Technically, a J has a J body, and a P has a P body. That’s how Fender markets them regardless of the actual pickups.
4 Likes
Well J is like a cardio fit guy split or single coil still a cardio guy strong and fit.
MM, double Jazz or Humbucker pickups are like body builder they are not the same.
In a mountain bike term J would be a cross country and the others would be super D or downhill despite the configuration.
This configuration are not the same as
This
Or this
PJs are just another bowl of soupy mess you need to sort out one by one, lol.
2 Likes
So, this is not a J then???
It’s only an approximation of a J?!?
In the example above, you really don’t know how strong these pups are… they are a bit like me - look weak and pudgy on the outside, but, man, there are some serious muscles somewhere in there 
I don’t know, I find this all somewhat arbitrary and hand-waving…
2 Likes
That’s a jazz bass. I may have misread your post, I thought you meant the pickup location, neck and bridge. Back in the day we’ll still now lots of models come in with double soapbar pickup neck and bridge.
Double jazz and humbucker are much wider than a skinny jazz pickups and they sound different, not to mention the size of the pole piece which noticeably affect the attack.
1 Like
Yes, I would agree. But, it doesn’t have a genuine Fender J body, and thus (according to some definition) it is NOT a jazz!?!?
I get all that, and it is great to have that variety, but it is still unclear to me when a J is not longer a J. Mine (the one in the picture) has “hum cancelling single coils” - J or NOT J???
2 Likes
Technically it’s anything with a J body 
I think most people would say it’s anything with J pickups.
I think it would be a huge stretch to call a bass not on a J body and with dual-coil pickups a J. Additionally, they don’t sound remotely similar.
Didn’t take it that way at all!
3 Likes
Is it a Fender? Because if it isn’t, it doesn’t matter. Only Fender calls their instruments “Precision” or “Jazz” basses. They are probably the only ones that are allowed to use those names anyway. Other manufacturers have created their own variations on these themes, and they will sometimes give you an indication of what their model most closely resembles by putting a “P” or “J” in the model name. But as far as I’m concerned, classifying basses is not an exact science.
To me, a “traditional” Jazz bass has the two single-coil pickups, with two pole pieces per string, the offset waist body and the tapered, narrow neck. However, as others have already mentioned, Fender seems to call every offset waist bass a Jazz bass, regardless of pickup configuration.
3 Likes
Absolutely that’s a J not according to Fender but it’s a J. Mine is a Fralin split coil humcancelling pickup and it’s definitely a J bass with small difference, the bridge pickup is closer to the bridge and mounted further apart to the neck pickup than the modern models which produce significantly brighter tone. I think Fender only offer this in a Marcus Miller model and the ‘75.
1 Like
Ah, OK, maybe… so, the OP’s question was only concerning Fender instruments??
I would have thought that these terms had transcended the brand by now, much like (in the UK, I guess) you call every vacuum cleaner a Hoover, or you’d call any adhesive tape a Scotch tape etc.
Yeah… I guess I have always had my own, rather loose, definition of a J: “any bass with TWO pickups - one closer to the neck, one closer to the bridge, and the ability to blend those two signals”. But, I can see this is perhaps taking it too far 
4 Likes
This is a great point, which really make me sad. Fender is capable of making some incredible body, neck extra features as well as mind blowing electronics but they are stuck with making same ‘ol stuffs over and over again with slight variations and better colors. They are so afraid to make anything else. Stuffs that sell and make them money are the ones from Leo’s invention, heck even Leo went and made improvements on his products twice.
3 Likes
You’d get yell at here if you call a copying machine a Xerox. They’d tell you they invented a modern computer, lol. Hey for what it’s worth I still call every tissue paper Kleenex, 
2 Likes
I agree, but Fender has every right to call a bass a Precision or Jazz bass. Just like a Telecaster and Stratocaster. Most brands use own model names for their basses anyway, right?
It’s interesting to look at Sweetwater or Thomann how they categorize these instruments.
Same 
2 Likes
That might be caused by the existence of PJ basses. In this case body, neck, etc don’t matter as much as the pick up configuration. In the same way, two j pick- up basses are a JB and one with a split coil a precision.
Or at least that’s how I understood it at the beginning. And probably how Thomann sorts them 
1 Like
Like everything in life, given enough time everything about it will be bastardized.
J pickups on a P body, vice versa
P bass with P pickups with a J neck
Fender does in fact call them by body shape/style, then uses other words for the bastardization (ahem-marketing).
1 Like
I would consider that a modern (not traditional) jazz.
1 Like
Let’s call it a P.3? The hot wound Seymour Duncan jazz pickup on my Duff McKagan P/J allows for a little for spiciness than i would imagine is typical for P/Js but the bass sounds nothing like a J with both pickups on that’s for sure…
Jazz-style, Jazz-y, whatever. Fender invented it, tons of others have “borrowed” the platform to great effect.
Same or kinda very same-ish pickups? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But still built on the foundational design of the original J-bass.
Case in point:
It reminds me of the sound of the great Fender Jazz Bass, adding a modern mood!! It’s very versatile! It’s spicy with the slap sound & delicate with the finger “pop” sound. I can have a great “Jaco” sound & a great Pick sound!!!
- Federico Malaman
5 Likes
I did not know that Fender classed basses by body type and not by pickup configuration. Given so many other manufacturers use derivatives of the Fender names, it makes things weird, LOL.
For instance, what’s this?
(I mean, aside of “a Carvin B40”.)
It’s definitely a “P” body, but I would never refer to it as a “P bass”.
Weird.
1 Like
These days with so many manufacturers making their respective takes on a Jazz-esque bass, this would be a J-bass by virtue of the form factor of its two single-coil (looking) pups. At least, it would be to me, IMHO.
1 Like