Are you stuck trying to figure out whether you should purchase the Fender Jazz Bass or the Precision Bass?
Ever since the development of the Fender Jazz bass, there’s been an on-going argument in the bass guitar community of which bass guitar is the better investment. Depending on where you’re at in your bass guitar journey, you may feel like one bass guitar is superior to the other.
Both the Fender Jazz Bass and the Precision Bass guitar offer dominance in their own unique markets, well as distinctive differences in their tonal properties. But, which guitar do you choose if you’re just starting out learning the bass guitar and aren’t sure what option to choose?
| Precision Bass | Jazz Bass | |
| Best Overall | Fender American Performer | Fender American Professional |
| Most Affordable | Fender Player Precision Bass | Fender Player Jazz Bass |
| Best Alternative | Squier by Fender Precision Bass | Squier by Fender Jazz Bass |
We’re here to break down which guitar will likely be the best option for you. Keep reading to learn more!
Main Differences Between Precision Bass vs Jazz Bass
The main differences between Precision Bass vs Jazz Bass are:
- The Precision bass guitar is lighter, whereas the jazz bass guitar is the heavier choice.
- The Precision bass guitar has a symmetrical contour in the waist area
- The Precision bass guitar has a 1.62 5-inch nut, while the Jazz bass guitar has a 1.5-inch nut
Fender Bass Guitars
Both the Fender Jazz Bass and the Precision bass guitar are two of the most classic bass guitar instruments that you can find in the guitar world. Fender’s been in the market of making bass guitars for more than 60 years.
Pushing craftsmanship to its limits, Fender design, test and endlessly experiment to create the best instruments on the planet. 
The Fender Precision Bass guitar was first introduced to the world in 1951. This instrument changed the world of music. This is because bass guitar players didn’t have to move around an upright bass to produce a bass sound.
Instead, musicians began to be able to plug in an instrument that produces the same sound. And they had the ability to turn up the volume of their bass guitar, which transformed the live music industry as we once knew it.
The American Performer Precision Bass delivers the exceptional tone and feel you expect from an authentic Fender—along with new, player-oriented features that make it even more inspiring to play.
Later on, the Fender Jazz Bass guitar was brought out into the world. The Fender Jazz Bass guitar offered a unique feel and sound, compared to the Precision Bass guitar.
Now, it’s time to break down what each instrument has to offer. Plus, you’ll get an understanding of what type of musician can benefit from each type of bass guitar.
Read also: How to Find the Best Squier Jazz Bass Guitars.
Fender Precision Bass Guitar
The Fender Precision Bass guitar is built in the USA. Also, the production plant for Fender for their Precision Bass guitars is based in California. But, since these guitars are made in the USA, you can feel confident that there isn’t a corner of this guitar that hasn’t been thoroughly checked.
All of the instruments that leave the Fender production plant are flawless and high-quality. But, what does the Fender Precision bass guitar have to offer? Let’s break down what you can expect to see with this instrument:
Nut and neck
A Fender precision bass guitar neck has a c-shaped neck, which is what you will find on most modern instruments. The neck of the Fender precision bass guitar is made of maple, which gives it a unique feel. You’ll also find that the Fender precision bass guitar neck has a larger nut, which also contributes to the thicker and longer feel of the neck.
The maple neck has a 20 fret rosewood fretboard. Some models have a maple fretboard. A Fender precision bass guitar has a 34-inch scale. While the precision bass guitar speculations a very similar to the jazz bass guitar, the precision bass guitar offers a heavier feel.
This is mainly because of the difference in body shape compared it to the jazz bass guitar. Also, the precision bass guitar has a larger nut width than the jazz bass guitar.
The precision bass guitar has a 1.625-inch nut. While this nut size is only slightly larger than what you’ll find on the Fender Jazz bass guitar, experienced jazz guitar players will notice the difference.
From the quietest chord to the loudest note, and from the rear strap button to the top of the headstock, it’s the very essence of classic Fender design.
$849.99
$799.99
Body
The Fender precision bass guitar offers a distinctive look compared to other jazz bass guitars for first introduced to the market. all the body does have a similar appearance to the Telecaster, the double cutaways are what Make the appearance of this instrument completely distinctive.
After adding in the body Contours, which were added after the Stratocaster hit the market, the Fender precision bass guitar was a lot easier and more comfortable to be held.
Also, the fender precision bass guitar has a larger pickguard at the Jazz Guitar. This big card drops all the way down to the tone knob, and the volume knob
Electronics
The first pick up that the FenderPrecision bass guitar Camus was a single coil with chrome plating. However, since the Fender precision bass guitar’s original production, it has a split-coil pickup that comes with hum-canceling technology. Plus, it comes with staggered pole pieces that provide users with a clear high-end but a booming low-end.
Tone shaping
The Fender precision jazz bass guitar has an aggressive and punching sound. If you’re looking to play around with a bass guitar with a distinctive sound, you should look into the precision bass guitar.
Fender Jazz Bass Guitar
The Fender Jazz Bass guitar is also built in the United States. This guitar is also commonly made alongside the Fender precision bass guitar.
Let’s take a closer look at what you can expect to see and feel when you’re playing with the Fender Jazz Bass guitar:
Neck and nut
Via Fender Jazz Bass guitar has a tapered neck. When you get to the nut, which is about 38 mm, you’ll find that the strings are routed a lot tighter. A lot of musicians notice that this change a nut size makes it a lot easier to finger on the instrument.
Body
The Fender Jazz Bass guitar offers a unique take on the Precision bass guitar. By offering a sleek waist, it makes playing the guitar a lot more comfortable for the musician to hold. The fretboard of the Fender Jazz bass guitar is made with either maple or rosewood. Plus, it has a 34-inch scale.
Keep in mind that the jazz bass guitar has a set of differences compared to the precision bass guitar. However, the jazz bass guitar is a lot lighter to hold.
Packed with player-friendly features and born to perform, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill starter guitar. Then again, it’s not meant for a run-of-the-mill player.
Electronics
The Fender Jazz Bass guitar comes with dual single-coil pickups. There are two pole pieces that come per string, which provide the instrument with a treble tone. However, there still a bright high end with a substantial growl in the mid-range.
There are Summit bass guitar musicians that will adjust the jazz bass guitar with two volume knobs. This is because it allows them to manipulate the circuit pick up, to produce a unique sound variation with their instrument.
Tone shaping
The jazz bass guitar has an extra pick up on it. But that doesn’t mean are you can create a similar sound precision bass guitar with special running off the bridge pickup on a v jazz bass guitar.
This is because both instruments haven’t their own unique sound. And once you’ve been playing around with bass guitars for a while, it’s pretty distinctive what sound each guitar produces.
The Fender Jazz Bass guitar has a smooth sound, and it provides a lot of flexibility in terms of what genres. Whether you can look in play around with heavy Rock, jazz, or Funk, there are many different styles of music that the Fender Jazz Bass guitar fits into.
Which bass guitar is the best?
There isn’t a right answer for you to choose between the Fender precision bass guitar and the Fender Jazz Bass guitar. If you’re looking to produce music hat that fits better in with the Motown genre or Southern Soul, you should look into the precision bass guitar. However, if you’re looking for a bass guitar that provides you with versatility, you should consider investing in the Jazz bass guitar.
When shopping around for a new instrument, it’s always important that you test drive both guitars that you’re considering purchasing. It would help if you spent time playing around with each instrument that you’re considering.
There’s no other way that you’ll be able to decide what instrument is the best for you. The only way that you can figure out what guitar is the best is by spending time with it in your hands.
By playing around with the guitar in your hands, you’ll learn how well it fits in your hands, along with your body, and what playing characteristics, the instrument has.
This Precision Bass features the tonally versatile combination of a pummeling Precision Bass middle pickup and a bright, growling Jazz Bass bridge pickup, popularly known as a "PJ" pickup configuration.
A superb gateway into the time-honored Fender family, the Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass delivers legendary design and quintessential tone for today’s aspiring bassist.
Precision Bass vs Jazz Bass FAQs
Question: Is it easy to learn bass guitar?
Answer: No, the bass guitar isn’t necessarily easier to learn compared to an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar. This is a common misconception because many people believe that be bass guitar is a lot easier to learn because it only has four strings. The average electric guitar and acoustic guitar have six strings, which is what leads many people to believe that a bass guitar is the easier instrument to learn.
While fewer strings may make things less confusing, it doesn’t take away the difficulty forming chords, learning how to play different notes, or getting over the initial adjustment. Of tender fingers well first learning the instrument.
Question: How long does it take to learn the bass guitar?
Answer: How long it takes you to learn the bass guitar will depend on several different factors. Do you have any prior musical experience? Do you know how to play another form of the guitar? Or are you completely new to the concept of playing a musical instrument?
If you don’t have any prior musical experience, it’s going to take you a lot more time than it does with somebody who does have a hefty musical background. Even if you already have musical experience, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be able to master the bass guitar right away. Some experienced musicians struggle switching from instrument to instrument, so bass guitar just maybe something that you end up struggling with.
Question: How do you get good at playing bass guitar?
Answer: You can improve your bass guitar skills by playing music that you already know and enjoy. Instead of forcing yourself to always play out of practice books, you should take some time on YouTube to see if you can find bass guitar tutorials that will teach you the bass lines for some of your most favorite songs.
What bass guitar should you buy?
We would highly recommend purchasing the Fender Jazz bass guitar if you’re absolutely new to playing guitar. This is because this instrument offers a versatile sound and ease of playability that the Precision bass guitar doesn’t offer.
Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that the Precision bass guitar isn’t worth the investment- because it absolutely is. It’s just that the Fender Jazz Bass guitar offers a lot more wiggle room for musicians that aren’t exactly sure what style of music they’re interested in playing.
Finding the best bass guitar for your musical journey
When choosing a bass guitar for your musical journey, there isn’t really a bad choice that you can make. However, we hope that this article has helped you get a better idea of the differences between the Fender Jazz bass guitar and the Fender Precision bass guitar.
What instrument will you be choosing for the music you’re making?
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