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

[M.R. Ogle]

Good point. You could be correct.

[shrimpflea]

It's P-bass all the way.....the Jazz didn't become really popular until the 1970's.....and even then the P-bass was still the king.....nowadays it seems like everyone and their brother is playing a P.

[kurosawa]

I thought the Q was about which is BOUGHT more, and I'd have to say the J. That's not to say the majority of 'em aren't tucked away in closets behind tons of scuba, bowling, bow hunting, cycling, water skiing, and gourmet gear that's been tried and forgotten. America is the land of buying and forgetting gear before even the most rudimentary instruction. Anyone who's made it far enough to be posting here is ahead of 90% of America.

[Mojo-Man]

On a whole, yes the P-Bass is.
The P-Bass always out-sold the Jazz thill the early 80's.
Then the Jazz got hot, right up till the resurgence of the P-bass again the the early 2000's. (That old school P-Bass with flats thing)
I believe right now the P-Bass is again on top.

[Ilica89]

Burger? Yes.But how is apple pie so American?In Europe we baked apple pie for centuries.

[bassfart]

Originally Posted by shrimpflea

It's P-bass all the way.....the Jazz didn't become really popular until the 1970's.....and even then the P-bass was still the king.....nowadays it seems like everyone and their brother is playing a P.

The reason for that is the P bass Reigns supreme.

[mellowinman]

If the Fender Precision isn't THE best selling bass of all time, then what is?

[1SHOT1HIT]

It's humorous how people here make statements w/o any actual real world statistics behind them.
Some even going as far as stating which decades certain models sold more of than the other. :-) C'mon if you're gonna pull something out of your rear, at least write in a speculative context.

I mean are there even numbers Fender, or other manufacturers have made public?
I'm sure there are somewhere!!!

FWIW;;;;; I too, have seen several (more than one) articles, or writings that list the Jazz bass as Fenders best selling bass guitar.
Not saying it is or isn't, but just because YOU like one or the other does NOT mean it is or isn't better selling.
In fact I'd say a person will ALWAYS feel like the one they like is a better seller, because that's the one they pay attention to and notice.

Just like when you buy a car, you notice it everywhere, as opposed to before you feel like you never saw it.

At the end of the day we ALL know the Jazz is the better bass

I mean it IS the bass that Fender invented to broaden the horizons of the Precisions limited abilities. lol
That last bit was just to get a rise out of the P guys.
Not my real opinion, I do prefer the Jazz BUT the P is a Killer bass in its own right.
Apples & Oranges and BOTH have more than earned there place in history & music.

[mellowinman]

Originally Posted by 1SHOT1HIT

It's humorous how people here make statements w/o any actual real world statistics behind them.
Some even going as far as stating which decades certain models sold more of than the other. :-) C'mon if you're gonna pull something out of your rear, at least write in a speculative context.

I mean are there even numbers Fender, or other manufacturers have made public?
I'm sure there are somewhere!!!

FWIW;;;;; I too, have seen several (more than one) articles, or writings that list the Jazz bass as Fenders best selling bass guitar.
Not saying it is or isn't, but just because YOU like one or the other does NOT mean it is or isn't better selling.
In fact I'd say a person will ALWAYS feel like the one they like is a better seller, because that's the one they pay attention to and notice.

Just like when you buy a car, you notice it everywhere, as opposed to before you feel like you never saw it.

At the end of the day we ALL know the Jazz is the better bass

I mean it IS the bass that Fender invented to broaden the horizons of the Precisions limited abilities. lol
That last bit was just to get a rise out of the P guys.
Not my real opinion, I do prefer the Jazz BUT the P is a Killer bass in its own right.
Apples & Oranges and BOTH have more than earned there place in history & music.

I don't much like the P-Bass. I don't like the feel of the neck, and anyway, I find my Jazz to be the PERFECT bass for me.

I still think the P-Bass would HAVE TO be the best selling bass guitar of all time. It had a ten year head start on the Jazz, and I see one in the hands of so many players!

I couldn't find any statistics.

[Stilettoprefer]

I have seen a lot of jazzes around here lately. But there's still a good amount P's. Nobody uses flats on them, but that's not the point.

A lot of people start with Squiers and when we pick our first bass it's usually all about looks because we don't know what feels or sounds good yet.

And when you learn on something, it becomes familiar to you and you're more prone to stick with it or something similar.

I started on a squier P bass, then got an ibanez PJ, then a Schecter stiletto, and now I'm back to a P bass with a jazz neck.

As to where you'll see more P basses, I think that they work well for pretty much anything. I use mine for P&W music, punk, funk, jazz, rock and metal. They're definitely more common in rock, punk and metal, though IMO.

[Bassamatic]

Originally Posted by jfh2424

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?

John

That is obvious - to sell more basses!!!!!!

[placedesjardins]

My fart smells funny.


Anyway, back on topic, I kind of wonder if the Squier Jazz Bass or Squier Precision Bass have sold more.

[gus1894]

http://gear-vault.com/top-selling-bass-guitars/

A few years old now, but it is still fairly applicable and definitely relates to the OP.

[johng999]

Best selling doesn't mean "best all time sales". When I first got my Jazz Bass in 1969 I was told that P basses outsold the Jazz 10 to 1. And I believe in those days it was true. Most of the live acts I saw were P bass acts. Through the 70's that changed and the Jazz became more popular. Only Fender could account for "most total sales" and even that might be difficult for them, as records weren't kept so well in the past!

[One Drop]

Originally Posted by gus1894

http://gear-vault.com/top-selling-bass-guitars/

A few years old now, but it is still fairly applicable and definitely relates to the OP.

The article starts by saying he did research but I think it's just a fluff piece naming the most iconic bass models sold over the years. There is no ranking even mentioned.

[BrandonBass]

I'm suren somewhere along way the jazz bass has surpassed the p in popularity like how the strat has surpassed the telecasters

[dukeorock]

Asked the google as many ways as I could think, but didn't really get anything useful. I would be shocked if the P wasn't the all time best selling bass...these days I see more jazz basses in the local clubs, but if we're talking all time...gotta be the P, I would think

[wvbass]

I bet those first couple decades of P basses don't tip the scales like you guys think. Fender probably makes more basses in a year now than they did in a decade then. I wouldn't be surprised if they have sold more J basses.

[Mark4]

I was under the impression that Jazz basses were bigger sellers, despite the fact that Precisions have been around longer.