Firm J-bass proponent, but not for tone reasons. A jazz bass is shaped in a way that balances better while standing, given default strap button placement. If you play primarily sitting down, then this is not much of a factor, but if you're a stickler about standing balance, then this is important. The difference in neck profile shapes matters as well, but I feel like that's more of a preference thing than balance is. For balance, one instrument can be objectively more balanced than another, and the preference factor is solely about "How much does balance MATTER to you?", and if it doesn't matter much for you, then you can just ignore it. However, no neck profile is objectively better for 100% of all players than another neck profile.
I stay with Scott Devine's take on this: you just can't compare two basses that sound and FEEL completely different from each other specially neck wise. The p bass has a single tone that makes so much and the jazz bass has options for tone shaping with the 3 vols.
Good vid! Two Jazz tricks: 1. For a beefier-feeling neck, if you have threaded or multi-groove saddles, widen the string spacing from the standard 19mm to 21mm. Some 70s/80s Jazz basses came with this spacing if I'm not mistaken. 2. For a fat sounding neck pickup sound, put the tone near zero and roll the neck volume down a little. Add a little bridge to taste if desired. The magic of passive electronics will give you a massive fat dub-like tone.
Yes. Rolling off the bridge pickup just a tad on a Jazz bass is the mid-range bump trick (also works with both pickups on if you want to cancel out a bit of the scoop). But this certainly is the extra bit to get even closer to the P sound. The takeaway from all this is you can get a J to sound pretty close to a P, but a P will never be able to approximate the sound of a J.
I always tell people, a Jazz bass neck pickup on its own is almost identical in sound to a P bass, and this video proved it. I would like to see a blind test to see what people really hear, vs what they THINK they hear based on what’s on the screen.
I had my eyes closed when the playing started. Identified the first P Bass excerpt within one or two notes. If playing on the E string below G I can identify instantly. But the neck pickup of a J does get close. To 99% of listeners, it probably would make no difference. To me I can identify the difference, but who cares. Lol good either way
I can tell everytime. I have been been playing basses and hundreds of other basses for over 35yrs. A P-bass has a specific bounce and bark which a j can't get. It they are all tools for different needs
PJ is my preferred configuration. Picking one over the other, it would be Jazz. I like the variety of tones that I get out of a Jazz over the Precision. You can't go wrong with either. I'm also a huge fan of the MusicMan...
I agree. I've got a couple PJ's and they're my go to these days. You can get a lot of variation out of them. I'm trying a stet of LaBella's on one of them right now. I love LaBella's on my P but wasn't sure about on a P/J. I dig it so far but I'm in the honeymoon phase haha.
what are some examples of a Precision sounding like a Jazz bass by changing the knobs on the amp? How about a Precision or a Jazz sounding like a Stingray with the EQ cranked? I've never heard anything close to it.
@@rrdream2400 "like" doesn't mean identical... and being "like" is far enough in many situations, especially considering that live sessions are most of the time massive audio goatf*cks and only very rarely chamber music grade experiences.
@rrdream2400 Tons of Rush songs were recorded on a P bass when fans are arguing about whether it was the Rick or the Jazz. People think Radar Love and Super Freak were recorded with Ricks because of the music videos but Radar Love was a Danelecteo Longhorn and Super Freak was a P bass. People thought a lot of Queen stuff was P bass all the way through but it was a Stingray. Not just bass either, people thought Zep 1 and 2 were all Les Paul but it was a Tele on most of them. Lots think it's Gilmour's black Strat into an amp on Another Brick in the Wall pt 2, but it's a Les Paul direct into the board. People think many of Brian May's biggest recorded songs were done with an AC30, but it was a little solid state amp John Deacon wired up himself. But I didn't even have to go that far. The vast majority of people still can't even tell that the Seinfeld theme is a synthesizer and not an actual bass guitar. People hear with their eyes. Nothing new.
Glad you mentioned the PJ configuration. I just picked up a yamaha bbp4 and absolutely love it with dadarrio chrome flats. I mostly keep the p on full and blend in varying amounts of j, though i can go the other direction if the song calls for it. The craftsmanship on the bass is quite remarkable and the neck plays like butter
I could play my Squier 70s Jazz bass for the rest of my life and be happy. I've had it for almost 10 years and it's the only guitar I have that I've never modified, it doesn't need it. Just needed to be set up professionally and it was good to go. I love the way the Jazz bass sounds, and "close enough" is good enough for me when it comes to gear because once you get everything in the mix, no one is going to know or care. 😎👉👉
I play Jazz basses but I love both. I have an Industrial Radio J4 midi Jazz Bass, A 73 Jazz and a parts 32" Jazz. Both P & J basses sit well in a mix, Leo Fender was a genius.
P bass for me 100%. Offset jazz bass looks better tho. I have a fender blacktop jazz, which is a jazz body with 2 pbass pickups. Best of both worlds for me. I will say I do think they both have their place, and are both amazing, but for me a pbass is THE bass sound.
Lee Sklar put an unwired toggle switch n his original Fender P that he’d click on when an engineer or producer asked for a different sound. Lee fooled them for decades with that trick and did it all on his P bass until he retired it. 😆🎸
When I made my P bass into a PJ, my biggest mistake was to not understand the importance of positioning for the J pickup. Slap bang in the middle between the bridge plate and scratchplate looked aesthetically pleasing but doesn't sound as good as having it (by its own width) closer to the P pickup. Pickup placement is key to all bass tone and Leo Fender knew what he was doing.
My old school bass collegue once told me that sound of P bass can be compared as open slap into face while J bass sound is more like karate punches. Both can be used by a good "fighter" according to situation, but the key is ALWAYS in your hands
This is a valuable comparison video. Well done. I'm an old manufacturing luthier with fifty years experience. I'd say that looking at the jazz bass here that it would play better with a neck shim to allow the bridge saddles to be raised for the same action. This would give a bit more punch and make the saddle screws dissappear for safer / easier palm damping.
I've put Fralin Split Jazz Bass pickups, added some foam under the strings, neck pickup 100% tone at around 40% and it's pretty thumpy and focused if you ask me :)
One thing to try if you get down to modifying things is wiring the jazz bass pickups in series. Normally in J-bass they are in parallel and the two coils that form the P-bass pickup are in series. The reasoning is that wiring the J-bass pickups in series they work together more like the P-bass pickup. The huge difference is ofcource that the coils both sense all strings and one of them is pretty close to the bridge. The series/parallel switching can be done with a push-pull pot. On my cheap J-bass style Tokai, putting the pickups in series seems to get me a bit more P-bass like thump... It's hard to describe... and a healthy volume boost. The downside in the series-mode is that teh both pickups are just on... You cant turn down just one. One of the volumes will work as "master volume" and the other is bypassed altogether. But then you can push the pot to switch it back to parallel and get all your old school J-bass options.
On my sire v3, in active mode, I heavily cut the high mids to get rid of the nasal J bass tone. On passive mode, I opt for playing neck pickup only and cutting the tone AND also a bit of the volume.
I favour the j-bass neck. Especially like the one I had on my 72 J. Also, i almost only play with a pick. However, I only prefer the jazzbass sound in series (kinda like the Single Coil 51 P the best to be honest). Made that series mod on my 72 and it sounded more like a compressed P in an way which I liked a lot. As far as necks go, the only comfortable P-neck (for me) that I've ever played was on a MIJ P. It's slightly narrower than a standard P but wider than a J. Well, that's where I stand.
I was a real snob about playing anything but a p bass when I was younger. I wanted all the options a bass could give me. Eventually I bought a p bass because of a player that I loved and it clicked for me instantly. It’s just the sound that I want from my bass. No fuss, no muss.
I’ll take it a step further. I got a American deluxe p bass that has the dual jazz pickups in the bridge. Makes it sound more soap bar style when paired with the p pickup. Not a fan of jazz basses but I do like this deluxe bass a lot. I’m really digging the wide range pickup in parallel wiring a lot gives a p bass like sound but more hollow and bigger.
I have several of both P and J. They're definitely two different animals. For me, the J has so many options. I ended up putting Dimarzio hum-cancelling pickups in all of my Js. That makes it sound more P-like when I solo the neck PU. As far as necks go, I love them all! I have 2 early '80s, 32" scale, MIJ Squier Ps that I had refinished in Harley Orange and Seafoam, both with matching headstocks that I put Wilde P46 pickups and Tonestyler tone controls in. They sound killer! At the same time, my Fender Custom Shop J with Dimarzio PUs sounds incredible, too! I guess it comes down to the right tool for the job...
I've heard good things about DiMarzio Js, some of which have series wiring or the option for series wiring, which can add some nice girth to a J sound. I recently put the stacked-coil Fender Gen4 Noiseless in my '06 MIA J. They're wired parallel and compress things a bit but still keep a lot of the single coil vibe.
Always interesting to hear from people who went down a similar road; I also have two of the MIJ Squier medium Precisions and they've definitely become my go-to instruments. I swapped the bridges for Hipshot Vintage and gave them new pots, plus a little channel to make truss rod adjustments on the fly. As you mention, it's all contextual. As much as I love them, sometimes I have to reach for something else, whether it's a full-scale P or J or something else entirely. Keeps it fun!
You are making excellent points about how the instruments themselves can influence the player in his styling. That is to say that the way an instrument looks feels and sounds will inspire his or her imagination in different emotions and inspirations.🎉
I have puppet hands so a P bass neck is too dang big. I came across a CS PJ. It has the J neck but the rest is all P. It is by far the best sounding bass I have for most endeavors. I thought this video was going to be a long walk but it was pretty dang good. Nice one!
Insightful. The neck shape does influence your style. I play much further up the neck on a jazz..I play dub reggae used a PBass for longtime, when I changed my tuning to BEAD i stuck with the Jazz it holds the tuning better in a mechanical sense and allows you to use low B more effectively.
How about a comparison between single coil and split coil P-bass? Side by side tone comparison and especially how it sits in a mix. I do appreciate the archetypical P-bass but I have a feeling the original single coil P - or its descendants - doesn't get very much love. Why would that be?
That would be interesting. Now -- and I'm asking this out of ignorance -- I wonder what the sonic difference between an old-school single coil (like a '51-'56 Precision) compared with a mid-position Jazz single coil? The reason I ask is that the old-school Precision SC has one magnet per string and the Jazz has two. Thus, I'm curious if they would A-B differently.
@@AnthonyLeBlanc-n6i as it happens I have a fretless J (of which I usually only use the neck pick-up) and a single coil P-style bass - both no Fender. They sound very different. Hard to describe, but I would say the single coil P (with single pole pieces) sounds punchier and woodier, more organic.
Jazz basses seem to have a growel. I own and love both of them. My Jazz Bass is a G&L JB, My PJ is a G&L SB 2 and My P bass is a Fender 1963 original. Both of my G&L's were built here in Fullerton California. Great video
I have two basses with PJ pickup configuration, mainly because that was the only option on offer with these higher end 1980s basses. One thing I have noticed that separates the P from the J bass when testing them out against each other is touch response. A J bass with both pickups on to my ear has a quicker (or punchier as Phillip says) touch response, whereas the P bass is slower and smoother.
I bought a 5 string ibanez PJ because i couldnt pick and i just wanted that versatility. To be honest i just have it rolled into P most of the time but you can get some awesome sounds out of the bridge pickup
Another option should be mentioned. Because of my small fingers, I was fixated on the Jazz Bass for a long time, as I could only manage to play the slim neck. That changed when I was in the US and found a Preci with an A-neck (Jazz Bass size neck). They told me that in the 70s this was offered as standard by Fender. These Precis are very rare in Europe, but now with my A-neck Fender Precision I can enjoy the whole world of Precision sounds with the comfort of a Jazz neck. By the way, the early Fender Precisions had a single-coil pickup before the split pickup was introduced. Therefore, the neck pickup sound of the Jazz Bass should be quite similar to these early Precisions.
I've sold my am std P because of my small fingers too. And I did something like you did -- I've suddenly discovered an old japanese PJ bass with the J-neck on it (comes from the factory). Although I don't really use it as PJ, this is a great workaround to get the P sound with the J neck. The model is PJ-455.
I feel like with EQ'ing and a series to parallel switch you should be able to make most bass sound like other ones. But I've never used a switch like that so I dunno
I’ve owned both for 25 years and when soloing the neck pickup on the Jazz you start getting too muddy when you start adding in the bass. It does get in the P neighbourhood, but you can still hear the difference.
Very good descriptive comparison. I own both and they definitely each have their own distinct characteristics. Also own a 2000 Hot Rod P which is a P/J configuration. Glad you mentioned that at the end. Kudos
I like both and realistically don't want a whole herd of basses (I play other instruments) so I've thought about how to get the J closer to the P. A thicker neck, nickel wound or flats, fatter tuned pickups, and it's probably in the ballpark. Someday I'll get to trying it out.
It was close but the J-Bass still had that mid-scoop happening. The P-Bass did exactly what it was designed to do- sit in the mix and provide the fundamental. That J-Bass sounded great, but nothing records quite like a P-bass.
I wish i could get your strings but since im in the uk it would cost me £20 for one set of strings so im probably gonna overspend on one set and if i like them get three pairs everytime
My new Kiesel has two split coil pickups. It's extremely versatile and does everything I want plus some. I like traditional P and J basses, but I also like playing 6 string and 24 fret basses, so now I have the best of both worlds 😁
I got an American Vintage II Jazz Bass recently. The neck pup with flats sounds as close to a P with flats as I’ve ever heard on a J. Suggestion for the editor, it would’ve been useful if you overlayed the 2 waveforms so we could more clearly see the differences.
I own both P-bass and J-bass. But my favorite for gigging are my PJ basses. The P pick up is open all the way and I blend in about 50% of the J pick up and tone rolled almost completely off. I use steel round wound strings and I play mostly with a pick for a brash, percussive sound that works very well in the hard rock cover band I play in that emphasizes 70's-80's-90's rock. I can play the J-bass a bit faster and smoother due to the slimmer neck.
I love both the P and Jazz Bass. But I have to say that I prefer playing a Jazz. It feels better to me, I prefer the body and neck shape, and in the mix, it gets me close enough to a P tone if it's needed. And having the options for a nice slap od solo sound, or use both pickups for a more "elegant", less aggressive all-around pop sound comes on top. The most striking things about a P bass are its simplicity and this sound that it does in perfection. But in my opinion PJs are not the best of both worlds but rather a big compromise. You loose the vibe and simplicity of a P (although you get this iconic sound and the overall feel), the tone cap is to strong for the bridge pickup (doesn't get all the J bridge solo sounds), and blending both pickups doesn't give you that iconic slap sound. It's a different sound that has its fans, but it's not for me. For maximum versatility, I'd reach for a J/MM, something like a Lakland, Sandberg TM, or my Clover Apeiron.
Its very similar to Telecaster vs Stratocaster. Both unique, a bit of similarity in some tones. Totally different physical feel. The P and the J cover all the bases imo. Unless you just have to have that Rickenbacker sound, which i did for a long time. Now i have a jazz and a precision lol
Thanks for sharing this video. I own several basses and I always grab either the jazz or P bass. Just like all serious musicians, you have several types of musical instruments from your arsenal. You can’t have just one type of bass, but several. I lean towards the jazz bass because I mainly play fusion and funk.
I've got a couple PJ's and they're my go to these days. You can get a lot of variation out of them. I'm trying a stet of LaBella flats on one of them right now. I love LaBella's on my P but wasn't sure about on a P/J. I dig it so far but I'm still in the honeymoon phase haha. My favorite playing bass though is my Stingray. It's just awesome. I can tell you with certainty that no matter how hard you try, you can not get a Ray to sound like a P lol. I have pondered seeing if an HH Ray can get close but am not eager to part with the cash to order one (no shops near me carry them).
Nice video! Try to use just the neck pickup on the Jazz, but roll the VOLUME knob a little bit down, just to get rid of the j-bass clarity. And adjust the tone knob as you want :)
I like how a Jazz bass sounds and feels (body). It has a different mid frequency point than a P. I just can't stand the neck shape. Solution: custom JB with a PB neck! I could just swap Fender parts. But I had a great opportunity to order a custom instrument from Mike Lull (God rest his soul). It's been my go-to bas for 5+ years.
The only way you can get a jazz bass to sound 95% like a pbass is by rewiring it. Jazz basses (most) are wired in parallel. If you wire the 2 jazz pickups in series and connect to 1 volume, 1 tone you would practically have a pbass. I say 97% close to sonically identical to a pbass because the position of the pickups. There's no escaping the overtones and how they affect the fundamental tone based on positioning of the pickups. But I lied. This is not the only way to get your jazz bass to sound like a pbass. However, that said if you really want a pbass sound, then just get/play a pbass. If you want your pbass to get the highs like a jazz bass, the easiest solution is to switch out your .047 cap for a .033 or .022 cap but again because of the inherent position of jazz pickups vs. the p split coil pickup, it'll never be a 100% identical transformation. I recommend experimenting with wiring options along with different capacitor values instead of getting stuck with this debate of whether a jazz bass can sound like a pbass. We all have our preferences, but without modifications you're never going to be able to change the laws of physics/electronics by just playing around with volume and tone knobs. I think musicians should focus more on how their bass sits in the band situation they're in. In my younger years, I've met quite a few bass players who couldn't ace their auditions simply because they were convinced their pbass was the best bass for any application.
They sound really similar. I bet if you had ten different p-basses from across the decades, that there would be even more significant differences between some of them. I wonder how much of the difference could be taken out with an EQ plugin.
Hi, noticed that you wound the strings only once around the tuner. Is there a reason for that? Is it aesthetic? Doesn't it slip a little? I was told you wind it around a two or three time so the spiral pushes the string lower and you get a better contact at the nut. Thanks.
Cool video. My answer is the same as you demonstrated: yes, you can get damn close. Close enough for 99% of ears to not hear a difference in the context of a recording. But from the player's point of view ... you're still not having the P experience ... because of the neck profile, like you aptly said. FYI, for your beginning audience, when talking about the width at the "end" of the neck, it's conventional to talk about "nut width" ... the width at the nut. And like you're saying, yes, since it determines your string spacing, it makes a huge difference in how it feels and how you play. Also, great explanation about pickup placement and how it is the biggest factor in determining the instrument's tone. Well done on the controls, too. Keep going!
They are similar if you cut off the tone on a jazz bass. However, despite it is a similar tone there is something missing in the midrange, I would say jb is more scooped
My fretless is a J, but the recording bass is a P. Js sound great through a board, but there’s a reason engineers have always favored the P. They sit perfectly in the mix and you usually don’t really have to tweak them much. The P pickup and pickup position are pretty much the most perfect combination if you wanna work and always sound good.
Both my J and my P have J necks. I don't ever try to get my J to sound like my P, and vice-versa. I play either due to the sound I want 😁 Love Phil's videos and I'm glad you guys put one on the Stringjoy channel!
Now we need a blind test where you play like 5-7 lines maybe with different techniques too, and put bass A and bass B on random So sometimes bass A is Pbass sometimes its Jbass, so people need to really hear the difference to get 5/5 or 7/7, otherwise they just get lucky on a 50:50
I started playing with a jazz bass got all around playing sound. But got playing r&b music, the P Bass is king. I've found that the main difference to me is the level of a round warmth to the sound of the P Bass that extends a little farther throughout. It's the warmth factor of the tones. These two are my babies. And i love my Rickenbacker 2001 too. Love the video! Great explanationm!
9:39 for me it's very simple: the Jazz has a more pure classic sound in comparison with P; the P has a "bite" more than the Jazz; the Jazz sounds more "woody" than the P: these are my perceptions. The slap is better to be played with Jazz? Mmm, not always...in the past a lot of famous funk bassists played a P also slapping...here two examples: th-cam.com/video/lSvp3Xu1_Dw/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/jtMHsNhQBvI/w-d-xo.html Anyway: the Jazz is more versatile because you can have: 1) Jazz sound: both pickups all way up 2) Jazz "Pastorius" sound: bridge pickup only 2) P like sound: neck pickup only 3) Stingray like sound: both pickups all the way up and neck pickup rolled a bit down Of course a Jazz never sounds exactly like a P and mostly exactly like a Stingray, but you can have four very different sounds, while the P and the Stingray have one only
Q: What's batter? A: Having both. An even greater luxury is to have the Jazz Bass, the classic P Bass with rosewood fretboard plus another '57-'58 type P Bass with a 1-pc maple neck. After that, if you're like me, you'll want an early '50's type single-coil P Bass and a Fender Bass VI.
The debate continues but a PJ bass is just a P-bass with an extra appendage. You can't get the Jazz bass sound without 2 jazz pickups. You can get the honky bridge pickup tone but not the full on growl from both pickups. Also with both pickups active on a PJ bass, you lose noise cancelling you would get with a split coil or both Jazz pickups.
They are both great basses, I think. I don´t need the sound of the single Bridge-Pickup from a J. Either I play both Pickups ore the neck. Then it sounds rather like a P
On bass, I like to play old Motown, mid 60's rock and funk. So I use a P Bass,,,,no wait, a Jazz bass, no ummm...Lol Seriously my main bass is an old Squire PJ with a Fender Jazz neck and some custom wound p/u's that have the old school Fender thickness. But I kept my original neck (with P Bass specs) and every now and then I'll switch back for a month or so. I'll say this; I love to play guitar, but I always have more fun with my basses. Great video Phillip, I will look up your channel.
Really cool video! Sam Kiszka of Greeta van fleet actually plays a switched out neck bass, really interesting to change feel but preserve some of the tone of the other style I guess
whenever i pickup a jazz, or anything with the same control layout, my defualt go-to is always 'everything on full, roll back the bridge vol just enough for the phase cancellation mid scoop to go away' it always sounds so much more huge, and feels better to play (like im getting more instrument out of what im playing) without the frequency deficit in the mids. that being said, p-bass gang gang
Since nobody said in the comments I will say it, the difference between a J and a P is that the jazz actually sounds good 😊 Don't kill me in the comments
My P-bass was stolen but, i still have my J-bass. I love my J-bass. It is a Geddy Lee model so the the bridge pickup is closer to the bridge. Also the neck is also a little thinner. Oh yeah, it also has a Badass 2 high mass bridge. Yes, i am Canadian.
Where do you stand in The Great Jazz Bass vs P Bass Debate?
Firm J-bass proponent, but not for tone reasons.
A jazz bass is shaped in a way that balances better while standing, given default strap button placement. If you play primarily sitting down, then this is not much of a factor, but if you're a stickler about standing balance, then this is important.
The difference in neck profile shapes matters as well, but I feel like that's more of a preference thing than balance is. For balance, one instrument can be objectively more balanced than another, and the preference factor is solely about "How much does balance MATTER to you?", and if it doesn't matter much for you, then you can just ignore it. However, no neck profile is objectively better for 100% of all players than another neck profile.
I stay with Scott Devine's take on this: you just can't compare two basses that sound and FEEL completely different from each other specially neck wise. The p bass has a single tone that makes so much and the jazz bass has options for tone shaping with the 3 vols.
The answer is no
Totally Jazz for me
There's just something about the five-string jazz bass that does it for me.
Good vid! Two Jazz tricks:
1. For a beefier-feeling neck, if you have threaded or multi-groove saddles, widen the string spacing from the standard 19mm to 21mm. Some 70s/80s Jazz basses came with this spacing if I'm not mistaken.
2. For a fat sounding neck pickup sound, put the tone near zero and roll the neck volume down a little. Add a little bridge to taste if desired. The magic of passive electronics will give you a massive fat dub-like tone.
Yes. Rolling off the bridge pickup just a tad on a Jazz bass is the mid-range bump trick (also works with both pickups on if you want to cancel out a bit of the scoop). But this certainly is the extra bit to get even closer to the P sound.
The takeaway from all this is you can get a J to sound pretty close to a P, but a P will never be able to approximate the sound of a J.
I don't understand your first tip.
Can you explain to me precisely please ? 🙏 thanks
I always tell people, a Jazz bass neck pickup on its own is almost identical in sound to a P bass, and this video proved it. I would like to see a blind test to see what people really hear, vs what they THINK they hear based on what’s on the screen.
I had my eyes closed when the playing started. Identified the first P Bass excerpt within one or two notes. If playing on the E string below G I can identify instantly. But the neck pickup of a J does get close. To 99% of listeners, it probably would make no difference. To me I can identify the difference, but who cares. Lol good either way
@@starmanovich lol that's not a real blind test.
I can tell everytime. I have been been playing basses and hundreds of other basses for over 35yrs.
A P-bass has a specific bounce and bark which a j can't get. It they are all tools for different needs
PJ is my preferred configuration. Picking one over the other, it would be Jazz. I like the variety of tones that I get out of a Jazz over the Precision. You can't go wrong with either. I'm also a huge fan of the MusicMan...
I agree. I've got a couple PJ's and they're my go to these days. You can get a lot of variation out of them. I'm trying a stet of LaBella's on one of them right now. I love LaBella's on my P but wasn't sure about on a P/J. I dig it so far but I'm in the honeymoon phase haha.
For me it's worst combination, PJ sound is one of the worst imo (except those active reversed P on Spector basses).
Unless the knobs on your amp are glued you can make a lot of basses sound like a lot of other basses.
Shhhhhhh, stop being rational.
what are some examples of a Precision sounding like a Jazz bass by changing the knobs on the amp? How about a Precision or a Jazz sounding like a Stingray with the EQ cranked? I've never heard anything close to it.
@@rrdream2400 "like" doesn't mean identical... and being "like" is far enough in many situations, especially considering that live sessions are most of the time massive audio goatf*cks and only very rarely chamber music grade experiences.
A blast at parties 🎉😂
@rrdream2400 Tons of Rush songs were recorded on a P bass when fans are arguing about whether it was the Rick or the Jazz. People think Radar Love and Super Freak were recorded with Ricks because of the music videos but Radar Love was a Danelecteo Longhorn and Super Freak was a P bass. People thought a lot of Queen stuff was P bass all the way through but it was a Stingray. Not just bass either, people thought Zep 1 and 2 were all Les Paul but it was a Tele on most of them. Lots think it's Gilmour's black Strat into an amp on Another Brick in the Wall pt 2, but it's a Les Paul direct into the board. People think many of Brian May's biggest recorded songs were done with an AC30, but it was a little solid state amp John Deacon wired up himself.
But I didn't even have to go that far. The vast majority of people still can't even tell that the Seinfeld theme is a synthesizer and not an actual bass guitar. People hear with their eyes. Nothing new.
Glad you mentioned the PJ configuration. I just picked up a yamaha bbp4 and absolutely love it with dadarrio chrome flats. I mostly keep the p on full and blend in varying amounts of j, though i can go the other direction if the song calls for it. The craftsmanship on the bass is quite remarkable and the neck plays like butter
I could play my Squier 70s Jazz bass for the rest of my life and be happy. I've had it for almost 10 years and it's the only guitar I have that I've never modified, it doesn't need it. Just needed to be set up professionally and it was good to go. I love the way the Jazz bass sounds, and "close enough" is good enough for me when it comes to gear because once you get everything in the mix, no one is going to know or care. 😎👉👉
Had one of the Indo Squier 70s now for 4 years and feel exactly the same
I play Jazz basses but I love both. I have an Industrial Radio J4 midi Jazz Bass, A 73 Jazz and a parts 32" Jazz. Both P & J basses sit well in a mix, Leo Fender was a genius.
P bass for me 100%. Offset jazz bass looks better tho.
I have a fender blacktop jazz, which is a jazz body with 2 pbass pickups. Best of both worlds for me.
I will say I do think they both have their place, and are both amazing, but for me a pbass is THE bass sound.
The p bass had more weight to the note.
I think that nailed it!
Use the Kloppmann JB 61 that’ll kill the more weight to the note debate
Lee Sklar put an unwired toggle switch n his original Fender P that he’d click on when an engineer or producer asked for a different sound. Lee fooled them for decades with that trick and did it all on his P bass until he retired it. 😆🎸
Ah, the "producer switch"... I think he has one installed on his current basses as well.
Sklar is a master!
When I made my P bass into a PJ, my biggest mistake was to not understand the importance of positioning for the J pickup. Slap bang in the middle between the bridge plate and scratchplate looked aesthetically pleasing but doesn't sound as good as having it (by its own width) closer to the P pickup. Pickup placement is key to all bass tone and Leo Fender knew what he was doing.
Close enough that you'd never be able to know which is which in a mix without looking
I have both Js and Ps, but no matter how hard I try, I have no idea how to make one sound like the other.
My old school bass collegue once told me that sound of P bass can be compared as open slap into face while J bass sound is more like karate punches. Both can be used by a good "fighter" according to situation, but the key is ALWAYS in your hands
Always love these videos from Philip!
This is a valuable comparison video. Well done.
I'm an old manufacturing luthier with fifty years experience.
I'd say that looking at the jazz bass here that it would play better with a neck shim to allow the bridge saddles to be raised for the same action. This would give a bit more punch and make the saddle screws dissappear for safer / easier palm damping.
Good advice I agree 👍
Or buy from a better brand so you don't need a shim lol. Shim is always an indicator of a poorly built bass.
I've put Fralin Split Jazz Bass pickups, added some foam under the strings, neck pickup 100% tone at around 40% and it's pretty thumpy and focused if you ask me :)
You can still hear that unmistakable midrange presence that makes Jazz Bass what it is..
Yep, I hear the quack. Reminds me of John Paul Jones's J bass on Custard Pie
One thing to try if you get down to modifying things is wiring the jazz bass pickups in series. Normally in J-bass they are in parallel and the two coils that form the P-bass pickup are in series. The reasoning is that wiring the J-bass pickups in series they work together more like the P-bass pickup. The huge difference is ofcource that the coils both sense all strings and one of them is pretty close to the bridge. The series/parallel switching can be done with a push-pull pot. On my cheap J-bass style Tokai, putting the pickups in series seems to get me a bit more P-bass like thump... It's hard to describe... and a healthy volume boost. The downside in the series-mode is that teh both pickups are just on... You cant turn down just one. One of the volumes will work as "master volume" and the other is bypassed altogether. But then you can push the pot to switch it back to parallel and get all your old school J-bass options.
On my sire v3, in active mode, I heavily cut the high mids to get rid of the nasal J bass tone. On passive mode, I opt for playing neck pickup only and cutting the tone AND also a bit of the volume.
I favour the j-bass neck. Especially like the one I had on my 72 J. Also, i almost only play with a pick. However, I only prefer the jazzbass sound in series (kinda like the Single Coil 51 P the best to be honest). Made that series mod on my 72 and it sounded more like a compressed P in an way which I liked a lot. As far as necks go, the only comfortable P-neck (for me) that I've ever played was on a MIJ P. It's slightly narrower than a standard P but wider than a J. Well, that's where I stand.
I have found that a jazz can get closer to the sound of a p than a p can get to a jazz , both have their pros and cons and I love them both
I was a real snob about playing anything but a p bass when I was younger. I wanted all the options a bass could give me. Eventually I bought a p bass because of a player that I loved and it clicked for me instantly. It’s just the sound that I want from my bass. No fuss, no muss.
Mark hoppus.
I’ll take it a step further. I got a American deluxe p bass that has the dual jazz pickups in the bridge. Makes it sound more soap bar style when paired with the p pickup. Not a fan of jazz basses but I do like this deluxe bass a lot. I’m really digging the wide range pickup in parallel wiring a lot gives a p bass like sound but more hollow and bigger.
A jazz will never sound like a precision.
If you have one of each you have the majority of sounds you'll ever need covered.
I have several of both P and J. They're definitely two different animals.
For me, the J has so many options. I ended up putting Dimarzio hum-cancelling pickups in all of my Js. That makes it sound more P-like when I solo the neck PU.
As far as necks go, I love them all! I have 2 early '80s, 32" scale, MIJ Squier Ps that I had refinished in Harley Orange and Seafoam, both with matching headstocks that I put Wilde P46 pickups and Tonestyler tone controls in. They sound killer! At the same time, my Fender Custom Shop J with Dimarzio PUs sounds incredible, too!
I guess it comes down to the right tool for the job...
I've heard good things about DiMarzio Js, some of which have series wiring or the option for series wiring, which can add some nice girth to a J sound. I recently put the stacked-coil Fender Gen4 Noiseless in my '06 MIA J. They're wired parallel and compress things a bit but still keep a lot of the single coil vibe.
Always interesting to hear from people who went down a similar road; I also have two of the MIJ Squier medium Precisions and they've definitely become my go-to instruments. I swapped the bridges for Hipshot Vintage and gave them new pots, plus a little channel to make truss rod adjustments on the fly. As you mention, it's all contextual. As much as I love them, sometimes I have to reach for something else, whether it's a full-scale P or J or something else entirely. Keeps it fun!
You are making excellent points about how the instruments themselves can influence the player in his styling. That is to say that the way an instrument looks feels and sounds will inspire his or her imagination in different emotions and inspirations.🎉
I have puppet hands so a P bass neck is too dang big. I came across a CS PJ. It has the J neck but the rest is all P. It is by far the best sounding bass I have for most endeavors. I thought this video was going to be a long walk but it was pretty dang good. Nice one!
I installed a push-pull series switch on my jazz bass. With that and some tone adjustment you can get closer to a p bass.
Insightful. The neck shape does influence your style. I play much further up the neck on a jazz..I play dub reggae used a PBass for longtime, when I changed my tuning to BEAD i stuck with the Jazz it holds the tuning better in a mechanical sense and allows you to use low B more effectively.
How about a comparison between single coil and split coil P-bass?
Side by side tone comparison and especially how it sits in a mix.
I do appreciate the archetypical P-bass but I have a feeling the original single coil P - or its descendants - doesn't get very much love.
Why would that be?
That would be interesting. Now -- and I'm asking this out of ignorance -- I wonder what the sonic difference between an old-school single coil (like a '51-'56 Precision) compared with a mid-position Jazz single coil? The reason I ask is that the old-school Precision SC has one magnet per string and the Jazz has two. Thus, I'm curious if they would A-B differently.
@@AnthonyLeBlanc-n6i as it happens I have a fretless J (of which I usually only use the neck pick-up) and a single coil P-style bass - both no Fender. They sound very different. Hard to describe, but I would say the single coil P (with single pole pieces) sounds punchier and woodier, more organic.
Jazz basses seem to have a growel. I own and love both of them. My Jazz Bass is
a G&L JB, My PJ is a G&L SB 2 and My P bass is a Fender 1963 original. Both of my
G&L's were built here in Fullerton California. Great video
Yeah Phillip!!! Glad to see him here
Hi. Great video!! Is it possible to find this backing track somewhere?
Whats makes pickups unique is the Windings in the coil the magnets that they use
I have two basses with PJ pickup configuration, mainly because that was the only option on offer with these higher end 1980s basses.
One thing I have noticed that separates the P from the J bass when testing them out against each other is touch response. A J bass with both pickups on to my ear has a quicker (or punchier as Phillip says) touch response, whereas the P bass is slower and smoother.
Thanks for showing the frequency graphs, very interesting. And good video
I bought a 5 string ibanez PJ because i couldnt pick and i just wanted that versatility. To be honest i just have it rolled into P most of the time but you can get some awesome sounds out of the bridge pickup
you have a great way of imparting your knowledge, kudos to you
Another option should be mentioned. Because of my small fingers, I was fixated on the Jazz Bass for a long time, as I could only manage to play the slim neck. That changed when I was in the US and found a Preci with an A-neck (Jazz Bass size neck). They told me that in the 70s this was offered as standard by Fender. These Precis are very rare in Europe, but now with my A-neck Fender Precision I can enjoy the whole world of Precision sounds with the comfort of a Jazz neck. By the way, the early Fender Precisions had a single-coil pickup before the split pickup was introduced. Therefore, the neck pickup sound of the Jazz Bass should be quite similar to these early Precisions.
I've sold my am std P because of my small fingers too. And I did something like you did -- I've suddenly discovered an old japanese PJ bass with the J-neck on it (comes from the factory). Although I don't really use it as PJ, this is a great workaround to get the P sound with the J neck. The model is PJ-455.
I feel like with EQ'ing and a series to parallel switch you should be able to make most bass sound like other ones.
But I've never used a switch like that so I dunno
I’ve owned both for 25 years and when soloing the neck pickup on the Jazz you start getting too muddy when you start adding in the bass. It does get in the P neighbourhood, but you can still hear the difference.
Very good descriptive comparison. I own both and they definitely each have their own distinct characteristics. Also own a 2000 Hot Rod P which is a P/J configuration. Glad you mentioned that at the end. Kudos
Well done! I’ve discovered a Dingwall NG modern sound. Talk about articulation… wow.
Love to hear your thoughts.
I like both and realistically don't want a whole herd of basses (I play other instruments) so I've thought about how to get the J closer to the P. A thicker neck, nickel wound or flats, fatter tuned pickups, and it's probably in the ballpark. Someday I'll get to trying it out.
I replaced the wiring harness in my MIJ Jazz with a 62 stacked knob setup, then when a P tone is needed I roll the bridge pickup off completely.
Great video! So informative.
What if you push the mids with an eq?
It was close but the J-Bass still had that mid-scoop happening. The P-Bass did exactly what it was designed to do- sit in the mix and provide the fundamental. That J-Bass sounded great, but nothing records quite like a P-bass.
I wish i could get your strings but since im in the uk it would cost me £20 for one set of strings so im probably gonna overspend on one set and if i like them get three pairs everytime
My new Kiesel has two split coil pickups. It's extremely versatile and does everything I want plus some. I like traditional P and J basses, but I also like playing 6 string and 24 fret basses, so now I have the best of both worlds 😁
I got an American Vintage II Jazz Bass recently. The neck pup with flats sounds as close to a P with flats as I’ve ever heard on a J.
Suggestion for the editor, it would’ve been useful if you overlayed the 2 waveforms so we could more clearly see the differences.
I own both P-bass and J-bass. But my favorite for gigging are my PJ basses. The P pick up is open all the way and I blend in about 50% of the J pick up and tone rolled almost completely off. I use steel round wound strings and I play mostly with a pick for a brash, percussive sound that works very well in the hard rock cover band I play in that emphasizes 70's-80's-90's rock. I can play the J-bass a bit faster and smoother due to the slimmer neck.
I love both the P and Jazz Bass. But I have to say that I prefer playing a Jazz. It feels better to me, I prefer the body and neck shape, and in the mix, it gets me close enough to a P tone if it's needed. And having the options for a nice slap od solo sound, or use both pickups for a more "elegant", less aggressive all-around pop sound comes on top. The most striking things about a P bass are its simplicity and this sound that it does in perfection. But in my opinion PJs are not the best of both worlds but rather a big compromise. You loose the vibe and simplicity of a P (although you get this iconic sound and the overall feel), the tone cap is to strong for the bridge pickup (doesn't get all the J bridge solo sounds), and blending both pickups doesn't give you that iconic slap sound. It's a different sound that has its fans, but it's not for me. For maximum versatility, I'd reach for a J/MM, something like a Lakland, Sandberg TM, or my Clover Apeiron.
Its very similar to Telecaster vs Stratocaster.
Both unique, a bit of similarity in some tones. Totally different physical feel.
The P and the J cover all the bases imo.
Unless you just have to have that Rickenbacker sound, which i did for a long time. Now i have a jazz and a precision lol
Thanks for sharing this video. I own several basses and I always grab either the jazz or P bass. Just like all serious musicians, you have several types of musical instruments from your arsenal. You can’t have just one type of bass, but several. I lean towards the jazz bass because I mainly play fusion and funk.
Is a Volume Volume tone more precise vs a volume pickup blend and tone on a J style bass?
I've got a couple PJ's and they're my go to these days. You can get a lot of variation out of them. I'm trying a stet of LaBella flats on one of them right now. I love LaBella's on my P but wasn't sure about on a P/J. I dig it so far but I'm still in the honeymoon phase haha. My favorite playing bass though is my Stingray. It's just awesome. I can tell you with certainty that no matter how hard you try, you can not get a Ray to sound like a P lol. I have pondered seeing if an HH Ray can get close but am not eager to part with the cash to order one (no shops near me carry them).
Nice video! Try to use just the neck pickup on the Jazz, but roll the VOLUME knob a little bit down, just to get rid of the j-bass clarity. And adjust the tone knob as you want :)
Loved the video - very useful. But what was the writing on the jazz bass headstock?
The J bass still has that quacky tone, even though it's mellowed. Reminds me of John Paul John's J bass on Custard Pie.
How do you get that gnarly tone on both of them? Is it a low string action? It doesn't sound like fret buzz though.
I like how a Jazz bass sounds and feels (body). It has a different mid frequency point than a P. I just can't stand the neck shape. Solution: custom JB with a PB neck! I could just swap Fender parts. But I had a great opportunity to order a custom instrument from Mike Lull (God rest his soul). It's been my go-to bas for 5+ years.
Absolutely awesome!
can you guys compare these to the music man bass too
The only way you can get a jazz bass to sound 95% like a pbass is by rewiring it.
Jazz basses (most) are wired in parallel.
If you wire the 2 jazz pickups in series and connect to 1 volume, 1 tone you would practically have a pbass.
I say 97% close to sonically identical to a pbass because the position of the pickups. There's no escaping the overtones and how they affect the fundamental tone based on positioning of the pickups.
But I lied. This is not the only way to get your jazz bass to sound like a pbass. However, that said if you really want a pbass sound, then just get/play a pbass. If you want your pbass to get the highs like a jazz bass, the easiest solution is to switch out your .047 cap for a .033 or .022 cap but again because of the inherent position of jazz pickups vs. the p split coil pickup, it'll never be a 100% identical transformation.
I recommend experimenting with wiring options along with different capacitor values instead of getting stuck with this debate of whether a jazz bass can sound like a pbass. We all have our preferences, but without modifications you're never going to be able to change the laws of physics/electronics by just playing around with volume and tone knobs.
I think musicians should focus more on how their bass sits in the band situation they're in. In my younger years, I've met quite a few bass players who couldn't ace their auditions simply because they were convinced their pbass was the best bass for any application.
They sound really similar. I bet if you had ten different p-basses from across the decades, that there would be even more significant differences between some of them. I wonder how much of the difference could be taken out with an EQ plugin.
Hi, noticed that you wound the strings only once around the tuner. Is there a reason for that? Is it aesthetic? Doesn't it slip a little? I was told you wind it around a two or three time so the spiral pushes the string lower and you get a better contact at the nut. Thanks.
Loved the even presentation. Can you do a 51p vs split p next?
Cool video. My answer is the same as you demonstrated: yes, you can get damn close. Close enough for 99% of ears to not hear a difference in the context of a recording. But from the player's point of view ... you're still not having the P experience ... because of the neck profile, like you aptly said. FYI, for your beginning audience, when talking about the width at the "end" of the neck, it's conventional to talk about "nut width" ... the width at the nut. And like you're saying, yes, since it determines your string spacing, it makes a huge difference in how it feels and how you play. Also, great explanation about pickup placement and how it is the biggest factor in determining the instrument's tone. Well done on the controls, too. Keep going!
They are similar if you cut off the tone on a jazz bass. However, despite it is a similar tone there is something missing in the midrange, I would say jb is more scooped
My fretless is a J, but the recording bass is a P. Js sound great through a board, but there’s a reason engineers have always favored the P. They sit perfectly in the mix and you usually don’t really have to tweak them much. The P pickup and pickup position are pretty much the most perfect combination if you wanna work and always sound good.
That being said, my P bass also is actually a PJ because it’s always nice having that J at the bridge. It almost never gets used, though.
They are both great basses, but my favorite is the Jazz Bass. I will choose that over any other bass if I have the choice.
Both my J and my P have J necks. I don't ever try to get my J to sound like my P, and vice-versa. I play either due to the sound I want 😁 Love Phil's videos and I'm glad you guys put one on the Stringjoy channel!
Hi. If I change the neck pickup for a Humbucker, It Will sound more like a pbass??
Pretty damn close to my ear. I love your style. Intelligent and considered. Subscribed.
I totally agree that the instrument influences the playability
🎸 7:40 and 9:35
I expected this video to be the one where Stringjoy finally announced they were going to start making flatwounds.
Now we need a blind test where you play like 5-7 lines maybe with different techniques too, and put bass A and bass B on random
So sometimes bass A is Pbass sometimes its Jbass, so people need to really hear the difference to get 5/5 or 7/7, otherwise they just get lucky on a 50:50
I started playing with a jazz bass got all around playing sound. But got playing r&b music, the P Bass is king.
I've found that the main difference to me is the level of a round warmth to the sound of the P Bass that extends a little farther throughout. It's the warmth factor of the tones. These two are my babies. And i love my Rickenbacker 2001 too.
Love the video! Great explanationm!
9:39
for me it's very simple: the Jazz has a more pure classic sound in comparison with P; the P has a "bite" more than the Jazz; the Jazz sounds more "woody" than the P: these are my perceptions.
The slap is better to be played with Jazz? Mmm, not always...in the past a lot of famous funk bassists played a P also slapping...here two examples:
th-cam.com/video/lSvp3Xu1_Dw/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/jtMHsNhQBvI/w-d-xo.html
Anyway: the Jazz is more versatile because you can have:
1) Jazz sound: both pickups all way up
2) Jazz "Pastorius" sound: bridge pickup only
2) P like sound: neck pickup only
3) Stingray like sound: both pickups all the way up and neck pickup rolled a bit down
Of course a Jazz never sounds exactly like a P and mostly exactly like a Stingray, but you can have four very different sounds, while the P and the Stingray have one only
Great video, Philip is an excellent bass ambassador.
But if we're talking basses, I've got one question - Stringjoy, flatwounds, WHEN?
They sounded very similar in your test
Q: What's batter? A: Having both.
An even greater luxury is to have the Jazz Bass, the classic P Bass with rosewood fretboard plus another '57-'58 type P Bass with a 1-pc maple neck. After that, if you're like me, you'll want an early '50's type single-coil P Bass and a Fender Bass VI.
The debate continues but a PJ bass is just a P-bass with an extra appendage. You can't get the Jazz bass sound without 2 jazz pickups. You can get the honky bridge pickup tone but not the full on growl from both pickups. Also with both pickups active on a PJ bass, you lose noise cancelling you would get with a split coil or both Jazz pickups.
They are both great basses, I think. I don´t need the sound of the single Bridge-Pickup from a J. Either I play both Pickups ore the neck. Then it sounds rather like a P
On bass, I like to play old Motown, mid 60's rock and funk. So I use a P Bass,,,,no wait, a Jazz bass, no ummm...Lol
Seriously my main bass is an old Squire PJ with a Fender Jazz neck and some custom wound p/u's that have the old school Fender thickness.
But I kept my original neck (with P Bass specs) and every now and then I'll switch back for a month or so.
I'll say this; I love to play guitar, but I always have more fun with my basses.
Great video Phillip, I will look up your channel.
J sounds a lot tighter while P sound is not as refined, but that's what I like about it.
YES. (I have fooled many an engineer over the years) but it does NOT work the other way around.
Really cool video! Sam Kiszka of Greeta van fleet actually plays a switched out neck bass, really interesting to change feel but preserve some of the tone of the other style I guess
Low notes on Precision sounds almost like piano, Jazz bass didn't sound like that in this area.
Yes, that's where I hear the difference too.
Great! Another interesting question would be: Can a PJ bass sound like a P or like a J bass?
I settled for a PJ configuration
the p bass pickup is almost in the same spot as the jazz bass neck pickup
Very close! The tonal difference could be just up to individual differences. As in, individual instruments sound different after all.
whenever i pickup a jazz, or anything with the same control layout, my defualt go-to is always 'everything on full, roll back the bridge vol just enough for the phase cancellation mid scoop to go away' it always sounds so much more huge, and feels better to play (like im getting more instrument out of what im playing) without the frequency deficit in the mids.
that being said, p-bass gang gang
Since nobody said in the comments I will say it, the difference between a J and a P is that the jazz actually sounds good 😊
Don't kill me in the comments
My P-bass was stolen but, i still have my J-bass. I love my J-bass. It is a Geddy Lee model so the the bridge pickup is closer to the bridge. Also the neck is also a little thinner. Oh yeah, it also has a Badass 2 high mass bridge. Yes, i am Canadian.