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Favorite Bass
Precision Bass 63%  63%  [ 10 ]
Jazz Bass 38%  38%  [ 6 ]
Total votes : 16
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Post subject: What to Look for in a bass
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 2:07 pm
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Since i'm going to buy a bass, what should i look for in a bass. I know the p bass has more punch than j bass, but that's really all I know. Can you help? :wink:


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Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 6:08 pm
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You should really play both and make up your own mind which you like, both in terms of feel and sound.


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Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 6:28 pm
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Like Mastermold said, You really need to sit down and spend time with both instruments to help you decide as to which one you like. Here are a few links with P vs J info.

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/ ... php?t=7619

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/ ... php?t=7619

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=159173


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Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 9:54 pm
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I stopped by my local GC on the way home from work and spent some time playing both the new 08 P and J basses. And concluded I wanted BOTH!! :D

Can't go wrong with either, they're very nice and the price is fantastic for what you get.


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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 10:33 am
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Sorry, got a laugh out of your last comment. Of course you want both of them. You don't buy bass guitars, you collect them. Tried to convince the wife that they bred, she didn't buy it.

When you decide, make your decision on the ease of playing. I prefer the Precision for the neck, some like the Jazz neck better. Sound can be created, go with what feels best.


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 11:55 am
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I have one of each. 1978 PBass, which is pretty damn heavy but plays like a dream and has a great warm bass tone. You can punch it up by giving it more treble and I slap it once in a while. She's a beast. She can handle it.

I just bought an American Standard Jazz fretless. I love it! The neck is narrower and I love the finish on it. The PBass has that clear coat on it and in humid weather, sometimes its hard to move your hand up and down on it. The Jazz bass has a totally different sound. Technology certainly has changed in 30 years.

The Jazz bass is MUCH lighter and still nicely balanced.

I've played the PBass for over 20 years. It feels like home. Although the Jazz is fretless, it was not hard to play at all. I play both at gigs..switching when I feel I need to. Certain songs I want to play the PBass on and others I play on the Jazz.

One thing I noticed, my PBass has much better intonation (it has the BADASS II bridge) and stays in tune better than the Jazz. I've had both of them set up but maybe its because the Jazz bass has the "original" strings on it.

Oh and I use Fender flatwounds on my FRETTED PBass. I like them better. Of course the Jazz bass has flatwounds...its fretless.

No picks...fingers only.

OMG! I just realized my PBass is 30 years old this year! WOW!

I love both of my Fenders. They will be my basses until the day I die. I see no reason to have any others. Sorry that doesn't help you decide between the PBass and the Jazz. You need to sit down, play them, and really think. Get a strap and play standing up also. That makes a difference. Play with the knobs. See what sounds you get. I'm sure no matter which one you get, as long as its a Fender, you made the right choice.

PS If you can afford it, get an American made Fender. They will hold their value better in the long run. I paid $400 for my PBass, case and all, in 1982 and she's worth way more than that now. I made $2.65 an hour...YES $2.65 an hour but I managed to get my baby!!


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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 6:46 am
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I only play Precisions, but that's the tone I dig, and J necks are waaaayyy to narrow for me to get comfortable on. P basses make me play honest, and keep me from being lazy. Right now I have my 78' P, my 51RI P, and another P made up from parts from a couple of different MIJ RI basses, and an MIM body. The 78 and the 51 get the most play as I like the B width, but I prefer vintage fret radius.

There have only been two J basses that have ever really impressed me. The first was a Classic 60's J, which sounded right off the wall, how a J bass should sound, IMO. The second was a Geddy Lee I played a few months ago. One of the nicest instruments I've played. Very smooth and slick, but it definitely had ALOT more balls then the typical J.

Everything else aside...go play both, find out which you dig. Better yet...go buy both. :D


D

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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 9:48 am
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I find whenever I go out to get a bass, that just sitting down and going through different versions of the instrument that have been released throughout the years on an amp that I know how to use very well is always the best way, as you can find out what you feel you like more and what gives the overal sound that you looking for, and from here on you can try and combin the two or see a bass that comes as close as possible as combing the two and you can try from there on!

Nick
xx


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 6:10 am
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thats a really hard poll for me. i love both my P-Bass and my Jazz Bass. i just recently got the P-Bass though so I had to go with it.

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Post subject:
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 6:14 am
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as for picking a bass. you just need to play a few for a while and see which one plays to your liking and sounds the best to you.dont go out and get the highest end just cuz it is high end. the standards can sound just as good if not better than a deluxe. but in my opinion, its all personnal preference like string tension, fretboard wood, sound, style of playing, etc. its all on if you like it.

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Post subject: Fender bass
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 4:47 pm
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Tone...most any functional Fender P or Jazz bass with quality strings will due.

It is pretty hard to make them sound bad.


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