Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Never had an issue getting clank and grind out of a P. I have a 2014 American Standard P that honestly sounds like a chainsaw. All three of my P Basses can get aggressive with fresh strings and a pick.
IMO I would go with some nickel rounds over stainless. Nickel inherently has more mids and that contributes to grind. I get more midrange aggressiveness out of a fresh set of D’Addario NPS than I do out of Rotos.
I have only been playing bass for 31 years so what the hell do I know.
IMO I would go with some nickel rounds over stainless. Nickel inherently has more mids and that contributes to grind. I get more midrange aggressiveness out of a fresh set of D’Addario NPS than I do out of Rotos.
I have only been playing bass for 31 years so what the hell do I know.
I've never had a problem getting grind on a P with steel strings through a cranked tube amp. (Of course, using a pick is crucial to the sound, too.) SVTs and Marshalls are known for their glorious grinding sound, but I can also get it at less thunderous volumes with a cranked 50 watt '68 Bassman head.
Sounds like you are looking for more of the '70s Jazz sound. Both the MIM 70's Jazz, and the new '70s Classic Vibe jazz have the 70's pickup spacing that puts the rear pickup closer to the bridge and accentuates the high mids.
Congratulations, you have read through 7 pages of repetitive opinions. This is TalkBass.
I have two PBasses:
1959 with slab Brazilian board and flats - warm, fat, round and smooth
1958 with maple board and rounds - good balance of warmth and brightness with a bit of grit and grind. Not as fat, but man does that throaty growl sound amazing.
I have an amazing 67 Jazz Bass, but the 58 is like taking the best of what the 59 P and the Jazz basses provide.
1959 with slab Brazilian board and flats - warm, fat, round and smooth
1958 with maple board and rounds - good balance of warmth and brightness with a bit of grit and grind. Not as fat, but man does that throaty growl sound amazing.
I have an amazing 67 Jazz Bass, but the 58 is like taking the best of what the 59 P and the Jazz basses provide.
Yes, when you have to work sales in a music store.
There has to be some frame of reference from a start point.
You take initial customer input and start them somewhere so the customer can provide input that might direct you to change something after spinning knobs.
Which demo? There are several. It actually does. I played both together and I could get the Embassy to sound nearly identical to the modern (knob pushed in) Rickenbacker tone.
Um, LOL, what yourself. SVT Classic w 8 x 10 and a Stingray, Jazz, Rick = clank? Naah. Must be in the fingers, eh?
The one with the guy mugging at the camera at every possible opportunity. That bass had the unmistakable deep farty growl of a Thunderbird. I'll have to A/B one next time I'm at L&M with my 4003SW.
I know I'm playing it with my eyes rather than ears here, but I'm extremely skeptical: the pickups are in the wrong place and the instrument is made the wrong way and out of the wrong woods for it to sound like a Ric. Still, I will give it a fair shake and if I'm wrong, I'll eat crow.
Its all about how you EQ the amp. Took me about 10 minutes to dial in a sound really close to the Ric, and like I said, the modern sounding version, not the thin vintage tone. The Ric was still brighter though even with the 2 year old strings on it. Id imagine a fresh set of rounds would be too bright to pull off the same tones on the Embassy.
D
I wouldn't get one of these at the moment. The last production run has the bridge mounted slightly too close to the neck. They ship with the bridge saddles adjusted all the way back to compensate. So no room for further intonation adjustments. Pictures of older production runs show the correct bridge position.
Epiphone are aware of this issue but will not recall the faulty instruments so they're basically not delivering new ones until the faulty ones are sold. And yes, I got this info directly from Gibson/Epiphone when contacting them about it.
