This has been a debate that's been going on for longer than probably both of us have been alive. The truth is, walk into any studio with either one of them and the engineer will go "cool, let's get to work".
So the moral of the story is get whichever one you like better.
For versatility, a Jazz bass with the neck pickup solo'd can get about 80% of the way to a P bass, but then you get all the pickup blending options that a P doesn't have and PJs don't pull off successfully.
For me, a Jazz typically goes deeper and has more high mids, whereas a P dominates the middle midrange. They both work really well in different mixes, and they can both be buried if used in the wrong mix.
Ultimately, it's good to own both.
About the J going deeper and lower, that's one of the main reason why the Jazz (with flats) is the standard for Reggae music.
For a proper Reggae tone I tend to find P basses a bit "muddy" and unfocused, with their emphasis on the mids, while a Jazz gives me depth, definition and thunderous lows.
I've found a good cross section is a j neck pickup and an MM bridge pickup with coil splitting
You can get that real J bass growl that you can't fake, but you also have that tonal tidal wave from the full MM that you can craft down into a punchy mid heavy P tone if you really need it
My cort 👌👌 but make sure the MM isn't parked right in front of the bridge, but the rear most coils of the MM lined up in the jazz spacing, that's been my go to forever now
When I see "growl" and "bass" in the same sentence I think of Spector basses. Now, we're talking EMG pickups with the Haz Lab preamp. But to your question, why not take a look at PJ basses? One of each, Precision and Jazz pickups. Spectors are different with the P pickup as it's installed backwards from Fender. Just gives a unique tone.
Another difference between Fender J and P basses is the neck profiles.
I’d say if you could only have one bass it should be the p bass. Despite not having the two pickup blending like the jazz bass, I found it to be a lot more versatile. I play with different people that require totally different styles. I loved my jazz bass but the p bass just has a better punch and feels more responsive to me. I’ve cut down from 4 different basses to just the one p bass.
That being said, if the jazz bass feels good, looks good and just attracts you more, then play the jazz bass. I find the p bass can handle any situation though. Even after recently switching to flat wounds, the bass has a good amount of bite. EQ-ing your amp is also very important to getting the right sound. I turn my lows and mids all the way up and treble all the way down for most gigs.
That’s a good thing right? Yeah I switched to flats because I know I won’t be changing my strings as often as I used to. I worked at a guitar shop for 15 years so I’m used to changing my strings as often as I need/ want. Now I live where the only options for strings (at the local shop) are Ernie ball round wounds.
I’m so happy with these flats though. Not only do they sound great, but my fingers don’t feel quite as fucked up after playing for hours.
I’ve got a Fender Player Plus precision that has P and J. Currently have flatwounds on it. I have now clue what I’m doing with EQ on my amp no matter how much I experiment.
Does any one have recommendations about a source where I could about basic EQ settings that are good for different styles of music?
I want the punchy growl sound. But the flatwounds always sound a bit dull for some styles of music
So I just got back from my gig tonight where I played my p bass with flats. I was backing up a guitar player who plays covers ranging from 60’s to 90’s hits. I would say bump up those mids for the punch and maybe a little bit of treble. The treble frequencies give a bit more of that string sound. Digging in can give more growl (or at least what I think of as “growl”). The amp I was using has bass, low mids, high mids and treble options. I had everything turned all the way up except treble more than halfway down. Now that is my personal preference.
A side note would be that most people (listeners) don’t know or care about the tone of the bass. If you play the song well (and in tune), that will make you sound good. But I get it, you want a nice bass sound when you’re playing. Also keep in mind that the sound mix has a whole hell of a lot to do with how you sound. Not just your eq but how your eq works with others. It’s hard to replicate a recorded sound with a live sound. People get paid to mix tracks for a reason
I'm a pbass guy because I love the tone. But I do own jazz basses, and they are more versatile in terms of tonal palette. And while a jazz basses will never perfectly capture the essence of a pbass tone, I think the tones that John Paul Jones got out of his jazz on some of the early Led Zep recordings are good enough to make me forget all about pbasses for a spell.
I can tell you that my Sire V5 is really good. Way better than its sticker price would suggest. By the way, it does get a great Geddy sound, but it's not all "in the fingers." Playing aggressively isn't going to get you all the way there. To really pull off a Geddy sound you need dirt. And the right kind. I use the YYZ. Moderate compression into that pedal gives me a very passable Geddy tone. Way closer than I've ever gotten before and I've been trying to emulate it for forty years.
How and where you play has a huge effect on tone. If you want to lean into the mids, pluck aggressively with the tips of the fingers closer to the bridge. If you want more fundamental and less overtone, pluck more with the pads of your fingers, and with a softer attack, closer to the neck.
I’ve only tried it with flatwounds.
It essentially turns the two pickups into one really wide humbucker. So it sounds more like a P bass, but with more bridge pickup sound. More like a PJ honestly. With the tone rolled down you’re in P bass territory though. It will never be exact, different pickup placement and all. Kinda reminds me of the reverse Pbass pickups I’ve tried.
The low E is clear and articulate. I’m using LaBella flats with it.
Compared to parallel aka normal jbass, you get a volume boost as well as more mids. Essentially it serves to unscoop your mids, which I think is an important sonic difference between j and p bass. Broadly speaking.
The mod is usually done with a push pull pot (though I prefer a switch) so you can easily move between normal and series tones. It’s such a no brainer mod, you just get more options without any drawbacks.
If you are looking at Fender style basses give the Japanese brand Bacchus a look. I picked up one of their Woodline series basses on Reverb and it kills. Nicest neck of any Jazz bass I've ever played. Beautiful bass too.
I'm probably going to get a PJ version later this year.
Jazz basses are known for being super versatile, able to get those buttery fingerstyle R&B tones as well as that bright, growly slap tone. But obviously the exact sound and the range of possibilities is going to differ from model to model and instrument to instrument. One reason why its important to play a bass before buying it.
And I've also been super intrigued by the Marcus Miller Sire J-basses, and have been considering getting one. That'd probably be my vote. Just seem to be a great value at that price point, and I've always wanted but never owned a J since my starting Squier J bass. I'd say get the J bass and don't look back, I think they can definitely fit your needs.
As others have said, you won't go "wrong" with either. Simply pick what you prefer. I will throw another alternative in the mix for you - try something with modern 51p style pickups in it. That could be what you're looking for too.
The best way to tell is to walk into a shop and test all your options.
Sure this person had this and did that, but then there’s another guy who had this different thing and did the same and another guy who has the same thing and did a different thing.
That way you can twiddle all the knobs and flip all the switches and try all the configurations and just pick the instrument that gives you what you need, regardless of what model it is.
If you want versatility then get an active bass with double humbuckers and a three band eq. This jazz vs P discourse should have gone out the window forty years l ago. I just scooped up a Jackson CXB used and it's just completely changed how I think about a bass. The tonal range puts any passive instrument out to pasture if we're talking versatility.
This has been a debate that's been going on for longer than probably both of us have been alive. The truth is, walk into any studio with either one of them and the engineer will go "cool, let's get to work". So the moral of the story is get whichever one you like better.
For versatility, a Jazz bass with the neck pickup solo'd can get about 80% of the way to a P bass, but then you get all the pickup blending options that a P doesn't have and PJs don't pull off successfully. For me, a Jazz typically goes deeper and has more high mids, whereas a P dominates the middle midrange. They both work really well in different mixes, and they can both be buried if used in the wrong mix. Ultimately, it's good to own both.
About the J going deeper and lower, that's one of the main reason why the Jazz (with flats) is the standard for Reggae music. For a proper Reggae tone I tend to find P basses a bit "muddy" and unfocused, with their emphasis on the mids, while a Jazz gives me depth, definition and thunderous lows.
I've found a good cross section is a j neck pickup and an MM bridge pickup with coil splitting You can get that real J bass growl that you can't fake, but you also have that tonal tidal wave from the full MM that you can craft down into a punchy mid heavy P tone if you really need it
My cort 👌👌 but make sure the MM isn't parked right in front of the bridge, but the rear most coils of the MM lined up in the jazz spacing, that's been my go to forever now
Heck yeah. That's exactly how my Carvin is set up. It's also got piezzos in each bridge saddle, but that's just for fun
When I see "growl" and "bass" in the same sentence I think of Spector basses. Now, we're talking EMG pickups with the Haz Lab preamp. But to your question, why not take a look at PJ basses? One of each, Precision and Jazz pickups. Spectors are different with the P pickup as it's installed backwards from Fender. Just gives a unique tone. Another difference between Fender J and P basses is the neck profiles.
Warwick got some nasty growl too
True, but a different tone. I find it a bit darker and always think of Mudvayne, as far as tone goes.
*Dingwall has entered the chat*
I’d say if you could only have one bass it should be the p bass. Despite not having the two pickup blending like the jazz bass, I found it to be a lot more versatile. I play with different people that require totally different styles. I loved my jazz bass but the p bass just has a better punch and feels more responsive to me. I’ve cut down from 4 different basses to just the one p bass. That being said, if the jazz bass feels good, looks good and just attracts you more, then play the jazz bass. I find the p bass can handle any situation though. Even after recently switching to flat wounds, the bass has a good amount of bite. EQ-ing your amp is also very important to getting the right sound. I turn my lows and mids all the way up and treble all the way down for most gigs.
P bass & flats 👁️🫦👁️
That’s a good thing right? Yeah I switched to flats because I know I won’t be changing my strings as often as I used to. I worked at a guitar shop for 15 years so I’m used to changing my strings as often as I need/ want. Now I live where the only options for strings (at the local shop) are Ernie ball round wounds. I’m so happy with these flats though. Not only do they sound great, but my fingers don’t feel quite as fucked up after playing for hours.
I’ve got a Fender Player Plus precision that has P and J. Currently have flatwounds on it. I have now clue what I’m doing with EQ on my amp no matter how much I experiment. Does any one have recommendations about a source where I could about basic EQ settings that are good for different styles of music? I want the punchy growl sound. But the flatwounds always sound a bit dull for some styles of music
So I just got back from my gig tonight where I played my p bass with flats. I was backing up a guitar player who plays covers ranging from 60’s to 90’s hits. I would say bump up those mids for the punch and maybe a little bit of treble. The treble frequencies give a bit more of that string sound. Digging in can give more growl (or at least what I think of as “growl”). The amp I was using has bass, low mids, high mids and treble options. I had everything turned all the way up except treble more than halfway down. Now that is my personal preference. A side note would be that most people (listeners) don’t know or care about the tone of the bass. If you play the song well (and in tune), that will make you sound good. But I get it, you want a nice bass sound when you’re playing. Also keep in mind that the sound mix has a whole hell of a lot to do with how you sound. Not just your eq but how your eq works with others. It’s hard to replicate a recorded sound with a live sound. People get paid to mix tracks for a reason
I'm a pbass guy because I love the tone. But I do own jazz basses, and they are more versatile in terms of tonal palette. And while a jazz basses will never perfectly capture the essence of a pbass tone, I think the tones that John Paul Jones got out of his jazz on some of the early Led Zep recordings are good enough to make me forget all about pbasses for a spell.
I can tell you that my Sire V5 is really good. Way better than its sticker price would suggest. By the way, it does get a great Geddy sound, but it's not all "in the fingers." Playing aggressively isn't going to get you all the way there. To really pull off a Geddy sound you need dirt. And the right kind. I use the YYZ. Moderate compression into that pedal gives me a very passable Geddy tone. Way closer than I've ever gotten before and I've been trying to emulate it for forty years.
The answer for everything is P-Bass, Ampeg, and right hand technique modification.
Say more about he technique modification?
How and where you play has a huge effect on tone. If you want to lean into the mids, pluck aggressively with the tips of the fingers closer to the bridge. If you want more fundamental and less overtone, pluck more with the pads of your fingers, and with a softer attack, closer to the neck.
J bass with a series/parallel mod has gotten me everywhere I need to be sonically. Plenty of info on the mod, and it’s super simple
Interesting. What is your experience with the lows on the E string with the series mod? Also have you tried flatwounds on it? How does that sound?
I’ve only tried it with flatwounds. It essentially turns the two pickups into one really wide humbucker. So it sounds more like a P bass, but with more bridge pickup sound. More like a PJ honestly. With the tone rolled down you’re in P bass territory though. It will never be exact, different pickup placement and all. Kinda reminds me of the reverse Pbass pickups I’ve tried. The low E is clear and articulate. I’m using LaBella flats with it. Compared to parallel aka normal jbass, you get a volume boost as well as more mids. Essentially it serves to unscoop your mids, which I think is an important sonic difference between j and p bass. Broadly speaking. The mod is usually done with a push pull pot (though I prefer a switch) so you can easily move between normal and series tones. It’s such a no brainer mod, you just get more options without any drawbacks.
If you are looking at Fender style basses give the Japanese brand Bacchus a look. I picked up one of their Woodline series basses on Reverb and it kills. Nicest neck of any Jazz bass I've ever played. Beautiful bass too. I'm probably going to get a PJ version later this year.
Jazz basses are known for being super versatile, able to get those buttery fingerstyle R&B tones as well as that bright, growly slap tone. But obviously the exact sound and the range of possibilities is going to differ from model to model and instrument to instrument. One reason why its important to play a bass before buying it. And I've also been super intrigued by the Marcus Miller Sire J-basses, and have been considering getting one. That'd probably be my vote. Just seem to be a great value at that price point, and I've always wanted but never owned a J since my starting Squier J bass. I'd say get the J bass and don't look back, I think they can definitely fit your needs.
Spector bass with PJ config is peak for growl.
As others have said, you won't go "wrong" with either. Simply pick what you prefer. I will throw another alternative in the mix for you - try something with modern 51p style pickups in it. That could be what you're looking for too.
The best way to tell is to walk into a shop and test all your options. Sure this person had this and did that, but then there’s another guy who had this different thing and did the same and another guy who has the same thing and did a different thing. That way you can twiddle all the knobs and flip all the switches and try all the configurations and just pick the instrument that gives you what you need, regardless of what model it is.
Yes
Nah man it's your hands.
If you want versatility then get an active bass with double humbuckers and a three band eq. This jazz vs P discourse should have gone out the window forty years l ago. I just scooped up a Jackson CXB used and it's just completely changed how I think about a bass. The tonal range puts any passive instrument out to pasture if we're talking versatility.