Engineers and Precision Basses. The truth comes out.

[E2942]

We're using the term "sound engineer" lightly here I think.

Kind of like the Sweetwater "sales engineer"

Does a sound engineer really graduate from an Engineering curriculum?

 

[Rib 13]

I’ve literally been saying this for YEARS! That whole “p bass is best in the mix blah blah blah” nonsense is nothing more than a lazy sound engineer who doesn’t know how to do anything more than just be lazy and do nothing at all.

What Ive found in my personal experience over the years, isnt that engineers are lazy -- and I personally dont think its fair to label them that: there are some very good hard-working live and studio engineers Ive had the pleasure of working with over the years. The problem I find is that there are a lot of them that get pigeon-holed into working within a somewhat narrow range of genre types over and over and they tend to apply their experience working within that narrow frame of reference to everything

 

[mcnach]

Is this a Pbass bashing thread?

why don't you read the OP and find out?

(it isn't)

 

[mcnach]

Crap, you're right. Somebody come get these moldy old P basses out of my house. Or I might just put them under the bed and wait for fashion to come back around.

Did you even read the OP?

 

[dave64o]

Is this a Pbass bashing thread?

It’s not a real P-bass bashing thread until the anti-tort-ites wander into the thread and start to pile on.

 

[bass12]

Good thing the vast majority of us don’t need to worry about what goes on in professional recording studios and can just get on with playing bass.

 

[Confunk]

Yeeee-haw! P-bass vs. Engineers again! Love it.
My sole contribution to this particular thread is that I have a '69 P-bass with a Seymour Duncan HOT pup; I prefer GHS Nickel Bass Boomers 40-100, and I can ZING! like a mofo through any one of my fine amps!
Thanks for coming, try the veal.

 

[dougfr67]

Do these people think that pro level artists are acting like children before/during show with each other

Good thing the vast majority of us don’t need to worry about what goes on in professional recording studios and can just get on with playing bass.

My exact thoughts.

I get that the vast majority of TB users are hobbyists, non-professionals with no recording or professional live experience. That's fine since it's a forum for players with every level from beginner to pro.

What I don't get is why a lot of people here is acting like 10yr old fanboys of their favorite.
Do they think pro level artists are fighting with each other before or during shows just like them, or with the engineer in the studio?

 

[Grinderman]

I was expecting this thread to be about most P bass players having day jobs as engineers. (electrical, mechanical, civil, computer, etc)

and Boomers.

 

[Tom Gallo]

He laughed and said, “That’s not because the p-bass is better. It’s because the engineer is lazy and doesn’t want to waste time dialing in a new bass tone.”

A good engineer can make almost any bass sound good. But lazy isn't necessarily bad. As long as the bass sound fits the music, choosing the easier to mix instrument isn't a sin. As someone who is not a seasoned engineer but does all of my own mixing, anything that saves time and allows me to focus on other parts of the mix is appreciated.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

I cannot stand jazz basses. Really any bass other than a P or P style doesn't sound right, but jazz basses are so thin sounding.

It took me years to finally get a P, which I did out of curiosity. When I took it to band practice, I never looked back. I wish no other style of bass was made because it got in the way of me getting to a P.

 

[Confunk]

I cannot stand jazz basses. Really any bass other than a P or P style doesn't sound right, but jazz basses are so thin sounding.

It took me years to finally get a P, which I did out of curiosity. When I took it to band practice, I never looked back. I wish no other style of bass was made because it got in the way of me getting to a P.

Well, I have (2) P's (one active-an amazing Xotic, and the other a real-deal passive '69, and I have (3) J-basses
(2 & 3 band active eq's, the other passive) and several other basses with a variety of pups- Delanos, soapbars, MM's etc. Oh, and the J's are anything but "thin-sounding" YMMV.

Me- I'm just a mere mortal, working at clubs and other functions- I play what I want!

Good thing I don't get any session calls, I'd have a terrible time deciding which bass to play and would not care to grapple with an Engineer, Producer, or anyone else for that matter.
(TBT, I have done a very few sessions-demo tracks & such- & don't particularly like the recording process, wearing cans & such, but that's just me).

Carry on.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

Well, I have (2) P's (one active-an amazing Xotic, and the other a real-deal passive '69, and I have (3) J-basses
(2 & 3 band active eq's, the other passive) and several other basses with a variety of pups- Delanos, soapbars, MM's etc. Oh, and the J's are anything but "thin-sounding" YMMV.

Me- I'm just a mere mortal, working at clubs and other functions- I play what I want!

Good thing I don't get any session calls, I'd have a terrible time deciding which bass to play and would not care to grapple with an Engineer, Producer, or anyone else for that matter.
(TBT, I have done a very few sessions-demo tracks & such- & don't particularly like the recording process, wearing cans & such, but that's just me).

Carry on.

I owned a FCS 60s Jazz AND later owned an American Original 60s Jazz and I found myself cranking the neck pickup and just wishing it could sound like a P but it doesn’t. I use a 99 American Ampeg SVT AV into 810s.

 

[dougfr67]

I cannot stand jazz basses. Really any bass other than a P or P style doesn't sound right TO ME, but jazz basses are so thin sounding TO MY EARS.

It took me years to finally get a P, which I did out of curiosity. When I took it to band practice, I never looked back. I wish no other style of bass was made because it got in the way of me getting to a P.

You're welcome.

 

[rashrader]

So, the opinion of one person has become “the truth” to you? Wow. That was easy.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

You're welcome.

Dude the sentence started with I. You don't have to add the other stuff, it is redundant.

 

[JazznFunk]

There have just been so many stories about the p-bass in studios that it’s become a sort of bass lore.

Of course, listen to most of the tunes coming out of Nashville and there’s a definite “sound” as it pertains to bass tone. So I’m not saying it’s not real. I’m just saying that a lot of it may have to do with engineers who are more focused on guitar and vocal tone while the bass tone is on precision autopilot.

Jimmie Lee Sloas, one of the heaviest of Nashville hitters, usually plays a detuned Jazz Bass and he's all over the place, and his tone sounds nothing like a P-Bass.

 

[Paul New]

Did you even read the OP?

Nah

 

[JRA]

...no Engineer, Band Leader, or other musician has ever commented that I need to play a Precision, or even a Fender...

same. the real world is different than it is here in P-bass heaven!

at most studio sessions, when you are a vendor/sideman (not the client), instead of "you might want to try a P-bass" you're more likely to hear, "you might want to simplify that bassline," or "please just stick to the chart!"

I own a Fender Precision, I love it, it was my main bass for years and I would never part with it. However, it's not the single size that fits all.

same (FSO), same, different, same! agreed!

If you are a studio musician, your playing acumen is what is getting you calls and contracts.

Thank goodness for the P Bass. Without it TB would not have any content

true enough! ....so i guess we're all indebted!?

 

[Confunk]

I owned a FCS 60s Jazz AND later owned an American Original 60s Jazz and I found myself cranking the neck pickup and just wishing it could sound like a P but it doesn’t. I use a 99 American Ampeg SVT AV into 810s.

It won't sound like a P-bass because it's a Jazz bass!
Apples & bananas; I like both.
P-Bass would be my Desert Isle instrument, but a good J-bass "burp" can be music to my ears too.
Either/or, your choice of amps doesn't get much better or more fundamental, that's for sure.