Best non-Fender P-Bass?

[tabdog]

Peavey Fury with Fender pickup,

Tabdog

 

[Nitzan]

i got one a few months ago. stock, i felt it was lacking in the tone department. the p-pup was really hollow and empty sounding while the bridge was far too middy/burpy sounding. the hardware was also lacking, but on par with instruments in that price range. so i ended up replacing the tuners with black schaller bml's and putting a black schaller roller bridge on it. i also had the pickups replaced with an emg phz/35hz set and had a coil tap for the bridge pickup put in. the push-pull tone pot was replaced with a standard 500k with a .047 cap. it has a very different sound now. while the HZ's are passive, they're still emg pickups, so they've got "that" sound. the coil tap does offer some good versatility. the p pickup sounds fuller with a bigger bottom end than the stock pickup and the 35hz in the bridge is cleaner sounding with a more well-defined midrange. overall, i think the mods were a good improvement over how it came stock and that bass has become my new #1.

Thank you for that input!

 

[sumeursault]

Check out the modern SB1's. They're a P, but with a really muscular pickup.

What does this mean exactly? Just curious. More aggressive midrange?

 

[VintageBoutique]

I think the Yamaha Billy Sheehan Attitude is the best Precision bass out there.

70's-80's Schecter's are cool.

 

[SturmUndDrang]

What does this mean exactly? Just curious. More aggressive midrange?

It's pole pieces are made of iron and the magnet is ceramic. The construction is also different, which is why they call it magnetic field design. You can get close to traditional Precision sound with it, but it's got a very different charcter. The controls don't behave in a traditional manner either. The volume acts more like a second tone control. Overall it is more modern sounding and is much hotter. Love mine

 

[tomydacat]

I like the Nash basses .. although I cant afford one.. so I got a Schecter Model T .. LOVE IT

 

[Bassjocky]

Just out of curiosity, why not get a Fender? The AVRI's are outstanding.

Maybe because, they are overpriced and overrated. Fenders are the most modded basses out there, why?, because they were not good to start with. The typical "i gotta get a P bass because they are the best" brigade, then take the damn thing apart, replace the p/up, replace the bridge, replace the controls,,WHY????? because they paid for the name!!
Listen to Carol Kaye, the most respected and successful session bass player in music history, she rates them as "Damn Awful". You have to try loads of them before you find a decent one,,,Then you have to upgrade everything!!

 

[project_c]

Maybe because, they are overpriced and overrated. Fenders are the most modded basses out there, why?, because they were not good to start with. The typical "i gotta get a P bass because they are the best" brigade, then take the damn thing apart, replace the p/up, replace the bridge, replace the controls,,WHY????? because they paid for the name!!
Listen to Carol Kaye, the most respected and successful session bass player in music history, she rates them as "Damn Awful". You have to try loads of them before you find a decent one,,,Then you have to upgrade everything!!

You revived a 4 year old thread so you could have a Fender rant? Got nothing better to do today? If you don't like Fenders, don't play them, nobody in the universe cares.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Maybe because, they are overpriced and overrated. Fenders are the most modded basses out there, why?, because they were not good to start with. The typical "i gotta get a P bass because they are the best" brigade, then take the damn thing apart, replace the p/up, replace the bridge, replace the controls,,WHY????? because they paid for the name!!
Listen to Carol Kaye, the most respected and successful session bass player in music history, she rates them as "Damn Awful". You have to try loads of them before you find a decent one,,,Then you have to upgrade everything!!

Actually Carol Kaye rated the J bass as awful.....she used a P bass a lot.....not sure how modded hers was..... but hey any production bass can vary quite a bit.

I do tend to like my USA Peavey Fury basses.

 

[taylor16]

La Bella Olinto. Hand-made, hand-cut, hand-wound, hand-etc... by Mas Hino. Finish and relic by James Carbonetti. 100% made in Brooklyn, NYC.

 

[Dave W]

Maybe because, they are overpriced and overrated. Fenders are the most modded basses out there, why?, because they were not good to start with. The typical "i gotta get a P bass because they are the best" brigade, then take the damn thing apart, replace the p/up, replace the bridge, replace the controls,,WHY????? because they paid for the name!!
Listen to Carol Kaye, the most respected and successful session bass player in music history, she rates them as "Damn Awful". You have to try loads of them before you find a decent one,,,Then you have to upgrade everything!!

Wow! Eye opening.

If only every player actually listened to what Carol Kaye said, I bet nobody would be playing them.

 

[taylor16]

^^ Feel the same way about jazz basses.

 

[Mike N]

Maybe because, they are overpriced and overrated. Fenders are the most modded basses out there, why?, because they were not good to start with. The typical "i gotta get a P bass because they are the best" brigade, then take the damn thing apart, replace the p/up, replace the bridge, replace the controls,,WHY????? because they paid for the name!!
Listen to Carol Kaye, the most respected and successful session bass player in music history, she rates them as "Damn Awful". You have to try loads of them before you find a decent one,,,Then you have to upgrade everything!!

Sure looks like you're playing a Fender P in your avatar.......

 

[Ronbeast]

Even though it's an old thread, I still have to +1 the Peavey Fury. it's in a league of it's own in the bang for the buck category.

 

[taylor16]

I'd love to get my mitts on a Peavey Fury. Saw O'Brother recently and Anton's tone was incredible. Fantastic band by the way.

If anyone has one they'd like to sell me, please it me up!

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Wow! Eye opening.

If only every player actually listened to what Carol Kaye said, I bet nobody would be playing them.

Carol played 1000's of sessions with a P bass strung with flats and always played with a pick....it was the J bass she did not like in the way it recorded onto tape back in the day.

 

[alack]

The very definition of "bang for your buck."

 

[consectaneus]

This is the one that has my attention lately...

 

[Torn Bassist]

Here is a Spector Coda 4P DLX.

 

[basspedaler]

G&L L-1000 is a P-Bass and it is the best.[/QUOTE]
The fabulous L-1K is not a P, but a sweet spot MFD 'bucker with coil switching which will cop a great P style tone. It is a great alternative and I love playing mine-super versatile.
The G&L SB-1 is an aggressive P with with a split coil MFD pup. It's my fave P! Add an MFD J pup to the SB-1, and you have an SB-2.
G&L's classic (most fenderish) P is an LB-100. All of these are passive too.
I'd do a Lakland in a heartbeat, though! Especially the funky 44-51. I played one of those and I regret not buying it, as it really nailed an old-school tonal vibe.