It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 8:23 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 16 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
Post subject: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:43 am
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:34 am
Posts: 125
I'm happy to be a Jazz Bass player. The only other bass I've owned was a 1979 Ric 4001, which was great for some things but not enough. Lately I've been considering picking up a Precision just to have a different bass around. Sure, I've played on some in stores or at people's houses, but I've never used one in practice, live, or recording, so I have no idea how one would be in functional settings for me.

Why should I even want a P-Bass? What things should I look for in the various P's made over the years? Were some years notoriously better or worse? Are there some often overlooked jems like late-80s Japanese are for guitars? Anything else I should know? Thank you!

_________________
http://www.facebook.com/the321s
http://www.facebook.com/calicosounds

1983 USA Fender Bullet Bass Deluxe (Ivory)
2004 USA Fender Highway 1 Jazz Bass (Honey Blonde)


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 9:01 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 11:26 pm
Posts: 2849
Location: Green Bay, WI
You're in a perfect forum for it for sure ;) I'm a J player too. I've had Pbasses in the past. I wouldn't mind getting another P in the future. I have all the bass I need for the moment tho. The 2 other Fender basses I'd get right now are the Hwy 1 Pbass in Honey Blonde and/or the '70s Jbass in 3 color Sunburst.

_________________
Rez(# 30916)
'89 Power Jazz Bass Special-BadAssIII, EMG P/J
Project PBass-EMG PX, Schaller BM Light Tuner
'05 Aerodyne JBass
'06 Spector Legend Custom Neck Through
VT Bass
Hartke TA5000 w/XL Cabs(210, 410, 115)


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 10:22 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:33 am
Posts: 4583
Location: North of Pittsburgh
Think about the people you're familiar with who recorded with Precisions. Carl Radle of Derek and The Dominoes and a lot of Eric Clapton's other bands, just about all of the Motown songs and early Who when John Entwistle used a Precision for the most part.

The list goes on and on. I have both a Precision and a Jazz, the Precision will encourage you to dig deeper and play harder, the Jazz is a great bass, easy to use, nice neck,with a wide area of tone, as I'm sure you already know.

It's all about personal preference. Hope you can borrow one to try out before you move on one, nothing worse than having something you won't use.

Good luck.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:27 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Nov 29, 2009 6:50 pm
Posts: 33
I just did. I traded my H-1 Jazz for an Am Std. P. I liked the Jazz tones but I just couldn't play it the way I like. The P neck is wider, as stated above, and my hand "fits" better on the low end. It's just a more comfortable instrument for me to play, therefore I can play better.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:34 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:33 am
Posts: 4583
Location: North of Pittsburgh
Congrats, you'll like it, great bass.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:41 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Nov 29, 2009 6:50 pm
Posts: 33
Picked it up yesterday and just put it down. I got the Olympic white with maple fingerboard. I heard Fender isn't offering this combo in 2011, if at all, so I'm sure its a 2010. It's great to get an instrument that "fits". I'm now messing with my amp to see the tonal possibilities. I cut the treble and kicked in a little boost.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:42 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:33 am
Posts: 4583
Location: North of Pittsburgh
Great color with the maple, you'll be messing with it for a good while. That's what makes getting a new bass fun. I just bought a Jazz and got new pups for my Precision so, I keep going back and forth between them.


Last edited by oxfan on Tue Mar 29, 2011 9:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 9:37 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:01 am
Posts: 2842
There are alot of reasons to have a P bass. I used a Jazz for a long time and still do. I found that alot of the places we play have bad grounding and when you cut back the bridge pickup there is too much buzz-- I got tired of that all the time.
The p bass works just as well I think when playing loud Hard Rock and Classic Rock. I only need the tone (one) for that kind of music.
The P bass has it's own kind of gut ringing sound . A J bass has it's own gut sound. They are both very good. With a P you get another option.
My P bass feeds back better than my J bass.
I started on a P bass with a Jazz width neck- so there's that.
They are both great instruments. A J may be a little more versatile but a P bass is like "Home Stump"-- really dependable and doesn't change.
My P bass seems to stay in tune a little better than my J.
Okay I guess that's it for now.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 6:15 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:34 am
Posts: 125
Thank you, this is all helpful. Thinking about who else played Ps is why I started considering it more. I don't think my love for my J will diminish, but I would really like to have another tonal/feel/aesthetic option. I just need to try out some different ones, but they don't seem to be popping up in abundance around here, at least not within my standards and price range. I think I definitely need to borrow one for a practice and/or show to see how I feel about it in a real setting.

_________________
http://www.facebook.com/the321s
http://www.facebook.com/calicosounds

1983 USA Fender Bullet Bass Deluxe (Ivory)
2004 USA Fender Highway 1 Jazz Bass (Honey Blonde)


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 8:02 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:01 am
Posts: 2842
Judgeing wether or not you would like to have a p bass by only playing one of them might not answer your question about getting one. Same thing with a Jazz- you probubly know this though.

I've had my share of P basses. I'm pretty picky about how a P is set up and what strings are on it as to wether it meets my criteria. I can say I've had some that just don't do it for me and then others are real good. Sometimes I've changed pickups and caps , nuts, etc before the sound of the guitar opened up-- of course you prob know this kind of thing also.

I'll say 95% of the time if I go to a store and try out a bass or even if I try one out from someone selling one---- I usually find that first the strings are dead and 2nd the set up is not right. What this does is makes the bass not sound as good to me as maybe it can sound so.... sometimes it's rolling the dice. If you've done it for a long time you can kind of tell though if it may be a dud or not. What to do? Good question. I wish I could get Steve Harris to pick out a good P bass for me!!! :)


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 9:55 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:34 am
Posts: 125
I get what you're saying, but I like to think I can tell when a guitar just needs a set up. Mostly what I'm looking for is how it's going to feel physically and musically. I need to play with my amp with that pickup to see what I can get out of one, etc. The difference in the various P's is partly why I started this thread, so I could get an idea of what people like from certain years, necks, body styles, etc.

_________________
http://www.facebook.com/the321s
http://www.facebook.com/calicosounds

1983 USA Fender Bullet Bass Deluxe (Ivory)
2004 USA Fender Highway 1 Jazz Bass (Honey Blonde)


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 10:09 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:33 am
Posts: 4583
Location: North of Pittsburgh
Not every bass is for every person, we all have our our tastes and desires. I've always liked the neck on a Precision and the thump. My Jazz is a completely different animal. I'm finding many more uses for it.

On top of that, it's kind of an ego thing I think. Whatever the reason, enjoy what you have and, in the words of Crosby, Stills and Nash.

"Love the one you're with".


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:08 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:34 am
Posts: 125
The 'thump' and 'growl' people have mentioned in this thread, is something I really think could be interesting to play with, especially from a Fender.

Anyone know of a good timeline link? Something that tells when they changed necks, pickups, bodies, etc. would be nice as a sort of guide to narrow down what I'm looking for by testing out the various types until one feels right. Then with that knowledge, I'd even consider buying on ebay if necessary.

The way I see it is if it's gonna work better than the Jazz for even a handful of songs, or even a specific band, then I 'need' one. ;)

_________________
http://www.facebook.com/the321s
http://www.facebook.com/calicosounds

1983 USA Fender Bullet Bass Deluxe (Ivory)
2004 USA Fender Highway 1 Jazz Bass (Honey Blonde)


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:28 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:33 am
Posts: 4583
Location: North of Pittsburgh
If you can, try an American Standard.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Why should a J player switch to a P?
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:39 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:34 am
Posts: 125
Thanks. I'll check out that book, and I'm lucky enough that our library has it. :)

My initial trip to Google ultimately led to me joining this forum for answers, because it was otherwise fruitless. The info is out there somewhere; it has to be, but finding it is the trick.

_________________
http://www.facebook.com/the321s
http://www.facebook.com/calicosounds

1983 USA Fender Bullet Bass Deluxe (Ivory)
2004 USA Fender Highway 1 Jazz Bass (Honey Blonde)


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 16 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: