I'm sure that's what it is, but unfortunately, that skews my perception.
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'62 Precision vs '72 Precision: can you hear the difference?
- Thread starter bassfiddlesteve
- Start date
I have no idea. I have never owned a Pre. I do like the tone on Track B slightly better.
I would echo what others have said. Very nice playing.
I would echo what others have said. Very nice playing.
Very nice playing!
Based on some googling of what each were supposed to sound like:
A = '62
B = '72
I think, in this context, I prefer A. A sounds a bit more pronounced in the mid range and has a bit less rasp overall. Both sound very nice and I would be happy with either.
Based on some googling of what each were supposed to sound like:
A = '62
B = '72
I think, in this context, I prefer A. A sounds a bit more pronounced in the mid range and has a bit less rasp overall. Both sound very nice and I would be happy with either.
Both sound great. I'm partial to the first one but one thing to take into consideration is that the main tonal difference between the two may be the value of the pots. If both instruments have 250k pots with a 10% tolerance, than one could have as much as 275k and the other as little as 225k for each pot. Same thing goes for the tone capacitors. That is enough of a variance to hear a lot of difference between the two instruments. I think this has a far more drastic effect on the sound than the difference of 1 decade of when they were built. Just my two cents but nice sound, regardless.
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I think A is the '72 and B is the '62.
A sounds smoother to me, mid scooped. B has a hi-mid honk, especially noticeable around the 1:20-1:30 mark in the recordings, that I personally associate with those early 60's P basses. I dunno, though, like others have said they sound great regardless!
A sounds smoother to me, mid scooped. B has a hi-mid honk, especially noticeable around the 1:20-1:30 mark in the recordings, that I personally associate with those early 60's P basses. I dunno, though, like others have said they sound great regardless!
Both basses have alder bodies and weigh about the same. I don't know how the manufacturing process for pickups changed but I assume by 1972 it was more automated. I did not measure the resistance of the pickups.
- Steve
I assure you this was not the case. I was focused on playing the part correctly. I had some of it memorized, but I was reading the transcription from the Standing in the Shadows of Motown book.
- Steve
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I think this is true. Most of the early 70s basses like mine are pretty good in terms of fit & finish. This became less consistent later in the decade.
- Steve
Steve, this is a great thread you started.
both sound good for what they are
neither are my cup o' joe
each sounds different than the other -- Jimmy's point about volume in this comparison is definitely valid -- Id rather hear the two in actual practice: What we hear now might be a big difference to us bassists, but wouldnt make any real difference to those not carrying around magnifying glasses, calipers, and microscopes in an actual mix
neither are my cup o' joe
each sounds different than the other -- Jimmy's point about volume in this comparison is definitely valid -- Id rather hear the two in actual practice: What we hear now might be a big difference to us bassists, but wouldnt make any real difference to those not carrying around magnifying glasses, calipers, and microscopes in an actual mix
Bass-->Monster Cable-->M-Audio USB interface-->Audacity DAW on my PC
No compression or effects.
- Steve
Thanks! I'm glad people are enjoying it. I have to thank @Robert Strickland for coming up with the idea...and letting me borrow his '62 Precision
BTW we originally presented this poll to the 70s Fender Precision Bass Facebook group we both moderate. Here's a link if anyone would like to join.
- Steve
I'm gonna go with the more bassy tone (B) being the '62. However, I have only listened through built-in laptop speakers, and only about 20 or 30 seconds in.
That said, this is just relying on stereotypes and assumptions: that a '62 will have a more highly wound pickup (lower resonant peak and higher output) than a '72, and that all variables are truly equalized. These are the common conceptions, and in general and on average, with a large sample group, will ring true. But they aren't gospel for any single instrument plucked out of a group. In reality, there was a fair deal of manufacturing variation in both eras, and we don't know if each of these two basses represents a good average of the P basses of their era. And all variables are certainly not equalized. There are actual pot and cap values that could be quite different, for one...and the human factor is no small variable, no matter how hard the human might have been trying to play the takes exactly the same.
In other words, pick a random '62 and a random '72, and due to standard variances from the average, they could very easily have tones that are well within the range of overlap.
That said, this is just relying on stereotypes and assumptions: that a '62 will have a more highly wound pickup (lower resonant peak and higher output) than a '72, and that all variables are truly equalized. These are the common conceptions, and in general and on average, with a large sample group, will ring true. But they aren't gospel for any single instrument plucked out of a group. In reality, there was a fair deal of manufacturing variation in both eras, and we don't know if each of these two basses represents a good average of the P basses of their era. And all variables are certainly not equalized. There are actual pot and cap values that could be quite different, for one...and the human factor is no small variable, no matter how hard the human might have been trying to play the takes exactly the same.
In other words, pick a random '62 and a random '72, and due to standard variances from the average, they could very easily have tones that are well within the range of overlap.
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Really? No Precision I have sounds quite like that, but I tend to run open on the tone, and then turn down the treble in other ways. What tone settings and capacitor values? I'd love to hear one in the same context and settings with TI flats on as I'd have more of a comparison basis. I'd also love to hear either one at final mix levels.
Both basses were recorded with the volume and tone up all the way. I don't know what the capacitor values are, both both have their original electronics. Both basses were strung with La Bella 760FL flatwounds that were 2.5 years old at the time.
- Steve
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"B sounds like the '72 to me with track A having brighter mids than track B and at least through my headphones (Bose A2's) Track A sounds more like the original record. So I'd say Track A is the '62.
