A question we hear from many bassists who are just starting is “What’s the difference between the Jazz and Precision bass?” Then, as they get a little further in their musical journey, it becomes “P Bass vs. Jazz Bass. Which one’s best?” Well, there is no “best.” But we will investigate the differences between Jazz and Precision bass guitars. From their tones to their tummy contours, we’ll discuss it all.

A Bit of Background

While players will always engage in the P Bass vs. Jazz Bass debate, these two 4-string titans are more similar than you’d think. Maybe that’s why they are both among the most used and important electric basses ever designed.

Both use similar woods.

Both are 34″ scale length.

And both feature single-coil (ish) pickups.

The P-Bass pickup is technically hum-canceling. But we’ll dig into that in a minute.

But the Precision and Jazz Bass are born from very different philosophies and aimed at very different types of players. That led to some very different features that we’ll talk about here.

The Precision Bass

The Fender Precision Bass invented what we now call the electric bass guitar. Up until its release in the 1950s, bassists exclusively relied on stand-up, acoustic basses. These basses were bulky to travel with and too quiet for the era’s big bands and rock ‘n’ roll.

After seeing success with his solid-body electric guitars, Leo Fender knew he could build a more compact bass to amplify over a loud band. Taking it one step further, he installed metal fret wire across the length of the fingerboard. Now bassists – and guitarists sitting in on bass – could play in tune with perfect precision.

Guess how the bass got its name.

The earliest P Bass models were much like Fender’s T-style guitars. The bodies were slabs of wood with a couple of cutaways. The bass’s bolt-on, maple neck was bulky in hand, more similar to an orchestral bass than an electric guitar. And the electronics were just as crude.

The first Precision Bass pickups were basically a 4-pole-piece version of Fender’s guitar pickups. They had a single plastic bobbin, wound with copper wire, and featured the four magnetic pole pieces. While it gave bassists the amplified power they needed, this pickup design left a lot to be desired. The volume was inconsistent across the strings, and it hummed terribly.

The P Bass of the Future

The original slab-bodied Precision Basses are true legends of the industry. And many players, like Sting, still swear by them. But it wasn’t too long before Fender started making player-friendly improvements, creating the P Bass we all know today.

The first thing players noticed about the P’s new design was its rounded edges and comfortable contours. They make the newer design much more comfortable to play over long gigs. But the second and arguably more important update was the Precision’s new, split-coil pickup.

This split-coil P Bass pickup is the midrange-forward, full sound we all think of as the Precision tone. It’s full of the fundamental, has a massive bottom end, and the perfect amount of attack through the mids and highs. Best of all, the split-coil design solved the original P Bass pickup issues while defining the sound of electric bass to this present day.

Single-coil or Humbucker?

The Split-coil P Bass pickup is hum-canceling. Though it never adopted the name “humbucker,” it does the same job in much the same way. By splitting the pickup into two halves, then reverse winding them with reverse polarity, the two sides cancel each others’ noise. But thanks to their unique design, these pickups still boast a very single-coil-esque tonality.

The split-coil pickups also solved the inconsistent volume issue. By placing the two sides of the coil next to each other, the design dramatically increases the pickup’s magnetic field. Now the P Bass responds evenly across all of the stings as well as along the fingerboard.

Finally, the split-coil pickup’s placement is a huge deal. Located under a primary node of the string – where there is the most harmonic content and energy – the string supplies the pickup with plenty of signal to work with. Move that pickup to one side or the other, and you’ll find your P Bass tone takes on a less desirable character very quickly.

Today, we call this placement the “neck position.” But that’s only because the Jazz Bass came along.

Notable Precision Bass Players

• James Jamerson
• George Porter Jr
• Adam Neeley
• Steve Harris
• Mike Dirnt
• Pino Palladino
• Paz Lenchantin
• Este Haim
• Every rock record ever

The Jazz Bass

There’s no question that Fender’s Precision Bass was a revolution. But the company’s marketing team wanted to take full advantage of the craze. They wanted to release an up-scale alternative to the P’s working man appeal. Originally this bass was to be called the Deluxe Bass. But we know it as the Fender Jazz Bass.

In many ways, Fender’s new Jazz Bass was very similar to the Precision. After all, the P Bass was one of the only inspirations to draw from at the time. But Fender crafted the Jazz to be even more player-friendly and sonically versatile than its predecessor.

From day one, the Jazz has been defined by its beautiful, offset contours, inspired by the Fender Jazzmaster electric guitar. These contours were extremely comfortable and helped the bass balance, whether sitting or standing. Also, the Jazz’s nut width was almost a quarter of an inch narrower than that of the Precisions. It’s rumored Fender made the change so the bass would be more comfortable for guitarists transitioning to bass. But the neck’s smaller dimensions were a big hit with bass players who valued fleet-fingered dexterity.

Tonally Versatile

The feel of the bass changed from the more hand-filling Precision Bass. But, thanks to its dual-single-coil pickup design, the Jazz also had a new palette of tones to offer. It accomplished this with a move to two narrower single-coil pickups. One replaced the P-Bass’s split-coil. The other resided closer to the bridge, under a very different-sounding harmonic node.

All other things being equal, these new Jazz Bass pickups sang with a more present, scooped sound that still delivered plenty of lows. The neck position can sound similar to a split-coil when soloed. But it definitely still has its own thing. On the other hand, the bridge pickup creates a punch, honk, and detail brand new to the bass world. This tone is even more apparent when, in the 1970s, Fender moved the bridge pickup even closer to the bridge.

Still Bucks the Hum

Before you think the move to true single-coils is a step backward in the noise department, Jazz Bass pickups were always designed to work together. You see, the neck and bridge pickups are reverse-wound/reverse polarity. So when blended, they eliminate the hum. It’s a lot like how the split-coil pickup does it. But the Jazz Bass spreads it out over two individual pickups.

This noise-canceling circuit has another welcomed consequence as well, and it’s what gives the Jazz Bass its signature sound. With both pickups turned up, phase issues can cause specific frequencies to cancel out. You’re left with the mid-scooped, slap-ready, big-bottomed picking clarity that continues to inspire thousands upon thousands of bassists worldwide.

The Jaco Effect

“But what if I prefer to play each pickup on its own?”

Then you’re in good company. Though the Jazz Bass’s vol/vol/tone control layout lets you blend the pickups to taste, it also lets you solo either position up on the fly. And that’s precisely how Jaco Pastorious got his signature solo sound. By only utilizing the bridge pickup’s punch and clarity on his “Bass of Doom,” he wrote entire new chapters in the book of bass technique.

With its speedy playability, famous tones, and outstanding flexibility, the Fender Jazz Bass quickly rivaled the Precision in popularity and importance. And that hasn’t changed to this very day.

Notable Jazz Bass Players

• John Paul Jones
• Jaco Pastorius
• Larry Graham
• Tal Wikenfeld
• Marcus Miller
• Geddy Lee
• Bobby Vega

Fender’s Precision and Jazz basses carved out their place in bass history in very different ways. If the Precision’s voice can be used for any style of music, the Jazz Bass has every style of voice. But no matter what kind of music you’re playing, either of these legendary 4-strings is perfect for the job.

Let’s talk tone!

If you have any other questions about the P Bass vs. Jazz Bass debate, don’t hesitate to reach out! And don’t forget to dig into the Seymour Duncan blog! There’s a ton of in-depth information on all of our different designs, how-tos, tone demonstrations, and a lot more.