ShortScale.org

So my first instrument was a Samick SG copy guitar that I gave up 3 months later for an American Standard P-Bass. I've gone most of my life thinking that was all the bass I could ever need, but after trying an American Standard Jazz Bass at my friends house for an extended period of time, I think I'm now a J-Bass convert.

What's your preference and why? (if you only had to have one or the other, I dont want an argument on why each is good for different reasons, we know that shit)

Jazz Bass deluxe

I prefer the feel of the larger Jazz Bass body and the narrower neck; I find it more comfortable and faster to play. I love the sound of a Jazz Bass too, but I like the Deluxe for it's greater flexibility; Precision pickup in the neck gives you your P-Bass thump, Jazz pickup in the bridge gives you your jazz bite, and the two together offer depth and aggression Great rock instrument.

If I had to choose a standard model, however, it would be a Jazz.

I don't play bass but in my experience of hearing those of friends I like the styling of the J-Bass but the punchy thump of the P-Bass. There are a lot of good j-bass players though.

Haha, nice edit, jcyphe

i think the p-bass might edge the j-bass out in terms of versatility because you see a lot more starting bands with precisions, but i think a lot of that comes from it being cheaper. i dig that warmth you get from a jazz bass, personally, though honestly, i think so much of this depends on who's playing, what they're playing through, and their style.

shortscale jazz bass.

I like them both in spades but would always pick a P-Bass because they're easier to handle.

Jazz. I can play much better on a skinny neck, the pickup setup sounds awesome (there's not much nicer than a J-bass bridge pickup growl), they're pretty versatile, and look class.

Plus, Jaco played one. You should too. Maybe you'd be a better person the more like Jaco you can make yourself.

BacchusPaul wrote:Maybe you'd be a better person the more like Jaco you can make yourself.

Probably true.

Jazz bass, love the range of sound and skinny necks

P-bass. More to my taste with teh thump'n'rock'n'roll!

I feel very conscious of the fact I'm a guitarist & not a bassist when I play either (i.e. I just look stupid playing any long scale bass, stretching and slapping/plucking my fingers) but I'd choose a Jazz bass, for looks, playability and sound.

Yet P-Basses obviously have their merits, but most of us here seem to be in the J-Camp.

Stingray.

I'm definitely a J-guy for the body/neck feel and tonal control, as I do a lot of pickup switching and will go between finger thumping over each p'up and picking when needed.

I've found the thump of precisions to be a little more hard to control under less-gainy amp settings (in an "explosive" kind of way) also experienced when lacking the tasty compression that comes with a cranked all-tube bass amp, often rendering my beloved Pedalworx McSqueeze slightly less useful on account of the low end hitting the compression threshold much harder than the other frequencies, which I really want to shine through. Hence, I think my heart gravitates toward the more balanced tones/attack of J-basses.

Just the same, I really like the sound of picking between the bridge and the pickups on a P-bass, and how the throaty rock tone you can get when overdriven as such. Though not in a rush, I'm thinking about picking up an MIM Precision in the coming year.

I tend to like the Precision slightly better.

man, this is always a hard one. to me, the p-bass is more versatile, and can get some sweet cleans, but aesthetially, the jazz is way hotter, and the neck is fun.

Don't own either, but they have both at our school so I've played both. Until recently I'd never noticed a difference between them, probably because I just picked up whichever one was nearest, but a couple of days ago I ended up playing one right after the other. I dunno what it was about it, but I just really preferred the Jazz. So that's probably what I'm gonna eventually get as my bass to replace my horrible Tanglewood Rebel 4k.

This is my main gigging bass these days:



It is a MIM jazz bass modified with a badass II bridge and seymour duncan quarter pound P bass pickup and quarter pound j bass pickup. It sounds awesome. I love the combo of the p and j pickups. I prefer either just a P pickup or the P/J combo. I really don't like the sound of a normal jazz bass though. It's a bit too shrill for my tastes, It has too much high end and not enough of that low end growl that you get from a good p bass pickup. I prefer the feel of a Jazz neck, but after gigging regularly with this bass for a couple months now, I miss the feel of my p bass body. I think I'm gonna route my MIA p bass for a j bass pickup in the bridge and put a jazz neck on it, and put the same pups into it and see if I like that. The singer of my band has an older deluxe series P bass (before they started making them with the active circuit) , I love the way that it feels, but I prefer the sound of mine. I might just mod that instead of routing my american p.

love the Jazz necks

P-bass all day. I love the sound, feel, weight, controls, everything.

My main bass for years and years has been my MIM P-bass with the 70's MIA pickup and the ancient BADASS bridge. I had a shortscale Daisy Rock semihollow bass with active mini-humbuckers for a long time, but the only thing I liked about it more than my P was the Smithtonez.