What makes a J a J?

#61
Naa, it's the shape, and only the shape.

If you see a jazz bass with any other picksups, you'll still say "a jazz with humbuckers", or whatever.
There's been many variations of placements of the pups over the years too, so cant base it on that.
Base it on the sound? Nope. Any shape can have the sound, but you still wouldnt call it a jazz bass.
The neck? Maybe. If you use a jazz neck you'll say "its a X, with a jazz neck!". So theres half of it I guess.

It all comes back to the shape we all know and love. Same with a precision. Also just the shape.
 
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#62
JeezyMcNuggles said:
2 single coil pickups, in a very particular placement.

A 70's J, sounds almost nothing like a J. That's why it's a "70s jazz bass", and not just a "Jazz bass."
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Interesting take. I thought the sound was basically the same, except with a bit more snap. What do you hear that sounds different between the two?
 
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#63
N
Vinny_G said:
Like that?

warwick-thumb-bolt-on-5-11559.jpg
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No… this is not a jazz bass IMO.
 
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#68
Within the (Fender) Jazz Bass family there are many variations with pickup positioning, active/passive, VVT, VTVT, etc., number of strings, neck shape, “tone woods,” bla, bla, bla, all making a difference in the degree of “jazzness.” I really don’t care about brand correctness as I care about how a Jazz Bass guitar sounds and feels. Here is a pic of my current fav Jazz Bass, which IMO is close to brand tradition except that it’s not a Fender and has 5 strings.
1ADA7039-8E24-4CBB-8C81-D756075A652E.jpeg
 
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#72
Semantics aside, I'm pretty sure this is a Jazz bass, and even though it was released the same year as the Fender Jazz bass, wasn't it actually released a few months earlier?
Other than that, the Fender folk can argue all they like about which Fenders are Jazz basses and which ones are P basses, because I'm sure even they haven't been 100% consistent.
 
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#74
What makes a J a J?

Regarding the sound: The single coil pickups and their spacing. Other materials used will contribute to the sound to a degree.
Regarding the looks: The J Bass shape.
Regarding the feel: The neck dimensions and the body shape.
 
#75
The pickup position is the most important thing IMO. Just think about the significant difference in tone between the bridge pickup of a 60s and a 70s J-bass.

The pickups will obviously have to be single coils. Even the best noise cancelling J-bass pickups don't sound/feel quite like a traditional J-bass to me (but that doesn't mean they don't sound great and might be close enough for YOUR tonal needs).

And yes, I agree about tone wood. Personally I tend to like J-basses made from HEAVY ash but the classic wood for a J (as in "pre CBS") would be alder. All pieces of wood are different though. You can get amazing or poor instruments from pretty much ANY wood.

Scale length matters too but if you need 35" you'll just have to make a compromise there. It won't matter nearly as much as the pickup position but the challenge will be to find a 35" J-style bass with the pickups in the correct J-bass positions for that scale length.

Looks will depend on personal taste but I wouldn't personally think "Jazz Bass" if the looks stray too far from the classic Fender aesthetics.
 
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