Another excellent video, Mr. Hawkins. You have a gift for teaching bass. I’ve watched MANY of them, but I always learn something from yours. Every time. Your videos are inspiring. For that I’m grateful.
Personal preference. also an active/passive toggle switch is a need for me if I ever want an active bass. still, to each our own. if your bass is active and doesn't have that A/P toggle switch, it won't work without battery power thanks to the preamp.
Just got a Fender American Professional II J bass in sunburst with Rosewood fingerboard...the neck feels great and the latest Vintage tone noiseless pick ups are great. Love it. The excellent information in this video on the '75 J bass translates to my 2020 one. Thanks
I appreciate the video! I play my Jazz pretty much exclusively. I've pretty much always had passive basses run through a pre-amp or most recently a SansAmp bass DI which boosts the gain as well as gives you your full band EQ and a couple of other bits and bobs. I'm sure you probably know all about it, I picked one up out of necessity due to COVID to stream and pre record our live shows. I run my guitar through the input and my patch cable from output 1 into my amp and output 2 to our mixer. I love this setup because we play full volume all the time and it allows me to use my amp for the room tone and get a 'live mix' with in ear monitors in our DAW since we all like different things in our monitors, effects, etc. (drummer likes hearing bass and a metronome, I listen to the full band with a metronome, and our guitarist listens full band, and our singer only listens to his acoustic and himself through the monitors). And when we do live shows, we bring our mixer with auxiliary XLR from each track ready for the house engineer or for smaller venues, output directly to the PA using a DAW with all of our settings/fx loops we programmed in for live shows. The Jazz bass works perfectly with everything we're doing. It's such a versatile instrument.
If you want the identical Marcus Miller setup all you need is a 70's jazz bass (70's pickup spacing) Bartolini TCT 2 band and a set of DR fat beams. Then a bit of compression.
Not really. I digged Marcus Miller’s tone for almost two years testing different basses, pickups, preamps and strings. I have a Fender AVRI 75 which was originally a passive bass and I converted into an active one buy doing surgery and adding onboard preamp. After having different onboard preamps like Bartolini XTCT and different pickups from Bartolini to Fender 74 to Lollar 70’s, I finally ended up with Lollar 70’s and TCT preamps on it. But didn’t get a Marcus’s sound out of it. Having just a 70’s Fender jazz bass is not enough. Different Fender 70’s sound differently. Maybe a Fender original 77 with TCT preamp is the closest to MM’s tone I have seen. From my experience original vintage fender 70’s have a mojo in their sound that other basses hardly do. But there some other brands which have similar characteristics for instance Sadowsky UV70.
Jazz bass is awesome but I find the one sound of a P bass is more versatile. Meaning some songs the Jazz is better than anything, some songs it's good and some songs it just fights the mix and doesn't sound all that good. I feel the same about a Stingray. I find a P-bass either sounds great or good, it never sounds bad, ever, it works on anything. It's quite amazing actually. It doesn't "cut through" the mix, it fills in the missing holes while stepping on nothing.
Absolutely. The P bass just "fills in" the mix perfectly without being too loud or quiet. A Jazz tends to get buried in mixes, but it depends on the use case
@@mrebear9758 Then someone isn't doing their job, the soundman, other players or from boosting below 80Hz. Check out Donny Hathaway's Live album and Tina Turner 1985 Birmingham. Just a few vids of how a P bass should sound. What are some examples of it sounding like mud?
@@rrdream2400 we are all at the mercy of engineers, so having a P Bass in that setting isn't doing yourself any favours. They're fine for small venues but struggle in arenas and concert halls. Michael League with Snarky Puppy , Pino Palladino with both John Mayer and with NIN sounded like mud each time I saw them. Pino sounded much better when he was playing a Moon Jazz Bass with D'Angelo. Michael League takes the cake as the worst live bass sound I've ever heard from a band that size.
Donny Benet is also a good example. I've heard him play with a P Bass, Jazz Bass and Stingray at medium sized venues. Always sounded like garbage with the P Bass (although he uses flats on that, which is definitely a large part of the problem). Sounds the best with his pre-EB Stingray, 77 Jazz also sounded decent.
Nice video Dan! I’d like to mention another tone that you can get from a Jazz bass that you and others may find useful. On my Jazz bass there’s a “sweet spot” on the volume controls that I use fairly often. Rather than having the volume up all the way I roll it back just until I hear a noticeable change in tone, you don’t need to turn the knob very much to hear the shift. To me it seems to keep the volume and eliminate some of the harshness of a wide open volume pot. This works on either pickup or both. This doesn’t seem to do nearly as much to affect the tone of my P Basses, so I’m thinking that this may be a unique phenomenon to the passive single-coil Jazz pickups.
Same, I love the way the jazz cuts, though it seems to not mix as well surprisingly, or rather let me put it this way. It's actually rather irritating how well a p bass actually sounds in a mix, though I vastly prefer a jazz bass for my style of playing. And continue to use it and make it work 💯 single coils ftw ✌🏼
Excellent video 👍 I have a Fender Jazz Geddy Lee, which is the only Fender I've ever loved to play as the neck is slimmer. I've never liked the Precision to play. But gigging wise I always use my EB MM Sterling as it's lighter and feels ever better to play (and is active).
☑️ thanks ❗️ brand new to electric bass after forty years of acoustic fingerstyle ; so very recently got myself the Fender Player P-bass and the Squire 40th anniversary Jazz bass and the Ampeg RB-112 [for home use] /hope it all works out well for me ⁉️😋😝😊
I think this might be the first Jazz Bass video I've seen where the player starts right off with a right hand position similar to mine, thumb anchored in front of the neck pickup. For some reason, most Jazz players seem to use a hand position where they are plucking in the area of the bridge pickup, which sounds awful to me, and where I find the string feel overly stiff. I don't use the tips of my fingers, because I find that sound weak and lacking in dynamic range. I use the side of my finger, more like an upright technique, and I dig in. I would never pluck so close to the bridge, I would never solo the bridge pickup, and I would never turn the Tone down. My tone is either both pickups or just the neck pickup, tone control wide open, and preferably an active preamp. My first bass was a 1992 Jazz Bass Plus V Ash with the Lace Sensors and Kubicki preamp.
I play the same way on my Jazz bass. I pluck across and almost diagonally with the meaty part of my finger. Thumb anchored on the front pickup or "floating" there, both pickups on and tone control wide open. I don't like playing near the bridge either as I also find it stiff and unnatural feeling however I do understand when to play there to get a certain tone or play a transition/pick up on higher strings at a live show to cut through the mix.
@@OnlineBassCourses I think different types of Music call for different thumb anchoring. As a matter of fact, some people don't anchor their thumb at all. The great Anthony Jackson comes to mind, he's usually floating while plucking (he has no bridge pickup on his Contras, but even when he played the Jazz Bass, he rarely anchored). When I'm playing Roots Reggae Music and Cuban Tumbao, my thumb is anchored in front of the neck pick up, on the fretboard. For everything else, my thumb is either anchored on the neck pickup, on the 5th string or floating, but plucking just over the bridge pick up. I prefer that percussive sound. Oh, and I have foam at the bridge. I love the woody vintage sound of a Bass.
I'd say the playing near the bridge on a jazz bass and using only bridge pickup has more presence and mids, which is more ideal for a jazzy tone (since basslines on jazz may not always require fat heavy lows, but more mids), is harder to play and of course generally less vibration/amplitude picked up; most of the time neck pick-up is being used for that low tone. jazz can match close to precisions in tone (save for a bit of single coil brightness) but not exactly output.
I really enjoy your videos Dan - I get so much out of them and many of them have inspired me to learn more about playing the bass and developing my own style - many thanks!
Just went from an active 5 to a passive 5 J and its been a tough transition switching to the completely opposite spectrum of tone. I figured it would be good to have that exposure but my ears are so used to the active mid-present sound. I suppose throwing a preamp and noiseless pickups would solve it but i gotta stick this out and let my ear adjust i think. Your comparison between the two pretty much solidified in my head my preference for the active tone. Seems like thats why most passive guys are die-hard. Thats all they've known, the active tone just sounds "bad" to them.
In 2003 I got a Washburn Lyon. Is in a jazz fender configuration. After my degree in electronics and a deeper passion in guitars I Opened that. The capacitor was not soldered!!! I put another One after many trials. He is só deeper thats swallows the silence!!!! Now Im wondering why my bridge Pickup never worked!!!!! The knobs are so with bad contact also. Nice project coming on.
Lovely sound on the first bass, very versatile! Are you going direct into the interface or using any DI box? I'm guessing you are going into that tube preamp on the back? What's that? The passive sound on the second one is pure gold! Thanks!!
Thanks! The preamp is a Jules Monique which I love. I usually go into an Avalon U5 then out into Monique or something else. Sometimes I blend the signals, sometimes I just use one. Unfortunately, I don’t remember exactly what I did here...
This is so funny, I clicked on this to learn about bass sounds. And I just picked up my first bass and it is a precision bass. Do you recommend having both I take it?
Cool! Not necessarily. Some people just don't like the P bass sound. Those people shouldn't get one! It's a classic sound though and I think if you're doing sessions, you need one. I think with both, you can cover a lot of different styles. But, each to their own I say.
I find the Jazz Bass to sound quite incredible on its own. But in the context of a band, the P bass just serves too much tonal justice to consider a Jazz bass over it
Marcus Miller does not have a Sadowsky preamp in his Fender bass. FWITW, he has a Bartolini TCT preamp in his bass that was installed by Roger Sadowsky back in the day.
I have a jazz bass and normally play with the neck pick up fully on and the bridge pick up off and the tone slightly on .I play with flatwounds and put a piece of sponge under the strings by the bridge . 1960s motown and beach boys sound plus a nice deep muted bass sound with a deep undertone . Even without the sponge I get that gr8 60s deep tone . I dont like that mid to top trebly sound ur getting really. For me a bass is for bass .
Each to their own... It's more important what it sounds like in a mix or band situation. I can get that great tone you talk about too with a slightly different set up.
Thanks. I do have plenty of other videos and basses. It's never possible to get everything in one video and you definitely can't please everyone either. I will do a video with the tone you mention though!
Jazz are more comfy to play sitting down, this was one of Leo's original intentions for the Deluxe bass as the Jazz was originally called😎 Worth pointing out the far slimmer Jazz neck too👍
Dan! Love the channel. Very informational and easy to follow along. Just solid videos. I had an idea for a video that you may like to make. As a bass player exploring tone, I hear so many words to describe tone. Clank, dirt, grit, thump, etc. Perhaps an exploration of those adjectives and what they actually mean when someone says them. Thoughts?
Thanks Daniel! I think that’s a really good idea. Could you give me some more that you come across and I’ll put it on the list. Thanks for the comment.
I had the “American Vintage ‘74’ version of that bass. It looks the part, and plays well (after hours of work and a neck shim) but the tone is not even close. Changing pickups made little difference. I think the body is just dead.
For a beginner, mostly playing at home, would you recommend a Jazz or a Precision? I like rock/metal/blues/pop but don't like genres such as funk. Thank you!
I’d really recommend trying a few in a shop - not just Fender. You may find an Ibanez or Sire or something else that you’d love. Try a few and see how that sound and feel in your hands.
Great video! Just splurged on a Mexican Jazz bass. Ordered it online and was worried that it was a lemon, but apparently I didn’t fully understand the three knobs. Haha. What is it with the English being great at bass (McCartney, Entwhistle, JPJ etc...? You sound fantastic...
Love the sound of that passive jazz bass! If I’m correct you forgot to mention the specs of the jazz bass? What type of jazz bass is it and from what year? Thanks for sharing!
I’m really digging this bass. The neck is slightly chunkier than a normal jazz and it feels great. This is a ‘75. Original pickups. Not sure exact specs of the wood etc. but I guess whatever was being used in that period...
Online Bass Courses Thanks ! Is it the remake Original or is it really over 40 years old? I’m looking for one myself and if it’s really from 75 l, what new Fender would come close to the sound you have there? Love that barky sound of the bridge pickup!
This is a genuine old one! I’m not really too up on the new Fenders. I’d love to review some but am not doing that right now. The feel of these old ones I think is hard to replicate. After market pickups are so good these days. Many companies are replicating sounds from particular eras. Find a bass you like the feel of and you can change the pickups to get close to what you want.
Beyond the tips in this video, I wouldn’t change things too much. Both pickups and tone on for most styles. A bit more back pickup for more punch (Funk/pop), maybe front with tone down for Soul. I’d concentrate a lot more on playing style, hand position, and groove than tone.
Just pick it up and start playing everyday. Simple as that. I have loads of free beginner exercises and lessons on this channel and my website. They’ll help you. Good luck.
Yes, that's the main way of getting rid of it. Otherwise, you can get the bass professionally shielded or fit hum cancelling pickups (that's a more expensive option obviously).
i've got a Squier Jazz Bass. Do the same 3 controls do the same thing in it? Also the second control has another control on top of it.. unsure what that does. Sorry for noob questions.
I don't have one but I'm guessing it's the same. I'm not sure what the stacked control does. I doubt it's an active circuit? is it a new bass? Could be a mod.
Are you directly connected to your amp without anything else? I have a Jazz bass (not a Fender) and i can't get that ron ron ron sound you have. My amp is a Fender Rumble and i tried all the settings and no ron ron ron sound. Have a P bass as well and no ron ron ron sound either. But the Jazz one first. Thanks.
I havé comment than you… i dont have tbe basic sound of a JB. I havé à 2005 active Deluxe, i practice à lot on fingers and tunîng on pre amp. I changed my old strings for Savarez explosion: too much bright, i just changed for Roto bass… Next step is to change thé genuine pickups for Dimarzio DP123 and step after thé preamp
Yeap, Fender Jazz can replicate a P Bass, but the P Bass really doesn't replicate the Jazz. Nice video. Fender Jazz any day! 👌🏿 Are those hum canceling pick ups? Greetings from Uganda 🇺🇬👊🏿❤️
Lots of options! Find your 3 favourite players/tones and see what they play. I’d say you can’t go wrong with a Fender P bass or similar. Get a couple of overdrives too and a decent amp and you’re good to go.
Online Bass Courses is there a difference between a p bass and pj bass apart from the extra optional jazz bass pickup? Like would the precision pickup on a pj be exactly the same as a precision pickup on a regular p bass
THIS is the greatest electric bass ever made, I don’t care what no man say. THIS is THE bass. The fender jazz. Aston Family man Barrett, Bob Marley’s bass player. Go listen to him and see…
I just bought a usa standard jazz on reverb but am worried the knobs don't function as they should. Both pickup volumes go from no sound to quiet and then for the final 5% go quite a bit louder. Also the tone, starting all the way back, once turned the slightest bit round 'jumps' from one tone to another (no blend at all). If this is faulty is it an easy/inexpensive fix so I don't have to go through the pain of sending it back?
It sounds faulty to me and could just be a question of changing the pots. If it were me, I’d point it out to the seller if they didn’t mention it. Then I’d get someone good and local to fix it. It shouldn’t be too difficult but do get a quote from a luthier or repair shop.
They're two different animals (check out my P bass video on my channel). Ideally, you'd have both and choose which sits best in whatever song you're recording. It's totally down to context and what you want to hear. A P bass is perhaps more 'traditional' for rock but there's no reason not to use a jazz.
I wouldn’t say necessarily better (ok, maybe I would!). They tend to play and feel better, not to mention the pickups have a certain played in, warm tone (although there are great modern replacement pickup options too). They also appreciate in value which can’t hurt. That’s not to say you can’t find a great modern P (not even a Fender). You can, you just have to try a few.
Hi Henry. I've not tried one but I think you'd get really cool tones from that but not exactly like a Jazz. The back pick up on its own, maybe, but the P will (obviously) have more of a Precision character.
I think Marcus tends not to touch the mid control but it's there if he needs it. Didn't Will Lee get Roger Sadowsky to put a mid control in his signature bass (when the standard preamp doesn't have one). I guess as a session player he wants control over tone.
@@OnlineBassCourses I misspoke on both points. In an interview MM said the mids were important to the basses sound, but he was referring to his Sire bass. WL did want a mid control on his bass, It was Roger who did not like the mid control. Thanks Dan.
I put new pups in my j bass, maybe wired wrong. So hollow, no bass (compared to my other basses). Just horrible. Maple fretboard, cheap pots. Fingers crossed I wired out of phase?
I am getting different tones, yes. Agreed - it’s a terrible camera angle! But you should get the basic idea no problem. Just experiment with different settings.
![12 Blazing Bass Techniques [get different tones using your hands]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Y7qkze0q7As/mqdefault.jpg)
![12 Blazing Bass Techniques [get different tones using your hands]](/img/tr.png)
Thanks for mentioning Joe Osborn. He was a tremendously underrated, unknown, and influential bassist.
Another excellent video, Mr. Hawkins.
You have a gift for teaching bass. I’ve watched MANY of them, but I always learn something from yours. Every time. Your videos are inspiring. For that I’m grateful.
Thanks so much, that means a lot to me. 🙏🙏
12:50 - 13:00
This is why I prefer passive basses.
Why's that?
Personal preference. also an active/passive toggle switch is a need for me if I ever want an active bass. still, to each our own.
if your bass is active and doesn't have that A/P toggle switch, it won't work without battery power thanks to the preamp.
Just picked up my first ever bass after 20 years of guitar, so this info is gold!
Amazing! Have fun with it once again.
Just got a Fender American Professional II J bass in sunburst with Rosewood fingerboard...the neck feels great and the latest Vintage tone noiseless pick ups are great. Love it. The excellent information in this video on the '75 J bass translates to my 2020 one. Thanks
Cool bass, Jonathan! 👍
I appreciate the video! I play my Jazz pretty much exclusively. I've pretty much always had passive basses run through a pre-amp or most recently a SansAmp bass DI which boosts the gain as well as gives you your full band EQ and a couple of other bits and bobs. I'm sure you probably know all about it, I picked one up out of necessity due to COVID to stream and pre record our live shows. I run my guitar through the input and my patch cable from output 1 into my amp and output 2 to our mixer. I love this setup because we play full volume all the time and it allows me to use my amp for the room tone and get a 'live mix' with in ear monitors in our DAW since we all like different things in our monitors, effects, etc. (drummer likes hearing bass and a metronome, I listen to the full band with a metronome, and our guitarist listens full band, and our singer only listens to his acoustic and himself through the monitors). And when we do live shows, we bring our mixer with auxiliary XLR from each track ready for the house engineer or for smaller venues, output directly to the PA using a DAW with all of our settings/fx loops we programmed in for live shows. The Jazz bass works perfectly with everything we're doing. It's such a versatile instrument.
Yeah, that is a great setup! Pretty simple but with everything you need to hear yourself and play well, and send a good signal.
Hope you are doing well, the JAZZ BASS just kicks ass period Rock county JAZZ blue's it does the job
If you want the identical Marcus Miller setup all you need is a 70's jazz bass (70's pickup spacing) Bartolini TCT 2 band and a set of DR fat beams. Then a bit of compression.
Not really. I digged Marcus Miller’s tone for almost two years testing different basses, pickups, preamps and strings. I have a Fender AVRI 75 which was originally a passive bass and I converted into an active one buy doing surgery and adding onboard preamp. After having different onboard preamps like Bartolini XTCT and different pickups from Bartolini to Fender 74 to Lollar 70’s, I finally ended up with Lollar 70’s and TCT preamps on it. But didn’t get a Marcus’s sound out of it. Having just a 70’s Fender jazz bass is not enough. Different Fender 70’s sound differently. Maybe a Fender original 77 with TCT preamp is the closest to MM’s tone I have seen. From my experience original vintage fender 70’s have a mojo in their sound that other basses hardly do. But there some other brands which have similar characteristics for instance Sadowsky UV70.
Jazz bass is awesome but I find the one sound of a P bass is more versatile. Meaning some songs the Jazz is better than anything, some songs it's good and some songs it just fights the mix and doesn't sound all that good. I feel the same about a Stingray. I find a P-bass either sounds great or good, it never sounds bad, ever, it works on anything. It's quite amazing actually. It doesn't "cut through" the mix, it fills in the missing holes while stepping on nothing.
Absolutely. The P bass just "fills in" the mix perfectly without being too loud or quiet. A Jazz tends to get buried in mixes, but it depends on the use case
Don't agree, often a P Bass sounds like mud in a live mix. More often than not.
@@mrebear9758 Then someone isn't doing their job, the soundman, other players or from boosting below 80Hz. Check out Donny Hathaway's Live album and Tina Turner 1985 Birmingham. Just a few vids of how a P bass should sound. What are some examples of it sounding like mud?
@@rrdream2400 we are all at the mercy of engineers, so having a P Bass in that setting isn't doing yourself any favours. They're fine for small venues but struggle in arenas and concert halls. Michael League with Snarky Puppy , Pino Palladino with both John Mayer and with NIN sounded like mud each time I saw them. Pino sounded much better when he was playing a Moon Jazz Bass with D'Angelo. Michael League takes the cake as the worst live bass sound I've ever heard from a band that size.
Donny Benet is also a good example. I've heard him play with a P Bass, Jazz Bass and Stingray at medium sized venues. Always sounded like garbage with the P Bass (although he uses flats on that, which is definitely a large part of the problem). Sounds the best with his pre-EB Stingray, 77 Jazz also sounded decent.
Well Done! Yes, Fender was the first electric bass./I have a few/Thanks!
Nice video Dan! I’d like to mention another tone that you can get from a Jazz bass that you and others may find useful. On my Jazz bass there’s a “sweet spot” on the volume controls that I use fairly often. Rather than having the volume up all the way I roll it back just until I hear a noticeable change in tone, you don’t need to turn the knob very much to hear the shift. To me it seems to keep the volume and eliminate some of the harshness of a wide open volume pot. This works on either pickup or both. This doesn’t seem to do nearly as much to affect the tone of my P Basses, so I’m thinking that this may be a unique phenomenon to the passive single-coil Jazz pickups.
That’s a cool tip!
Very informative Dan. You have a knack of explaining things well
Thanks very much, Paul!
I have never liked the P bass, I do have one but I rarely use it. I seem to use either my Stingray or my Jazz Bass more
Are you a slapper or prefer the scooped mids tone?
What?
How's that possible.
Do you have a hearing problem?
I agree. It often doesn't have enough treble to cut through.
Same, I love the way the jazz cuts, though it seems to not mix as well surprisingly, or rather let me put it this way. It's actually rather irritating how well a p bass actually sounds in a mix, though I vastly prefer a jazz bass for my style of playing. And continue to use it and make it work 💯 single coils ftw ✌🏼
Got alot of those sunburst with tortoiseshell pickguards, but thanks for the info!
Excellent video 👍
I have a Fender Jazz Geddy Lee, which is the only Fender I've ever loved to play as the neck is slimmer. I've never liked the Precision to play. But gigging wise I always use my EB MM Sterling as it's lighter and feels ever better to play (and is active).
☑️ thanks ❗️ brand new to electric bass after forty years of acoustic fingerstyle ; so very recently got myself the Fender Player P-bass and the Squire 40th anniversary Jazz bass and the Ampeg RB-112 [for home use] /hope it all works out well for me ⁉️😋😝😊
Cool! Have fun.
Excellent show Dan. Thanks!
🙏🙏
Maybe not heard of but the sound of a Jazz Bass with foam mute & round wound strings. A sound I have been trying lately.
Great idea.
I think this might be the first Jazz Bass video I've seen where the player starts right off with a right hand position similar to mine, thumb anchored in front of the neck pickup. For some reason, most Jazz players seem to use a hand position where they are plucking in the area of the bridge pickup, which sounds awful to me, and where I find the string feel overly stiff.
I don't use the tips of my fingers, because I find that sound weak and lacking in dynamic range. I use the side of my finger, more like an upright technique, and I dig in. I would never pluck so close to the bridge, I would never solo the bridge pickup, and I would never turn the Tone down. My tone is either both pickups or just the neck pickup, tone control wide open, and preferably an active preamp. My first bass was a 1992 Jazz Bass Plus V Ash with the Lace Sensors and Kubicki preamp.
Thanks for the comment, Gemma. I guess the bridge thing is a Jaco influence. I definitely use that from time to time but love the tone you go for too!
I play the same way on my Jazz bass. I pluck across and almost diagonally with the meaty part of my finger. Thumb anchored on the front pickup or "floating" there, both pickups on and tone control wide open. I don't like playing near the bridge either as I also find it stiff and unnatural feeling however I do understand when to play there to get a certain tone or play a transition/pick up on higher strings at a live show to cut through the mix.
@@OnlineBassCourses I think different types of Music call for different thumb anchoring. As a matter of fact, some people don't anchor their thumb at all. The great Anthony Jackson comes to mind, he's usually floating while plucking (he has no bridge pickup on his Contras, but even when he played the Jazz Bass, he rarely anchored).
When I'm playing Roots Reggae Music and Cuban Tumbao, my thumb is anchored in front of the neck pick up, on the fretboard.
For everything else, my thumb is either anchored on the neck pickup, on the 5th string or floating, but plucking just over the bridge pick up. I prefer that percussive sound. Oh, and I have foam at the bridge. I love the woody vintage sound of a Bass.
@@BlackRootsAcademyOfSoul very cool.
I'd say the playing near the bridge on a jazz bass and using only bridge pickup has more presence and mids, which is more ideal for a jazzy tone (since basslines on jazz may not always require fat heavy lows, but more mids), is harder to play and of course generally less vibration/amplitude picked up; most of the time neck pick-up is being used for that low tone.
jazz can match close to precisions in tone (save for a bit of single coil brightness) but not exactly output.
I really enjoy your videos Dan - I get so much out of them and many of them have inspired me to learn more about playing the bass and developing my own style - many thanks!
Thanks, Nick! Keep exploring.
Just went from an active 5 to a passive 5 J and its been a tough transition switching to the completely opposite spectrum of tone. I figured it would be good to have that exposure but my ears are so used to the active mid-present sound. I suppose throwing a preamp and noiseless pickups would solve it but i gotta stick this out and let my ear adjust i think. Your comparison between the two pretty much solidified in my head my preference for the active tone. Seems like thats why most passive guys are die-hard. Thats all they've known, the active tone just sounds "bad" to them.
You can get a jazz to sound very fat like a P. Roll of the tone but also roll of the volume a little and use your pre-amp to compensate.
In 2003 I got a Washburn Lyon. Is in a jazz fender configuration. After my degree in electronics and a deeper passion in guitars I Opened that. The capacitor was not soldered!!! I put another One after many trials. He is só deeper thats swallows the silence!!!! Now Im wondering why my bridge Pickup never worked!!!!! The knobs are so with bad contact also. Nice project coming on.
That vingage JB sure has a crystal clear sound
It’s a classic!
Very good Jazz bass primer, well done sir😎👌
Thanks!
Lovely sound on the first bass, very versatile! Are you going direct into the interface or using any DI box? I'm guessing you are going into that tube preamp on the back? What's that? The passive sound on the second one is pure gold! Thanks!!
Thanks! The preamp is a Jules Monique which I love. I usually go into an Avalon U5 then out into Monique or something else. Sometimes I blend the signals, sometimes I just use one. Unfortunately, I don’t remember exactly what I did here...
This is so funny, I clicked on this to learn about bass sounds. And I just picked up my first bass and it is a precision bass. Do you recommend having both I take it?
Cool! Not necessarily. Some people just don't like the P bass sound. Those people shouldn't get one! It's a classic sound though and I think if you're doing sessions, you need one. I think with both, you can cover a lot of different styles. But, each to their own I say.
Great sounding bass. Well recorded too !
🙏
I find the Jazz Bass to sound quite incredible on its own. But in the context of a band, the P bass just serves too much tonal justice to consider a Jazz bass over it
I think it is all in the fingers. Guys with great attack will make a J CUT. See Geddy Lee ……
Marcus Miller does not have a Sadowsky preamp in his Fender bass. FWITW, he has a Bartolini TCT preamp in his bass that was installed by Roger Sadowsky back in the day.
I have a jazz bass and normally play with the neck pick up fully on and the bridge pick up off and the tone slightly on .I play with flatwounds and put a piece of sponge under the strings by the bridge .
1960s motown and beach boys sound plus a nice deep muted bass sound with a deep undertone . Even without the sponge I get that gr8 60s deep tone .
I dont like that mid to top trebly sound ur getting really. For me a bass is for bass .
Each to their own... It's more important what it sounds like in a mix or band situation. I can get that great tone you talk about too with a slightly different set up.
@@OnlineBassCourses ye i wish that would have been included in ur demo . Actually I think muted is the wrong word .I meant dampened
Nice playing
Thanks. I do have plenty of other videos and basses. It's never possible to get everything in one video and you definitely can't please everyone either. I will do a video with the tone you mention though!
@@OnlineBassCourses hey thanks mate .no i wasnt displeased .I thought the top end tones were interesting
Good playing, thanks for posting.
RobinNJ1963 thanks very much for watching.
Jazz are more comfy to play sitting down, this was one of Leo's original intentions for the Deluxe bass as the Jazz was originally called😎
Worth pointing out the far slimmer Jazz neck too👍
Interestingly, my P has a slimmer neck than my J but, yes, in general the necks are slimmer.
@@OnlineBassCourses do you have a video on PJ basses? like the aerodyne, signature duff mckagan or Reggie Hamilton?
@@musenw8834 I don’t - I only have one PJ bass and do love it. What do you want to know? I’ll do a video.
Dan! Love the channel. Very informational and easy to follow along. Just solid videos. I had an idea for a video that you may like to make. As a bass player exploring tone, I hear so many words to describe tone. Clank, dirt, grit, thump, etc. Perhaps an exploration of those adjectives and what they actually mean when someone says them. Thoughts?
Thanks Daniel! I think that’s a really good idea. Could you give me some more that you come across and I’ll put it on the list. Thanks for the comment.
Round, bright, thin, tight, growly.
Those are my submissions. Great idea @Daniel Meza
Hey I was curious how similar these tones will be if done with a musicman, it would be awesome to see a full video on musicman tones! Thanks so much
Great idea! I think it’s a less versatile bass I think I will make that video…
Surely the versatility depends a lot of what pickup configuration the Musicman bass has. There's more than one model.
And it would be good to compare with a PJ configuration.
@@rmorris8544 yes. Got a StingRay video coming out next week…Although I don’t have all the pickup configurations so can’t demo that.
Gorgeous bass
Prefer the Jazz to the Precision
Cheers Dan
Thanks, David. It's a cool bass!
I had the “American Vintage ‘74’ version of that bass. It looks the part, and plays well (after hours of work and a neck shim) but the tone is not even close. Changing pickups made little difference. I think the body is just dead.
For a beginner, mostly playing at home, would you recommend a Jazz or a Precision? I like rock/metal/blues/pop but don't like genres such as funk. Thank you!
I’d really recommend trying a few in a shop - not just Fender. You may find an Ibanez or Sire or something else that you’d love. Try a few and see how that sound and feel in your hands.
@@OnlineBassCourses thank you, do you have experience of G&L Tribute L-2000, I am impressed this bass watching reviews on UA-cam.
@@nhchau I don't have experience with them but I've only ever heard really good things about them. I'd love to try one...
Great video! Just splurged on a Mexican Jazz bass. Ordered it online and was worried that it was a lemon, but apparently I didn’t fully understand the three knobs. Haha.
What is it with the English being great at bass (McCartney, Entwhistle, JPJ etc...? You sound fantastic...
You’re far too kind to put me in the same sentence! 🤣 Congratulations on the Jazz. Sometimes you get lucky and you can always get it setup well.
Love the sound of that passive jazz bass!
If I’m correct you forgot to mention the specs of the jazz bass? What type of jazz bass is it and from what year? Thanks for sharing!
I’m really digging this bass. The neck is slightly chunkier than a normal jazz and it feels great. This is a ‘75. Original pickups. Not sure exact specs of the wood etc. but I guess whatever was being used in that period...
Online Bass Courses Thanks ! Is it the remake Original or is it really over 40 years old? I’m looking for one myself and if it’s really from 75 l, what new Fender would come close to the sound you have there? Love that barky sound of the bridge pickup!
This is a genuine old one! I’m not really too up on the new Fenders. I’d love to review some but am not doing that right now. The feel of these old ones I think is hard to replicate. After market pickups are so good these days. Many companies are replicating sounds from particular eras. Find a bass you like the feel of and you can change the pickups to get close to what you want.
Online Bass Courses Thanks! Yes like good wine the aging and the treatments over the years is probably not so easy to replicate.
Yes I think that’s right. It’s the feel of this bass I love but the look too. Just try a few (when you can!) and see what speaks to you.
Excellent jazz bass it just barks tones
Thanks, Paul!
Thank you.
Hello sir, i have a question: how would you set the knobs to get an overall good tone to suit pop/blues/country/soul music?
Beyond the tips in this video, I wouldn’t change things too much. Both pickups and tone on for most styles. A bit more back pickup for more punch (Funk/pop), maybe front with tone down for Soul. I’d concentrate a lot more on playing style, hand position, and groove than tone.
3:27 sound i love it
🙏
Whats the brand on the bridge i may get 1 for my squire 70s jazz
Original Fender from the 1970s.
Love love love all your vids !!!
Very kind Terrance. Thanks for watching!
I bought one years and years back to play along with my upright bass, but I abandoned both about 4 years ago, how do I start up again?
Just pick it up and start playing everyday. Simple as that. I have loads of free beginner exercises and lessons on this channel and my website. They’ll help you. Good luck.
How do you get rid of the singlecoil hum? For me it’s only off if both pickups are set to full vol.
Yes, that's the main way of getting rid of it. Otherwise, you can get the bass professionally shielded or fit hum cancelling pickups (that's a more expensive option obviously).
Fantastic playing, what string gauge are you using?
Cheers, Jonny! 45-105 Elites.
Good stuff, informative!
+Paul Gibson Music thanks very much!
You have a good one there,sounds great.
It is a good one. 👍
thanks, nice video!
Please show us how to use the finger rest, mounted on the pickguard just below the G string. I never saw anyone using this... Thank you!
I don’t think anyone does use it anymore. It was designed to rest your fingers on whilst plucking the strings with the thumb.
i've got a Squier Jazz Bass. Do the same 3 controls do the same thing in it? Also the second control has another control on top of it.. unsure what that does. Sorry for noob questions.
I don't have one but I'm guessing it's the same. I'm not sure what the stacked control does. I doubt it's an active circuit? is it a new bass? Could be a mod.
Are you directly connected to your amp without anything else? I have a Jazz bass (not a Fender) and i can't get that ron ron ron sound you have. My amp is a Fender Rumble and i tried all the settings and no ron ron ron sound. Have a P bass as well and no ron ron ron sound either. But the Jazz one first. Thanks.
By ron ron ron sound i mean also pop pop pop sound. Not pop music but pop pop pop. Darn!
Right - I was wondering!
No amp - straight in via Avalon u5. It’s the bass plus strings plus pickups plus setup.
I havé comment than you… i dont have tbe basic sound of a JB. I havé à 2005 active Deluxe, i practice à lot on fingers and tunîng on pre amp. I changed my old strings for Savarez explosion: too much bright, i just changed for Roto bass…
Next step is to change thé genuine pickups for Dimarzio DP123 and step after thé preamp
Yeap, Fender Jazz can replicate a P Bass, but the P Bass really doesn't replicate the Jazz. Nice video.
Fender Jazz any day! 👌🏿
Are those hum canceling pick ups?
Greetings from Uganda 🇺🇬👊🏿❤️
Thanks! No. I did put some on but returned to the originals.
@@OnlineBassCourses are the originals hum canceling?
@@BlackRootsAcademyOfSoul No. I probably had both pickups on during this video...I did get the bass professionally shielded though.
For my band, we play like alternative rock and just general rock music. What bass would you recommend?
Lots of options! Find your 3 favourite players/tones and see what they play. I’d say you can’t go wrong with a Fender P bass or similar. Get a couple of overdrives too and a decent amp and you’re good to go.
Maybe you should try a p bass, or musicman stingray or something like that..fatter bass tone are better for rock and punk song.
Muhammad Hilmy do you with a pj bass, specifically the Marcus Miller p7, I can still get that fat bass tone?
Online Bass Courses is there a difference between a p bass and pj bass apart from the extra optional jazz bass pickup? Like would the precision pickup on a pj be exactly the same as a precision pickup on a regular p bass
Or more specifically the Marcus Miller p7 pj
THIS is the greatest electric bass ever made, I don’t care what no man say. THIS is THE bass. The fender jazz. Aston Family man Barrett, Bob Marley’s bass player. Go listen to him and see…
Great player!
I just bought a usa standard jazz on reverb but am worried the knobs don't function as they should. Both pickup volumes go from no sound to quiet and then for the final 5% go quite a bit louder. Also the tone, starting all the way back, once turned the slightest bit round 'jumps' from one tone to another (no blend at all). If this is faulty is it an easy/inexpensive fix so I don't have to go through the pain of sending it back?
It sounds faulty to me and could just be a question of changing the pots. If it were me, I’d point it out to the seller if they didn’t mention it. Then I’d get someone good and local to fix it. It shouldn’t be too difficult but do get a quote from a luthier or repair shop.
in your opinion, do you think the jb its good for recording rock on studio like a p bass?
They're two different animals (check out my P bass video on my channel). Ideally, you'd have both and choose which sits best in whatever song you're recording. It's totally down to context and what you want to hear. A P bass is perhaps more 'traditional' for rock but there's no reason not to use a jazz.
This video is 4 years old lol
JPJ made it work so why not
@@user-rz2sq9fm2g Absolutely. And Geddy.
@@w0rmmboyy Your type of comment is much older lol
Why are classic P-basses better than newer ones? I missed that point.
I wouldn’t say necessarily better (ok, maybe I would!). They tend to play and feel better, not to mention the pickups have a certain played in, warm tone (although there are great modern replacement pickup options too). They also appreciate in value which can’t hurt. That’s not to say you can’t find a great modern P (not even a Fender). You can, you just have to try a few.
Dan what kind of Fretless you play
It's a Lakland fretless once owned by Pino Palladino (so an old-ish one from the 80s). Bartolini pickups and Rotosound strings. 👍
Great video. What gauge strings are you using here?
Thanks very much. I think these are Elites 45-105.
You use flats or rounds on jass bass
Elites Players or Stadiums (rounds)
@@OnlineBassCourses thank you. Great video
Only play Metal.
P bass is the only tool i need.
Can you get those really great tones out the Fender mustang P/J
Hi Henry. I've not tried one but I think you'd get really cool tones from that but not exactly like a Jazz. The back pick up on its own, maybe, but the P will (obviously) have more of a Precision character.
@@OnlineBassCourses Thank you for your honest response,that meant a lot to me.
@@henryfreeman7748 No problem at all - anytime!
Do u think it's not bad of idea if u use that bass and play rock songs
John Paul Jones and Geddy Lee do a great job with a jazz. So go for it!
@@OnlineBassCourses thanks
😊
Marcus Miller does use mids in his preamp. Will Lee prefers not not to.
I think Marcus tends not to touch the mid control but it's there if he needs it. Didn't Will Lee get Roger Sadowsky to put a mid control in his signature bass (when the standard preamp doesn't have one). I guess as a session player he wants control over tone.
@@OnlineBassCourses I misspoke on both points. In an interview MM said the mids were important to the basses sound, but he was referring to his Sire bass. WL did want a mid control on his bass, It was Roger who did not like the mid control. Thanks Dan.
@@bassistdc Ah that makes sense - thanks for the comment!
I put new pups in my j bass, maybe wired wrong. So hollow, no bass (compared to my other basses). Just horrible. Maple fretboard, cheap pots. Fingers crossed I wired out of phase?
Squirt 70s jazz bass (added fender pups) all maple. Body, neck, fretboard
It does sound like it might be out of phase…
🙏🙏🙏
Hey for new bass players on a budget the idea that a vintage sounds better than a modern is bullshit
Do I say that in the video (can’t remember - did it a long time ago!)?
Literally stopped scrolling because i thought oscar de la oya was playing bass now
🥊
The knobs are out of the frame
They are a bit aren’t they?
You are getting different tones. Would be helpful if we could see the knobs you are using to get the tones. Otherwise...??
I am getting different tones, yes. Agreed - it’s a terrible camera angle! But you should get the basic idea no problem. Just experiment with different settings.
Xavi playing bass
I do happen to play football VERY much like him.
Not really.
Dan please, I'm soaking already and im not 5 minutes in.
More tonal diversity doesn’t necessarily mean more versatile
Of course. That’s down to the player. But it does mean more tones. Thanks for watching!
Online Bass Courses true. Np
I want to eat back pickup only played w a pick.
I'll do a video one day!