Fender Select Jazz Bass | source:
Fenders second electric bass, the first being the Precision Bass, was the Jazz Bass, or J-Bass.
This bass one might at first find hard to differentiate from the Precision Bass, but there are subtle differences, enough to make it desired by different crowds than the P-bass. First off, the sound is more pronounced, more mid and high range sounds and less of the low end, or fundamental harmonics. This allows it to come closer to a lead instrument, one that can solo by itself. Many of the people who fancied this more aggressive bass were 3 piece bands who wanted more from a bass than just the subtle undertones.
Having a more rounded and narrower neck, Fender felt this was aptly named the Jazz bass hoping to appeal to the jazzier crowds. It was released in the early ’60s as a Deluxe Model.
The Jazz Bass has two single coil pickups, typically covered by the metal shield, and the bridge is also covered. It’s body is slightly more aggressive than the P-Bass. Another beautiful feature of the Jazz Bass is that two of the tone nobs actually act as an equalizer, where the first two control the mid/high range, and the 2nd knob controls the lows. The guitar also has 22 frets, compared to the 20 on the Precision Bass, and has an available 24 fret version.
What do you think of Fender’s Jazz Bass? Pretty, isn’t it?
