AJ B. Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 My Brother is trying to decide between a Fender jazz bass and a gibson short scale thunderbird. I've never known gibson for basses and don't know the extent of their abilites. which would you say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd_artist Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 tough choice, the Jazz bass is long scale and you can't go wrong with a jazz bass, I have 4. The short scale Thunderbird has had good reviews it's solid,well built and is a good rock and roll bass, a different beast than the Jazz bass. he is going to have to play both and decide for himself which he likes better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Fender invented the bass guitar back when...  The P and J are like the Tele and Strat...time tested work horses largely unchanged...  For the Gibson maybe...listening to some clips might clarify the choice  Otherwise trials are the way to go, preferably at stage volume...  V  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassilisk Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Those are very different basses, so making a choice will come down to trying them out. The necks are similar in profile but the scale makes a big difference. You can't go wrong with either so choose the one you best like to play. Â And, after a suitable amount of time, you then get the other one too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Agreed with the others about trying both. The feel is different, and the tone is maybe a little more favorable to the Jazz with the 34" long scale set up. Leo Fender found the 34" had a bit of a better tone back when. It hasn't changed much since then. You can't go wrong with a Jazz. You don't find that many choices for short scale basses either. The market is some what setup for the long scale bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsech Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Try them both. I played Fender for years and have recently switched to Gibson thanks to my SG bass. The SG bass is short scale, but the sound is more bottom end than I expected. I also have a Les Paul Money Bass that is long scale. I like the pickups and feel on the Money bass more than did on my previous J bass. It's all a personal thing. It would be best if you could find a music store that had both to try and hear through the amp of your choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 There is always the 'serendipity' approach to consider...  With so many superb basses around nowadays  Grab a hold of a Yamaha, Ibanez, Rickenbacker, Musicman, Alembic, Warwick etc  Just for fun...   V  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 If this is his first Bass, I think he should be considering the Fender P-Bass as well. That "sound" that the P-Bass gets is one that everyone is familiar with. A "standard" sound, if you wish. Â I think for anyone starting out, the one that makes you want to play and inspires you is the one to start with. If you like it you will play it. Going by what everyone says you SHOULD get and buying something that doesn't make you want to play often means that the player doesn't feel excited about playing and ends up not learning much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 One other consideration between the short, and the long scale bass is, availability of short scale strings. The string manufacturers don't put out any where near the choices for short scale, as they they do long scale strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 The Jazz bass, plays pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manny Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 I played a 1983 Ibanez Musician for over 20 years. I recently decided to treat myself to something nice. I played a ton of basses, lots of p's and j's as well. I couldnt get my hands on a Gibby T-bird any where to try. I finally found one to try in Toronto. I now own a Gibby Thunderbird. I love it. I will admit that Fender makes some killer basses, but they weren't the one for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 After 43 years of playing a few basses. They aren't as popular as the Fender, but they just play, and sound so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramone57 Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 They aren't as popular as the Fender, but they just play, and sound so good. Â I couldn't agree more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 They aren't as popular as the Fender, but they just play, and sound so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 My Brother is trying to decide between a Fender jazz bass and a gibson short scale thunderbird. I've never known gibson for basses and don't know the extent of their abilites. which would you say? Â What happen in the decision process between two bass styles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSmokeBass Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 two very different beasts entirely, full scale to small, humbuckers to single coils, no doubt different woods and electronics. . . two completely different sounds. Â if it was me, i'd buy one and save up for the other :) personally, buying the Jazz first. Â then you can always move up into the world of Gibson ;) Â BSB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 A Jazz bass is hard for me to not play. they just feel right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 One thing I notice about short-scale basses, is the bridge location is usually further toward the middle of the body. Â For picking or downstroking, this is a big advantage I think. Is this true? Â Some time back, I tried a Gibson bass for the first time (SG type of some sort). It actually gave me a bit of GAS...this thing felt good and was fun to play, a lot more so than Fender basses. Â I'd be interested in hearing some perspectives from 'real' bass players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 One thing I notice about short-scale basses, is the bridge location is usually further toward the middle of the body. Â For picking or downstroking, this is a big advantage I think. Is this true? Â Some time back, I tried a Gibson bass for the first time (SG type of some sort). It actually gave me a bit of GAS...this thing felt good and was fun to play, a lot more so than Fender basses. Â I'd be interested in hearing some perspectives from 'real' bass players. Â I honestly never paid any attention to the placement of the bridge. I have had some Gibson, Fender, and G&L in long scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassilisk Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 One thing I notice about short-scale basses, is the bridge location is usually further toward the middle of the body. Â For picking or downstroking, this is a big advantage I think. Is this true? Â Some time back, I tried a Gibson bass for the first time (SG type of some sort). It actually gave me a bit of GAS...this thing felt good and was fun to play, a lot more so than Fender basses. Â I'd be interested in hearing some perspectives from 'real' bass players. Â Â Keep in mind that the difference in scale length (30" or 31" vs 34") means you can only take so much out of the neck length. It's a little bit shorter but you don't want to make it a mandolin. So, the rest is taken out of the bridge placement. It's not about an advantage, it's just the way it needs to be. It does make it easier to do muting if you use that technique. Â I'm a Fender guy myself, raised on 'em. Playing short scales certainly is a whole lot of fun! It's like climbing into a sports car, especially after playing a Fender P with Vintage neck specs ( 1 3/4" nut). My only short scale at the moment is a LP Triumph, which I think is the bomb. Â As much as I like playing it my favorite overall scale is 32". That suits me very well. I'm not giving up my Fenders, but I wouldn't mind having a few more of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I do like the 12" radius board of the Gibson over the Fender's 9.5" board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kissero79 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Both are beautiful. The Jazz is probably more versatile, but the Thunderbird is a beast and has that 'kick in the nuts' bottom... Â For straight up rock and roll playing I'm absolutely happy with my 'bird. ...and it looks killer on stage too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddytanhh Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 One other consideration between the short, and the long scale bass is, availability of short scale strings. The string manufacturers don't put out any where near the choices for short scale, as they they do long scale strings. No problem using long scale string on a short scale bass. If using short dcale string on long scale bass then cannot. I using long scale string on my Gibson short scale bass with no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvinator Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 No problem using long scale string on a short scale bass. If using short dcale string on long scale bass then cannot. I using long scale string on my Gibson short scale bass with no problem. Â I have always used long scale strings on my SG and my old 32" Aria Pro II basses. No Problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 It's kind of ironic in this thread for me. I went the roads with Fenders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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