Engineers and Precision Basses. The truth comes out.

[LBS-bass]

@LBS-bass
I never said the P bass was the best thing for all music. In fact, I literally said it might not always be the best choice. So we agree about that whether you realize it or not. I’m also glad you agree with me about the Warwick not being the right choice since literally sounding like itself was a problem… even if you don’t realize you agree with me. That’s OK too.

Now let’s get rid of the tuba analogy since you didn’t get it. When you say that the mythology of precision basses being best for the studio springs from people with non-functioning instruments having to use a precision bass that was available, I’m telling you that you’re wrong. I don’t mean to be rude, but for this premise to work, the P basses on hand at all these studios would have had to have already been an industry standard. Not to mention that this unlikely scenario would have had to have happened hundreds or thousands of times to become a driving force in the trajectory of the industry for decades to come. I’ve already illustrated how my experience mirrors that of professional session musicians with decades of experience. I pointed out that my Warwick, along with Sean Hurley‘s Lakland, were high quality instruments that still needed to be replaced by a precision bass on real (not hypothetical) sessions. Once again, not trying to be rude, but I know things can be misunderstood or misconstrued through text, so let me break it down one last time:

1.) There is no “mythology” as to why Precision basses work on sessions. They work because they are safe and inoffensive like a navy suit and white button down shirt.

2.) It’s highly doubtful that enough amateur musicians with non-functional instruments were getting enough session work to create an industry standard, and that all of those studios just happened to have the same instrument on hand.

3.) If my choice of instrument has to be changed into something else sonically during production, then it wasn’t the correct choice to begin with.

OK

 

[pbass2]

Couldn't you just put your G string out of tune slightly and call it a day?

I say this as someone who happens to have a Les Paul...

No poopie, what the hell is it with that?!!! After I tune my Les Paul I then tune the G string.....

 

[FilterFunk]

I'm glad they found a way to balance that.




Link Removed

Even black city kids like me remember the "Hee Haw" girls!

Some things transcend race, culture, etc.

 

[g-dude]

No poopie, what the hell is it with that?!!! After I tune my Les Paul I then tune the G string.....

I saw a video once that explored this issue.

I believe it has to do with the headstock design and basically the angle from the nut to tuning post.

 

[g-dude]

Even black city kids like me remember the "Hee Haw" girls!

Some things transcend race, culture, etc.

This goes to food - at least in the southeast. What gets labeled as Soul Food in the northern cities and west coast is more or less the same food that everyone eats in the southeast.

The funniest, and yet saddest thing, is that you'll occasionally find expensive restaurants that claim to serve southern food, but it's nowhere near as authentic as you'd find by going to a Soul Food restaurant.

 

[rashrader]

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

Go back to the original post and read the fine print.

Ahhhh… The old clickbait disclaimer. Got it.

 

[micguy]

P-Bass would be my Desert Isle instrument, but a good J-bass "burp" can be music to my ears too.

On a true desert Isle, as there's no electricity, I'd go acoustic.

 

[g-dude]

On a true desert Isle, as there's no electricity, I'd go acoustic.

And yet you’d still not be loud enough!

I would want an upright, and some tools to turn it into a boat myself.

 

[micguy]

And yet you’d still not be loud enough!

Real desert Isle means at some point, you're gonna have to eat the other inhabitants to survive. After that, you have noone to help you carry your upright around, and no competition volume wise, so I'm sticking to acoustic. It's the only place I'd probably ever have an acoustic bass, but I still think that's the answer for that situation.

The one advantage the upright has is that it's more firewood. But I'm assuming tropical conditions, so I'm discounting that for now.

 

[Hot Rats]

Real desert Isle means at some point, you're gonna have to eat the other inhabitants to survive. After that, you have noone to help you carry your upright around, and no competition volume wise, so I'm sticking to acoustic. It's the only place I'd probably ever have an acoustic bass, but I still think that's the answer for that situation.

The one advantage the upright has is that it's more firewood. But I'm assuming tropical conditions, so I'm discounting that for now.

I'm picturing the Twighlight Zone guy in the library breaking his glasses, only this time it's a string.

 

[Confunk]

On a true desert Isle, as there's no electricity, I'd go acoustic.

And yet you’d still not be loud enough!

I would want an upright, and some tools to turn it into a boat myself.

Real desert Isle means at some point, you're gonna have to eat the other inhabitants to survive. After that, you have noone to help you carry your upright around, and no competition volume wise, so I'm sticking to acoustic. It's the only place I'd probably ever have an acoustic bass, but I still think that's the answer for that situation.

The one advantage the upright has is that it's more firewood. But I'm assuming tropical conditions, so I'm discounting that for now.

Sorry, my OP was a typo. I MEANT to post that a P-Bass would be my DESSERT ISLAND bass, as in I could enjoy a nice piece of apple pie or a hot-fudge sundae etc. out here in the Mojave Desert where we live.

Thank you all for the survival tips in case I get shipwrecked though.

 

[petrus61]

I have the unique ability of making $10k basses sound like dollar store guitars. Do I get a prize?

 

[Pops OB]

I disagree. IF, and that’s a huge IF… If, with ALL the things an engineer does, he is so lazy when it comes to a bass, then, I don’t want him as an engineer at all. If he is lazy in one area, he’s probably lazy in several areas. Lazy with the bass and a real pro with the other instruments, perhaps?

Sorry, but knowing what engineers do, I can’t buy the “lazy” argument at all.

That said, are there poor engineers out there? You bet there are. As in any industry you will find a wide range of talent and conscientiousness.

 

[Confunk]

Oh, and btw...It's Dukes of HAZZARD if we're keeping score.

 

[Gizmot]

Last night, my old (literally and figuratively) band played and we had four different bass players with four different basses (I’m the keyboard player). Two guys playing Fenders and two guys playing other basses. The consensus was that the guys not playing Fenders sounded much better. Number one was playing a MusicMan Stingray HH and number 2 was a Yamaha TRBX.

 

[Texican]

Imagine a thread where people are calling engineers lazy, all while being too lazy to research their “facts”, or willfully choose to butcher their language.

Go to the studio and get paid do what you’re told, build your own studio and play what you want, or write your own music and hire session musicians that you can boss around. Those are your options.
/thread

 

[Texican]

Last night, my old (literally and figuratively) band played and we had four different bass players with four different basses (I’m the keyboard player). Two guys playing Fenders and two guys playing other basses. The consensus was that the guys not playing Fenders sounded much better. Number one was playing a MusicMan Stingray HH and number 2 was a Yamaha TRBX.

Live or session? There’s a big difference for what works best in those applications. Stingrays shine live! I’d rather play a stingray at a live funk gig, than a p bass. But I’d rather record the P.

 

[TBird1958]

We're done here.