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Finally got the P bass tone ive been chasing

mastodon88

mastodon88

May 28, 2012
59
93
Sacramento CA
#1
75th commemorative P.

I've played many P basses, this isn't my first... Yet it's the first time I've gotten "that sound".

Does fender really gatekeep their tone behind these 1962 custom shop pickups?

Or do I just like this bass because it's made from my favorite wood (ash) and it's strung thru the body?

Either way I'm stoked.

Fellow P players....educate me
 

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#6
mastodon88 said:
75th commemorative P.

I've played many P basses, this isn't my first... Yet it's the first time I've gotten "that sound".

Does fender really gatekeep their tone behind these 1962 custom shop pickups?

Or do I just like this bass because it's made from my favorite wood (ash) and it's strung thru the body?

Either way I'm stoked.

Fellow P players....educate me
Click to expand...
Congrats! I have the same bass, and it's J bass cousin. They are fabulous instruments!

...just remember to wipe down the gold hardware after each use. :)
 
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#8
I had one and it sounded great, I didn't jive with the gold hardware but all in all a great looking and sounding P-bass. The heavier maple of the body definitely contributed, to me. Strong fundamental and punch in the tone, evenly across all 4 strings, and absolutely different from the various alder P-basses. Spectacular with flats. Now it did weigh 10lbs, and it required me to be in a bit better physical shape than i could manage at the time.

For me, while not Fender's most comfortable P-bass, tonewise head-and-shoulders above any other off-the-rack Fender P-bass I've owned or played (with the possible exception of the spectacular sounding Mocha 76'er I sold 20 years ago)

Enjoy!!
 
#12
What you're describing, I believe I have had a similar experience.

Went through many a Pbass and it's brothers from other mothers. Let go of them all because I was chasing an unrealistic expectation (or needed dough for other things). A big turn around for me was flatwounds. As soon as I played a pbass w/ flats, I knew I had been a fool for not doing it sooner. It was the closest tone I had heard out loud that matched what was in my head. However, after going nuts with flats, I realized it was not everything and slowly got into using rounds on stuff again, including on Pbasses. The process gave me a much better idea of what pbasses were capable of doing.

A few years ago I had it in my head that I needed a pbass. Went to a local music store, pulled down a Fender player (first series w/ pau ferro fingerboard) pbass, plugged it in and it was nothing but love. Even w/ the stock strings, that was it. It has been my go to ever since. Flats, rounds, doesn't matter. It's got what I would call "that" pbass sound, probably very similar to yours. I also had only one other bass at the time and it was having issues. So the simplicity/reliability was appreciated. I also did not have time to mess around.

I think it's a combo of the bass, your expectations and where you're at on your journey.
 
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