Jazz vs "P"

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rushfan33

rushfan33

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Can someone explain the difference other than the obvious physical one between the Jazz and the P bass? What are the advantages of both? What's the best out of the two for playing basic hard rock? I know it's a matter of taste but before I buy one I want to know the pluses and minuses from people who have both or have played both.

Are there different levels of each that determine what the price is? I'm thinking about buying the Geddy Lee Signature bass for a few reasons. First...as the name implies, I'm a complete Rush head!! The bass he uses sounds incredible(probably because it's Geddy Lee playing it I'm sure!!). It also looks awesome.....I like the inlays better than the normal dots. Is it a cheap version of a "real" Fender Jazz or should I expect to be able to get killer sounds out of that one?

Thanks
RF
 
J or P???

Well, the guitar "expert" at GC informed me that the P-Bass has more of a 'solid' bottom, while the Jazz is more versatile in it's tone.

I'm thinking about getting an American Deluxe V-Bass, but they're sooooo damn expensive!!

Worth it???? Hmmmm... :confused:
 
Whats your amp setup? any pedals? Do you play with a pick or your fingers?
T
 
The P is more for rock, it has more mid frequencies.
I guess it has to do with the position of the pickups, and the pickups themselves.
The J has the pickups very near the bridge (very trebly sounding) and near the nut, where it sounds more bassy. So you have highs and lows, much like a smiley face on your graphic equalizer.
I guess the Precission cuts throw better than the Jazz Bass, specially for busy arrangements and distorted guitars.

Cheers, Andrés
 
Hey, RF!

I'm a bassist, and have an American Standard Precision, a Rickenbacker 4001v63, and, yup, a Geddy Lee Jazz :)

I need no other basses, except maybe for a cheap fretless 'ho somewhere down the line :) With these three basses and my SansAmp Bass Driver DI, I've got the tones covered for everything I want to do.

The Geddy is my third Jazz, and it's not going ANYWHERE! I love it! It plays like absolute butter with it's thinner, shaved down neck. It sounds excellent, with great classic PUPs and a Badass bridge to give it some zing. This is a really popular model with bassists due to it's playability, versatility and looks.

The Precision is a also grand in it's own respect. In general, more 'ballsy' than a Jazz, more fundamental thump, more bark in the midrange. A little less tonally versatile than a Jazz, but a Jazz can't do as well as what a P can do best. The P is my groove machine, but is also fun for harder rock (lots of punk players use Ps). I favor the Jazz and Ric for more 'flavorful' or busier bass parts.

The bottom line is that if you wind up playing bass seriously, you WILL wind up with both a Precision and a Jazz at some point. They compliment each other extremely well. My Ric is icing on the cake (I, too, am a big Rush fan, as well as Yes).

Good luck!

Dan

Dan's Music Site!
 
Amp set up

I'm using a 600w Carvin Cyclopse amp. I play only with my fingers and I tend to play closer to the bridge with my thumb resting on the pickups.

I play percussively more than filling the bottom end (which I should probably learn first) but it's so much fun making "neckabow ba ba boom ba bir bir" sounds than playing "booooooooooooom, booooooooooooooom, boooooooooooooooom" type stuff. Don't get me wrong....when it's time to play it easy, I'll play it easy, but when it's time to shred though.....I'll just pop in a CD and rip somebody off! :D

Dan, If you don't mind me asking around how much did you pay for the Geddy Jazz and where?
Oh yeah Dan.....you're a lucky bastard!!;)
 
I picked up mine new thru a dealer on Ebay awhile back...price was about $550. Competitive street price on these is about $599.00-$629.00. Worth every penny! A typical American made Jazz (the Geddy's are made in Japan, like a lot of Fender reissues) goes for about $900 or more new, so the Ged's are a hell of a value.

A couple of great places to deal with on the net are BassNorthwest at www.bassnw.com here in Seattle , or The Bass Place in Vermont. www.bassplace.com .

You also can contact my friend Steve at www.vintagebass.com. He's a real straight shooter and if he doesn't have access to a Geddy, he can point you in the right direction.

Dan, The Lucky Bastard :)

Dan's Music Site; have a listen :^)
 
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