Monday, December 23, 2024
BassBass Guitar

Pros and Cons of the Fender Jazz Bass


Last week we looked at the pros and cons of the Fender Precision, the grand daddy of all basses. Today we’re going to look at it’s rival sibling, the Fender Jazz. The Fender Jazz was released in 1960 some 9 years after the original Precision release and 3 years after the upgraded split coil pickup design. Both the Fender Precision and Fender Jazz are massively popular and many times beginner players will find themselves making a decision as to whether to buy one or the other. They are both very different basses so let’s look at what’s great and what’s not so great about the Fender Jazz bass.

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► DR bass strings
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Originally posted by UCDfStxwji-22A_bvY280UIg at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgK786oI1j8

43 thoughts on “Pros and Cons of the Fender Jazz Bass

  • Jazz bass needs to be active imo
    Passive J got lost in the mix a lot
    They need way more volume in the foh compared to p or humbucker

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  • I have a three colour sunburst American Jazz Deluxe, just a beautiful instrument. Easy to play, sounds great, looks great. That one remains standard. I have a black Mexican Jazz that has had a heap of mods. A beast but I prefer the untouched one.

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  • Fender gave you those extra frets on the Jazz when they released the "boner" bass in the late 80s early 90s

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  • I was so confused when I started playing in the 90’s and I could not decide which one to buy …so then I learned about the existence of PJ and I fell in love with the versatility…a little bit of both worlds ✌????

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  • A band mate just swapped to me a highway one jazz for a guild B301A that i wasnt a fan of. I am selling the jazz and just sticking with my 1968 telecaster bass. I love a beefy neck.

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  • I have a MIM RW Flea Jazz. It’s as close to a vintage stack knob as I’ll ever get. Yea, the RW look is t everyone’s favorite and this one is a bit manufactured looking. But I got one with a stable neck and great pickups …… Love it .

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  • A Jazz bass is one of the best hands down, but…. Jeesh, I'm struggling to find a replacement neck for my Jazz that has the narrower peg hole diameters. I have 70's Fender stamped tuners and the only Fender options I have found that fit these are one Vintera at $400 another 70's at $600 and a rosewood board option that is not always available and even more expensive still. I have had this as a Frankenbass for decades and now want to recreate as faithfully Fender as possible, no longer a Squier or Warmoth neck interests me.. so there really are no easy options. Second hand necks can also be tricky and some are crazy expensive. If you happen to find a reasonably priced 2nd hand neck, you either have to be willing to spend a lot for new tuners or find a neck with existing tuners or get really lucky and find your diameter. I'm even considering a '51 P Bass neck now because the tuner holes match! At $300, it's the cheapest Fender option for the smaller diameter tuner. I love the Tele headstock, and it might look rad.. or weird… but if there were more replacement Jazz options, conversion bushings (HELLO FENDER) and reasonably priced and available RW fretboards .. I would feel much much better about my Jazz right now.

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  • We're like ducks. 99% of our favorite music was recorded with "a Fender bass". For good reason. I'll take a good Jazz bass over anything else.

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  • I fitted my ULTRA JAZZ with AGUILAR AG 5J , they are AMAZING! Night and day difference. From Funk to Rock to Praise and any style, much better sounding than DiMarzzio

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  • Between the J-Bass and P-Bass, I much prefer the contoured body of the J. After many years of playing, that became the deciding factor. It's simply more comfortable for long gigs. That, and the narrower neck.

    I had an '83 US/Japanese Precision, which I sold and replaced with a Squier Jazz, and it was great. I saw no reason to get an overpriced Fender.

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  • Hello thank you for your vidéo i'm not agree with you on the point 2/of cons : professionals basses Fender have most of themeselves just 20 frets ? Ins't it

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  • I think your assessment is on point. I have a 1998 American Standard. It’s my go to bass-it does it all. When in was searching for a new bass back in 98, I tried many more expensive basses but kept going back to the jazz for its feel, sound, versatility and value. They were only $750-$800 back then. The neck and sound limitations of the P bass made the jazz the easy choice and of course, Geddy plays a Jazz. However, My first bass was a squire jazz bass from 1990-not a good bass and after that I bought a used early 90’s American Fender 5 string which was mediocre. From my experience fenders jazz basses in late 80’s to early 90’s we’re not great.

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  • One thing that should be noted about the Jazz is the different pickup spacing during the 70's. It really does change the character quite a bit. A lot of the most iconic jazz bass tones were created using the less common 70's spacing. It's a much more aggressive, in your face sound than the rounder sounding 60's spacing.

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  • As a recording guitarist, I long ago realized the importance of learning to play bass. Why look for a bass player or wait on one to shop up when I could play the instrument myself? Ha! Well that was 30 years ago and I have owned quite a few different basses, from a Yamaha beginner model to a Sterling/Music Man Stingray. I don’t usually hang onto them more than a couple of years at the most. I’ll find something better and sell/trade up to that model.
    About 5 months ago I bought a used Squire Vintage Jazz bass, made in Korea and this is THE one. Yes, it needed to be upgraded and tweaked to really shine. I had to shim the neck and I replaced the stock pickups with SD Quarter Pound ones. Tuners and bridge are stock. It stays in tune great and will intonate no problem. It sounds amazing since I replaced the pups. What a great bass and it cost me $500 with upgraded parts.
    A workhorse.

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  • Your best bet is to get them both. If you play professionally, it makes sense….
    In high school, I bought an original 62 Jazz for $125 and gigged with it for 30 yrs.
    In 82, while on the road, I found a 70 Precision for $200.
    I used it onstage that night, and the other band members commented on how much better it sounded, saying that the tone was ‘thicker’. They were right, but depending on the music situation, they both have their place…Get them both.

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  • Through the right amp and speakers example an Ampeg SVT tube , there is a certain tone and low end vibe that a Jazz or Precision does that no other bass does. If it was good enough for Jaco , it can't be bad. Now a days you can get a Sire Jazz with active and passive electronics for 5 to 6 hundred dollars that is more than good enough for most players and has a full tonal range.

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  • I had a Late 70s J base that blue speaker's out of every amp I put it through . I know there's no rational explanation for blaming the base, And I loved the tone, But I had to get rid of it

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  • Got my hands on a Fender Aerodyne JB export model (p/j config) in 2020 and it's absolutely brilliant in every way.

    Extremely versatile & comfortable with massive versatility and traffic stopping looks.

    Unfortunately, they no longer make them in p/j configuration & the black with cream binding is gone too.

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  • First rule of any relationship: be ready to make compromises. It is always something for something. It is a tool, a workhorse and of course, has some limitations.
    Overall a great summary of this instrument under 10 minutes.

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  • I could never get myself to like the jazz bass. No matter how I modded it. Dimarzio, seymour duncan, nordstrands, EMG both active and passive, active pre-amp. Nothing could get me to like it. I also couldn't get the strings to sound even. The A string always sounded weak no matter what.

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  • I bought a J Bass after reading and listening to both and decided on this one and now I think it's the best decision I made (aside from leaving the guitar for the bass). The most difficult thing was finding the J I wanted given the diversity of models and I played it safe, a relic. There was another one very similar with some differences but I didn't want to risk it since I had heard the relic. It fits into any type of music. I couldn't be happier. By the way, your bass is absolutely beautiful, I've never seen it for sale.

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  • I'd like to own an American original '62 stack pot jazz bass like Bobby Vega and John Paul Jones, don't like volumn volumn tone pots prefere the individual volumn tone for each pup

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  • A couple of years ago I did a "blind taste test" at our best local music store. Wife handed me a series of basses while I had my eyes closed. I'd play and not run my hands over it to determine what it was. Just used the sound and playing feel. The champion was the American Standard.

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  • I like the jazz neck but wanted an authentic P bass sound so I got a Fender Jaguar. Works for me!

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  • In the studio, Joe Osborn at times would use a two foot wire with alligator clips on both ends to combat hum.
    Clip one end to The bridge and one end to the metal folding chair he was invariably in.

    Reply

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