Precision Bass vs. Jazz Bass - Bass Comparison (no talking)
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- We compared a Fender Precision Bass (1976) with a Fender Jazz Bass (1972) IN THE COMPLETE BAND MIX within various musical genres: Neo Soul, Funk, modern Pop, Rock. Same wood combination (alder body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard), same strings, same grooves, same player. The signal is 50% D.I. out of the amp and 50% miked up 4x10 cab.
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The power of these instruments when they are unplugged is crazy...
😂😂
They have an internal wireless transmitter, don't be ignorant
@@Facu_Roldan where
@@HonkerinoXD Under the pick guard, so you can't see it
Its doin some playback
The only possible conclusion I can draw from this video is: You need both :)
PJ bass?
I was thinking the same thing. I really dig my aerodyne jazz bass. I feel like with p/j I can cover both of those.
@@bsiccs lol, I literally only own Humbucker basses. A vox starstream and a scratch-built one made from a jazz body that has two hot rail Humbuckers.
My favorite bass I had was a Squire PJ, with flat wound strings. I’ve bought and sold many guitars, but that’s the only one I wish I hadn’t sold.
@@bsiccs absolutely not! a pj sounds like a pj or a p (if you dont use the bridger pickup) but not like a j
For the (busy) mixes provided in the demo, I preferred the P-Bass on all tracks. In my opinion, the J-Bass would work better on more sparse mixes + melodic playing.
@@grandadmiralthrawn66 Mh Hans Zimmer uses a tele with a whole orchestra which has also single coils
@@grandadmiralthrawn66 Also, I use only my beloved strat in the studio, even with multiple layers. I have a great humbucker guitar but I just cant bring out the same expressive edge of breakup sound that i can with the in betweem settings of the strat (pick up selector swotch position 2 and 4).
I absolutely dig the p bass tho.
I feel like p bass plus strat is great cause low mid bump plus pristine strat.
And the Les Paul plus jazz bass as well cause low end bump and high end of the jazz plus very present focused compressed midrange from humbuckers.
it is the other way around in my opinion
The rule isn't as clear for electric guitar because the sound is usually heavily processed with the amp and the pedals. Way more than a bass sound usually is.
@@marcusstrymon693 telecaster is really midrange heavy tho, in fact it's often compared to vintage les pauls. so it is defenitly cut through the mix, while if we talking about bass, jazz bass has a hollow midrange compared to p bass
That Jazz Bass can’t be beat when it comes to slap. But I like the P Bass for everything else. It sits in the mix well without stepping on anyones toes.
Same to me
Really great video. Jazz bass certainly has its place in lots of music but I like the P bass better in all these examples.
The first p bass vs j bass video that was actually helpful! Thank you!
The sound of a picked jazz in a fast paced heavy mix is seriously slept on.
AFI’s secret sauce for 15 years
@@jimmygee3219 Indeed! Also the thing that sounds so damn MEAN on Rancid's Ruby Soho.
I was kind of bummed when Hunter switched to P Basses but his style changed at that point too and the P Bass fits pretty well with what he does now. Matt Freedman is still an insane bassist
As a Jazz bass player, I 100% agree!
This has been more helpful than anything else I have seen. Simply hearing these two has made me understand the key differences. Thank you!
The midrange on the P Bass is what always brings me back to it, and the bright switch works more like a sweeping EQ. the tone is so FAT! straight into the console.
Hi. What Bright switch is that ? In the amp ? Thanks !
I'm curious about the bright switch myself
@@HF1600ie Maybe the tone knob? Just a thought
Or maybe he has one of those models with the S-1 switch? When was that? 2000‘s - ish?
This is great. Not overplayed.Good audio.Nice studioplayer!!
They're not even plugged in lolol
А если подключить ваще зазвучит
Thank you for another great demo. Beautifully played and arranged!! All super tones.
Thank you, Mikaso!
They're not even plugged in 🤣
Having played and owned both, I generally prefer the Jazz due to the much larger variety of tones you can obtain with the two pickups. In addition to that, I also find the Jazz to be more comfortable to play with its narrower, more rounded profile.
Also the j neck pick-up is way underrated
I like the upper mid based growl of Jazz basses
For the sake of those asking, i believe they recorded the bass prior on recording the video, hence, no cables. Same way how your favorite band performs on music videos.
That’s it !
People are dumb as rocks. What if they plugged a cable on the bass end but left it unconnected? They just want to rant about everything.
0:07
both basses sound really great even they are not plugged. I'm getting both
This is the video I needed. Most other comparison videos go only for the bass sound... but unless you're practicing alone, your bass is never alone!
The P bass sits slightly better in the mix overall. The Jazz bass stands out a little more for like solo work or the like, but you can't go wrong with either.
Modern Pop music with a plectrum: Precision all the way. All the other styles: Close, but I go with the Jazz.
Precision all the way---but I am biased having played a P Bass for over 30 years.
*Notices the basses are not plugged in*
Me : It ain't familiar... IT AIN'T FAMILIAR
Notice how in the last rock mix with a pick, the p bass cuts through and the j bass kind of disappears into the background
For the melodic and slapping parts similar to what Marcus Miller does, my preference will go towards a JB. In everything else, a precision sits so well in the mix.. I need one NOW!
I totally agree with your assessment of the situations.
Do you have one yet?
@@richsackett3423 Yes sir! Just customized one a few months ago with Seymour Duncan PJ quarter pound pickups. Now, the output I'm getting is 🔥🔥🔥
The J has the ultimate mid range growl and the P has that huge bottom rumble .
This was very helpful. Really useful to have them back-to-back like this. This will be the video I show when trying to explain why I need both!
I'm a beginner and all i know and noticed is that Jazz Bass sounds really good at Slap and Funk and i want to learn both of those someday.
Super Job der Präsentation 👍
Cool gespielt, Platz für Ton gelassen um wirklich die unterschiedliche Charakteristik da Bässe erkennen zu können. ein wirklich gutes und hilfreiches Video gerade für Anfänger.
Diesen Präsentator würde ich sofort engagieren, wenn ich ein Produkt vorführen wollte.
Er hat seinen Job verstanden und sich selbst zurückgenommen. Der Aufgabe willen. Kein Egomannes zur Schau stellen seine spielerischen Fähigkeiten. Chapeau.
Amazing video! Even if I am a j-bass player myself, I found that the p-bass was the winner on each track!
I just ply p bass cause my hands are too big for jazz bass
They're not even plugged in 🤣
I love the fact that you have set up the amp according to the bass being played!
J-bass is to my liking 🙂
THIS is what UA-cam was made for! Thanks man!
Great comparison. Very informative 😊. Thank you. I think all serious bass players need minimum two different basses, like p and j.
For me the Precision wins every corner in this except maybe the rock demo, where I could argue that a Jazz bass would sound tight and in live environments maybe better if you want a harder sound. the slap tone with this setup is a tie, though in general the J is better. PJ is a good solution if you want to have both, though it isn't a Jazz Bass sound exactly but something else leaning towards that spectrum. THANKS for the extremely helpful video!
First of all you are a great bass player so all these examples are very useful to hear the difference. I almost exclusively play mid 70s active J basses. Those will probably sound quite different in the mix compared to your 60s passive J. But still what I'm hearing is making me wonder if I shouldn't break out my P bass more often. It's in my living room and I enjoy playing it but I never take it to gigs. That might change.
yessirrr!😊
Make yourself take it to a gig, sometime (with no Jazz backup -- or at least leave it in the case -- if you're brave). Might take you a bit to adapt -- how you set the EQ, how you play -- but I bet you'd find some new things in it, even if you decide it isn't your thing for every song or style.
@@UnequalTemperament Even when I play it in my house I come up with very different things to play. I recently put together a Sterling Stingray 5. EMG pickps and active EQ. I have a P Bass pickup in front of the MM. So between my J bass and this one I can cover a lot of stuff.
Any chance you have details on the amp/cab/mic used for that half of the sound? You got a killer tone here out of both instruments! Fantastic playing. Really great, real world musical examples too! I've been becoming more of a P bass guy as I get older, and I think it beats the Jazz in most of these comparisons. I think there's definitely a slap tone that the Jazz gets that the P bass can't get- those more sparkling highs. The P bass was just bigger and more musical in the finger style funk/soul stuff, and I think it's got a fatter sound with a pick too of course. Both basses sound great, and the player had showed up to these sessions with JUST the Jazz bass, no one would have complained at all. Over all though- that P bass some how sits up and is noticeable, but still tucked in perfect in the mix! Leo really nailed it the first damn time, didn't he?!
Both are great and your playing gave great vibes
So strong you can even record them unpluged (sounds good though)
They use bluetooth
I can't help but love them both. Jazz is the undisputed slap king, Precision the pick master. For fingerstyle I lean towards the jazz, it's such a growl. But not too much.
Agreed. The slap sound on the jazz is perfection. The P is definitely the better bass for a pick.
JB sound tighter more precise whereas PB shines on sustained notes. I would choose the instrument based on the music to play. In the same way that I’d choose the pickup volumes, tones, strings, compression, amp config...
I mostly play on a PB + humbucker active/passive bass with the humbucker configurable in parallel/serial/single coil: many possibilities and quite different sounds for different clarity or presence.
My next purchase will (probably) be an AM Pro II JB.
Love this video! I’m partial to the Jazz Bass, because my 70’s reissue can sound pretty close to a P with just the neck pickup on.
I'm a p bass die-hard but I really did enjoy the extra quack of the jazz, particularly in the neo soul example (contrary to my expectations). I love being wrong!
What really matters is your feel and the musicality of your choices.
The choice of bass is kinda the extra 5%, the cherry on top. My personal approach is to play whatever takes the least amount of processing to fit into the music you like to play! Or just what feels good to you!! Just try not to overthink it, it kills the fun and takes the focus off what really matters, the music!
Thanks for the great vid, I definitely learned from it! Thanks for playing with musicality in each style!
great comparison and great playing man!
Muy buena comparacion, gracias. Me quedo con el Precision Bass. El ideal seria el PJ Bass. 🎸👍
I think this is the best comparison I’ve seen between these two basses.
I love the J bass tone but most of the time, P bass rules in the mix!
Thanks for this awesome video.
This was epic I actually didn’t read any comments before writing this and watched till the end !!!
Very interesting the both sit well and both great on their own right
I can tell the p purest guys are going to say the p sits better before even reading this thread
I have both and use them both for different things/ recordings.
You can’t go wrong with either in my opinion they both sound great .
Everyone always says the p bass sit better in the mix but to my ears they both held up great albeit they both we boosted in the mix and I was wearing headphones.
Great vid great playing you got the gig 😂
They both sound the same fullstop, its pretty much all about looks and neck action, ey but look ,this guy got all dressed up to make this content ,at least hes wearing grown man pants (unlike some men) bravo there, and ty for making this video, great job 👍
I’ve had a Jazz for 20 years now, never owned a P. I have an audere preamp in it. It can approximate the P really well.
It’s not a competition, I don’t think you need both, pick what you like and own it! Don’t sleep on your playing though. Which bass doesn’t matter at all if you don’t practice.
They both sound amazing honestly
My first bass was a plywood P Bass copy (Hondo II). My dream bass is a P Bass from Warmoth, so I can customize it.
My idea studio setup is 2 of each. One flat & one round. And then a hollow body if I ever need that upright sound.
And a fretless. Two. One flat one rounds. And a double bass. And...
Love how “modern pop” is owl city with picked rock bass hahaha
Avicii levels
Lindo demais, pena que esta desplugado, cadê o cabo caraaaaa!!!! 🤯
Beautiful wireless sound
Totally Unplugged XD
How does it sound if cable is Unplugged?
better ;-)
or louder ;)
Thank you for the comparison video sir! Great bass guitars! I have a 70s squire jazz bass and sounds amazing. I can say the jazz bass is good for slap, but there is no difference, further, all basses are great in any genre!
Ah man, sick video dude. I’d say round one: p bass, two: jazz, three: p bass, four: p bass
Can’t beat that jazz bass at slap
I own both. Due to space problems I just got two basses and a guitar in my flat right now. Both Basses are Jazz basses (Four and five string). My P is still at my parents place. so you can guess wich I prefer. ;-) BUT the P is still a a great bass, miss it to play. But Need the jazz basses more in my projects...
I have both so definitely agree….have both. Would love to add a Ricky and a MM Sterling. If I could only have one, it would be the P as I have a Mexican Special model that came with the JB pickup config and active electronics and a Jazz Bass neck.
Pick: Precision Bass
Slap: Jazz Bass
Fingerstyle: Tie
Facts. 💯
Pick is illegal with bass
@@igorgrunskyi *laughs in Bobby Vega
@@igorgrunskyi I guess only one type of strings is allowed also?
@@igorgrunskyi You and Davie can take a hike
I listened with out watching first, and difference was not as great as might have been expected. The jazz had more growl and P MAYBE was easier to hear in some places. The pick seemed to really favor the jazz. The finger picking seemed to favor the P. They both sounded good.
The playing was the best part.
Thanks!
I prefer the tone of the Precision Bass Neo Soul, Modern Pop, and Rock but that tone from the Jazz Bass on the Funk example is hard to top. Overall for me the Precision Bass is the winner in my book.
I agree that it depends on what genre of music you play. If you are a working bassist, having a P and a J-bass will get you the sound that producers or band members want, and let’s not overlook the fact that you can get a J- bass to sound similar to a p-bass, but you can’t get a P-bass to sound like a jazz bass.
@@Breeze_b_hard it also comes down to less is more mentality. The p bass is a no frills straight forward bass and the j bass has more flexibility!
Thank you for the very helpful no talking video!
I gotta ask....what strings were on the Precision..?
Great video loved songs and great playing! I have a 59 reissue p bass and Japan std j bass love both!!! I did modify both so they’re even better all you need but P bass is my go to
I'm a Jazz guy and not really into P-bass but this was really interesting. Still love the growl I get from my Jazz but the P certainly made me think. I agree with T3L3 below - clearly you need both! :)
There's also the matter of the neck & how the strings taper, or not. Personally I prefer a precision-type design where the strings are more parallel, rather than a Jazz where they get closer as they approach the nut (perhaps more modeled on an acoustic bass)? All subjective, of course.
My two favourite bass tones on the planet. I do prefer the shape of the Precision as it sits more comfortably on the shoulder onstage.
Finally someone who doesnt talk for hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours
Also, nice beats!
To me the Jazz bass is more inspiring to play honestly, the tone just gets to me, and i love playing it with those pickups. I will choose a J bass almost every single time over a P bass if I had a choice.
P bass is KING for ME. Not only the tone but i can't dig the mini nut widths on a jazz. Jazz tones are always bright/nasally...just not my thing personally. Great playing and content (the bass mix volume could have been a bit higher IMO)..gets drowned out a bit.
They both sound great!
The Jazz has more depth and a more pointed top end -- less present and a little less textured/complex in the mids (maybe because of the frequency cancellations between two pickups -- which is why I usually slightly favor one or the other when blending, unless I'm going for that more pronounced scoop, of course). The P sounds thicker -- more complex in the mids, with a little more natural grind -- but without as much of a point up top or, I think, quite as much depth down low.
I think that, generally, a P-bass is easier to slot into a mix, but that depends on the mix (and on what you want to hear). Each can work in pretty much any mix (and the Jazz has some extra versatility via the pickup blend), but will occupy it in different ways.
In the first (Neo Soul) example, I liked the P more -- fatter and more evenly present -- though that bit of growl and snap on the low notes with the J was nice, too.
In the second (slapped Funk/R&B) example, I really liked both basses. Same general observations about their tonal profiles hold, but this mix was more favorable to the Jazz than the first one was. There's a stereotype that P-basses are no good for slapping (I do it all the time -- and check out Freddy Washington on Forget-Me-Nots), but this one sounded fantastic here (Did you open up the tone knob or is that extra brightness just your/using a different technique? Some different EQ, or the same as for the other tracks?). That simultaneous fatness and snap on the popped octaves with the Jazz, though, made me smile. P sits "in" the mix a bit more -- a bit more old-school (though not at all dull or muted) where the J pokes out a bit more (but also puts a bit more booty and "umph" underneath overthing) and sounds a bit more modern. Could take either one, here. P's probably a bit more "me" and a bit safer, but the J was fantastic, too -- again, loved those popped octaves -- they had a little something that the P didn't -- and that extra bit of oomph on the low notes... seems like you could play more dynamically, here, with the J... I might be changing my mind. I like the mids on the P (just about always), but could see the J being more fun on this, live -- but, again, both sound fantastic and would be a blast in a good live mix.
Third example (Modern Pop with a pick): I favor the P for mid-thickness/filling up the mix and the bit of clang on the J attack sticks out (just a little) in a way that doesn't quite fit the music, IMO. (P has an attack, too, but it's not quite as pronounced as the J's, and grinds instead of clangs). I'm sure the J could work great -- maybe with a little drive, maybe favoring the neck pickup (if you're not already doing that), but the P is already there, naturally.
In the fourth and last example (Rock/Heavy), even though it's also played with a pick, it's a different story -- the Jazz Bass's attack works great here, and nothing about it is offensive in this mix. The grindy P thing is more what I'm used to hearing, but I've heard the J thing, too, and think it works great, here -- the J is less present in the lower mids -- leaves a little more room for the guitar (not that it was lacking room or lost, before), if you want that. Even though the pick attack is more pronounced on the J, I feel like the low E-string got a little bit lost, here, relative to the P. Not sure why that is (the low end roll-off on my speakers? EQ? The grind of the P helping it to stay present?), but I think it's something that'd be easily remedied. I think that, with a bit of drive (from amp, pedal, or whatever), the J could occupy a similar place as the P does in this mix -- and I can hear starting out with the more open, clean J sound (which I think works well) and kicking in that drive in a heavier section being really cool (and offering potentially a little more variety and range than the P), but if I had to pick one, as recorded here, it'd probably be the P. P already sounds like you're in the aggro part of the song -- J sounds like it's about to hit.
In summary -- at least as far as the examples here -- the P just works for everything, while the J *can* work for everything (and might offer advantages in some cases), but isn't as plug and play. I'm personally drawn to the midrange presence and complexity of a P-bass -- it's more my personal default -- but there's some stuff for which a snarling 70s J can't be beat. (I don't think Marcus Miller, for instance, would play the same way on a P-bass.)
Nice comparison -- thanks!
The P Bass seems to me the more transparent fit for the modern rock and pop tracks, the J Bass and P Bass both worked equally for the old school (just seems a matter of personal taste). What I really want to know now is what you recommend for a DI and also if you run a compression pedal.
Today I recorded bass in the studio and I can say that J is much more suitable for Di than P
And sound engineer said that it’s definitely J
Nice playing and nice-sounding basses.
Great channel!
Sound fantastico per entrambi!!! Wow 😲
Thanks
great comparison
great comparison! to me they both sound great, but i prefer slap on J and rock with a pick on P
Tight playing!
1st example, Precision for me. I liked its attack and compression more. Overall that's my general feeling with Ps vs Jazzes: I like Ps as I find them a bit smoother with less presence in the upper mids, less treble in their string attack and more compression. Of course that changes a lot with different models, gear setups, the player's touch etc etc.
2nd with the slap, the Jazz came up - fantastic sound for both.
3rd example, the Jazz was growling more and the P was a bit softer and less present. Both very viable choices.
4th example, I didn't find the Precision cutting through as well as the Jazz, although I am sure I would EQ and tweak them differently myself.
Exactly
I have J bass and a stingray, got rid of the P years ago. my opinion though. superb playing BTW
I assume the jazz bass has both pickups at 100% volume?
Yes
To my ears I always seem to pick up a little lower end growl from the P-Bass. Question? Are the strings round wound, half-round or flats? Tone at 100%, 50% or 0%. I enjoyed the video. :-) Thanks
Videos like this remind me that I just made a terrible mistake buying a brand new 5-string jazz, rather than a P-bass. :(
Me too man. I’m going to buy a p bass tomorrow to fix my buyers remorse 😂
UPDATE: sold the 5-string jazz and got an American P-Bass, and slapped some Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders on it. I’m never selling this bass.
love this video. thank you
I honestly hate the sound of a P-bass in solo, but this just confirms once again that it's the better bass in a mix. You can hear it making space for the drums and guitar with the dip in the mids.
Only difference I hear is attenuated high-mids and highs in JB, which surprises me pretty much
Life is meaningless without it's shell; the bass
I prefer the J for its versatility and for the way it feels. But in these examples, the P sounded better, apart from the slap example where I preferred the J. But for those other examples, I'd use the neck pickup on a J, maybe dial the tone back a little or completely, and it would sound very similar to a P. But I admit that the P is a cooler bass, it's straight to the point like no other. By the way, I feel the same way with Strat vs Tele: A Tele has 3 killer sounds, a Strat has 5 great sounds, two of which are not possible on the Tele, and it's more comfortable to play.
There's a snarl and scoopy clarity to the jazz bass that I love. There's also a midrange push in the precision that I love. Can I have both on one guitar please!?
This is why the PJ bass was created!
@@KCameronJ Still not both in one tho sadly. I would love a PJ bass and above the split coil another single coil LOL
@@marcusstrymon693 I’m sure some of the fender custom shops would do this but it’d be extortionate 😭
@@itzjustboris7395 I have an update for you mate! I got myself a fender american original 58 p bass in gold with a fat c neck. Man that is all I evrr need in my life, that is soooo gorgeous.
Turns out that pj is not too nice of a config, since you dont have the hum cancelling of both coils you get hum when mixing in the j
A p bass is very versatile, really, this thing sounds fat and dirty, this is desert Island to me
I borrowed a squier j bass from a friend and literally comparing those 2, I just always feel like something is missing on the J, some life, those fat 100 to 800 hz low mids that make the p stand out so much. So with just a p, really you cant do anything wrong.
That being said, I will get myself a Jazz bass cause it is just a lot of fun for melodic playing and I need a deeper Bass in BEAD tuning anyway. I will get myself a partcaster where i buy all the single parts and let a luthier put em together.
I just love the diversity of p vs j.
Being very different than with guitar, wher it is just strat over anything (and my lovely prs hollowbody baritone).
Cheeeeers, keep grooving
@@itzjustboris7395 Oh matr what I forgot - if you are low on money, the sire v5 and sire p5 passive basses are reeeealy well built. I would say not much missing to my fender for about 1/4 of the money.
The pickup sound was lacking a bit compared to my fender, too much high end noise and you could hear the picking attack a lot on the p5 but that is an easy fix, just throw in a custom shop split coil for 100 bucks, there you go, boutique sound achieved for 600 bucks. Build quality is oooooover the freaking roof especially for that money, I was shocked of sire
I don't know but I think I like the sound of P bass more.
Thanks a lot, your video was very helpful! Going to buy jazz bass in the end :)
I like the sound of the P better. Feels like more depth a little less synthesized.
Jazz Bass, all the way. It's ironic that the Precision bass is best known for its very imprecise tonal quality, its muddy dumpy thumpy pre-1970s aesthetic-fine if you're a Boomer covering Motown tunes for the geriatric set-but it's the "Jazz" bass that has the superior Rock tone, and the superior sound for all modern music.
Great demo, although it really looks silly without a cable. Even though you wrote that it was pre recorded in the studio, you could have plugged in any cable, it looks fake like this
Literally a sound demo, no a video of what it looks like when the bass is plugged in. Use you ears rookie.
@@firemarshal2629 And You are...?
I guess both has it's pros and cons depending on what kind of sound you like.
You should def put some Bonedo Tabs/Sheets on the market!
The flat cap and scarf, plus the disproportionately blissful faked facial ecstacy at "Modern Pop", leaves me to believe this man has done his fair share of TV mimes.
P bass stands out front better except for the slap, jazz bass has much better slap tone due to hits heavy bottom end from the neck pickup and high end Bridge pickup combo
P bass rules in neo soul but jazz bass is good for almost anything.
Pj bass is another level.
There's always some misguided hipster promoting the PJ, they are awful usually. P is good for anything. J or Stingray for slap.
@@CC-fi3pp I can agree with that.