P bass vs. J bass for Reggae

[Afrokid]

Yet another question in the endless debate of P vs. J. Im going to purchase a new bass soon (since modding mine is hopeless according to the sub forum) so im pretty sure im going to purchase a fender, just dont kno which one fits my style better. I play alot of Reggae ( bands such as Steel Pulse, Bedouin SoundClash, Black Uhuru, 311, sublime, and Matisyahu ) along with Ska (catch 22, early No doubt, Streetlight Manifesto) along with rock music ( AFI [love the bass in AFI] , group X, taking back sunday, bloc party, and the strokes). I've been looking at alot of live shows from bands and and see that alot of them use Jazz basses (AFI, Taking back Sunday, ect), . So what i would like to know which bass would be better for my styles of music? ( basically i want one with versitility that can go from AFI to Steel Pulse with just the turn of the eq)

Right now i got a p/j pick up (squire mb-4).

[neatobassman]

play a bunch of basses and see what you like.

[lais817]

I know that AFI, TBS and the strokes all use j-bass configs, and I'm thinking that catch 22 probably did as well, but I'm not sure about the others, as I haven't heard much from them. If you're looking for some real tonal versatility, I'd suggest looking into the EMG active pup range, along with their onboard eqs (BQC system ftw :p)

[Afrokid]

of the bands i listed:
AFI - J
Taking Back Sunday - J
The Strokes - J
Matisyahu - P
Steel Pulse - Looks like a P
No Doubt - hard to tell since u only see the lead singer but i think its a P

[lais817]

of the bands i listed:
AFI - J
Taking Back Sunday - J
The Strokes - J
Matisyahu - P
Steel Pulse - Looks like a P
No Doubt - hard to tell since u only see the lead singer but i think its a P
yeah, I think you've pretty much nailed it there. as a generl rule, J's have a lot more of a "focused range", I think mostly centred between 200HZ and around 3kHZ? (anybody?). the give you more punch, like what you'll hear in pretty much any punk band under the sun.

P's seem to have a much broader range, giving you more bass and treble response. the tend to give a smoother sound, with more low end.

but yeah, I'm just going off my experience and what I've learned from these forums, if somebody more knowledgable knows, please post. or just tell me I'm right :p

[Aerodyne]

No doubt is a yammy bb series p/j. Not sure about the exact model though. And I thought matt rubano uses a MM? Meh. To adress your question, a good P/J would be best imo. Maybe a spector? You might be able to find a higher end model on the used market. They have a p/j and emg's, but make sure you get the good ones, not the hz line. If not, leave yourself enough cash to buy some real emg's of your own and throw the hz's in your squier. :thumb: However, I find that the reggae aesthetic is very straight forward, passive bass direct to tubey amp with right hand very close to the neck. Just about anything should be able to do that, so look for something that fits with your rock vibe, then give it the reggae test: treble down, bass up, neck pickup up, and right hand thumb anchored on the end of the fingerboard. Hope that helps. :thumb:

[Jody LeCompte]

Who cares what all those ignorant rock bassists are playing?

P with flats screams raggae in my mind.

[Aerodyne]

That's what I figured too, but it wouldn't be the norm for a punk/rock band. I do admit, it would be very interesting to hear a reggae type riddim in a punk band. That = my .02, so now you just gotta go try everything and get an idea of what you like to get your not somebody else's notion of what reggae bass sounds like or what punk bass sounds like.

[Alma]

Yeh, a P-bass with flats screams reggae to me. Thug thug thug thug....

Nothing wrong with a Jazz though, Robbie Shakespeare used a Jazz in Reggae.

Just give them both a play and see which is better for you.

[lais817]

^^^ 123. oh, and aerodyne, the EMG HZ's are EMG's line of passive pups, they aren't bad, but they just seem to be as good as the active range. then again, active>passive IMHO :p

[Saberpunk]

Who cares what all those ignorant rock bassists are playing?

P with flats screams raggae in my mind.


Exactly what i was going to say, P with flatwounds is going to be the absoulte best for Reggae, the only drawback is it won't be as versatile as you want, you won't get the super clear AFI kind of sound out of it, but for anything with a heavy beat, that combo can't be topped

[kilian]

Take a P/J. Trust me. It's the best of both worlds.

The guy from No Doubt uses a Yamaha BB3000, just like me. I easily can go from AFI-style to No doubt style and then to a big, fat reggae sound.

http://i4.tinypic.com/16075v7.jpg

PJ.. it's the best.

[Polyamarous]

A P/J bass would be your style, I love mine and I'm a sucker for most P/J basses. If not I'd say go fro the Jazz bass and get an East or Audere pre-amp for it at a later time. :thumb:

[e p]

aston barrett, "family man", arguably the founding father of reggae bass, played a steinberger or jazz bass, so really anything should work, it just comes down to you.

[rh15951]

yeah, I think you've pretty much nailed it there. as a generl rule, J's have a lot more of a "focused range", I think mostly centred between 200HZ and around 3kHZ? (anybody?). the give you more punch, like what you'll hear in pretty much any punk band under the sun.

P's seem to have a much broader range, giving you more bass and treble response. the tend to give a smoother sound, with more low end.

but yeah, I'm just going off my experience and what I've learned from these forums, if somebody more knowledgable knows, please post. or just tell me I'm right :p

I think you got J and P the wrong way round there...

[willibassist]

I think you got J and P the wrong way round there...

123

Ps have the punch and Js are the more versatile i think

P with flats ftw. steve harris rotosound flats:naughty: and then play maiden covers cos maiden>all

imo :)

[d-basser]

imo P pups sound best with reggae, take away the treble, boost the bass, smoke some dope an your ther

[Criss Frantic]

Take a P/J. Trust me. It's the best of both worlds.

The guy from No Doubt uses a Yamaha BB3000, just like me. I easily can go from AFI-style to No doubt style and then to a big, fat reggae sound.

http://i4.tinypic.com/16075v7.jpg

PJ.. it's the best.

On a side note, your Jazz looks like it's tiny in that picture. Optical illusion ftw!

TS, i think the question now is, do you want a P-bass with a J pickup (deluxe P-bass) or a jazz bass with a P pickup (reggie hamilton jazz). And yeah, just try out a whole bunch of basses and see which one has the right tone and feel for you.

[d-basser]

Hijack, is there any sites with good steel pulse bass tab?

[Afrokid]

for steel pulse u either have to:
A: write your own lines for their songs
B: http://www.broz-reggae-tabs.com/tab_post/liste_artiste.php and play the two listed there

So i think im going to try out some basses at Guitar World (woot). Right now im leaning towards the cleaner sound of the J bass ( and get a fender standard jazz black and replace the pickupguard to black ones cus black on black = awsomeness ). Cus right now my P bass doesn't have that variety that im looking for o.O. So i about i get the J Bazz and put some heavy gauge strings on it.

also u guys ever play a Peavey Grind Bass Guitar 4 BXP NTB ? it has "Passive humbucking pickups", how are they for my needs?

[blacklungfever]

I'm in a reggae band. Right now I have a P with p/j pups. It works well for reggae.

[d-basser]

wat yuo really want is the old peavey Grind BXP, that is wat i hav, P/J config an active EQ, wonderful reggae sound and pretty much every thing else, the NTB has had some good reviews tho, peaveys are great for the money, light weight an shmexy to play.

[pitchfork]

Pbass + flatwounds + 2x15 and tube amp = Reggae heaven

[Kobaia]

of the bands i listed:
No Doubt - hard to tell since u only see the lead singer but i think its a P
he plays a yamaha

[Chris K]

he plays a yamaha

Indeed, it's a Yamaha, a BB to be exact. That said, I hate Tony Kanal and I hate No Doubt.

[dubbeatscb]

even though the j is a litlle more versatile....i would go with a p bass.....don't even mess with the p/j....go one or the other and be firm in the decision.

if you keep roundwound string on the p you'll be fine...you'll get enough treblefor rock and roll off the tone knob to get a good reggae sound.

FWIW- Catch 22 uses a fretless bass

[AcerbicCunnt77]

I have a (crappy) p bass with flats and some nice new pickups in them and the flats give it the such a dull tone. flats on a jazz sound alot nice with the tone half way

[nicatterberry]

I second Kilian's statement.


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Nicatt/IMG_3367.jpg

[Afrokid]

so i might just stick it out with my MB-4 with its P/J pickups. But i want to upgrade it to have a beefier tone and more versatility. right now i got the thick gauges on (and love em), i want to replace the pickups and maybe some other stuff. so what would u guys reccommend in upgrades to my bass so i can have better sucess with tone?