the J pickup and go full P, but I've never owned a nice P bass, should probably try one out. What got me into bass was John Paul Jones, that line from Dazed and Confused. On a Jazz. I like a wider nut than a Jazz though, my current main bass is an ESP Stream with PJ pickups (in soapbar housings). It has a 40 mm nut. If I were to start again, I would pick P. The simplicity lends itself better to focus on playing.
Never really been a massive fan of the P bass sound. Therefore I have a jazz bass - it’s just more flexible and I really like it with both pick ups wide open, or slightly favouring the bridge pick up for a punchier sound
I started playing bass 3 months ago and I have a PJ with flats on it. I love a nice quackie slappy bass sound, but that isn’t what I want to play. I get that P sound with the slimmer J style neck. I don’t know why PJ’s get so slept on.
John Paul Jones actually started with a pbass..most of the recording are done on a p bass....a 66..67 fender if memory serves me right....30 years ago when I started playing the salesman says to me this is late 80s early 90s when I bought my first bass ..he says look at all tge greats..what do they play..well for the music I listen to it was Rickis and P BASSES..Geezer Butler .... Roger Waters....Lee Sklar ... the list goes on..so I became a p bass freak...in tge past 5 years I've just started to appreciate the versatility of a jazz bass....I know this video didn't talk about modern basses but just to touch on it..I'm just getting into modern basses with active preamp and humbuckers
I play a short scale semi-hollow body Univox bass of uncertain but certainly ancient vintage. I traded my sister a car for it 30 years ago and it was old then. It looks kind of like a Hofner, so I wonder if it wasn't designed to cash in on the success of the Beatles. It's the one I've got and I can't afford another one. The short scale works for me because I'm primarily a guitar player and the action is decent. I'm convinced that you can make a bass (or almost any instrument) sound any way you want these days, but this one has a warm tone that works well for me with just a little compression for sustain. I played my brother-in-law's Jazz bass when I was a kid and I found it too big for my hands, but I managed okay because he taught me the one great lesson of playing bass: position is everything. He also had a really cool fretless bass that was fun to mess around on, though my pitch was always dicey.
@@markeythesharkey6153 What I mean by it is having your hand in the right place on the neck to play the next note. It sounds simple but it takes a little concentration to be ahead of the song in your head enough to have your hand right where it needs to be. Otherwise you can be scrambling to get to the right note or playing it without much strength behind it (for example, I have a weak pinky and try to always reinforce it by having the ring finger play behind it -- if I'm out of position, I can end up playing it on its own, which can come out buzzing or not fully sounding). I hope that explanation makes sense -- if not let me know.
I liked the P bass with flat wounds the best. It really had a very deep low end sound. So far on TH-cam I like the sound of the semi hollow basses the most.
So many of my favorite players play P’s (Pino, Tim Lefebvre, etc.). I keep trying to like them, and I do, but I’m realizing that I’m more of a J guy myself. One day I’ll have one of each! And I totally agree on the PJ, they’re cool, but I’ve always felt that they were a bit of a compromise.
I have a Sandberg California Oliver Riedel edition that has a PJ Pickup set with a humbucker pickup at the bridge, which I almost always ignore 😂, on the balance knob I give like 10% to that pickup. It’s interesting because it gets closer to a MusicMan if I want, though!
I own a P bass and a Jazz and I still can't consistently decide which to take to gigs. I usually take the P because that specific bass is my favorite, but it's fun to have the J edge.
Just do me 1 favour, get one with maple or some other northern wood. The fact that we still use tropical wood like pau ferro, rosewood or ebony is just crazy. We cannot afford to cut 1 single tree in rain forrest. And yes I know, meat, soja, but with buying maple fretboards we have at least 1 less source of cutdown
Any bass really Depends on you P bass out of those ones shown For versatility regarding styles, clearer bass and gnarlier mids But your fingers and ears will make any bass sound good. I love the instrument Bass is the shit yeeee
Really enjoyed your description of the necks! I have a PJ variant. Some may say that the neck it's a compromise, right in between a P and a Jazz bass neck. (Modern C). Personally I think it is a sweet spot to be in. However if I were to go in a different direction it would be 100% in the precision bass directions. Don't get me wrong the jazz is beautifull sonically and visually. Having said that, the Fender precision bass is more of a Mark Rothko sensibility visually. And a soundtrack from the ancestors of our humanity. Deep.
I have one of each and they are both my #1 basses depending on the situation. Precision has a boom attack before you hear the note. Jazz has a lighter attack and creates the effect that the note simply appears without an introduction. Precision is polite with how it sits in most mixes - almost asking permission to provide a little low end to the rest of the band. Jazz is in your face and demanding. If I'm playing C# on my Jazz and the rest of the band is in C, they sound like they are in the wrong and I'm right. Love them both but prefer the feel of the Jazz.
That’s actually such a perfect way to put it
Best P/J Bass comparison I've seen. Really clearly explained and easy to understand. Very cool. Thanks!
Philip, This is a fantastic video especially for a confused guitar player trying to learn bass. Your explanation of the differences of those two models of the Fender bass was exactly what I was looking for... concise, easy to understand and with visual aids. Thank you. Awesome channel. I'm getting a lot out of your bass course as well.
Not to muddy the waters but I hear the Fender Mustang is great for guitarists because of the short scale neck
@@somedude8242 Thanks for your reply. Funny you should mention a short scale bass. My friend just took delivery of a Hofner violin bass from Germany. It plays like a guitar. Short scale and frets closer together. Nice instrument. Not the overseas copy.
Amen.
@@somedude8242 That's one thing I found myself wondering, especially because we've seen Philip with his Mustang so often: Where does the Mustang fit in among the Precision bass and Jazz bass? Maybe that's a future video.
@@somedude8242 Please remember that short scale basses have less string tension.
Fantastic video. At this point I’ve watched just about every P/J comparison video on TH-cam and this one was easily the best 👏👏👏
Thanks so much! Glad to have you here ⚡️
The band you’re playing in, and what instruments are in the mix, makes a big difference. Sometimes you want those wide-range Jazz Bass frequencies to fill up some space, and sometimes you need a P Bass’ mid focus to sit in a busy mix. I once heard the generalization that J Basses do better in smaller ensembles, and P Basses are the better tool for bigger bands. In my experience this is a decent rule of thumb.
I like that. Good explanation
And I could use the neck pickup of Jazz bass and EQ to get close to p-bass.
Or, have a PJ bass. All the P, most of the J
In my experience, owning a Jazz Bass was fundamental for learning the bass and developing my musical personality. Seven years later, I bought a 2007 Fender MiM Precision Bass, and this bass truly made me a musician. In my opinion, the "less is more" vibe of the Precision Bass is what distinguishes a bass player from a musician. You start to think more about the whole rather than the bass part, if you know what I mean. Btw, this P-Bass remains my primary bass; I wouldn't trade it for anything.
This is an outstanding video and I wish I had seen it when I started playing. Both basses are awesome, and Leo Fender gave us a great gift with the Precision and Jazz.
Thanks for the kind word! So glad to have you here ⚡️
Started in 1982 with a J-bass knockoff that I recall weighing around 20 pounds. Graduated to an 83 P-bass the next year. I still own it. The neck is definitely a different feel--if I'm on a J-bass or a Music Man, I can really tell the difference in my fret hand. Love both, but I'm more of a pocket groove guy anyway, and I love the simplicity of the P-bass.
You deserve a lot more subs, you’re a natural and produce very high quality stuff.
I’m a guitarist who just picked up a MIM J Bass to learn on largely because I found a good used one at a great price locally. A close guitarist friend has a P bass so we have both and can trade I guess. I like the narrow neck and the body comfort for sitting, which I mainly do. Tones don’t matter as much for me as playability for learning and just playing for fun. If I get into it maybe I get other basses but it’ll probably do me just fine for a long time.
Excellent primer on the fundamental differences. My compliments on a eloquent, concise, explanation on the differences and benefits of each instrument. Hell, yeah!
Thanks for the kind word Holly! And thanks for watching ⚡️
I agree 100%, they way i look at it is If i want to stick out in a mix then i’ll play the Jazz bass. If i want to lay back and not be “heard” then i’ll play the P. Sometimes when i’m mixing my own recordings and i’m playing with a P- I wont think what does this mix sound like with this bass i think more of what does it sound without it. And typically it’s thin and dull and the bass just brings it all home.
You Philip and Rett Shull are doing a very good job with your channels :-)
I love the Jazz aesthetics, but the Precision's tone and feel is where I feel "home". One day I'll build a Jazz body, PJ, P neck franken-bass... with flats of course lol
IMO P bass everyday, especially with flats! But yeah, the J bass has its own cool character too. But hey, also love the Stingray too! 😮
Great summary of these two iconic instruments! I agree 100% on how you said you play on a P vs a J…I find myself doing the same 👍
I just LOVE that mean, throaty sound of a Jazz Bass with all of the knobs maxed! I call it the “bullfrog” tone.
I have used p style basses throughout much of my time as a bassist and even after playing everything from music man to even a hofner I keep coming back to the p bass for its simplicity especially in terms of recording and my playing style feels out of place with most instruments so p bass always speaks to me
Great video for beginners, Philip. Good job!
Some famous players did like to play a Jazz bass, but only use the neck pickup, like the great Joe Osborn. The sound is almost as mid focused as a P bass, especially with flats. Joe got some great sounds!
Others favour the P, but liked the Jazz bass neck more, so they simply swapped necks, 😄. (Try doing that with a Gibson or an Alembic..., 😉). The most famous bassist who did this later in his career was the great Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn. Adam Clayton used to play his famous ‘73 sunburst Fender P with a Jazz neck too.
In the early ‘70’s (late 1970-1972) Fender had the option to have a P with a Jazz neck. One famous user was Nate Mendel, with his ‘71 Candy Apple red Fender P.
Others loved the Jazz bass, but liked the neck of the P bass more. One famous player liking this was Tim Commerford (Rage Against The Machine). Even Jaco Pastorius had a maple board late ‘70’s P neck on his fretted Jazzbass he used in his instruction video around 1985! He just might have wrecked the original neck...
I love and use all the options: Fender P’s and J’s and hybrids; both with flats and rounds! Love ‘em!
🖖
Great insight! Thanks for sharing ⚡️
Your ending visualization exercise reminded me of a pithy comment I saw on another video on a similar topic: “When you want the bass to be heard, play a J bass. When you want the bass to be felt, play a P bass.”
I personally prefer P basses. My Squier 60's vibe has a rather slim P bass neck with only a nut width of 40mm's, the neck is also rather flat so its a joy play on! I've put some EMG GZRs in it and it sounds really good for basically any Genres. I'd love to try a PJ or PH someday tho.
Excellent video Phil! Really well structured.
Thank you Russell! Thanks for watching ⚡️
I've been looking for a review that covered these exact issues, and I've found it. This will immensely help anyone who is trying to decide which to get. I've owned (and still own) 3 Jazzes, and I've played a P.
For me, it's about feel. I've always gravitated towards the Jazz for tone and neck feel. Great video!
Thank you for the kind word! So glad to have you here. I love the sound of a jazz bass too ⚡️
Bonus Facts were for me! All about the P/J configuration with a Jazz Bass neck for me. 🤤
I started with a P/J and played the hell out of it and then switched to a Jazz Bass and played the hell out of that. Now I have a P/J with a Jazz neck and I couldn't be happier. The tone of a P Pup is just so good but I also really like having the versatility of "cleaning-up" (sterilizing) the mids by adding in some of that J Bridge and I love that flat virtuosic feel of the Jazz neck.
THIS is the best video comparing these two incredible basses.
This is the most detailed and interesting comparison video I've watched on TH-cam!
Thank you for diving deep into this and also reminding us of the fact that's it's about what feels good to each individual!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching ⚡️
My own first electric bass was an economy version of the modern P-bass built by Epiphone with the Gibson Explorer headstock that I got at age 16 in ‘96. When I chose to upgrade to a more professional-grade instrument four years later, I was short-sighted enough to think “been there” and that I didn’t want another P-bass. An active J-bass was winking at me when I went on the market in 2000. Much as I’m glad I chose that as my model for the following 19 years, I occasionally daydream that I’d instead gotten a hybrid. If I’m no mistaken, 2000 was when Fender had just begun marketing the basses with the P-bass body and the split-coil neck humbucker but with the J-bass bridge pickup and neck. That seems like the best of both worlds, the punchy neck tone, the sound pallet and a slimmer neck.
Hearing a couple of colleagues playing the hybrid model has kind of fueled my interest.
I should ask, Philip. Is that a Moog synthesizer? Which model?
I went to the Fender Mod site, ordered a Mocha Burst bass, and specified the PJ configuration. Sure, it cost me over $2K, but I believe I have the perfect bass guitar. My bass teacher got excited and played it the entire session, and didn't charge me at all, LOL! It is the perfect bass. It did cost me... and my second bass is a Hofner Ignition series violin bass (less than $500), like Paul McCartney used in his early Beatles years. That one's in the shop now. The luthier is fixing it up now. It will have flatwounds and sound more like a stand up orchestral string bass.
For many years I played saxophone, alto and bari, plus a year of cello.
These are my first guitars, and as a recent retiree, I am overjoyed with the great sound the Fender makes. I would highly recommend the Fender Precision bass (with the PJ configuration option on their MOD website) above all other contemporary Fender basses. My expert (and teacher) seriously covets it!
I just picked up an American Original 60’s P
I love P basses
Maybe it’s just what I’m used to
I grew up playing my dads old P bass as a kid
So I’m super bias
But whenever I play another bass I always wish it was a P .
I played a jazz for the first time a few years back and it felt great in the hand. But I like the sound of the P better
And I like how it makes me play (if that makes sense)
FYI, the neck pocket in Jazz and Precision basses are actually not the exact same dimension, so I direct swap can lead to either a sloppy or impossibly tight fit. That has been my experience with neck swaps, anyway!
I have one of each. I use the P for 60's and some 70's stuff. I use the J for almost everything else. If I had to pick one I'd choose the P Bass. The split pick-up makes that oh so sweet BASS SOUND...
I started playing bass as a teen, and got kind of peer pressured into thinking More is More Better. I played a 5-string with active pickups for years and then got sick of it and fell off bass. I'm twice as old now, recently picked up a PJ Mustang and it's been amazing. Love just running the P pickup and thumping. Your on stage hypothetical is spot on for me.
Glad to have you here! Thanks for sharing ⚡️
It so hard to choose between the two. I lean toward the J bass personally. I feel like I can get pretty close to the P tone with it, but then have other options with the bridge pickup. For a while, my set up was P-bass with flat wounds for blues/country/soul stuff and a Jazz with roundwounds for rock. Recently, I did get a new P/J that I have rounds on that I get the best of both worlds from.
My desert island bass is my American Deluxe Jazz, but it's more about that particular bass than it is the P vs. J question. Assuming I have batteries on the deserted island.
You absolutely nail when you say both can do it all. I always preferred the aesthetics of the Jazz bass, probably because more of my heroes played them (John Paul Jones, Jaco, Les Claypool on occasion). But I do find myself gravitating to the growly P-bass sound.
I played a Jazz bass for 20 years that I never really bonded with and ended up turning it into an electric Sarode and at the moment my go-to bass is a MIJ Jaguar bass (full scale, 2 jazz pickups, the original model). I also have a 1985 MIJ Squier fretless P-bass that sounds and plays amazing. Honestly, once you have a Fender designed bass in your hands, the instrument won't get in the way of any playing style or sound you need. Great video, if I had seen it 30 years ago, I might have bought a P-bass as my first real bass and ended up being in a famous rock band instead of as a struggling Sitar player ;)
I started out on a P bass, eventually bought a Jazz bass which became my number one for a long time before I stumbled upon a limited run P/J that Fender did in 2016. Now, I have two slightly different configured P/J basses plus the Jazz as an alternative. P/J truly is the best of both worlds imo, but I keep the Jazz because it has that really cool and snappy tone with both pickups fully on with a bit of overdrive that the P/J can't entirely achieve.
I somewhat agree with the take of trying both before going with a P/J. It really gives you a understanding of why it's such a great combo. But it also doubles as a P by simply muting the bridge pickup, so if you're leaning towards P I would definitely check one out. They usually have a Jazz type neck as well though, so they're not always just simply a P with a second pickup.
Awesome tone!!! I have a heavy jazz body with a heavy, super wide, super chunky fretless precision neck. Fralin pickups, John East preamp. Strung with La Bella Gold Flats .85 .65 .45 .29 tuned down to standard tuning. A vast gulf of space from string to string. Good times.
Hey Philip,
Watching from Germany. I really enjoy the content you create! You have such a unique and cool way to share your knowledge and experience. Thanks for that :) keep it up, man
I totally agree!
There is another option, another classic bass Leo Fender has created aside from the P Bass and J Bass. It is the Music Man Sting Ray which many rock and slap bass players use exclusively. This is my goto bass indeed.
Nice job! For many years I had one of each - I considered these the "hammer and screwdriver" for a bass players toolbox. Although a Stingray might be a nice addition to that toolbox...
Well said ⚡️
I have those three 😊 American standard P with flats, 1964 P with 2 active EMG jazz pickups (in 60s Jazz bass configuration) and a StingRay Classic 2 band EQ. All great for different tasks for different reasons and I love them to bits!
The advice on imagining yourself playing the bass is very good, I like that. The way I was taught was to see what the player in the band you loved most played - it was John Paul Jones so I went for a P bass because I couldn't afford a Jazz ;-)
I swapped for a Jazz in 1984 and much prefer it, but I keep a P bass (or a PJ with a Jaguar neck - more versatile and nicer neck) around. It's best to try out each type first, but don't get hung up on the feel of the bass - you can get used to differences. Make sure you have one that sounds good to you. Neither is better or worse, it's simply what works for you.
Greetings from Bucharest, Romania. Always leaned more towards the Jazz bass. But both are cool. I have a nice Mike Lull 5-string P for when I want that traditional vibe, but most of the time I'm playing a modern J (with 35" scale and 5 strings) :)
Loved this video! Very informative, nice to learn more about the differences between basses. I personally prefer the P-bass sound, nice and moody 😄 So, when's the video about the upright coming? I recently rediscovered a band I used to listen to years ago, Stray Cats, love the bass in that 😁🎶
I love the summary. I gravitate to the more obscure band member laying down the fundamental groove. P Bass for me, thanks.
Guitar center sells a Squier Precision bass starter packs, that have an additional Jazz Pickup added, called The Affinity Special, with a jazz neck.
This is a totally a no brainer. The price is great, the bass quality is great and the versatility is great! What more could a beginner want or need, and you get a free amp too.
Both the P bass and jazz bass are great basses, this way you kind of get both.
I have a 90's precision special, they were built with pj combo and jazz neck, a new precision ultra, and new jazz ultra they all sound great.
Cleanest video I've watched in a while
Lol, I was waiting for you to mention another Great J-Bass player. Geddy Lee, of Rush, He was the main reason I chose to build a J-Bass from a kit....he uses every nuance that the J-Bass provides and then some. I'll have some Kent Armstrong pickups in the kit, but am thinking of getting some Tom Brantley Geddy Lee signature ones down the road.
The P bass is the one I'd want to go to lunch with...if it were a person. But I am in my 60s and a new bass playing convert. Have a Fender P bass, a Stirling Classic RAY24 and a Sire V3P. Switching back and forth a lot and spend most of my practice between on or the other. I'm starting to see how they all have their now place. Now I get why bass players seem to own several basses.
Hey Shug,
I’m pretty sure the sire v3 is/was a j bass.
That you let go for a G&L L1000; aka p killer.
I have been intrigued by the L1000 since.
I have a 1973 telecaster bass, and a 1968 telecaster bass body parts bass. I love a single pickup, passive, fat necked bass. The charm of simplicity, indeed. I am very OK with not being noticed. I just bought and tried a 1977 Guild B-301A. It wasn't for me, so I am letting a mate try the guild. If he likes it, he will trade to me his 2006 Fender highway one jazz bass. I never have been a fan of the offset body. Stay tuned.
Love my Fender Made in Mexico Jazz Bass with black flatwounds and Seymour Duncan Vintage pickups. Recently (from someone on TH-cam) discovered playing with just the bridge pickup but the tone right off (I.e. treble wound right off). Always something new to learn. Just ordered a Sire U5 PJ bass. Short scale ‘cos I’m getting on a bit and the J Bass gives my pain in my fretting hand in long sessions.
Awesome! Sounds like you have some great things going. Good luck!
Just acquired a 2006 Fender Highway One American P Bass...it just sings, it plays and sounds great...also have a Marcus Miller Sire P7 PJ-style 4 string with active EQ and an 18V system...these basses are incredible - and not just for the price. string through body, this one is Alder, a Jazz-style neck with the satin finish so it's FAST and super comfortable, p-Bass pickups and a Jazz pickup at the bridge, including a passive/active switch!...with some active basses, your battery dies, you're done...this allows you to flip a switch and play on...The mid sweep is DYNAMIC...can't say enough about the Sire...I toured years ago playing exclusively a 5-string Fender Jazz and loved it, but man, if these Sire basses had been around, I'd have probably switched!...but the P-Bass is SOLID gold sound, in the most reliable and recognizable bass guitar ever...it's passive and essentially does ONE thing tone-wise, but it's so warm, round, and punchy all at the same time, it's like an adventure every time you pick it up...if you're going to do just one thing...do it RIGHT, and the P Bass is RIGHT...
Both basses are such a good choice because i will play according to the music, i will be locked in a groove with the drummer in certain genres, or i will be doing some more energetic playing like slapping with gospel, they are both so good. P bass with flatwounds is amazing sounding though.
Thanks for this video! As a guitar player looking to learn a bit of bass and to get one for home recording, this was extremely helpful! I’ve always wondered the difference between the two!
I think there’s a p-bass in my future!
Good luck Ben! I hope you find the sound you are looking for ⚡️
awesome analysis and condensed comparison, align very much with your personal opinion on when to use P and J, thanks!
I have a Jazz Bass and my friend has a Precision Bass and I think it kinda fits as our reaction to For Whom The Bell Tolls couldn't have been more opposite. I see use of the 19th fret and go "Hell yeah, that's sick!" whereas his response was "What the hell?"
I think the biggest reason I went with the Jazz Bass was that bridge pickup, I like the more trebly nature of it. The neck taper is just a little added bonus
P Bass with Jazz neck ftw. G&L has some awesome customization options for this, and the Lakland Duck Dunn signature comes stock in this configuration I believe. Nice video!
Great stuff, thank you!
As you alluded to at the end, after you've played around with different options you can always customize. I like the P body but J necks and one of the basses that I wish I still had was a J that had two P pickups. I've also seen a couple of really cool PMM basses with a MM pickup in place of a J. Another cool one I played was a J bass that someone had put Thunderbird pickups in. Great era for gear that we're in right now!
Agreed! Thanks for sharing ⚡️
Cool video. I'm in love with my Ibanez TMB-100 (it's affordable, quite beatable and PJ), but if I were about to buy a Fender I think I would go for a Precision (or a JMJ Mustang!).
By the way, I would love to hear you talk about the upright.
Cheaper Ibanez PJs are underrated.
I played a Jazz for years and it is really cool but I now play a Mustang PJ and it does everything I want with the comfort and feel I prefer.
I love how this guys explains things
Thanks!
I could not decide between both... then I bought a Fender Player Jaguar bass (PJ pickups) and I could not be happier!
I think i need both.. i currently have a Cort PJ but am gassing for both P & J separately..
Flatwounds on a jazz bass cuts through the mix very well where the precision couldn't (in my experience). I've been using stainless steel flats on my jazz for the past 15 yrs. Everyone loves the sound I get. My fingers love it most of all.
Philip, just to clarify: As a long-time player of jazz basses, my overwhelming experience is as follows. The pickups on a standard VVT (volume/volume/tone) passive Fender Jazz Bass cannot be blended - UNLESS - both pickups ARE NOT run at full volume (unfortunately output drops significantly in this mode). When one pickup is run at full volume and the other is not, the sound of the dominant pick up over-rides the other, so in essence there are only three sounds possible on a passive VVT jazz bass when you're running either, or both pickups at full volume: i.e. 1) Neck pickup...ala John Paul Jones. 2) Bridge pickup... ala Jaco Pastorius, or 3) Both pickups on full - the classic jazz bass mid-scooped tone due to 'comb-filtering' ala Marcus Miller or '70's Anthony Jackson (before he went exclusively to the 6-string). Of course, this can be fixed if the bass is re-wired with a VBT circuit (Volume, Blend, Tone) and obviously does not apply to jazz basses with active circuits. The good thing is though, that in the absence of the ability to truly 'blend' the pickups when one is running at full volume, there are many tonal nuances possible just by moving the fingers and plucking at different positions on the string, and these render any perceived advantages gained i.e. by the ability to micro blend pickups, almost moot IMO.
Thank you for this great video Philip ! I'm soon gonna get my first bass and I will go for the P !
That’s a great choice. Good luck with your bass journey!
The best video explaining the difference between the two basses. Thanks so much. I have a Vox 1982 standard bass which I am guessing it's a P Bass. But would like to know what you think.
My favorite is the PJ(P-bass pickup the neck J-bass pickup on the bridge on a Precision body for those not in the know), my style is a lot like Billy Cox, hold a solid line & throw curve balls during drum fills. Jazz basses are definitely faster, have a great sound, P basses have more of a growl in my opinion, both are great basses & you can't go wrong with either. The PJ gives me my favorite tone, I usually run the P PU wide open & run the J at about 50%, gives me punch with a hint of twang. I no longer own a Jazz bass, but my favorite was the Deluxe with Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups, one of the best sounding basses I've ever owned & I regret selling it.
Great video… super helpful … thanks very much
Absolutely great video comparing the instruments. I play in an atypical band. The P-bass & J-bass players do exactly what you describe. P & the first drummer create a really solid groove, whilst the J-player and other drummer/percussionist deviate from it, solo and spiral or just play over it in a different time. I & they never realised they chose their instruments based on how they prefer to play, I guess it was: unconscious, derived from their idols or just luck. BTW I generally play a chorded 8 string in a rhythm guitar style. Yep 3 basses, 2 drummers & a woman that screams.
I don’t know if you are familiar with a band named “Galactic “,… but I was hearing them in the musical examples you were playing. I was digging it.
I am new to bass, but as a longtime guitar player, it is odd to me that the bass community seems to argue *either* P bass *or* J bass. I don’t typically see the same argument in the guitar community of either Telecaster or Stratocaster, for example. For guitarists, the answer is both/and.
Philip ... this video is fantastic. So well explained, well demo'd and sound-wise you really get a good feeling and impression about both the P-vibe and the J-vibe.
I own both and I love both so much but admit I love the P just a little better, and as you mentioned I like to groove more with the drums (and make the crowd go up and down) rather than being in the spotlight with my bass ... but also the feel of the P-bass neck ... P or J... in the end you can't do anything wrong, right ?
Keep it coming those vids ... it's really great.
Thanks for watching Igmar! Glad to have you here ⚡️
I started with a "pj" configuration but I didn't new anything at the time,one year later I had my first J bass ..only to have my first P bass nearly 2 decades after. own both of them and I couldn't choose one or another...depending the situation, the feeling, the mood , the music etc you pick the one is the most appropriated...Since I have my first p bass 10 years ago, I couldn't vizualize my music life without it..but it's also been more than 20 years am first a J bass player..I prefer the look of the J, the versatility...At the contrary I love the tone of aP (especially with heavy flat on it) and how the neck makes me play differently...if I do covers, I will choose a P for Motown and basic rock, but I could use a Jazz in every situation (and I did)...nonetheless, the tone of the P is the best in the mix, when recording...to me it's a impossible choice because it will depends of those variations...One could also do very good jazz and soloing with the P and do excellent fundamental stuff with the J..I played in band from 2 people to 12 pieces jazz ensemble, mostly with the only jazz I used to have..but now I ve got several options..and don't wan't to choose..also changing from one to the other is putting a kind of nice changing helping the creativity..changing is also very good for progression because one needs to adapt..now to me I have no preference between neck profiles...it s not the same and changes a lot of things but it s quite nice to enjoy this difference... Also I think to practice on diverse instruments can really help like when I go fretess first time, muscular memory but also the habits ofdifferent neck shapes and the habit to fret always ON the fret (like Jaco expalin in his 1985 teaching video) made this passage easy and until the 12 fret, never had tone issues on the fretless (with "marked" frets on it)
If I could suggest a thing is that if you re not a pro, there are many evolution in lower budget range nowadays with brands like Sire , some improvment ofSquier, and even Harley Benton is really cheap price for goodquality for beginners...with 500 bucks you buy both..but the best option in quality/priceto me for this range is Sire...they make instruments that are sometimes better than fender mexico,or possessing features you ll find only on 1500 bucks instruments for a price very affordable...If you are pro they can do the job..That said, I would not recommand to buy 2 different basses if you are a total beginner..
very good video (I learned nothing but "im a vet" lol) but it is very goodand I think will help many tochoose, well explained, no mistakes...clear!!
last, if I had to choose a desert Island bass, only one choice possible, I would choosethe J..because it 's more versatile, I prefer the look, and the neck is less demanding...but I would never have this choice to do and I hope that life will never push me to keep only one bass ofmy little collection ( 7 basses, 2 j b 5 ,one active, one passive, one j b 4 passive, one jb fretless, 2 p bass and a third with a "PJ" style configuration)..no matter the brand (i mean it s not has to be Fender) but to me they are the only options (with a semi hollow in the future)..all the rest I don't care
I agree, Sire (Marcus miller) makes a really good instrument at a decent price.
Great video Philip! ✌🏻
Thank you ⚡️
I tend toward a PJ myself. I love to toll off the J pickup and go full P, but I've never owned a nice P bass, should probably try one out. What got me into bass was John Paul Jones, that line from Dazed and Confused. On a Jazz.
I like a wider nut than a Jazz though, my current main bass is an ESP Stream with PJ pickups (in soapbar housings). It has a 40 mm nut.
If I were to start again, I would pick P. The simplicity lends itself better to focus on playing.
Never really been a massive fan of the P bass sound. Therefore I have a jazz bass - it’s just more flexible and I really like it with both pick ups wide open, or slightly favouring the bridge pick up for a punchier sound
That’s a great sound!
I started playing bass 3 months ago and I have a PJ with flats on it. I love a nice quackie slappy bass sound, but that isn’t what I want to play. I get that P sound with the slimmer J style neck. I don’t know why PJ’s get so slept on.
John Paul Jones actually started with a pbass..most of the recording are done on a p bass....a 66..67 fender if memory serves me right....30 years ago when I started playing the salesman says to me this is late 80s early 90s when I bought my first bass ..he says look at all tge greats..what do they play..well for the music I listen to it was Rickis and P BASSES..Geezer Butler .... Roger Waters....Lee Sklar ... the list goes on..so I became a p bass freak...in tge past 5 years I've just started to appreciate the versatility of a jazz bass....I know this video didn't talk about modern basses but just to touch on it..I'm just getting into modern basses with active preamp and humbuckers
Wow, you actually DID help me choose, thanks ! P bass it is then !
Jazz bass active with 24 frets my Excalibur ❤
I play a short scale semi-hollow body Univox bass of uncertain but certainly ancient vintage. I traded my sister a car for it 30 years ago and it was old then. It looks kind of like a Hofner, so I wonder if it wasn't designed to cash in on the success of the Beatles.
It's the one I've got and I can't afford another one. The short scale works for me because I'm primarily a guitar player and the action is decent. I'm convinced that you can make a bass (or almost any instrument) sound any way you want these days, but this one has a warm tone that works well for me with just a little compression for sustain.
I played my brother-in-law's Jazz bass when I was a kid and I found it too big for my hands, but I managed okay because he taught me the one great lesson of playing bass: position is everything. He also had a really cool fretless bass that was fun to mess around on, though my pitch was always dicey.
@ jrpipik I have just begun trying to learn bass. Please explain further on your statement: "position is everything". Thanks.
@@markeythesharkey6153 What I mean by it is having your hand in the right place on the neck to play the next note. It sounds simple but it takes a little concentration to be ahead of the song in your head enough to have your hand right where it needs to be. Otherwise you can be scrambling to get to the right note or playing it without much strength behind it (for example, I have a weak pinky and try to always reinforce it by having the ring finger play behind it -- if I'm out of position, I can end up playing it on its own, which can come out buzzing or not fully sounding). I hope that explanation makes sense -- if not let me know.
@@jrpipik Thanks. Good explanation. I'm good at scrambling right now and not liking it. LOL
@@markeythesharkey6153 I recommend watching Leland Sklar. His position is perfect every time.
I liked the P bass with flat wounds the best. It really had a very deep low end sound. So far on TH-cam I like the sound of the semi hollow basses the most.
So many of my favorite players play P’s (Pino, Tim Lefebvre, etc.). I keep trying to like them, and I do, but I’m realizing that I’m more of a J guy myself. One day I’ll have one of each! And I totally agree on the PJ, they’re cool, but I’ve always felt that they were a bit of a compromise.
I have a Sandberg California Oliver Riedel edition that has a PJ Pickup set with a humbucker pickup at the bridge, which I almost always ignore 😂, on the balance knob I give like 10% to that pickup.
It’s interesting because it gets closer to a MusicMan if I want, though!
2:00 Actually, Leo added the frets because he advertised the bass to guitar players as well.
I own a P bass and a Jazz and I still can't consistently decide which to take to gigs. I usually take the P because that specific bass is my favorite, but it's fun to have the J edge.
Best j vs p vid on TH-cam.
I traded in my J bass to buy a P/J hybrid. I found that I started playing more when I made the switch.
Glad you found something that works for you! ⚡️
I would go with neither. I prefer my Stingray. I do own a jazz and a precision but, I always find myself grabbing my stingray.
Looking forward to this (but you’ve already sold me on the M)
Just do me 1 favour, get one with maple or some other northern wood. The fact that we still use tropical wood like pau ferro, rosewood or ebony is just crazy. We cannot afford to cut 1 single tree in rain forrest.
And yes I know, meat, soja, but with buying maple fretboards we have at least 1 less source of cutdown
Super helpful info!
GREAT Video!
Thank you! 🙏🏻
Any bass really
Depends on you
P bass out of those ones shown
For versatility regarding styles, clearer bass and gnarlier mids
But your fingers and ears will make any bass sound good.
I love the instrument
Bass is the shit yeeee
Love P and J basses but always end up reaching for my Stingray. It just sounds right to me
🤘
Very cool introduction of these 2 classics!
I am a P-dude, the J-neck is not for me …
Really enjoyed your description of the necks! I have a PJ variant. Some may say that the neck it's a compromise, right in between a P and a Jazz bass neck. (Modern C). Personally I think it is a sweet spot to be in. However if I were to go in a different direction it would be 100% in the precision bass directions. Don't get me wrong the jazz is beautifull sonically and visually. Having said that, the Fender precision bass is more of a Mark Rothko sensibility visually. And a soundtrack from the ancestors of our humanity. Deep.
Well said!
@Philip Conrad ~ thank you. 😊 new subscriber!
Both
I have two fender jazz and one sire p bass. The problem is solved. Currently playing fender jazz
I play a thunderbird, and would prefer jazz because of the neck similarities. However, I like the weight and sound of my thunderbird the best.