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I'm looking at getting a Fender bass. What are the primary tonal differences (and any others?) between the Precision Bass and the Jazz Bass? Can anyone explain the split pickup on the Precision Bass?

The split coils for bass/treble strings make the pickup act as a hunbucker. However, since I believe the magnets are still the polepieces, I'd think they sound more like SCs. I know nothing about basses though so sorry if I'm way off!

P and J basses are worlds apart on tone. IMO a P-bass is far more useable even with only one pickup. A J-Bass has a much thinner tone while a P-Bass has much more thump and is more round. Both have their place and both are fine basses. As for the split pickup on the P-bass...it is a quot;split single coilquot; that bucks the hum, it is only split like that so it will be quite.

hmm...well...again, i don't know much about basses, but i wont let that stop me...
The p-bass was the bass of choice for John Entwistle, most of his late 60's/early 70s work is a p-bass. 'My generation' is a jazz bass though...
Roger Waters too is a p-bass user, as seen on the pompeii video.
Jaco was a j-basser.
Traditionally, p-basses are supposed to have more/better low end.
Personally, id say go for the p-bass...the Ox liked it better, and they look cooler, besides...

The J is a much more versatile bass. What makes the J preferable to me is the 1.5quot; nut width, just more comfortable to play and seems to fill out my hand better. The pickup configuration is pretty handy- the J will allow you to get a P-ish type tone by rolling off the bridge pickup, but you won't be able to get a J-ish tone out of a P.

a p-bass as has a thicker tone. some say a j-bass is more versatile since it has 2 pickups. personally i like the tone and feel of a p-bass. i own one myself. like the golden boy said the j neck will be a little slimmer. my preferences aside, you can't go wrong with either of them.

entwistle live at the isle of white and live at leeds= p-bass
john paul jones = j-bass

man I'm putting in a vote for the Jazz Bass...I've got one with active electronics (passive pickups though) and man it is SWEET. The reason people say that a P bass has more thump, is because it's easier to dial in. The J bass in my experience can get just as much thump as the P bass, but because of the extra knobs and an extra pickup, you have to know where to dial it in. the P bass is great as a first bass because of it's simplicity though. I'm not saying it's not a pro level instrument at all, I know many famous people (including those mentioned) have used the P Bass to astonishing effect. A major selling point for the P Bass is it's simplicity. I simply like the options of the J Bass.

I have a P-Bass knock-off. It has a big ballsy thump to it that I really like. The Jazz has a more articulate tone, but like others have said it is harder to get that quot;rock 'n rollquot; booming bass sound from it. You can get a lot of tonal variation out of a P despite it only having one pickup - just play with the tone knob.

...you'll notice though, no one disputed that the p-bass looks cooler...

The P-Bass blows the Jazz bass away in the looks department, the Jazz looks like somebody melted it...

As far as sound, I've always found the jazz's tone thin, I like my bass sound thick and chunky like the P gives me, soooooo much rumble haha, especially the mike dirnt.

I might be part of the minority, but I prefer the look of the J-Bass over the P-Bass.

I tested both, a lot, when I was bass shopping, and ended up buying J-Bass. Being a guitar player first and a bass player for recording purposes only, the J-Bass #8220;feels#8221; more like a guitar than a P-Bass did. That#8217;s completely a comfort thing, so that#8217;ll be different, of course, for everyone. I also liked having more control over the tone of the instrument. The P did seem to have a little more girth, especially on the bottom end, but the J#8217;s thinner bottom end seemed to be a little more forgiving, which is great for a #8220;hobbyist#8221; bass player. The J also seemed to be more receptive to picking, too. Not so much from a tonal standpoint, but the P#8217;s pickup always seemed to get in the way.

I love Jazz basses...P's are cool in the same way a Strat with one humbucker is cool, you plug it in and you do what you can with it and then you put it down. My Jazz has active electronics and a fifth string...more tones than I can list here, and super-duper low-end thump when i want it.

They look more stylish too...I'd love a Jazz-style body on a Strat-style guitar, but the closest thing i've seen to that is like a Mustang or Jaguar...

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