Precision or Jazz?

Jimmy_Jazz

I want to get a cheap bass and I've narrowed it down to either a Squier Precision or a Jazz. I prefer the look of the Jazz, but I'm not sure if it'll give me the sound I'm looking for (something like John Entwistle's live sound, but without the distortion). Any ideas? Or should I be looking outside the box, so to speak?

Ravelleman

This is an excellent resource:

Precison or Jazz bass

The jazz bass also has a thinner neck than the p bass. The j bass has more options tone-wise since it has two pickups, which can be blended to create different sounds. But then again, the beauty of the p bass is it's simplicity.

A interesting option would be to buy a jazz bass, take it to a guitar technician and ask them to install a series/parallel mod on to the bass. This will basically allow a jazz bass to souns like a p bass at the flick of a small switch. I'm not sure how much it would cost though.

Or you could buy a pj bass, which has p bass pickup at the neck and a single jazz pickup at the bridge. You get the best of both worlds at a relatively low cost and relatively easily.

You might want to check out Sx instead of Squier, if you can find them. They have recieved a lot of praise over at the harmony central forums. They are in my opinion better than squiers.

Hope this helps.

Pearl666

go with a jazz the only reason john entwistle sounds distorted is because he turned his treble up full. I'd go with the jazz

Ravelleman

Oh, here's a link to an American site that sells Sx basses for very low prices. They will ship to Ireland (you have to email them about that), and even with shipping costs and import duty (if they charge it) it will probably come out cheaper than a squier (+ they're better!)

Sx basses

Doctor J

Before he switched to Alembics, Entwistle was a Precision player. A Parallel/Series switch won't make a Jazz sound like a Precision. Jazz basses are, in my opinion, one of the finest basses around, very flexible variety of sounds. There is a pure beauty about the Precision though, you plug in and that's it. A Jazz neck pickup sounds meaty, not as meaty as a Precision pickup but as near as will make no difference to anyone but you. You can also get Precision with a Jazz sized neck and a Jazz bridge pickup, possibly the best of both worlds.

What budget are we talking about here?

Ravelleman

Doctor J wrote:

A Parallel/Series switch won't make a Jazz sound like a Precision.

Ok, it will allow you mimic it pretty closely.

BeardyGit

Ravelleman wrote:

Ok, it will allow you mimic it pretty closely.

Not true. There's a lot more to the tonal differences between the P & J basses than just the way the pickups are wired. The basic circuitry may appear similar but that's where the similarity ends.

I have both a USA Jazz and a MiM Precision, along with a recently purchase Squire J bass which I'm using as a test-bed for an onboard preamp project. There's not too much of a difference in build quality (not much) between the USA & MiM basses but the Squire was a complete piece of sh**. I've spent ages reseating poorly fitted, improperly crowned frets. The action was crap, intonation was out and the nut was an overwidened plastic piece of dirt. Now maybe I'm spoiled with the other basses I've owned and currently own but if I were you I'd be looking to spend my money on something other than a Squire unless you're prepared to pay someone to set it up properly or learn to do it yourself. I've not played an SX but I too have heard many recommend them as a budget bass over the Squire range....

Just my €0.02

Gil

JacoStanley

Doctor J wrote:

Before he switched to Alembics

Problem solved. Save a few extra euros and get a John Entwistle series Alembic. You won't be disapointed.

http://www.basscentral.com/basscombo/alembic/ALEM_SPY8_LTD_3_tn.jpg

11811

er,I think an Alembic might be a tad expensive for someone looking to buy a Squire bass.Id go for the jazz bass,the squire p-bass isnt that great,had one once and it was terrible to play,they all seem to start rattling and buzzing after a few months of playing!

Mongo

Go for this http://www.rondomusic.net/spj62.html best of both worlds

randombassist

There's a Squire with the same configuration as that SX if you're interested
http://www.squierguitars.com/products/index.php?partno=0321503506

Personally I like the diversity of sounds you can get with a Jazz bass as compared to the P. With a P the tone is a bit more limited, and you don't have the option of mixing around the pickup volumes if you're looking to vary styles etc, which can be very easily done with a Jazz.

I'd also agree with everyone else here that Squire's aren't the best built guitars around though. But if it's your first bass, then you probably won't really notice the lack of quality until you upgrade to a better bass in a while. I'd reccomend trying to go for as good a bass as you can starting out because it's easier to play making you better faster. And because it'll guilt you into practicing more often when you think about how much you've spent on it!

Mongo

Why would anyone choose Squier over SX?The Squier will start falling apart after no time!

Doctor J

Squier definitely aren't as bad as is being made out. The problem with budget basses is that the player is rarely aware of a good setup. I had an Indonesian Squier P bass not too long ago for a specific P tone task and, after I set it up (filed the nut, truss rod tweak, intonation, etc) it became a fairly decent instrument. It had good tone, stayed in tune, was as robust as it needed to be and played well. I think most of the issues people have with them are rooted in their own inexperience tbh. They are definitely worth the money.

It wasn't me!

I quite liked the Squier I had, the one Gil_Dub is talking about. It would have been nice if I'd set it up properly and stuff but it wasn't a bad instrument. Out of interest, Gil, how goes the onboard preamp?

BeardyGit

Don't get me wrong here - There are a number of things that just WON'T be right with any 'budget' bass. To think you'll pay less and get the same is unrealistic - It's all about being able to differentiate between a bass with potential and a real bag of dirt. I was lucky with the Squire I bought from 'It wasn't Me' - It's just that it needed work to turn it into a well playable instrument. I knew what I was getting into and didn't really mind doing the work - Because I know what I'm doing. If I didn't know the procedure and didn't want to spend more after I'd bought it, I'd have gone looking at alternatives.

Hey Dave - The pre-amp project is coming along nicely - Should have a couple of prototypes in the next week or so. BTW lads, I think Dave would agree that although the Squire had potential, he just didn't want to spend the time/money getting it set up properly as he'd set his mind on picking up a really nice Warwick (Hope that's working out well for you!)

Anyway - I'll shut up now for a bit methinks.

Gil

It wasn't me!

Yeah true, I never put any effort into the Squier. The Warwick is teh sex though.

Jimmy_Jazz

Thanks for all the advice. I don't think Squier are all that bad (played a cheap Strat for years), but I think I'll go with one of those Sx basses. Having found some audio samples, I've decided I prefer the sound of the P-bass. Next (and final) question: Amplification
Do I buy a cheap practice amp, or can I plug into my current guitar amp? It's a 50-watt Marshall combo. I'll playing at relatively low (bedroom) volume. Thanks again.

ferdi

ye cant beat a jazz but the only safe way to go is to get a p bass too