Every true bassist needs a P-bass

[Deleted member 271037]

I came to the exact same conclusion over time.
I own 3 p basses, one with flats and a sound of the 60's, one with flat with a modern sound, one with rounds with a 70's sound.
I also own 2 jazz basses, one with flats and one with rounds.
This way, I can adapt to almost any type of music and bands.

My thinking exactly. You can definitely cover a lot of ground with that collection!

I should probably also have added soloist/virtuoso bass players to my list. Most of those players will probably want a kind of tone that a P-bass (or a Fender-style bass in general) just can't deliver. But I'm willing to bet that most of these players still own a P-bass, or at least have owned one at some point in their career.

 

[bobyoung53]

My bass teacher told me that "Every true bassist needs a P Bass."
Agree or disagree?

Agree 100%, they're the foundation of electric bass. I'm glad I started out on one, taught me me how to get different sounds by varying my technique using different strings, amps etc.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

The problem is "which form of p bass?".

I voted for a PJ is fine, since you can solo the p. I went nearly 15 years of playing before I owned a "true" p bass. I currently have 3 basses that say "precision bass" on the headstock, but all 3 are different.
View attachment 5351177 Truth be told, if push came to shove, the split p might be the one I'd let go of first. It sounds, feels, plays great, but it's also the easiest to replace.

Nice collection and variety !!! I really like the concept of finding what works for you and sticking within that bass design for variety .

 

[Stranger Danger]

Nonsense

 

[Hundred proof]

Yes I have a P-bass … it's my backup

 

[GIBrat51]

My bass teacher told me that "Every true bassist needs a P Bass."
Agree or disagree?

I'll have to disagree. While I do have a P-Bass - a lefty '78 with an "A-spec" neck - that I've had since 1988, I played a lot of other, non-Fender, non P-Bass basses before I bought it. I learned to play bass in 1968, on a lefty friend's '68 Rick 4001. I somehow managed to get by just fine without a P-Bass for 20 years. Bought the one I have, mainly because the friend that owned it, needed the money to buy a much older one (a '58, IIRC) that he'd found in a London pawn shop (we were stationed in the UK at the time). Plus, I liked the Jazz Bass-sized neck...
But, I currently have 27 basses - including 2 Ricks - and the '78 is still my only P-Bass. Unless you count the 30" scale Warmoth Mini-Precision that I had built in 2015. I suppose you could also count the '24 G&L Kiloton bass I got a month or so ago... I don't, mainly because it's a Custom shop lined fretless. But, I suppose you could think of it that way - it although certainly doesn't sound much like my P-Bass...

 

[Deleted member 394181]

I want one, to sort of go with my Jazz.

 

[factory presets]

How real am I?

 

[maturanesa]

Not only bassists. P basses are for real superheroes.

 

[2thAche]

Not only bassists. P basses are for real superheroes.

That's a cool bass. What's the story of the other neck?

 

[BaldyLee]

My bass teacher told me that "Every true bassist needs a P Bass."
Agree or disagree?

Disagree. Find a new teacher.

 

[chris_b]

As a Precision bass owner since 1969 I know I'm biased. . . . but I'm comfortable with that.

 

[Phe]

That is a "no true Scotsman" -fallacy and you're better off with a different teacher.

An instrument is a tool of self-expression and you choose your own tool. Some day it might be a P-bass, but nobody can take away your bassism (yes, that is a word) if you don't have a P-bass.

 

[factory presets]

Some day it might be a P-bass, but nobody can take away your bassism (yes, that is a word) if you don't have a P-bass.

No they can't. But they can take away your job if they have one.

The teacher is wrong. There are plenty of opportunities for non-P bassists. But there are gigs where a P is a natural fit. Examples abound in the wrong brand thread. And even some of those gigs will be available to a player who can get the right sound in the wrong bass.

 

[Phe]

That is true. You can get a P for super cheap that gets the job done when (but of course only a true bassist gets a '62 sunburst with tort and flats).

Here in Finland most of us budding bass players are not aiming to be session players, so losing "jobs" isn't that big of a deal.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Poppycock.
Doesn't hurt, though.
My "P"

 

[Hot Rats]

Didn't read the whole thread.
Also... This crap has 15 pages?

 

[buldog5151bass]

And you just added to it...

 

[shoot-r]

My bass teacher told me that "Every true bassist needs a P Bass."
Agree or disagree?

(FYI: my main gigging bass has been a J since forever.)
But when I get the chance to go into a Brick & Mortar store "that actually has" a selection of basses in stock, I usually leave my finger prints on all of the Fender P's and J's they have.

When I stumble upon a Fender P with a neck that fits my hands (and I honestly haven't yet) as well as my old J bass, that P will come home with me.

 

[ics1974]

I have bought and sold many P basses both MIM and MIA. The problem is me. I love the sound in other's hands but not my own, so I end up selling them. I took a chance recently and bought a Duff signature Jazz bass Special and to my Suprise for some reason I absolutely love the P bass neck pickup soloed "in my hands". I guess it just took the right one for me. This one is definitely a keeper.