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Fender Precision Bass vs. Jazz Bass

Written by admin on June 27, 2009 – 5:47 pm -

Fender's Precision and Jazz Basses dominate the world of bass guitars; and that's no accident! Leo Fender and his small crew invented the first electric bass guitar more than 50 years ago. And though there have been many changes to both models over the past 50 years, the new P Bass or J Bass you buy today still carries the tradition of the classic originals.
So how do they differ? What makes a player choose one over the other? The primary differences can be summed up in three areas: the body, the neck and the pickups.
If I said you have a beautiful body...
The Precision Bass looked radical in 1951. Its deep double cutaways and forward-raked design was like nothing the guitar world had seen. And it preceded the Stratocaster (which has a similar body style) by three years. In 1954 the Precision Bass, which had been a "slab" until then, adopted the contoured body of the new Stratocaster. These sculpted recessions at the bottom and top made it more comfortable to hold. The original Precision body was ash; now you can choose from models with ash or alder bodies.
The Fender Jazz Bass, released in 1960, offered players an alternative to the Precision. Its offset-waist body, which was drawn from the Jazzmaster guitar introduced a couple of years earlier, moved the mass of the body forward and out of the way of the player's right arm. As with the P Bass, ash and alder body models of the J Bass are available.
Neck and neck...
Most Precision and Jazz Bass production models have what Fender calls a "modern C shape" neck. Each model's neck is maple, with maple, rosewood, or pao ferro fingerboards available. But there the similarities end. Each neck is distinctively different to appeal to different players' preferences. The Precision neck maintains a fairly consistent thickness and tapers in slightly as it approaches the nut.
Meanwhile, the Jazz starts with its strings in a noticeably narrower spacing at the nut that give it a distinct "tapered" feel for what some players feel is easier fingering. And the fast-action maple Jazz neck debuted with a rosewood fingerboard that made it easier to manage.
With that in mind, though, a wide variety of neck options are open to today's P Bass or J Bass buyers. From Custom Shop models with a full "C" shape to Artist Series Jazz with Precision necks and Precisions with Jazz necks (as with
the Deluxe Series P Bass Special), you can have the body/neck combination that suits you best.
A couple of pickup lines...
Upon its first release the Precision Bass had a single-coil pickup with a chrome-plated cover. Within a few years Fender moved to a split-coil pickup that offered a more defined and solid bass sound.
The Jazz came out of the chute with dual eight-pole humbucking pickups that gave players a wider variety of tonal possibilities, thanks in part to a softer, less spiky signal that was not possible with the P Bass's single-coil pickup. The end result was a bass some players consider to have a cleaner sound, with more tonal variation possible through use of a pan knob that adjusts the balance between the two pickups.
Bass your decision on the facts!
It's difficult to describe guitar concepts like "feel" and "playability" in print. But hopefully this brief article has given you the basic concepts surrounding your choice of an electric bass.

Body Style:
Electric bass guitars are most commonly solid-body electrics, although there are a few sem-hollowbody available for a rounder and more acoustic sound.
Neck:
Choosing what type of neck your bass should have is dependent on the size of your hand. Necks come in a number of shapes: round, oval, flat back, "vee" and asymmetrical (thinner either on bass or treble side). Naturally, if you are interested in a 5 or 6-string bass, the neck is going to be wider.
Scale Length:
Scale length is the vibrating length of the string, which is determined by the distance between "nut" and the bridge "saddle." Fret placement (See Intonation) is a ratio based on scale length so longer scales have more distance between frets. Scale length influences both the tonal quality of the notes produced and the tension of the string at a particular pitch. The tonal effects of scale length are crucial to the final tone of the instrument. For a more defined sound on the low B string of a five string bass, a longer neck is advisable. A shorter scale is acceptable for 4-string bass, is good for smaller hands, and will make the G string sing out. Common bass scale lengths are Short Scale: 30 inches; Medium Scale: 32 inches; Long Scale (Standard): 34 inches; 5 string long scale: 35"; Extra-long Scale: 36 inches.
Tuning machines:
The type of tuning machine your guitar has is very important. This is what allows you to fine tune and hold pitch. Enclosed machine heads resist rust and airborne corrosives, and therefore don't require as much maintenance or replacement as open tuning machines. Get the best tuning machines available for the instrument.
Intonation:
Intonation determines whether the notes play in tune as you move up the neck. If the distance between the frets (usually above the 12th fret) is off, the bass will be incapable of playing in tune and therefore useless as a recording or performance instrument.
Bolt-on, Neck-Through:
Neck-through basses are stronger, have better sustain and note resolution. Bolt-on necks have a punchier sound but are more likely to have dead spots.
Fingerboard:
A coated fingerboard helps produce a whining, trebly "fretless sound" and longer sustain which wears much longer with round-wound strings. Uncoated fingerboards have a warmer, more natural sound.
Number of Frets:
A bass can have 21, 22, or 24 frets. Most bass playing takes place in the lower positions so this is a matter of personal taste.
Pickups:
Pickups are important to the sound of a bass, ranked right up there with strings as a way of defining your sound. They probably have more effect on your final sound than whatever combinations of woods are chosen for that perfect tone. To complicate the issue, a pickup can give quite different results on different basses. Changing strings will affect a pickup's response as well. A number of active and passive pickups are available for bass. When choosing a bass with active pickups, remember that battery life and replacement will become an issue.
Wood:
Choice of woods naturally affects the tone and weight of a guitar, but so do a number of other factors. A lightweight wood is advantageous for performing standing up, since bass guitars can be rather large. Common woods for bass are swamp ash, a lighter weight soft wood which produces a punchy tone and low mids. Alder is another lightweight wood that produces a more crisp tone. The important question for you is whether you like the sound of the instrument.
Finish:
With electric instruments, the type of finish does not affect sound as much as it does on acoustics, but you needn't worry about it in either case. Guitar makers take this into account when they build the instrument.

Tags: Bass Guitar, Electric Guitar
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