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Everyone wants a P Bass!

#61
My first "real" bass was a 78 Precision bought new. At the time, I saw all the pros that I tried to copy playing Jazz basses, so I just had to have one. I found a very nice used 82 Jazz at a very affordable price, bought it, and within 3 or 4 weeks, my P-bass got stolen from my vehicle. I like my Jazz basses, have two of them, one a 5 string and I still play the 82, but I miss my Precision. I'm afraid to buy another P, scared that some lowlife will still one of my J basses.
 
#63
pmaraziti said:
I started on Jazz and still owe one, but the way my P (AV RI 62) with flats sits in the mix is just right. I like it for everything except slapping, which I do none in my current bands... I'm daydreaming of building a super P with graphite neck and Nordstrand electronics... it will be different, but likely a nice bass....
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aww man, you stole my plan, right down to the nordstrands...

mosesgraphite neck yeah?
http://www.mosesgraphite.com/cgi-bin/moses/MP-144.html

if i buy the parts from america i can build mine for the price of a MIM here ;(
 
#64
king_biscuit said:
I can't be in the minority here. The best feeling neck I have ever felt is the Fender P bass reissue necks Although I could get used to any neck in a few days, as I suspect all but the young children and the old women here on TB could, I would never buy a P bass with a Jazz neck. I just think the beefier P neck adds to the P tone.
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this is a bit offtopic. but i swear to god, the best neck i have ever played was on a cort GB74.
 
#65
i'm `monkeying' around with a couple old copies i bought off eBay basically for the necks,well gee wiz!,the first one in had just nearly a J neck(i truly wanted an old school`boatneck' style neck since i missed buying one i hedged on buying at a hock shop for months by a day,yeah,one day would have had me months ahead of this week:bawl:),,anyhoo,,NOW i love the J neck on the P,hate to part out the first one(bought her for the neck for my J figuring i'd hang the second P's neck on her and,,now i donwanna),,,(can i add another one of these>:bawl:,ok good,,,,)

i have a LOT of questions about the`P's since i started with a J,guess i can search,like hottest pickups,,different year`classes' for the necks(my`second one in' has the truss rod adjuster in the heel)

heel widths,fret sizes thru the years,,yeah babe!,,,P on me!:eek:

hey! when all 4 strings go thud that's important!,my J only half thuds(even tho' i love the girl)old J isn't going anywhere but my P is my FLAME(sounds right painful but actually i enjoy it:hiding::D

P on!
 
#66
I gas for a 1963 precision bass, and I will get it.
it's not about the neck , even though the neck of the 63 p is wonderful...
but I got a 77 jazz bass, and the neck is not skinny at all, compared to my marcus miller jazz bass.

what I like and I discovered about the pbass since I own a classic 50 pbass, is the tone, that can fit almost any style of music, and the fact that when I play a pbass, I only play groove, with some tasteful fills.

no soloing, nothing, only groove.
so really I can't wait to get my 63 pbass
 
#68
I like em both... and works in different situations... P works well with rock and competing against distorted guitars set up... and great for old school blues rock... and Jazz works with, slapping funk and groovy solos...
besides their neck differences..
P bass sits in the mix better for me (supportive)
and a J is more upfront..
 
#73
Lady Kayri said:
I think that everyone who has more than one bass needs at least one P Bass in their stable... there are just some songs, some genres, that need that 'P' sound...
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That' what I thought. And promptly sold my P bass after I realized it was like mud in the mix. Each his/her own.

I am toying with a P pup in my Valenti, which is already routed for it. But oddly, the bridge pup voice is the one I dont much care for. It stays raw jazz.
 
#74
king_biscuit said:
I can't be in the minority here. The best feeling neck I have ever felt is the Fender P bass reissue necks Although I could get used to any neck in a few days, as I suspect all but the young children and the old women here on TB could, I would never buy a P bass with a Jazz neck. I just think the beefier P neck adds to the P tone.
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I don't know about the neck size changing the tone, but I find I play a P bass way differently than I play a Jazz. The Jazz is a faster neck, almost encouraging you to play all over it, whereas the P neck is just a big hunk of BEEF. Kind of like the difference between JPJ on "Lemon Song" and pretty much anything by Andy Hess. Totally different attitudes come out of me with either, but I prefer the P bass.
 
#75
Kwesi said:
Not to knock you guys that dig P basses because I know everyone taste in basses is different but I never have and probably never will understand the appeal of a P bass.

I'd take a J simply because of it's clarity, definition and tonal options. In addition to those points, they sound absolutely amazing in the mix in almost any context. I did own a Spector Euro 4LX with EMG PJ pickups and loved it to pieces but as I heard, the EMG P pups are as far away from vintage P as you can get inside a P shape, lol.

What is the appeal of the P bass? What does it have that a J doesn't?
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Balls... :-) Just kidding!

Try a P bass, with your band, and you will get it. So will they.
 
#76
its just a great instrument all around, i never was a p bass player, but at one point when i didn't have a bass due to financial issues the first thing that turned up that i could afford that was still a decent instrument was a used American P bass, and since then its been p basses all the way...they mix in a band context amazingly, i am Gassing for a p/j five string right now real bad...i still love that growly bridge tone, but can't get over how fat and round the p pickup is.
 
#77
Aside from the thicker neck or the beautiful simplicity of a P bass, both of which are positives in my book, the tone of a split-coil P is what gets me. I can appreciate all kinds of basses and their individual tones which is why I own a fair variety, but the tone of a P just sounds right to me. It's so satisfying, motivational and inspiring that I've become a better bassist. To me, a P is what bass playing is all about.
 

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