Every true bassist needs a P-bass

[Aussie Player]

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

Is he a guitar player teaching bass?
My first teacher was.........

 

[Spectre Gunner]

So fire that teacher and put the money towards a P bass.

 

[Jeremy Crockett]

An opinionated bass teacher is a rare bird. Surely there are not many of those.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

After seeing Skynyrd and the Who play on the same bill in 1973, I knew if I ever switched to bass from guitar, I'd want a Thunderbird. I played a friend's P bass on a couple of songs in our duo. It was OK. When I eventually switched to bass, I bought a Thunderbird and haven't looked back. I now have 5 Thunderbirds. I've played a couple more P basses and a ajazz. I actually had a slight preference for the Jazz, between the Fenders. But I have no need to own one. No one (including P bass players) have had anything negative to say about my basses, and most have had positive comments. A couple of played one of them and enjoyed it.

TL;DR: Nope.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I mean, I have a p bass and I’m still not a true bassist

Methinks you set too high a bar for that phrase.

 

[Jeff Scott]

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

Ugh! Such narrow-mindedness from your teacher. JMHO

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Every true bassist does not play above the 12 fret.

So sad that many of my favorite bassists use the entire neck, and many of them rake in the dough and play to stadiums.

 

[40Hz]

Tell your bass teacher to stop trolling.

 

[Koshchei]

OP: Your bass teacher should be teaching bass, not selling them. The reality is the bass you have and like is all you really need.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Gatekeepers are invariably wrong.

I love P basses, but I was a touring professional before ever owning or even playing one.

Every “true bassist” needs a bass.

The End

^^ THIS

 

[Spidey2112]

I'm partial to having a little Ric, in my life.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

It's one of those things that sounds like boomer nonsense until you discover it for yourself.

Speaking as a boomer, it's nonsense.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Geddy Lee is a true bassist and he got rid of his p bass after his first album.
JPJ and Mark King : no p bass !

Felix Pappalardi.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I started with a P bass and got a few. There’s a few that elude me.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

The OP's story kinda reminds me of when I was an early '90s art student at trade school for cartooning, graphic design and animation. The animation teacher I was stuck with was mister "Disney is all! If you want to get work, do things their style! Everything else is inferior!". (It is no exaggeration to say he would fail people who turned in work in...to use his words..."that 'MIJ Crap' Style".) That would've been fine, if I wanted to be an animator, instead of a cartoonist/illustrator. But, like I said, I was stuck with him. All first-year students had to take animation as a part of the curriculum.

Meanwhile, I was really, REALLY big into the Japanese anime/manga style. I wanted to be on the leading edge of working that style and sensibility into the American zeitgeist, which had yet to take hold in the U.S.

Years later, whenever I see how mainstream that style is, I remember that teacher and think, "Who was ahead of their time by only a few years, jackass?!"

The big takeaway is pretty simple and, unfortunately, terribly universal; just 'cuz someone is "in charge", it doesn't necessarily make them a "leader".

Much less right.

 

[J-Bass RMR]

"Every true bassist needs a P Bass."

"True"?
No.
Just an upright.

and what about Jazz bass players? (Genre, not model - oh, never mind!)

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Maybe not that exact phrasing, but I believe every bassist should have at least one Precision Bass in their arsenal. Because...

*phone rings*

"hey man you available this thursday night for a session? Really good money, dinner included, and you might get some gigs out of it"

me: "yup, totally available. What time?"

"great. be there at 7. Also, make sure you bring a P bass"

me: "well, actually I don't have ..."


Don't let this happen to you!!! Get yerself a darn P bass already!!

I don't think a P bass is worth getting for something that has less than one in a million chances of happening for most of us.

 

[ics1974]

I used to think this for many years. Owned many P Basses because I thought it was the default bass that every bassist should own. Thing is after owning so many I discovered I don’t enjoy the tone in my hands. So my P basses basically just sat there and I would play everything else I had. I just sold my last one a few months back and will probably never buy one again unless I’m in a situation where one is absolutely required.

 

[Pyrrho Epoche]

Every true bassist needs to try a Stingray and see if their P collects dust

 

[ics1974]

Every true bassist needs to try a Stingray and see if their P collects dust

This is exactly my story.