Which bass to get, Jazz or Precision

I don’t have a Fender (yet), so I have no idea what I’m talking about, but I’m pretty sure they still make P basses with J necks. There was the Jazz Bass Special for example, but I think every P bass with a 1.5” nut width (the “A” neck) is basically a P with a J neck.

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Wombat-metal, probably the 3 things are tone, playability and I really like that arctic pearl color or all wood Bass!
My problem is I’m not real sure what style of music I’m drawn to? There was so many different genres that I liked playing!
So if you have some suggestions, I’m open to listening! Thanks

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Ya, I thought I would start doing that! Good advice, thanks!

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Sweet! I’ll have to check that out! That would be awesome!
Thanks!

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@phil5489 from playability, I would look outside Fender at least to start. I don’t know what your budget is, but here are some good suggestions of basses that have great tone and playability

First bass is pretty suite. This is the model that Josh chooses in his review, and it comes in white. Super playable great tones, and white. How could you go wrong.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TRBX304WH--yamaha-trbx304-white

This is a 5 string, but a cool bass nonetheless. It is very close to what I am playing, it has a lot of tones and a fast neck. Easy to play.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SR305EPW--ibanez-sr305e-pearl-white

There was actually less choice in white or natural than I thought, at least in the reasonably priced tiers. I am not endorsing Sweetwater btw, just finding basses; disclaimer it is where I bought my bass.

The Yammy looks like a contender. Great little bass. If you can check it out.

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I have owned a TRBX304 and can verify it’s a fantastic bass. It is so good that when the time came to upgrade I went with another TRBX, a 604.

The TRBX has the best feeling neck of any bass I have ever even tried, much less owned. The TRBX304, 504 and 604 share the same neck (dimensionally).

I would personally prefer owning an entry level TRBX304 over any Squier and almost any Fender, including American custom shop, which is a pretty solid endorsement for a $300 bass. But that’s mostly because I really prefer light modern basses with fast necks.

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Should’ve added the review by Josh & friends

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Great information, wow!
Thanks very much!

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I was fortunate enough to get an Ibanez SR 650 for my first bass and it’s still a regular go to for me. Between the Yamaha’s and the Ibanez’s I personally don’t think you would go far wrong

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A little off subject, but I’d love to see Josh, Ben, and Gio do a review on basses in the $600-$1000 range.

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I find myself micro shifting a lot and in all sorts of ways depending on what I’m playing. Let’s say I was asked to do the chromatic scale exercise; I couldn’t do it without micro shifting on my fender because those first few frets are “miles apart” from each other. Still, you learn to work around it like with any instrument. I had thought of going with a shorter scale bass but I felt I might as well learn to play the standard first, and ultimately the comfort I want could easily be found on a different bass design. With that said, Ibanez is looking good with how narrow their necks tend to be but raw, out-of-the-box tone is keeping me away haha (not to mention I couldn’t get away with having two basses if I tried). I think my next bass will still have the four tuning pegs on one side of the headstock since I don’t like how split up ones look lol

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yeah, such basses exist. a lot of bass player want a P with a thinner neck. it depends on each model but those things exist ; I think that the MIM Deluxe Special P has a J-sized neck, for example (to be verified).

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If you’re referring to the Duff then that one has the 1.625” B neck, so a bit wider

I’ve been saving up a little and was looking at the Fender American Ultra Precision! But wasn’t sure about the neck on that! I think they refer to it as a medium jumbo fret! Not sure the size of a medium jumbo fret is?
Anyway I just need to get out there and start playing some different ones and see what I think!
Thanks for your info. Take care!

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I tried the Fender P when I first picked up the bass and found it a struggle.
A few months later my wife bought me one and strangely it was so much easier? Practice and Josh’s lessons were no doubt a contributing factor as well as a good mate of mine nagging me. “ Once you’ve played a P bass you’ll never want to play anything else” will echo around my head forever lol
Bloody old punk rocker

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The Fender Jaguar has the same neck as the Jazz, and the front pickup is a P, while bridge pup is a J. And the two volume controls of the Jazz so you can blend the two pickups as you like.

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Medium Jumbo fret refers to the dimensions of the fret wires. From Fender:

I do advise trying different basses if you can. Check out a P Bass, a Jazz, and an Ibanez and a Yamaha if you can. The shape of the neck plays vastly different, and you should find what you prefer.

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Yeah, what Laurent is talking about though is a P bass body and single pickup with a J neck, which some people want, as opposed to a P/J Jazz, which also exists but has a different tone to it (even dialed to the P) due to geometry and pickup placement.

I’m not in the market for either but I happen to prefer the P body shape over the J too. But would definitely want the J neck.

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Yes! In honesty I don’t put too much into brand or expense, or even sound. The player is most important. Something that feels good for you to play, will bring you the best sound. I’ve had really good players play my old Squire that was like $150 and they got it to sound amazing. If you LIKE and can afford a high end bass, nothing wrong with that. For those of us with more limited funds? Find a cheap bass you find comfy. With your other funds, upgrading the pickups, new strings, an array of pedals, plugins and or amps, you will get ALL the tone you need. I’d say it’s even BETTER to sink your money (if limited) into those things than a bass.

Name escaping me, but one of the great session bassists GIGGED with a $200 squire. It was his “working” bass. But tone came from his fingers, strings and amp!

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I agree with all that. Wish Fender would play outside the box a little.

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