PJ-Bass Blindfold Quiz | Can You hear the difference? | Thomann
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- čas přidán 4. 08. 2024
- In the second edition of the Bass Blindfold Quiz Julia plays four different PJ-Basses from different brands. Can you guess which bass is which brand?
EQ is flat on all basses, tone fully open. The Marcus Miller and the Sandbeg are played in active mode.
The PJ-Basses: tho.mn/2n8p0
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
0:54 The 4 PJ-Basses
1:21 Bass 1 | P Fingerstyle
1:30 Bass 2 | P Fingerstyle
1:40 Bass 3 | P Fingerstyle
1:50 Bass 4 | P Fingerstyle
2:01 Bass 1 | J Fingerstyle
2:11 Bass 2 | J Fingerstyle
2:21 Bass 3 | J Fingerstyle
2:31 Bass 4 | J Fingerstyle
2:42 Bass 1 | P Pick
2:52 Bass 2 | P Pick
3:03 Bass 3 | P Pick
3:14 Bass 4 | P Pick
3:24 Don't Cheat! (Solution)
3:39 Outro & Goodbye
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The Fender really stands out for me, it just has the growl and honk in all the right places.
Yeah I have a Sandberg but that Fender sounds great. The reversed P/big pole pickup gives the Sandberg a bit of a different character - sometimes I hear that classic precision tone in even a Squier and makes want to get one too.
I got the Fender right and it’s the sound I prefer. I have been playing a big fat P since the 80’s though so I may be biased. The Marcus Miller sounded good though. I definitely need to check one of those out. 👍
Check out older Yamaha BBs
1 & 2 sounded best to me. Number 2 especially. It had the smoothest most flat uncolored sound. No surprise that was the Sandberg.
When you start with a clean clear tone, you can always add eq or effects to make it sound a different way. But when something is so colored to start with, It is much harder to make it be versatile. 3 & 4 sounded too colored, more dull to me. This of course is all subjective. Everyone has different liking's.
I think that's why 3 and 4 sounded like either the HB or Fender. but the bridge pickup playing sounded a little off throwing.
Huge fan of passive P basses, so the Fender sounds wonderful. But the Sandberg and Marcus Miller P7
sound lively, energetic and are great basses. Funky playing for sure, thanks.
I knew 3 was the Fender for sure and it was my favorite.
Bass #3 sounded the best to me. I love this warm Fender sound :)
First, Thank you for all of the great videos! I love the information, playing, and sense of humor. I preferred the Sandberg and Fender basses timbre.
I followed the rules on the two videos, i didn't cheat.
On the first one, my favourite was the Sandberg.
On the second one, my favourite was the Sandberg.
I think the universe is trying to tell me something.....
Please don't put words in my mouth.
Otherwise good job on guessing the basses.
Cheers,
The Universe
:-D just kidding man, I loved your comment.
//cheers, Kris
Yes. Buy the sire p7
3 was my favorite! Thank you for doing this. I would like to hear a comparison between the Fender and the Lakland Skyline 44-64 Custom PJ
I think this is such a cool concept!! I really enjoyed it and haven't been too far off. I just got wrong the Sandberg and the Fender. My favourite was, I have to say, the Marcus Miller!! Active pickups always stand out for me, though, if the Fender was active I probably would've preferred it. Very nice video!!!
Oooo, that Sandberg sounds nice! I didn't even try to guess, just wanted to see what I thought was best, and I have to say I was quite surprised!
They all sounded really good, and I got most of them right this time. The Marcus Miller and Sandburg sounded really good, although when playing with the pick they were more equal. This time the Fender didn't stand out as much as the last time and the Harley Benton sounded really good with the pick. Great test!
2-3-1-4 my order and after i saw the reveal i wasn't surprised.
Julia nice video as always!!!!
Great and useful video for a beginner like me, my eyes had chosen Sandberg but my ears love Fender. That’s a fact.
Great video. Learned a lot on improving my right hand technique ;-)
My favs (most liked to less liked) where: 1, 4, 3, 2
Fender was a lot warmer. I was expecting it to be Marcus as it was less bright, but I am astounded that Sandberg wasn't my pick. These videos are really gonna make choosing my first professional bass really easy. Thanks so much.
Now Sandberg TT 4 vs. Fender Player PJ/P Bass. Those are my choices now.
The Sandberg sounded good with a pick but I'm surprised how much I loved the P7.
Sandburg had an amazing P pickup loved the tightness and growl of the tone but, the J I'd have have to give to Marcus Miller but it's probably the setup on the Sandburg because it was just too buzzy
I am not a Bass Player - I think this is good for REALLY blind testing. And from this "unprofessional" point I can't hear differences. The only thing I can hear is, Julia plays really well! Thank you Julia, and thank you Thomann!
Cool I really couldn't tell . That was awesome great job on the content. Surprising the difference in pricing verses the instrument and sound. Funny how our eyes can deceive us. I liked the Marcus Miller
My favorite was the first, I thought it was the Fender or Sandberg and hoped it is the Marcus miller since I own the M7 and love it so much :D
I own the exact same Fender Performer Precison used in this video. I’m proud that I was able to tell which one it is 😎. Also, I’m super happy that it was the best sounding bass in this comparison (imho).
Liked the P pickup in the fender and the J pickup in the Harley benton
my favourite sounds were 3 and 4....unbelievable that the fourth one was the HB!
Although I could not tell how they would sound in a mix, I liked # 2 and # 4 for their contrast between the two pickups: a full sounding P and a screaming J.
The Fender was so warm and round. Sounded the best to me followed closely by the Sandberg. I didn't care for the tone of the other two. But you can fix tone with EQ, I'm more interested in how a bass feels when I play it. That's not able to be relayed over the internet.
just sold my Fender Jazz, looking/listening/playing a Marcus Miller PJ tomorrow...looking forward to it...
I like the sire p7 and the Sandberg. Bdw,what is the amp you are using??
Sandberg for the win ;)
Blind test amps - Eich, Mesa subway, Bergantino Forte, aguilar Ag700 - i cant decide!
The Fender had the best tone for me. I actually guessed #3 was the Harley Benton based on some previous reviews by other bassists. I was pleasantly surprised.
Just found this video so a bit late sorry.
My favourite was the Marcus Miller, 2nd Harley Benton (very surprised!) then Sandberg and Fender last (also very surprised!)
All of them sounded good in your hands though.
Nice vid, thanks.
I like 3 and 4. I favored 3 slightly more but 4 sounded just as good in its own way. 3 has this life that cuts through and 4 has a darkness about it; both are tight. 1 and 2 aren't really my thing. Not that they sound bad. They just didn't sit where I like for rock and metal. Really good Jazz vibe for 1 and 2 though. Revealing that 3 was a fender was a nice surprise because that's what I play.
Yeah No.3 is my favourite one!
Your blindfold tests are extremely well done. Thanks.
Amazingly, I was right in my guesses. ‘Best’ is obviously subjective. To me, the Sandberg came out on top with the Fender a close second. For me, there are two top factors: tone and articulation. Tone should have punch and growl. Articulation is hugely important in a band setting. The notes should be distinct, not muffled. The Sandberg had top marks in both categories and the Fender did well, too. In the US, Sandberg isn’t a widely recognized brand. That’s a shame.
Alright, no cheating, don't know which is which. Let's see what I actually like and want:
1. Loved it. Best full overall sound to my ears. Sounded good in all styles of samples. Would grab it if I can.
2. Sounds like it's harder to do bends, the bends weren't 'full' which was a problem I had with my first bass. Idk if it was a tension or neck width thing. Also some of the samples were a tad clanky sounding for my taste.
3. Really interesting sound, loved the bends and the slides on this one. Mids sound juicy. My 2nd favorite. If I can't get the 1st one, I'd get this one.
4. Sounds a bit too muffled, almost a tad 'dead' and lacking expression in the tone/tambre for my taste.
Well, time for me to see the results...
Sandberg was my favourite. They're all pretty damn good though.
Picked them all right this time (only got the Sandberg on the Jazz test). I liked the Harley Benton 2nd in the Jazz test but definitely sounds the cheapest/least instrumental to me here (though not bad).
I liked the 3rd one, Fender, least. Omg. The HB is a bit better. The MM and Sandberg really sounded very similar and better than the Fender and HB.
The Sandberg was my favorite. Then MM and Fender. After the jbass blind test I had high hopes for the Harley Benton. But this time I didn't like it that much.
#3 had the most round tone. So I guess that is the sound of real p-bass. I was wondering if you played Sire P7 in active mode. I'm guessing that the tone will be rounder if you make it to passive mode. I might be totally wrong.
First off, I want to thank Julia and Thomann for doing these types of videos with the bass guitar.
I’m able to discern which set of played samples go with which brand/model of electric guitar in this type of comparison demonstration. I cannot do this nearly as reliably with the bass guitar. If nothing else, I’m learning to refine my hearing of the tonal nuances between the different “classes “ of bass guitar, e.g., The P Bass (incl the PJ), The J bass, the Stingray, etc.
So I listened with the object of choosing the bass I preferred the most.
I chose the #1 for me as the Harley Benton; the Fender P Bass was a very close #2. I could see the two switching places depending on the day. 😆 That’s how close they were. The Marcus Miller was #3 and the Sandberg was #4.
It seemed my preference related inversely to the price point of the instrument with the exception of the Fender P Bass.
To my utter amazement, I actually guessed correctly for all of them. I guess I should trust my ears more!
The first bass, the Marcus Miller, just had that active, more treble sound that lends itself to slap bass, sounded exactly like something Marcus Miller would like.
The Sandberg was my wild card because I had never heard the bass before, but knowing a little bit about the specs it also had a specific sound to it and lacked the growl the third bass, the Fender, had, so that's how I made that decision.
The last bass seemed like a gimmie, the Harley Benton, being on the more budget end of things lacked the total range of the others.
My favorite was the Fender, good balance and had a more smooth and distinct tone to it.
I've had "a hunch" lately about a reverse P sound, and the Sandberg caught my eye for that. It was indeed the P sound I liked best, for the J Iliked the Marcus
Listen again and focus on the Sandberg P fingersound in comparison to the other 3. The split coil of the Sandberg is in reverse and you can easily figure out that this results in a much more even sound across the board. Great video, by the way. Thanks so much!
Great Demo.
Sandberg for finger style and Fender for pick style. But the Benton was surprisingly close to the Fender.
Maybe do a compressor or chorus blindfold quiz?
I thought 3 was a very nice mid sounding bass and that the 4th had overall the best neutral/balanced tone. Fender and Harley benton hein.. who would have thought
Love the Sandberg. Waaaay more than the Fender. I even prefer the Sire than the Fender.
There are some surprising sounds here. for sure.
//Andy
I can recognise the sound of Sandberg by the very the clear high end frequencies. This time Marcus Miller wasn't that bad as in the previous blindtest (In fact, I like that a lot). Fender disappointed me a bit though.
I'm wondering what the Harley Benton Enhance Series sounds like against Sandberg. Sorta a MM/P Bass comparison.
Absolutely Sandberg 😊
Been looking for a pj recently and I gotta say, that harley benton sound great. Definitely sounded the closest to the fender put of the other three, and while the j pickup wasnt great, the p pickup sounded wonderful. Went on to look for the price of it, and it only being 200 bucks is a serious steal.
Sandberg sounded ok, and I was expecting to be of similar price to the benton only to find most Sandberg's go for 1000 - 3000 bucks!! Definitely not worth the price, especially when the fender sounded much more superior for around the same price, and the benton sounded as good if not better in some regards.
Never been a fan of the very metallic sounding Marcus Miller's, but they make good basses, not a terrible sound but I'd still probably go with the fender if money was willing
First I had all the basses right, but before the reveal I swopped the fender and the MM cause the Jazz MM also had a darker sound than I Expected. The sandberg is easy recognizable through its active sound and the HB hadnt had the punch nor the highs.
WOW !!! To me, the Pbass was #3 and the Jbass was #2. After seeing the reveal, I was surprised !!!!
SANDBERG🙌 but big shout out to Harley Benton on a decent tone for such a massive price difference. Brilliant video relaxing with a coffee.......thank you
I liked 2 the best. Bass 1 was good. 3 seemed a little muted compared to the others. The 4 one was pretty good but just lacked in output volume. I assume all bass settings were the same.
I'm a long time PJ bass player (and lower). So I did 4 on 4 Yeah!!!
1. and 2. are modern sounding ones in the list. I %100 can tell the difference between the standart and reverse P pickup sound. Than 1. is Marcus 2. is Sandberg.
3. and 4. are classic sounding ones. 4. has a bit lower output so it need to be Harley.
It was easier than the pure P test for me.
#3 sounded best to me...I listened a few times...and I really wanted Marcus Miller bass to win...but then I saw it was Fender...
Sandberg :D I think in a mix this will instant sit right!
Good choice
//Andy
Sandberg overall best but fender has it unique sound. Any chance to have blind test of 6-string basses ibanez esp warwick musicman etc... would be awesome!
i love fender, but i gotta admit that the sandberg really surprised me!
marcus miller comes in last.
just not my kinda sound.
1(Sire) & 2(Sandberg) are very close, I like them a lot. Then 3(Fender), then 4(HB).
Listened through headphones Audio-Technica m50x
Sound P fingerstyle:
1) Sire - to me wins 100%! it has the most harmonics, the sound is full, i thing the strings are quiet low, so there is a tiny buzz, the one that i love - it make the higher frequency of the sound of the bass more clearly, its like expands the tone range of what the bass can deliver. From the very bottom to the very top - and that's7 very good. If you have only 3 members in your band - This sound of this bass in the "P fingerstyle" segment of the video will fill up more space between the guitar and the drums and make the whole band sound richer.
2) Sandberg. It sounds thinner. Its like 90% of the sound of The Sire, but with less Harmonics and with more pronounce sound of the main note. Its better for more articulated music, for more progressive sound, for when you have fast playing and you need that each note will explode quickly, will be heard by a listener and will give the space to the next note you play. Also it has less harmonics because there's a lot less wood. But it didn't saved fender))
3) Fender. What a disappointment. Particular this Fender sounds boomy and muddy (for what it cost - i can tell that it sounds like poop;)
4) The Harley-Benton sounds 95% like fender - it means its better then the Fender, The same amount of "boomy and muddy" and just a tiny, very little less "space" and "3D sound" (i almost sure that its because it has lower output.)) But The price, the price........
Sound J fingerstyle:
1) Sire. Boom - what a sound! And the growl, and the angry, and the low frequencies, A LOT of sound. It immediately seems as if they recorded this sound through some SVT like Ampeg and and set a little bit of gain until the sound starts to overdrive a little. Amazing.
2) Am i alone think that's its 100% the same sound? BUT! The growl, the bite moved just a little bite higher in the frequency range AND the top end, the hi frequency, the zing, the clack clack is more pronounce. The same behavior of the basses like in the P fingerstyle comparison
3) Now that's something different. Here we hear the good old bridge single coil j pickup in the fender jazz bass. We all know this sound, we all love this sound. It sounds the way it should, and the way you heard it million times.
4) Harley-Benton. just 95-99% of the Fender. A little bit boomier. You can definitely hear that the output signal level is lower. And our brain is working like louder = better. If The audio level would be identical - i think the sound would be 100% the same. I'm sure that no one in the earth would blindly hear the difference so much that he could say where is fender, and where is Harley Henton.
Sound P Pick
The pick worked like a natural compressor, and make it very hard to say what sound is better for me. At the end i think that its a matter of taste, but i have a few thoughts
1) Sandberg. Overall for me Sandbers here works the best. Just a rock machine! It has more hi and middle hi frequencies, as i wrote before, and that's why he would break through the mix forward easier.
2) Sire. Don't have much to say here. Good sound. Will work for billions of songs.
3) Fender. Don't like this sound. Once again - the same... boomy, maddy, its "Vintage" in the bad way. Its boring and not inspiring.
4) Harley-Benton. Now add all that i wrote about Fender, but.... I specially added the volume in about 10% when there was a turn for the 4-th bass audio sample/ And what i noticed that beside that it almost identical sound character with the Fender, when i leveled the volume - i heard that Harley-Benton P sound is cleaner then Fender P sound. You can always make it louder in you're amp after all))
Thoughts..
Now.. we can hear only the sound samples. And there's a lot of ways how to record bass or guitar - and it does matter. We can record "cable straight to the Audio interface", or we can split the signal even to three signals. For example one signal will go to SVT head ad then you will record the sound from an 15' speaker with ribbon mic. The second signal you will send to a very clean solid state bass head - then to a 2*10 bass cabinet and make the record with two mics, shure SM57 and some kind of condenser mic. The third signal will go through a ... lets imagine a little...
a) you have a lot of money - then through a legendary valve DI BOX REDDI
b) you don't have a lot of money - you use Harley-Benton Custom Line Bass DI-Expander, that works and as a EQ, and as a DI-BOX.
And then you combine in a different proportions all 3 signals and give it. So WHAT YOU HEAR is a matter of many many factors.
These kind of blind comparisons are very useful, because they once again proof that price show nothing when it comes to engineering the structure of sound.
For me, if i had to choose from these 4 basses, considering all the factors and if money are no issue - 100% Sandberg.
Another thing - its the playability and exterior appearance - that is for the most of time - is what you pay for.
I apologize for the mistakes - English is not my native language, and im not using google translates often, for a few reasons)
I have a lot more to write about these basses, but i I realized that I had already written unacceptably much.
Thomann - love you company with all my heart!
Thanks and stay safe!
Could you please demo that fgn double p bass. Thanks
All I know now is that I need a P bass in my life...my fav was the Sandberg
My score is 2/4, I was sure for fender and sandberg but I hesitated between Harley and Marcus, I missed.
That's the bassline from Jamiroquai's Runaway. Awesome song
Every bass player knows that bass line anytime!
What are those two basses (headless) at the beginning of the video? I mean P basses are great both active and passive, but those two look awesome!
They are Strandberg basses. Video is right here - czcams.com/video/C3st67Fqwi4/video.html&
//Andy
I liked the Sandberg best. News to me!
Bass #3 then Bass #2 are my top picks. But please include slap as well.
Agreed !!!!
Fingers 3... Pick more difficult: 2-3 but the HB too.
I liked nr 4 the least. 1, 2, and 3 each sounded good to me in their own way 😊
To me the Marcus Miller had the best sound for the P pickup but the Sandberg had the better J pickup sound. Overall I would prefer the Marcus Miller bass but the Harley Benton could probably sound just as good with some new pickups. Also when you count in the price difference, there is no contest in terms of overall value.
Favourite tone #3, but Im afraid, with this tone, it will die in the mix. #1 sounds most cut thru the mix ...
I liked 1 & 2 much better, because they were brighter. :)
Wow, solo escuché una vez los bajos y ya tenía claaro que el 1 era el Marcus Miller y el 3 el Fender.
Donde dudaba era entre el Sandberg y el Harley Benton porque no los he escuchado tanto, pero me sorprende haberlo visto tan obvio.
As well as with your J-bass vid, without knowing which was which, the Fender and HB sounded best for my ears. I seem not to like the Marcus Miller basses and that's a pity. I seem to even dislike the Sandberg basses...! And that's fine with me :-D
My style number 2!!!
Do one on musicman bass it could be interesting
What my ears liked the most:
1: Fender (nails that classic p bass tone. Simply cant get around it.)
2: Sandberg (a bit more of a growl than the fender, I wouldn’t say classic tone but p bass with an edge.
3: Harley Benton (surprisingly good. Not as good as the others but just better than the Sire IMO
4: the Sire... wow bit of a let down IMO. Doesn’t get the p bass tone down as well as one would hope.
This is Julia Hoffer... a lovely lady and a damn good bass player.
What song is the first bass line for?
Presicion 🤭
I only knew #3 sounded the best, so I assumed it was the Fender!
Nr. 2 best.
I liked the Fender American Performer the best. But on the video you just did for P basses, I liked the Harley Benton the best. So go figure. Sometimes I like the sound of expensive basses and sometimes I like cheap ones?
My fav list
1. Sandberg 2. Fender Both very good
3. Harley Benton
4. Marcus (not good).
I liked the Sire and Sandberg the most, Fender and Harley Benton the least
That was my conclusion too. The Fender was obvious to me and my least favorite.
Best sound (would buy if I had no limit whatsoever): Fender
Best value (would buy now): Marcus Miller
Got the MM and the Sandberg right but mistook the Fender to be a Harley Benton...which honestly shocks me. Favourite out of these would be the Sandberg by a longshot.
I am into the Sandberg big time!
//Andy
@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses I'm an absolute Fender guy. The only other manufacturers that I actually dig are Sandberg and Dingwall. Luckily, those are both comfortably above my pay grade so I won't have to cheat on my girls.
In all three rounds I liked the Fender most
I liked 1 and 3 better than 2 and 4, they sounded more energetic to me. Then again I don't play bass so what do I know. And all sounded good so I guess the player is the biggest factor.
What's the name of the first song she played?
Hmmm the sire and the Sandberg is a very clever move. In that way they sound very different from the fender and the listener thinks that the one that sound the closer than the fender is the Harley Benton. But it is artificial since actually the main reason the Harley Benton sounds close is that they are both passive. To really compare it would have made more sense to play sire and Sandberg passive. Clever move to promote thomann's brand.
The Miller just makes the other basses sound muffled. The Harley Benton especially had too much of that for me, although that sound did groove with the pick.
Hey Julia, kannst du bitte auch Ibanez pj testen? Auch Spector, bc Rich, usw. Ist etwas dünn die Auswahl. Und Sandberg hat den p-pickup genau andersrum, daher finden einige den Sound halt anders. Ideal für tiefer stimmen. Naja...mein Freund spielt auch Bass... wie besessen
#2 was my favorite followed by #4. #3 I didn't care for.
Это было интересно. 3 бас действительно очень сильно выделяется на фоне других. И в приятную для меня сторону.
Другие тоже звучат хорошо!)
I'm not even gonna try this time i always get it wrong but the groove was good on the bass line and I liked Miller best.
For the next one show active vs passive pickups. IDK
Groove is all we need don't we? :)
Active vs passive is a pretty good idea.
//Cheers man, Kris
Wow, to me the Fender sounded the worst, really muddy and boomy. The Sandbeg and Marcus Miller were my favorites, even the Harley Benton sounded great, it even beat the Fender IMO.
I've got a suggestions for a video. I'll probably get a lot of hate for this, but I don't care. I'm a guitarist and I'd love to see a video "Bass for guitarists". For example, I don't know the difference between a J- and a P-Bass.
good one Sir #don't hate Create
How about all jazz basses and really cover the price range of Fender. Squier, mexican and two USA or maybe also one Japan?
Nice idea!
//Andy
What's your favorite bass, Giulia?
Sire best, then Sandberg, Fender, Harley Benton for me