Fender P Bass-best selling electric bass of all time?

[bstark]

Hi Everybody,

I have long held the belief that the Fender Precision Bass is the top selling electric bass guitar of all time.

Do any of you know if there are any real facts available to support or refute my claim?

Thanks,

Bob

[Joshuadriller]

Just go watch people play, almost every band I have ever seen use a p bass. Other than that I don't think there is any written proof

[tastybasslines]

I use one...

The P bass, as American as apple pie and the burger of the bass world.

[meatwad]

Yes.

[Jason Brown]

It is in my house, if anything can be extrapolated from that.

[jfh2424]

It's hard to know what a Fender Precision is anymore. There's passive, active, single coil, humbucker, single pickup, double pickup,...it never ends. Even the kinds of pickups in the Fendre P are really different, and that is just the standard issue stuff from Fender.

It's interesting that it is supposedly the best designed bass in the history of music, yet probably more so than any other design, it has been modded and changed so much that saying Fender P really doesn't mean anything anymore.

I always wondered, if the original was so great, why did Fender and everyone else change almost everything on it? Like, if it rules the roost, why didn't they just at some point leave it alone?

I would guess that probably more basses called Fender Precision have been sold than any other. But these basses, all and all, are really different, so...

John

[msaone]

That's kind of a loaded question woukdnt you say?
No manufacturer leaves perfect alone ever!

[awesomesawyer]

what about the jazz bass? i would assume that they have similar amounts sold.

[pbasswil]

Originally Posted by Joshuadriller

Just go watch people play, almost every band I have ever seen use a p bass. Other than that I don't think there is any written proof

Yeah, but that's heavily weighted by what kind of band you like to go see, what kind of music, and how old you are.

There sure are a _ton_ of P basses out there; but these days they're concentrated in the current rock-derived, rawer bands, and also in oldies/retro rock.

If you like music that (for lack of better way to describe it) doesn't center around distorted or overdriven guitars -- dance/pop/synth styles, jazz, r&b, country, gospel, show/broadway, "diva" vocalists, older solo acts, latin, other ethnic, etc, etc. then you'll see a lot less P basses.

[deeptubes]

Originally Posted by pbasswil

Yeah, but that's heavily weighted by what kind of band you like to go see, what kind of music, and how old you are.

There sure are a _ton_ of P basses out there; but these days they're concentrated in the current rock-derived, rawer bands, and also in oldies/retro rock.

If you like music that (for lack of better way to describe it) doesn't center around distorted or overdriven guitars -- dance/pop/synth styles, jazz, r&b, country, gospel, show/broadway, "diva" vocalists, older solo acts, latin, other ethnic, etc, etc. then you'll see a lot less P basses.

Ummmmm, what?! That's ridunkulous! I know that when I choose a bass, it's based upon the feel, the look, and the sounds I can coax out of it - not the genre of music, and not the kind of effects that a guitarist uses.

Stop generalizing.

[Pet Sounds]

To the OP's question, it's gotta be the P or the J. Anybody know whether Fender has stated which one is its best seller?

[michaelstrand]

Originally Posted by Pet Sounds

To the OP's question, it's gotta be the P or the J. Anybody know whether Fender has stated which one is its best seller?

while the jazz bass is also extremely popular, it does not match the precision in overall sales.

[Pet Sounds]

Just checked, and Musician's Friend calls the Jazz Bass Fender 's best selling bass, FWIW.

[tastybasslines]

Originally Posted by Pet Sounds

Just checked, and Musician's Friend calls the Jazz Bass Fender 's best selling bass, FWIW.

Are you sure its not THEIR best selling Fender bass?

[chadhargis]

In my informal observations, there are more Jazz basses than Precisions. I have one if each, so I cancel myself out of the debate.

[heckraiser]

Mine are all pj combos except for one. I guess I cancel out too.

[pbasswil]

Originally Posted by deeptubes

Stop generalizing.

Yikes! Is that an order??

Ummmmm, what?! That's ridunkulous! I know that when I choose a bass, it's based upon the feel, the look, and the sounds I can coax out of it - not the genre of music, and not the kind of effects that a guitarist uses.

What I wrote was a generalization, and in my opinion a perfectly useful one.

How you, deeptubes, personally choose basses notwithstanding:
On average, if you look at the styles I listed that tend not to have so much overdriven or distorted guitars, I think you'll see a lot less P basses.

That's not some kind of value judgement, it's an observation.

[Pet Sounds]

Originally Posted by tastybasslines

Are you sure its not THEIR best selling Fender bass?

"It has been and still is Fender's best-selling bass," according to MF 's Hands-On Review of the AmStd Jazz. Don't know if the writer's info is accurate.

[M.R. Ogle]

I'd bet so.

If for no other reason, the Precision was out a few years earlier.

At least, the Precision's "Sphere of Influence" is enormous, with copies, clones and offshoots all over the planet.

[Pet Sounds]

Originally Posted by M.R. Ogle

I'd bet so.

If for no other reason, the Precision was out a few years earlier.

At least, the Precision's "Sphere of Influence" is enormous, with copies, clones and offshoots all over the planet.

Yeah, but nobody played electric bass in the early years of the P Bass. The guitar sales boom didn't start until the '60s.
The J is also no stranger to copies, clones and offshoots.