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How many P Basses do you need?
- Thread starter NotHereNow
- Start date
I have only the Precision V these days and I regret letting my 2002 Am Standard go during the Country Band days. I have a Mod Shop color & features all figured out. Still, the P-V and the Dimension V do quite well.
More than 2.
2 Fretted P's, one rosewood board, one maple board (functionally, the maple board one is the backup to the rosewood board one), both with rounds.
1 fretless P, maple board, rounds.
Active fretted P/J, rounds, Have this one for the different variations I can get from just one bass on the fly.
The very rare occasions that I want flats, I have a Yamaha BB300 P ish bass with LaBellas.
I never really spent much time playing P's until about 3 years ago, now I play about 90% on a P of some sort.
I prefer the P width necks; in a perfect world, my Jazz bass would get a swapped in P bass neck.
And yes, all of this is excessive. I could be just fine with only the first two basses on the list. But, I like basses, especially P basses.
2 Fretted P's, one rosewood board, one maple board (functionally, the maple board one is the backup to the rosewood board one), both with rounds.
1 fretless P, maple board, rounds.
Active fretted P/J, rounds, Have this one for the different variations I can get from just one bass on the fly.
The very rare occasions that I want flats, I have a Yamaha BB300 P ish bass with LaBellas.
I never really spent much time playing P's until about 3 years ago, now I play about 90% on a P of some sort.
I prefer the P width necks; in a perfect world, my Jazz bass would get a swapped in P bass neck.
And yes, all of this is excessive. I could be just fine with only the first two basses on the list. But, I like basses, especially P basses.
I say two, but I have four.
My Original P Bass of Doom fretless.
A Cort Steinberger headless thing the is a PJ configuration.
And two SX regular P basses.
One rosewood with flats (of course with a tort guard
)
One maple with rounds.
These last two types would be the two
My Original P Bass of Doom fretless.
A Cort Steinberger headless thing the is a PJ configuration.
And two SX regular P basses.
One rosewood with flats (of course with a tort guard
)One maple with rounds.
These last two types would be the two
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Need? ZERO. I have an active PJ and a passive one. One straight up Precision. I occasionally gig with one of them. They're all 4-strings. These closest I can say that I get to "NEEDING" a Precision bass is the 5-string Precision Bass with the PJ format... which I don't have, and which the range of most of my setlists and sets of music require.
- Mar 13, 2008
- 18,894
- 142,206
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist Mike Lull T Bass pickups, The Bass Shop, Seattle WA.
Side note…if you can find one, an ESP-LTD AP-5 is my huckleberry and might scratch your itch. Of all my bass’s (which, the rest are 4-string), it’s is the most ergonomically comfortable and most versatile.
I digress. Carry on.
Looking through the comments, it looks like we're mostly doubling the number to make sure all our bases are covered. Let's see:
1 p bass
2 for rounds and flats
4 so each has fretted and fretless
8 for rosewood and maple
16 for thin and thick necks
32 for modest and exotic finishes
64 for pro use and fiddling/modding/lending
128 for active passive
256 for 4 string and 5 string
512 for standard and alternate tunings
and 513 so you have a backup.
Boom. Science.
1 p bass
2 for rounds and flats
4 so each has fretted and fretless
8 for rosewood and maple
16 for thin and thick necks
32 for modest and exotic finishes
64 for pro use and fiddling/modding/lending
128 for active passive
256 for 4 string and 5 string
512 for standard and alternate tunings
and 513 so you have a backup.
Boom. Science.
I actually have 6 and none of them are Fenders.
1) Vintage V4 ICON in Distressed Sunburst (Split single coil)
2) Custom built 32” scale (Split single coil)
3) Custom built 32” scale Headless (Split single coil)
4) Custom built ‘54 P-Bass (Single coil)
5) Harley Benton PB50 (Single coil)
6) Glarry P-Bass (Split single coil)
Then I have 3 PJs which I prefer most of the time.
I own 6 - But my final answer is 3
Ya gotta have one w flats / one w rounds. I mean come on, have you heard them like that? Yer gonna need both.
I'm getting ready to sell my Vintage II '54 P - I like it a lot, esp the tone, but that neck is just too fat to be practical for me
I also have 2 PJs - 1 w flats / 1 w rounds - some would count those - I've never gotten attached to them. They shoulda been sold, but they're so nice.
Then there's the 32" 1985 Squier P bass (w Lolar pups) - that's the 3rd
Ya gotta have one w flats / one w rounds. I mean come on, have you heard them like that? Yer gonna need both.
I'm getting ready to sell my Vintage II '54 P - I like it a lot, esp the tone, but that neck is just too fat to be practical for me
I also have 2 PJs - 1 w flats / 1 w rounds - some would count those - I've never gotten attached to them. They shoulda been sold, but they're so nice.
Then there's the 32" 1985 Squier P bass (w Lolar pups) - that's the 3rd
Same here! I voted "0" because not everyone NEEDS a P Bass.you don't need any!
it's true: you don't need a P-bass at all!but in the spirit of the 'P-basses rule' meme, i have two, and they rock!* and i also like the 1.5" neck width at the nut, just like the OP --- fun to play! but i voted "0" because it's the truth!
This is spot on! Too many people don't know the difference between WANTS and NEEDS. It's a huge problem in America (and likely other places in the world too)!I don't know if this is an American thing, or Western thing, or "affluent society" thing, but you NEED far less than you WANT.
Plus, the rush of buying things fades pretty quickly. I do think the enjoyment can be longer term if you buy an instrument that genuinely enhances your creativity, but let's get real: Buying a second P bass won't do that for you.
So....
If you're playing Madison Square Bedroom, you only "need" one or two basses.
If you're playing with people, in most cases you "need" 2 instruments, one to play and one as a backup. Rounds on one, flats on the other.
If you are playing in the type of bands where you need to nail a specific sound or a specific look, then you'll likely need several instruments.
If music is your primary source of income, well... best of luck.
There's almost no difference in terms of "playability" based on neck shape. You might prefer one shape over another, but a 2.5mm difference in nut width is not going to make an instrument somehow unplayable. I.e. that is not a need, it's a justification for a desire.
How many P Basses (or basses in general) one may WANT depend on the kind of bassist one is, what kind of music one plays, budget (of course), and enjoyment.
I have one P Bass because I want it, not because I need it. My P Bass serves as a backup for my main Rics, which are on all my recordings.
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Two.
One with rosewood and pressure wounds.
One with maple and flats.
(P.S. flame away, but a p-j is neither a p-bass nor j-bass.)
One with rosewood and pressure wounds.
One with maple and flats.
(P.S. flame away, but a p-j is neither a p-bass nor j-bass.)
I say two, but I have four.
My Original P Bass of Doom fretless.
A Cort Steinberger headless thing the is a PJ configuration.
And two SX regular P basses.
One rosewood with flats (of course with a tort guard
One maple with rounds.
These last two types would be the two
View attachment 7255580
Nice Meow P !!!
Well...
I'm not in the habit of telling people what they should like - or buy, so... only your hands can tell you whether a traditional P-Bass neck, with the wider nut, is worth it - for you... However;
Personally? My lefty '78 Fender P-Bass - with the Jazz Bass width nut on it's optional-at-the-time "A-spec" neck - has been my only P-Bass since I bought it in the summer of 1988. Since then? I've never picked a P-Bass that I've wanted to buy - or felt the need for, TBH. So, my answer to the "how many" question, for the last 37 years, has been... one.
I do have to say, that a person could make the case that I actually have 2 P-Basses. When I needed a "Short scale Bolt-neck Bass" to fill that spot in my herd? My choices at that time, for a left handed bass that qualified, were either 1) buy something really cheap, or 2) buy something really pricey. So, I bought the bits and pieces, and a body/neck from Warmoth - and built my own. The resulting 30" scale Warmoth Mini-Precision Bass is about a 90% "Mini-Me" clone of my Fender. And, with an SD "Vintage" split coil pickup? Yeah, it's pretty much a P-Bass in everything but the scale length. So... Do I have one P-Bass? Or do I have 2? Depends on your point of view, I suppose...
I have one P-bass, a Mild Green Sire P5 4-string strung thru-body with LaBella flats...
There are two other basses I would not mind acquiring in the future; an Ibanez SRH500F (strung up with LaBella black nylon tapewounds) & a Dingwall SP1 (probably strung up with a medium set of Pino Smoothie flats), but neither of those are straight P-basses...
There are two other basses I would not mind acquiring in the future; an Ibanez SRH500F (strung up with LaBella black nylon tapewounds) & a Dingwall SP1 (probably strung up with a medium set of Pino Smoothie flats), but neither of those are straight P-basses...
