• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

5-string P basses?

#44
Provided that a Precision-style 5-string bass is made using the same pickup and electronics as used back then (vintage Fender P pups?), alder/rosewood config, and some thick-as-bamboo flats on it, I don't see why not.

But remember Jamerson's tone also has tons to do with his technique (the hook), his style (double bass style - lots of open strings and right hand closer to fretboard), and his setup (high action with chicken grease swabbed up and down said bamboo flats).

I'll see what I can do when I get my BB tomorrow, though the way it sounds out of the box is more on the modern side AFAIK.
 
#46
appler said:
Good question. Anybody know?
Click to expand...

My ADPV gets close with Chromes. However, the active pre still puts a bit of an edge on it, as do the strings. I just got a 4 string version of it with a Bart pre that has a passive mode, it really nails the vintage P sound.

I would suspect if you put that pre in the 5er and strung it with Labella flats, you would be able to get very close to the Jamerson tone in passive mode (just stay off the B) :D
 
#49
KYJazzy said:
Provided that a Precision-style 5-string bass is made using the same pickup and electronics as used back then (vintage Fender P pups?), alder/rosewood config, and some thick-as-bamboo flats on it, I don't see why not.
Click to expand...

That is the issue they didn't exist back in the 60's maybe 70's. I don't know when Fender first made a 5-string Precision or Jazz bass, my guess is it would be late 70's, early 80's. Fender did make a rather strange 5-string in early 70's. It was a short scale and kind of odd looking and was never popular. In fact I don't know if they ever did a RI of it.

They did have their 6-string bass early on, but they were really a baritone guitar. Baritone guitars were popular back then for Country, doubling guitar lines. They sometime were called tick-tack basses. Also the original theme for TV show Wild, Wild, West was a baritone guitar.
 
#50
Philbiker said:
Excuse me, but what classifies this as a "flaw"?
Click to expand...
appler said:
http://www.nehp.net/~coe1/Basses/pbass.jpg
Click to expand...
I think what he's saying is traditional P bass pickups are split along the A and D strings. The 5 string setup, which splits along the E and A may have a different tone than a trad P bass...

Still I don't think this should be considered a "flaw".
 
#51
marwady said:
My Fender ADPV

ADPV2.gif


So far, I like Chromes the best on it, nice, tight B
Click to expand...


Thats a really nice finish, the pearliod looks great with it. :bassist:
 
#52
SnakeAnthony said:
Doesn't Fender make the P Bass Delux in a 5er? That would probably be a good choice, with the extra versatility of the bridge Pup. You'd still have to find a used one for anything near your price range. New they're around 1,200$.
Click to expand...

Yea,

I had one for a while a few years back. They have a p-neck pup and a double jazz at the bridge. I could never get use to the neck as I have such small hands. With the neck pup solo'd it sounded sorta like a p bass but with the added sustain of a 5 string. I never thought it looked right with that big neck pup though, I would have like it better with a stacked single coil at the bridge. (jmho) Invalid Link Removed
 
#53
mark beem said:
I think what he's saying is traditional P bass pickups are split along the A and D strings. The 5 string setup, which splits along the E and A may have a different tone than a trad P bass...

Still I don't think this should be considered a "flaw".
Click to expand...

Ah, thank you. Will the different location of the coil under the A cause the (potential) difference in tone or is there some sort of electronic voodoo at work here?
 
#54
appler said:
Ah, thank you. Will the different location of the coil under the A cause the (potential) difference in tone or is there some sort of electronic voodoo at work here?
Click to expand...
I would think it'd be due to the location of the coil... However, I really can't see this making an overly huge difference in the tone. Maybe you could detect it by ear, side by side with a trad. P, but in the mix or on stage I don't think it'd be noticed at all.
 
#55
I'm a hard core P-bass lover. I've had some great ones and I'm picky even when it comes to nice Fenders. There is just simply nothing better for many many many types of music.

No 5 string I have played including a lull PJ5 has really captured the true sound or feel of a great P-bass. The closest, oddly, were a Sadowsky RV5 (with humcancellers) and a G&L L2500. My new Lakland 55-94 gets a tone that can sit in the mix close to the way a P-bass does, but it also doesn't quite sound like a P-bass. The fender RV5 definately didn't sound like a P-bass to me, more like a pumped up J-bass.

I imagine the sadowsky P5s and PJ5s would fit the bill, since even the RV5 had quite a bit of the right vibe to it. One thought though ... part of what makes a P-bass so great is its simplicity. 4 strings, one pickup, 20 frets, volume/tone. You plug it in, you know every note on the neck, they all sound good, and you get the thinner sound from the D&G, the fatter sound from the E and A. Its like a kit with just a kick, snare, and hat. Its perfect.

You sure you want a low-B on your P?

You can always detune.
 
#57
mark beem said:
I understand perfectly what you're saying. However, depending on the song and how it's crafted, playing by detuning would be difficult to pull off if not altogether impossible.
Click to expand...

Oh believe me, my main bass is a 5 (the 55-94, which I love), in some bands you have to have it. In lots of others you don't.
 
#59
As I recall, pickles had a thread of his own about five string Precisions. I have a Fender Roscoe Beck V and while it's extremely close to the P-bass sound, it's not quite there. The feel is also quite different. Fender Japan makes a Takeshi Ueda signature model that is a five string, passive P-bass. It runs about a grand including shipping from Japan. Any thoughts on this based on your experience with the Lull and other five string Precisions?
 
#60
appler said:
As I recall, pickles had a thread of his own about five string Precisions. I have a Fender Roscoe Beck V and while it's extremely close to the P-bass sound, it's not quite there. The feel is also quite different. Fender Japan makes a Takeshi Ueda signature model that is a five string, passive P-bass. It runs about a grand including shipping from Japan. Any thoughts on this based on your experience with the Lull and other five string Precisions?
Click to expand...

To my ears, the RBV wasn't really a P-bass tone. It was thick and rich, but it was really more of a J-bass neck pickup sound. A P-bass pickup lives in between where the J's would be, and that "sweet spot" is what gives the bass a lot of its sound.

The Lull was a nice bass, but with the 35" scale and narrow spacing, didn't feel like a P to me. Again, almost more like a J-bass. In retrospect it was a great bass in its own way and I should have given it a little more of a chance, but at that time I was on such a 5-string P quest that I flipped it pretty quickly.

That japanese fender sounds interesting ... any links?
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back