EssentialTension

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' timestamp='1327220639' post='1507851'] In response to the Original Poster's question Leo Fender invented the Jazz Bass to give an alternative to electric bass players to his original design of the Precision bass. He wanted to achieve a few goals with this new bass, one was to have more tonal variety than the P bass with the focus on achiecing a more midrange and brighter sound to compete with the Rickenbacker bass introuduced in 1957 which was reknowned by being very bright. He did this by featuring two individual single coil pickups with indipendent volume and tone controls which when both on full volume would hum cancel each other by wiring them in series, and the offset body / narrower neck were borrowed by the Jazzmaster guitar, seen as the original p bass was built to match the Telecaster the Jazz bass inherited most of the look feautures of the Jazzmaster. The main features of a Jazz bass are 2 single coil pickups that could be blended together or played solo, the neck pickup sound is fairly similar to that of a P bass but the bridge pickup was the new "animal" feature of this bass, punchy, bright and full of harmonics, this pickup became Jaco's signature go to sound he used to pluck it right up the bridge with a 70% chocked tone control and fast syncopated lines to reproduce that nasal, burpy in your face sound that became immediately recognizable as the Jaco's sound in songs like Punk Jazz, Barbary Coast, Teen Town, and many other. 70's funk, soul, blues and even jazz bands all incorporated the Jazz Bass as the bass to have because of it's ability to embrace a wider sound spectrum than the P bass who in its greatness remained a one trick pony, although a great one at that. Of course other companies have "borrowed" the design and milked it to the max from Aria to Zon you can get a Jazz bass sound in a million different basses but then the choice is spoiled by exotic woods, active preamps and all other features that expanded on the original concept but sadly the more the features the less the similarity in sound with the original Fender bass which in conclusions it means if you want the real thing buy an original Fender bass or one from another company which have kept the features as close as possible to the original. [/quote] The narrower neck of the Jazz bass was in order to attract more guitarists to electric bass playing. BTW, the Precision Bass is not at all a one trick pony.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1327194045' post='1507786'] what a band.. love midnight rider... sounds just like a jazz bass.. thanks for posting.. im sat here with head phones on listening to this great music... [/quote] I'm doing the same, now that you got me started.

[quote name='StraightSix' timestamp='1327194235' post='1507788'] Nothing but it's getting tedious reading " they should be like this" "No, they should be like that". The OP asked for the best example... [/quote] He asked 'So what is a Jazz bass?' and 'What is the best example?'. I can't see that it's tedious, I thought it was an interesting discussion. But as I don't myself think there is a 'best example', I didn't bother answering that bit.

[quote name='StraightSix' timestamp='1327193795' post='1507783'] ... I think defining the Jazz will always be contentious so let's discuss our favourites and why... [/quote] What's wrong with contentious?

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1327193011' post='1507770'] .. bet it sound very cool though [/quote] Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gDhR1R3S0s

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1327193011' post='1507770'] ... the line has to be drawn somewhere.. [/quote] True, and we're drawing it in different places.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1327191620' post='1507758'] sorry but there not jazz basses.. why would you think they were? [/quote] Because it is, why would you think it wasn't. It's the late Berry Oakley's Fender Jazz Bass. It's had the neck pickup moved between the bridge pickup and the bridge, it's had a Hagstrom Bisonic pickup added (with VT controls). Customised it may be , but it's a customised Jazz bass.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1327190870' post='1507754'] some of the first did have VVT i thought... like the one in that picture [/quote] That prototype in the pic had VVT, although others too I believe.

[quote name='Linus27' timestamp='1327187347' post='1507719'] Ok but the original Jazz did not have a split Precision pickup so tonally it is not accurate to the original concept. If I went to a shop and asked for a Fender Jazz and got given that then I would be very annoyed. Yes it has the characteristics of the jazz but tonally and pickups make it a different beast. A bit like the difference between an analogue watch and a digital watch perhaps. Both watches, both with straps and round faces and both tell the time by different methods. Yes you can call it a Jazz but its not the original concept. [/quote] I'm not claiming that the Reggie Hamilton Jazz is the original concept, just that it's part of the family resemblance which are Jazz basses. Anyway, the 70s bridge pickup is in a slightly different place to the 60s bridge pickup. The so-called 'original' Jazz bass had VTVT controls and a dot rosewood fretboard, not VVT and maple. It also had felt string mutes and flatwound strings. And at least one of the 1959 prototypes had a soap bar pickup And it was called the Jazz bass because it copied the offset body design of the Jazzmaster.

[quote name='Linus27' timestamp='1327177996' post='1507576'] Is that not a PJ bass and a new breed of bass? If if its a copy of the original Fender Jazz then its a very bad one as it has the wrong pickup config and tone? [/quote] It's got the offset body, the 1.5" nut, and it also says Fender Jazz Bass on it. I'd say it's in the family. As for tone, Jazz basses don't have only one tone.

[quote name='Immo' timestamp='1327174800' post='1507521'] Fingerboard of every bass that on English-speaking sites is advertised to be 'rosewood' is described on Polish sites as 'palisander' as it is a Polish word for 'rosewood'. [/quote] German too, I think.

... and here's another Jazz bass:

Here's a Jazz bass:

I must be playing with the wrong guitarists because the four I've regularly played with in recent times are all using combos with two or four 10"s. Anyway, shouldn't this be in General Discussion and not Off Topic?

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1327168457' post='1507398'] Not in a position to post a vid right now, but Deja vu has to be the best Beyonce bassline! When you see her live you realise that every single member of the band is an extremely talented musician. [/quote] Here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weFftGrtZ7w

Absolutely cracking.

I'd expect reasonable pics and a variety of them.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1327153386' post='1507071'] Position of the pickups also quite important. [/quote] OK, I didn't make that explicit but yes. Although even Fender Jazzes don't all have two single coils in exactly the same positions. However, if I had the offset body, the 1.5" nut, and VVT, even if I had moved the pickup positions I'd still say it was in the family 'Jazz bass'.

Jazz basses are not all the same and haven't been for fifty years. 'Jazz bass' is a set of basses with certain family resemblances. The key resemblances are: 1 - The offset body shape 2 - A pair of single coil pickups 3 - 1.5" nut 4 - VVT (or maybe VTVT) controls For a bass to be a member of the Jazz bass family it needs at least one, and probably two, or possibly three, of those key characteristics but it doesn't need all of them.

[quote name='jonnybass' timestamp='1327135141' post='1506740'] My knowledge of maths and physics isnt the best but I always assumed scale length relates to the distance between two frets (notes, harmonic nodes,whatever you want to call the place where you put your fingers on the string) I would be surprised if the distance between fret at F# on the e string and G on the e string on a 34inch scale bass is the same as the nut to F fret distance on a 32inch scale bass, if its even different by a hundredth of an inch, it will lead to interesting tuning.... jonny [/quote] This has already been dealt with earlier in the thread. Turning the second fret into the nut would make it a 30.3" scale. In scale length terms it's just the same as putting a capo on the second fret of a 34" tuned to DGCA making the scale length 30.3" (more strictly it's 30.290551181") and the old fourteenth fret becomes the new octave 12th fret etc. The problems are not to do with scale length as long as the new nut is at the old second fret. It is problematic for other reasons.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1327010682' post='1505317'] Doesn't it state the cobalt is also in phone mobile batteries?! Seems we are all guilty. [/quote] In computers too I believe.

Like everyone else, I'm sure the Squier Jazz was definitely a much better buy. I'm not a big fan of sunburst either but you've got a classic bass design in a classic colour and it will make classic tones for you while keeping quite a lot of its value if and when you want to sell it on. Good luck.

[quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1326700865' post='1500525'] Ugh, pure cheese. I don't get the James Taylor thing. Americans love that brand of mush. Makes for a very dull song, IMO [/quote] I like this cheese, very tasty.

I would have to say something and offer to pay for any repair.

[quote name='redstriper' timestamp='1326670794' post='1500407'] Which ones are your favourites Dave? Mine are GHS Precisions, also partial to DR High Beams and TIs for fretless, but if I could only have one it would be GHS. Still a lot I haven't tried, but I've stopped looking now (thankfully) Steve. [/quote] Hi Steve. Different on different basses. Precision bass has La Bella 760FS but I've used TIs there often too, Lakland Decade has Pyramid Golds at the moment but I also like GHS Precisions on that too, Takamine B10 has La Bella 760N, Michael Kelly acoustic has TIs. But that collection are my favoured ones.