J or P? or a short-scale?

[blacktaxi]

please, an advice would be really appreciated - choosing a bass

this will be my first bass, so i'm not picky at all. i'm not going to get actual j- or p-bass, but a replica (too much cash for the thing i might barely use few times).

what is the difference between these two worlds? =) maybe i should go for mustang bass or something else?
what would be best for a starter? i play mainly jazzy/funky stuff on my guitar, that wouldn't change for bass.

thanks for your attention.

[James]

The main difference from a playability point of view is the nut width. The J is much narrower than the P to the point where if you're used to one, changing feels quite awkward at first. I personally prefer the J width, and I think it was designed to make it easier to switch between guitar and bass. Go to a music shop and try both a a J and a P pretending that you're interesting in buying one (play the Fender type). Then when you have an idea how they each play, buy a copy online.

The main difference with a regard to the sound comes from the pickups. The J pickups have a wider range, but the P gets a 'growl' the J can't quite do. Although I love the sound of the P style pickup, a J is probably better for the style you want to play.

If you need any convincing, James Jamerson and Bootsy (in his early days) used Jazz basses.

[Mike]

The main difference from a playability point of view is the nut width. The J is much narrower than the P to the point where if you're used to one, changing feels quite awkward at first. I personally prefer the J width, and I think it was designed to make it easier to switch between guitar and bass. Go to a music shop and try both a a J and a P pretending that you're interesting in buying one (play the Fender type). Then when you have an idea how they each play, buy a copy online.

The main difference with a regard to the sound comes from the pickups. The J pickups have a wider range, but the P gets a 'growl' the J can't quite do. Although I love the sound of the P style pickup, a J is probably better for the style you want to play.

If you need any convincing, James Jamerson and Bootsy (in his early days) used Jazz basses.

This post is pretty much nailing everything anyone could add to this thread.

[MaMo]

The main difference from a playability point of view is the nut width. The J is much narrower than the P to the point where if you're used to one, changing feels quite awkward at first. I personally prefer the J width, and I think it was designed to make it easier to switch between guitar and bass. Go to a music shop and try both a a J and a P pretending that you're interesting in buying one (play the Fender type). Then when you have an idea how they each play, buy a copy online.

The main difference with a regard to the sound comes from the pickups. The J pickups have a wider range, but the P gets a 'growl' the J can't quite do. Although I love the sound of the P style pickup, a J is probably better for the style you want to play.

If you need any convincing, James Jamerson and Bootsy (in his early days) used Jazz basses.

This post is pretty much nailing everything anyone could add to this thread.

+1, great answer James. All I can say is "agreed" to going for the J considering your musical direction (although I admit I reccommend the Jazz Bass to just about anybody).

[Billy3000]

The main difference from a playability point of view is the nut width. The J is much narrower than the P to the point where if you're used to one, changing feels quite awkward at first. I personally prefer the J width, and I think it was designed to make it easier to switch between guitar and bass. Go to a music shop and try both a a J and a P pretending that you're interesting in buying one (play the Fender type). Then when you have an idea how they each play, buy a copy online.

The main difference with a regard to the sound comes from the pickups. The J pickups have a wider range, but the P gets a 'growl' the J can't quite do. Although I love the sound of the P style pickup, a J is probably better for the style you want to play.

If you need any convincing, James Jamerson and Bootsy (in his early days) used Jazz basses.

science... really good advice here.

The best thing really to do is to play both and figure out what you like better. I've always played either p-basses or basses with the same nut width as a p bass, but recently I've noticed that I've grown to prefer the overall feel of a jazz bass body and neck, but I still prefer the sound of a p bass pickup... So I'm in the process of modifying an MIM standard jazz bass to a P+J pickup configuration so I can get the best of both sounds.

[JamesSmann]

play both a p and a j and see which suits you best. i personally love the jazz bass i own. but i do plan on picking up a p someday for tonal variety from the pups and what not. i can say this: every jazz bass i've ever played from the squiers to the MIM to the american deluxe i own, feels fucking great!

[Thomas]

I have a standard Squier P-bass. It's a weird one, Jstyle neck, P style body and a both types of pickup.

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[Mo Law-ka]

you mainly play guitar, right?


i have a P-bass that i got a jazz neck for, because the neck was too wide for my liking.


that seems to be the standard response.

[Thomas]

Yeah the bass is mainly for writing, it makes me think about the music in a different way or something. I don't play it that often.

You can normally pick up MIM Fender J-bases for uber cheap. I used to have one and it was sweeet. I only parted with it because I got fed up of my friend begging for it all the bloody time.

[blacktaxi]

thanks for all the responses guys. going to the store tomorrow.

[Thomas]

Btw my squier was about £80 second hand, in a real shop. Someone must've died playing it or put a voodoo curse on it or something.

[serfx]

i vote for the squire bronco bass.. maybe cuz its $150.00, short scale, and fantastic!

[mezzio13]

I have an EB0 that I got for $90 new. I quite like it, the scale is short, and it's suprisingly narrow at the nut.

[luke]

i vote for the squire bronco bass.. maybe cuz its $150.00, short scale, and fantastic!

Yeah, I was about to say this too. James gave the perfect definitions for your main options, but if you can find one to play, definitely give the Bronco Bass a go. Although it's not even in the same league as a Jazz or Precision bass in terms of sound, it's extremely comfortable play if you're used to guitar. It's literally half way between guitar and bass, so it's really as much a guitar as it is a bass. I still haven't got round to putting a decent pickup in mine (it takes a standard guitar single coil) but I know there's a replacement pickup available from somewhere with four pole pieces, and I hear that putting a rails style pickup in it is also a good plan.

Although it's not got the same sounds as a true bass, you might find the comfort factor outweighs this. Try to give it a go!

[James]

I would recommend not getting a shortscale bass for the following reasons:

- Because of the thickness of the strings bass strings tend to have cotton ends that are quite dependant on the scale length. You can buy shortscale strings but that's -just a hassle you don't need
- Parts like pickups are more readily available. I know that's an argument for the strat over the jazzmaster too, but the shortscale bass market is so incredibly niche that I wouldn't want to buy a budget shortscale bass and play hit and miss with trying guitar pickups in it.
- Shortscales dont sound as good. I'm not saying I could listen to a recording and say "that's a jazz bass, that first track was a mustang bass" but side by side the jazz will sound better and there's no point dealing yourself the short straw for the sake of some better looks when a jazz bass looks brilliant anyway.
- standard scale basses like the..

Hold up. Try an OLP stingray. The musicman stingray is an amazing bass but will be out of your price range. The OLP ones are the equivilant of a squier and pretty much all accounts I've heard have been good. Well worth a look. If they play at all like the real thing, that would be my suggestion.

[James]

I should add that I don't think shortscale basses are a pile of shite or anything like that. Just that a regular bass is better. I'd happily buy squier bronco if I was in the market for a bass to play around with at home for fun, but I'd look elsewhere first if I was more serious about it. The hello kitty bronco (badtz maru?) looks especially good.

[roachello]

I stand by it's not the bass which makes the bassist

Pick whatever you want, and rock the fuck out of it. If it sucks, then fuck it up onstage and turn it into a performance, or change the pickups, do a refinish, or just buy a new bass. I love shortscales. They do come in short in the field of "boom boom" bass feeling, but with the right amp, they do sound decent and are really easy to play. But if you wanna sound like a funkmaster thumper, get yo self a full scale.

[Billy3000]

Yea, it really depends on what kinda sound you're going for. I love my '78 Musicmaster bass which is shortscale, I think it sounds, looks and feels amazing but it definitely doesn't cover what I need in my band... it's just fun to play and mess around on at home, and if I was in a band that didn't require as powerful of a bass sound, I would play it, but otherwise I stick to my P-bass and my Stingray, and my soon to be customized MIM jazz bass.

I second the suggestion of getting an OLP stingray bass! I had one and it was seriously amazing! I would put it up against the MIM Fender standard and even some of their deluxe series basses as far as sound and quality goes. It's not active like a real stingray, the controls basically function like a regular jazz bass (volume, volume, tone) The pickup is split so that it gets that same jazz bass effect. The only reason I sold my old one is because I was really hurting for cash at the time, but I was able to sell it for exactly what I paid for it 3 years earlier.

I would recommend that or one of the squier Classic Vibes series p or j basses.

[Mike]

I would go for a Squier Jazz Bass every time if you're a guitar player wanting a bass for recording and mucking about on. I bought one for this reason in 1997 and it's now my bass player J's bass in Sell Crazy. That thing has been gigged to all get-out, featured on countless recordings and been used for rehearsal twice a week for around 11 years. Solid. As. Shit.

And it sounds fantastic, other bassists are always coming across at soundchecks and freaking out that it's not a Fender.


Plus, nothing looks as cool as a Jazz Bass:





QED

[brambleperro]

I would go for a Squier Jazz Bass every time if you're a guitar player wanting a bass for recording and mucking about on. I bought one for this reason in 1997 and it's now my bass player J's bass in Sell Crazy. That thing has been gigged to all get-out, featured on countless recordings and been used for rehearsal twice a week for around 11 years. Solid. As. Shit.

And it sounds fantastic, other bassists are always coming across at soundchecks and freaking out that it's not a Fender.


Plus, nothing looks as cool as a Jazz Bass:

+1.

While the other guitarist in my band and I have constantly upgraded and replaced our guitars over time, our bassist has stuck with the same Squier Jazz Bass since he started playing. He can get an awesome lo-fi growl out of it plugged into basically any amp. A great bass, indeed.