My bass teacher told me that "Every true bassist needs a P Bass."
Agree or disagree?
Agree or disagree?
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Every true bassist needs a P-bass
- Thread starter Greenman72
- Start date
gatekeeping bass is lame
play whatever you want
play whatever you want
He only teaches bass for a few extra dollars, right?
Damn, Social Security simply isn't helping so many people!
Other than that, what do you think?
Damn, Social Security simply isn't helping so many people!
Other than that, what do you think?
'True Bassist' is ambiguous at best
'needs' is highly debatable
Yes a good majority of Bassist have had or used a P Bass at one time or another
and for decades they were standard for Studio Engineers preference
My first Bass was a Fender Precision [way back] and used it for 25 years
At the time it fit Sound for what I wanted with Band I was in
Tried a few others [just to be different most local LI,NY players used Precisions
]
Rickenbacker, Gibson, and Fender Telecaster but in the end realized why they were using Precision
'needs' is highly debatable
Yes a good majority of Bassist have had or used a P Bass at one time or another
and for decades they were standard for Studio Engineers preference
My first Bass was a Fender Precision [way back] and used it for 25 years
At the time it fit Sound for what I wanted with Band I was in
Tried a few others [just to be different most local LI,NY players used Precisions
]Rickenbacker, Gibson, and Fender Telecaster but in the end realized why they were using Precision
I didn't play one on purpose for a LONG time. I didn't want to be like everyone else. I have one now after decades of playing. I have learned to appreciate it's place along with my "modern" soapbar 5. Sometimes you need to learn and grow to appreciate things. Or, you just don't like/want/need a P bass. That's OK, too.
Every true bassist needs to be able to get in the ballpark of a P bass tone, yes.
It sits perfectly in most mixes.
Plenty of ways to do so, starting with a J bass, technique, strings, EQ, etc.
Well, maybe starting with a P bass is easiest.
It sits perfectly in most mixes.
Plenty of ways to do so, starting with a J bass, technique, strings, EQ, etc.
Well, maybe starting with a P bass is easiest.
Had one. Didn't really connect with it.
You know, Jaco didn't nee... never mind...
You know, Jaco didn't nee... never mind...
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
I have grown weary of these kinds of threads...
It’s good to have one, but with my 131 basses I wouldn’t miss either my MIA Sandblasted P or my MIA Deluxe P.
Just another tool with a different name on it. Mac, Snap-On, Husky, Craftsman, etc.
I also truly enjoy the different sound and feel of each bass. The idea of making every bass sound like a P to me is an adjective I can’t use here without getting myself in trouble.
YMMV
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Ask them if keeping a P bass in its case in a closet counts.
You can be a fantastic player without ever owning one, but I will admit, it is one of the best, if not the best bass designs in a lot of ways. Especially sonically. I dig it. I started on one.
however, you could easily be
A short scale only player
an owner of a J, MM, and piezo fretlesses.
A doubler who only plays 6’s and upright.
Any variation of what is “you” without ever owning a Pbass. You do you!
however, you could easily be
A short scale only player
an owner of a J, MM, and piezo fretlesses.
A doubler who only plays 6’s and upright.
Any variation of what is “you” without ever owning a Pbass. You do you!
Heck no.
You may see and hear a lot of bassist preach that but it is such a case by case thing.
Me in a original shoegaze band - yeah it works but I don't want to use a p-bass, I want to use a Mustang or Jaguar because I love them
Me in my blues band - I want to use my active Ibanez or Yamaha and it sounds super damn good!
It what works for you! Maybe a session player should have one in the rack but at the same time every bassist gonna say something different, Marcus Miller uses a Jazz bass and probably would tell you that the jazz was the studio tool. Some would argue Stingrays were the bass and replace p-bass in the studio! (I don't agree with that but it is an interesting point!)
It depends and even at the end of the day you use what you want, you don't need a p-bass, you need what you want! As I always say, I rather more knobs than more basses! Have a good one.
You may see and hear a lot of bassist preach that but it is such a case by case thing.
Me in a original shoegaze band - yeah it works but I don't want to use a p-bass, I want to use a Mustang or Jaguar because I love them
Me in my blues band - I want to use my active Ibanez or Yamaha and it sounds super damn good!
It what works for you! Maybe a session player should have one in the rack but at the same time every bassist gonna say something different, Marcus Miller uses a Jazz bass and probably would tell you that the jazz was the studio tool. Some would argue Stingrays were the bass and replace p-bass in the studio! (I don't agree with that but it is an interesting point!)
It depends and even at the end of the day you use what you want, you don't need a p-bass, you need what you want! As I always say, I rather more knobs than more basses
! Have a good one.
I have owned 4 jazz, two jaguars and one mustang, never a p!
This is edging to "no true Scotsman" territory, where your teacher is attempting to define "bassist" in part as "owning a P-bass". If that's your teacher's intended implication here, I disagree.
P-basses are indeed very common and very well-liked instruments; they are a "one-trick pony", one of the simplest electric instruments you're likely to encounter, but that trick and that simplicity are the true power of the design. The bass just works, across practically any genre that uses electric bass guitar, and it's so common in the music industry that it really has become a definition of "recording engineer" to know how to get what you want for the track out of a P-bass.
All that being said, it's not essential to have a Fender Precision Bass in your collection/stable/harem. I answered "Yes, but you can get a P/J", because that's been my experience. My first bass was a Yamaha RBX-260, which happened to have a single P pickup, but you wouldn't actually call it a Precision bass, and I haven't owned a one-pickup, two-knob P configuration since I started playing in front of other people. I made a sideways-ish move when I started gigging in the bar circuit, from my Yamaha TRB toaster-top that had been my primary bass for a decade in church (and still has a prominent place in the harem) over to a Sire P7. I did so specifically to have access to a straight-up passive P-bass tone, and a more conventional Fender look, while not losing bridge pickup bite and the flexibility of active electronics (not to mention that B-string, which has become integral to my playing). That bass has been my primary gig weapon ever since, and my newest bass (Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas PJV) is also a P/J, bought to look a bit more rock/metal than the Sire's very traditional lines while again not being so far removed from the basic Fender P recipe that sound guys don't know what to do with it.
In short, it's less of an "every true bassist has one", and more a "you don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps" mentality. Having access to that sound is always a plus especially if you plan on laying down studio tracks, but it's not a hard and fast requirement of getting/keeping your Bassist Card to have a Fender Precision to hand.
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