Do I really need a P bass?

[Stewie]

Played a Jazz Bass for 35 years. Bought a P bass on a whim. Sold the Jazz. I have three now. A fretless P, a fretless Squier 50s and a fretted Squier 50s. You're going to need a couple. Might as well start with one now

 

[Parzival]

Think you need a P bass.

And that's all you need.

Well, and a J bass. Yeah, a P and a J and that's all you need.

Oh, and a Stingray. A P, J, and a Stingray and that's all you need.

And of course a Rick and a Dingwall. A P, J, Stingray, a Rick., and a Dingwall and that's all you need.

Oh, you gotta have a Spector………..

 

[GreyBeard]

Need vs Want, sometimes they are one in the same. You won't be satisfied until you scratch that itch. Get a Player P now before the tariffs kick in.

 

[MrAB4003]

I'm surprised there's not a poll for this thread! In short, no you don't need a P Bass. Save your money and your energy.

 

[Argali]

I mean, play one and see if you like it. No sense in overthinking these things.

 

[socialleper]

Need? No. A PJ will sound like just a P. The only difference might be the neck and if you want a Fender specifically.

 

[NewJackBass]

I love my Pbass. Love it. Sounds classic, looks cool.

 

[JIO]

Never owned a P-bass until I bought my '66 11yrs ago. It's my only P-bass and I have no need for another. Like a hollow-body and fretless, every bass player should own one.

 

[Zwitsal1989]

You don't need a specific bass of.

But sounds like you want a P bass and somehow also a Jaguar bass.

Starting to sound like maybe you want a Mark Hoppus Jaguar bass

 

[Yahboy]

I've been thinking of asking this for a while.
Currently I have an Ibanez and an LTD PJ bass. I love both.
But you know how it is, I want more. And I've become somewhat obsessed with the idea of getting a P bass. Not even sure why, I think it's just the prestige they hold. Also the most simple of setups, which I'm attracted to.
I'm not even in a position to buy one at the moment and also don't really have a musical project it would fit.
Ideally, I would really love a Jaguar bass, but haven't found any that I particularly like the look of (not enough, anyway). If Fender bring out some new Jags I will definitely seriously consider one.
But the desire for a true P bass is still there. Funny thing is I haven't tried one in a long time and may not even like the feel of it. I'm a bit of a wet lettuce amd don't like going into music shops to try basses.

Well, this turned into a bit of an internal monologue, but anyway, thoughts on getting a P bass (eventually)?

At least one P bass.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Did he pass it on the bandsaw to make some drum sticks out of it ?

Nah, I was serious... he loves that thing, and I'm glad - I was completely uninspired by it. It started as a parts bass I put together... then upgraded... annnnd tweaked some more. There wasn't a thing wrong with it, but no matter what I did or how I tried, I just didn't get on with it. My drummer-buddy here runs an advertising agency, and records his own bumper music and backing tracks.

He's completely capable of playing all the instruments, and doing the voice-overs, but occasionally he'll have me come play bass on something. (I just ain't playin' that P-bass...!) My old P-bass lives in his little home studio here now.

 

[Gervais Cote]

Nah, I was serious... he loves that thing, and I'm glad - I was completely uninspired by it. It started as a parts bass I put together... then upgraded... annnnd tweaked some more. There wasn't a thing wrong with it, but no matter what I did or how I tried, I just didn't get on with it. My drummer-buddy here runs an advertising agency, and records his own bumper music and backing tracks. View attachment 7141981

He's completely capable of playing all the instruments, and doing the voice-overs, but occasionally he'll have me come play bass on something. (I just ain't playin' that P-bass...!) My old P-bass lives in his little home studio here now. View attachment 7141987

Fiooo ! Glad to read this.

 

[joebingo]

Fiooo ! Glad to read this.

would have been more p-bassy if the photos contained a p-bass though

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

I recommend installing different kinds of strings to different basses, targeting different sounds and EQ'ing accordingly. Flats for your new P, nickel rounds on your PJ, and steel rounds on your Ibanez. There is your justification.

 

[ezstep]

This is strictly an internal question. YOU might wonder if you need a P bass, but if you poll your bandmates, nearly all of them would have little or no opinion. And you do not buy basses for them, regardless. I have one P/J, but I use a J most often, and I use varying amounts of blend. YMMV.

 

[tpaul]

Yeah, it's pretty clear actually that I do not need a P bass. Maybe if I ignore the urge long enough I'll get bored of the idea.

I would caution against ignoring the urge. P-bass urges can become inflamed if not treated. Get a p-bass, or ask your physician to prescribed a medicated ointment.

 

[Cleezmo]

Short answer - no, you don't need a P bass. Nobody NEEDS a P-bass, or any any other specific bass for the matter, unless they are a session pro and the engineers/artists request a specific bass. I personally don't understand the 'every REAL bassist needs a P-bass' thing; to me that's like saying 'every REAL guitarist needs a Strat and an LP'. Nope, sorry, respectfully disagree. Lots of great players played them, yeah, but also lots of great players played other models too...

I'll take a Jazz or a two-humbucker bass over a P-bass any day, because I like two-pickup basses/tones, and for what I play, if I need a P-bass-ish tone, the neck pickup gets me there. Yeah, it's not 100% the same, but it's in the ballpark enough that the audience in the club/bar/venue is not gonna be able to tell the difference. And I tend to prefer slimmer necks.

Having said all that - if you want one and you dig it, that's cool, get one and enjoy it! They've been around forever for a reason, they do what they do very well. Play what you like to play, IME that leads to the most fun and best playing.

 

[SideshowDom]

I might be too bias to respond to this

 

[Adjectives]

Need depends on your use case. Bought my '75P in 2016 and used it to great effect playing pop, country and punk. Eventually moved to my Maruszczyk 5 (MM config) for 95% of my shows but it always surprises me when I plug it in at home. It def has something my ultra modern 5 or my Lull jazz doesn't. I don't need it now but am really glad I have it.

 

[Pep]

I've been thinking of asking this for a while.
Currently I have an Ibanez and an LTD PJ bass. I love both.
But you know how it is, I want more. And I've become somewhat obsessed with the idea of getting a P bass. Not even sure why, I think it's just the prestige they hold. Also the most simple of setups, which I'm attracted to.
I'm not even in a position to buy one at the moment and also don't really have a musical project it would fit.
Ideally, I would really love a Jaguar bass, but haven't found any that I particularly like the look of (not enough, anyway). If Fender bring out some new Jags I will definitely seriously consider one.
But the desire for a true P bass is still there. Funny thing is I haven't tried one in a long time and may not even like the feel of it. I'm a bit of a wet lettuce amd don't like going into music shops to try basses.

Well, this turned into a bit of an internal monologue, but anyway, thoughts on getting a P bass (eventually)?

In short, no you don't need a P-Bass if you have a PJ. Jus find a P-Bass you like if you're not find if the one you have.