How many P Basses do you need?

[jdjk7]

I saw a SDOD for a classic vibe 60s P Bass that looks great. The problem is I already have a P bass that I really like. It’s a sonic series so it’s got the jazz nut width. I am wondering if a traditional width nut is worth adding to the stable. My instinct tells me the thinner nut is more playable, but maybe that’s not the case? Anyway, any opinions are welcome and considered.

What do you mean by a "P"? As in, a bass with one single coil/split coil pickup as Leo Fender designed it? Or something that just has one or more characteristics of a P?

I have a Fender and I don't really feel a need for another thing that is just like that, but my heart is definitely open to reverse P, reverse P+J like a Yamaha Broad Bass, or a double P arrangement.

 

[prndltech]

Just one more

 

[Thunderthumbs73]

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.

I checked those out. It looks like it has everything I might like, although I'm not a fan of Red satin (or any satin finishes), I think I could make it work. I've always liked ESPs when they've done the high-quality F-inspired thing. Nice instruments! Looks awesome. Thanks. Worth some serious consideration.

 

[DWA2469]

You need at least two, but you can't have two unless you have at least three.

First shalt thou go to the music store. Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once at the number three, being the third number be reached, then thou hast the proper number of P Basses!!!

 

[MCS4]

I don't need any. I enjoy having one as a change of pace from my main instruments. If I had unlimited space and money I might have two so I could have one with flats and one with rounds.

 

[cdef]

Guess I could get by with two (flats/rounds), but a third is desirable for whatever experimental projects may arise.

 

[crucislancer]

I saw a SDOD for a classic vibe 60s P Bass that looks great. The problem is I already have a P bass that I really like. It’s a sonic series so it’s got the jazz nut width. I am wondering if a traditional width nut is worth adding to the stable. My instinct tells me the thinner nut is more playable, but maybe that’s not the case? Anyway, any opinions are welcome and considered.

I have three Precisions - A Deluxe Special Edition (38mm nut width), 1972 Precision (43mm), and a Vintera 50's (44mm).

I also have 3 Jazz basses, and personally speaking I don't have any issues with playability when using a bass with a wider nut width. Anything I can play on a Jazz, I can play on a Precision. That may or may not be the case for you, the only way to find out is to try one.

 

[CaptainLeisure]

At one point I had three -- a '79, a Tony Franklin, and a mid-nineties Precision A/E. Now I have none. So the answer is somewhere between those two extremes.

 

[PBassLover]

As my username suggests, I’m on team Never Enough P Basses. I started to type captions for the pics and realized I sound like the Bubba Gump P Bass Co. for those old enough to get the reference. Here are a few of mine. There are more…

 

[elgranluis]

Strictly speaking about need , only one.

If you ask me how many I own , around 20

 

[MechaSparky]

Strictly speaking about need , only one.

If you ask me how many I own , around 20

Yeah, but if that one breaks, you need a backup. And if your backup breaks, you need a backup for that.

 

[elgranluis]

Yeah, but if that one breaks, you need a backup. And if your backup breaks, you need a backup for that.

You are absolutely right lol

 

[SteveC]

I said you “need” one. Either flats or rounds will do.
I have 2 so I can have one with flats and one with rounds.

 

[LowEndOperative]

I discovered I “need” a P bass (black/maple) for the blues outfit I’m in, so I’m looking.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Nice Meow P !!!

I'm doing my posting on my phone.
I fired up a laptop and came on here. I didn't realize how big my pictures are.

 

[JIO]

I discovered I “need” a P bass (black/maple) for the blues outfit I’m in, so I’m looking.

When I played with a Mississippi Delta born bluesman in a Chicago blues band in the late '70s-early '80s I played a Thunderbird. Decades later when I visited the same bar we always played, the bass player was playing a 5-string active bass that looked nothing like a Fender P.
Blues, like every other kind of music doesn't "need" to be played on a P-bass. Just sayin' ...

 

[kodiakblair]

Simple. The answer is 2. One with rounds, one with flats.

Only play the single coil models so its one with flats and one with tapes for me

 

[metron]

One. And take any packs of flats and whip them into the circular like a frisbee. Done.

 

[M-Mittlesteadt]

At least one...at a time anyway. I've always had a Precision even when owning other basses. I currently own a nice 6 string bass, but still wanted a Precision. To me, just throwing P-Bass pickups on any bass doesn't make it a Precision. I love the P-Bass body shape as well as the pickups. IMO, to qualify as a Precision it needs to have both the body and pickups of a Precision.

Currently this is the only P-Bass I need...

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[dbsfgyd1]

+4 more than the number of threads asking this frequently

A 4 & a 5 string.