Yup, and also never hurts to use something else.
Use whatever the mix/production needs.
But saying that the only thing an engineer will work on is a P, is a huge overstatement and hearsay.
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Every true bassist needs a P-bass
- Thread starter Greenman72
- Start date
Use whatever the mix/production needs.
But saying that the only thing an engineer will work on is a P, is a huge overstatement and hearsay.
Edit: wait… so Paul McCartney and Jack Bruce haven't been real bass players?[/QUOTE]
Paul McCartney played/recorded with a reverse P Yamaha during several Wings albums. I guess he ignored the "obligation" to be a "real" bass player.
Thank you Paul
Paul McCartney played/recorded with a reverse P Yamaha during several Wings albums. I guess he ignored the "obligation" to be a "real" bass player.
Thank you Paul
IMHO a good Pbass should be in any working bass players collection, it is the one bass that will almost always work. There are better choices for different styles of music, players and bands. The debate is which 'sound' are you going for should help to decide what your choices will need 2b for setup and strings. I was fortunate to find a special Pbass that was my long time companion until she had to be retired. After that I swore off on Pbasses for a bit too long but once I put together my current bass it is one I reach for quite often.
My preference is the 70's well seasoned round wound sound favored by my favorite players; Willie Weeks, Robert Pops Popwell, Chuck Rainey and Ready Freddie Washington. Forget Me Nots for an example. For the Motown sound I use a cut up pop filter to mute the strings.
My preference is the 70's well seasoned round wound sound favored by my favorite players; Willie Weeks, Robert Pops Popwell, Chuck Rainey and Ready Freddie Washington. Forget Me Nots for an example. For the Motown sound I use a cut up pop filter to mute the strings.
I own a 73 Precision Bass that I have owned since '73. I love it, it's perfect and it never lets me down. I also one 7 other basses. Trust me, you do not need, have to own, or are less of a Bass player if you do not own or have access to a Precision Bass. Play Bass - learn as much as you can, enjoy playing and do not worry about what bass you own or don't own.
In 2004, I produced and played on a 3-song demo by a singer/songwriter. At the studio, they had a Precision Bass leaning up against the wall in a corner (no case), ready to be pressed into action at all times. I used my Jazz Bass, but would have switched to the Precision if the engineer took too much time to get a good sound from the Jazz.
Back in 1988 or so, I recorded with a band and used my '83 Elite II Precision Bass. The engineer rented it from me for the following days' sessions, because they were going to have another, younger band back in, and whatever non-Precision the kid was using just wasn't making it.
Then you had the Pixies' producer (Gil Norton?) basically ordering Kim Deal to run right out and buy a Precision because her Aria sounded terrible. I know this because a friend and bandmate of mine sold her the Precision when he was the guitar department manager at E.U. Wurlitzer in Boston.
So, play whatever you want... but there *is* some truth behind the supposed "fairy tale."
They just *work.*
Having said all that, I do understand one part of the argument that only old timers continue to believe that only Precisions work in the studio... Before everyone could record on a laptop, at their leisure, you were at the mercy of very expensive recording studios where every minute counted. If you were paying for studio time, you scraped together every penny (including change under your sofa cushions and car seats) to afford it. They would take a while getting the drum and guitar sounds, but if you had a Precision, it was quick-- like in a minute. And if you were a journeyman session musician, who wasn't paying for the studio time, you certainly didn't want to risk being "that guy" who wasted someone else's money by using a labor-intensive bass.
These days, with home recording and therefore no studio fees, we all have the luxury of using whatever instrument sounds and plays like "us." It's a good thing.
Back in 1988 or so, I recorded with a band and used my '83 Elite II Precision Bass. The engineer rented it from me for the following days' sessions, because they were going to have another, younger band back in, and whatever non-Precision the kid was using just wasn't making it.
Then you had the Pixies' producer (Gil Norton?) basically ordering Kim Deal to run right out and buy a Precision because her Aria sounded terrible. I know this because a friend and bandmate of mine sold her the Precision when he was the guitar department manager at E.U. Wurlitzer in Boston.
So, play whatever you want... but there *is* some truth behind the supposed "fairy tale."
They just *work.*
Having said all that, I do understand one part of the argument that only old timers continue to believe that only Precisions work in the studio... Before everyone could record on a laptop, at their leisure, you were at the mercy of very expensive recording studios where every minute counted. If you were paying for studio time, you scraped together every penny (including change under your sofa cushions and car seats) to afford it. They would take a while getting the drum and guitar sounds, but if you had a Precision, it was quick-- like in a minute. And if you were a journeyman session musician, who wasn't paying for the studio time, you certainly didn't want to risk being "that guy" who wasted someone else's money by using a labor-intensive bass.
These days, with home recording and therefore no studio fees, we all have the luxury of using whatever instrument sounds and plays like "us." It's a good thing.
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P with flats is the default sound for some styles. It can also help hide some less than stellar technique. Then again there are some very popular sounds it's never going to make. In a studio situation, an engineer giving a struggling bassist a P is probably doing the whole band a favour. That don't mean some time in the woodshed can't make a P bass unnecessary.
Ha ha. Teacher must be torn between his desire to make you practise more and your desire for instant results. (You being students in general. No finger pointing here.)
Ha ha. Teacher must be torn between his desire to make you practise more and your desire for instant results. (You being students in general. No finger pointing here.)
I could not care less his opinion on any subject.
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Absolutely true, but you didn't let him finish his sentence.
He also said "....and a jazz bass, and a PJ bass, oh, and 1 with soap bars, and a 5 string, a 6 string, and a really expensive custom one, and a cheap one to mod, and a...."
That's a closer example of most true bas players haha
Do I make any money playing a multiscale active six-string? No.
Would I make any money if I switched to a P? Also no.
Therefore, I play whatever the heck I want, not what some guy who only plays covers thinks I should play.
Any sound engineer with half a brain can make any bass fit in the mix, there's nothing magical about Precision.
Would I make any money if I switched to a P? Also no.
Therefore, I play whatever the heck I want, not what some guy who only plays covers thinks I should play.
Any sound engineer with half a brain can make any bass fit in the mix, there's nothing magical about Precision.
For decades I did my time with Fender P and J basses. I've always had a shortscale in my stable starting with a '60s Silvertone 1444. In the late '90s I started to shift to using shortscales exclusively and now use only very lightweight hollowbody shortscales. However, I still have a Precision SCPB style and Jazz style bass with aftermarket bodies made of light Paulownia/Empress I fitted with shortscale necks but I rarely use them.
If you're a session player or live sideman who might get called for many genres, you will probably need a P bass in your stable just to have that base (heh) covered.
If you play in a cover band, you will probably need something that will at least get you in the ballpark of that tone. Loads of basses will get you plenty close enough, like a J bass neck pickup.
If you play in an originals band you need a bass that suits your style and the band's sound. That might be a P bass, or it might be something completely different.
If you play in a cover band, you will probably need something that will at least get you in the ballpark of that tone. Loads of basses will get you plenty close enough, like a J bass neck pickup.
If you play in an originals band you need a bass that suits your style and the band's sound. That might be a P bass, or it might be something completely different.
I prefer the Macca approach: Rarely play an open string.More good advice...
Keep your playing to the root, quarter notes, and nothing past the 5th fret...
I consider a P-bass something akin to one of the irons in my golf bag. I have had a Fender P or two but now I sport a FSO P-type. It was the wider neck that drove me there... when Fender started bolting Jazz necks on P bodies I had to find a quality example of the original design. Fender lost me on their hybridized Pbass. But I do like their Jazz Fretless.
I often follow both of those. Like to drop on an open string if it's available, though.
Probably in the 60s or 70s but from the 80s and even before you can see a bunch of studio footage with a lot of different basses other than a P.
That makes me wonder what else they have told you that's not true. There is no "one size fits all."
Eq for AM car radios and portable records in my mind is 50s and early to mid 60s, back when High Fidelity ruled and stereo wasn't quite out there yet. By the mid 60s technology was progressing. My sister had a nice portable record player, tubes of course. I had a transister radio with a crappy speaker and a single ear plug. Sonically, life was dismal.
