LeftyBassist.com

Now i know this is a hard qestion with so many nice basses out there but if you had to choose one what would it be mine would have to be a P-Bass fender or a nice copy.

Easy for me, a P-Bass. I enjoy all my other types of basses, but the P-bass is easily my fave for a bunch of reasons.

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Seems like whatever I don't have !!!!!!!!! Freaking gas kills!!

I would like to get my hands on some of the basses from across the pond. There seems to be so many great builders pushing the limits of the hum drum.

ok andrew is on my side

I'm with ya too!

Played some of those Waja's like the one you pictured here on the Lefty Bass Day (also one with a fingerboard like that), and was impressed by the playability and tonal options but not by the finish and attention to detail. And I reeeaaally couldn't get over the way they look.

When all is said and done, gimme a good J. It can do it all.

Yep.

P/J.

I have yet to find it.

If I had to choose one, it would be one of everything

ya...me 2

I got a lot of units over here that have their own unique tone, so honestly, there is no favorite, cheap or $$$$, body style/active/passive/p-j-HB whatever, there is no way I would sell off multiple basses just to own ONE of ANY brand and be stuck with that one tone for life regardless of the look or price ..

maybe it's more on the lines of: "I'm just too scared to spend 3grand and find out one of my 100.00 frankensteined units sounds the same"

Same here. But so far it's between PJ and JJ configuration for me. And in terms of playability and looks I strongly favor Jazz Basses.

Troof.

never been able to get the sound in my head to come out of my hands on a J-bass ... I can get something that sounds close to that sound when I solo a J by itself, but I'm not able to get it to work for me in the larger band context of a recording or FoH mix. I have a similar experience with many of those boutique J clones - many feel great to play, but the sound I get in the big mix is a hot dog bomb between the toes on a late Saturday night barefoot romp in the back yard

a P on the other hand ... it sounds like fresh squeezed dog pasta when heard all by its lonesome, but put it in the band context of a recording or FoH and it's total YAH BABY!!

I salute you guys/gals who can get a J to sit up and bark, maybe someday I'll get my hands to get it to work


all the best,

R

I have been playing the same jazz bass as my sole instrument for around ten years now....... its all about the jazz bass baby!

I've had my first P/J conf done 30 years ago and it is still one of my favorite.

But my favorite bass is my Custom 5 strings that I have for more then 20 years already. Just perfect. Body was sculpted for me and so was the neck shape. Nothing can beat a full custom instrument that fits you.

This one:


If anything should happen to this bass (Please God, forbid!) Then my MIJ Jazz is the only real contender.

I agree that a Jazz sounds great alone but a Precision stands up in every situation So that's my choice.

It's only recently that I've begun to appreciate the mighty P, as I considered them dull as dishwater for years both in tone and looks. I also considered them fairly difficult to play, as I always had a hard time reigning in the tone without annoying string clack and other unwanted noises and could never quite figure out how and where to pluck one to avoid it. For some players, the "ugliness" is part of their sound, but to me it always drove me nuts. (Listen to Elvis Costello's, "Shabby Doll" as a good example of a recorded P bass tone I HATE, even though Bruce Thomas is one of my idols). But after stringing my '73 up with LaBella Jamersons, I simply can't stop playing it! It's still not the easiest bass to reign in, IMO, and I personally think a P bass needs the perfect setup and touch to be playable, but roll back the treble and play over the PUP or in front of it and there's that warm, classic fat tone and thump.

Regarding the J, one of the most common knocks against the Jazz is that they sound thin and can't do a deep thump like a P. Well I beg to differ! Listen to JPJ's early Zep tracks and you'll hear plenty o' thump. I would urge anyone who thinks a J is too thin to string one up with a nice old broken in set of flatwounds. I did a comparison last night between my '72 J strung with 10 year old D'Addario Chromes and the '73 P. I love both instruments, but I have to say the J had almost the same deepness and thump as the P with the neck PUP on and a touch of bridge but with a bit more mid-bump clarity. The bridge PUP soloed, however, is a bit too honky with flats, so I don't use it on a flatwound J.