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I GET IT. P BASSES ARE AWESOME.

#221
petrus61 said:
Ironically, many a music student starts their first semester with a 6 string active and winds up graduating with a Fender in the stable.
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6 String headless fretless active/passive P bass with flats.
 
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#222
petrus61 said:
I think there is a little bit lost in translation between those experiencing the epiphany of a Precision for the first time, and the folks that have been around long enough to find them "old hat" and redundant. One thing I have always noticed is that older gigging bassists in my area tend to have this chip on their shoulder about Fender in general for some reason...maybe dating back to the 70's (?)...and you'll often see them rocking more extended range, contemporary type pieces with active electronics and very modern amps to go with them. That is certainly not the rule, but something I've definitely noticed.

One thing many overlook is the advent of hip-hop and the effect that has had on what younger generations choose as their gear. Many players under 45 today grew up on it and started playing at a time when it was coming into its own, often sampling classic records from the golden age of funk, jazz and rock. As these younger players progressed and found a love for their instrument, they wanted to find out where those sounds came from. Most of the time, it came from a Fender (or Gibson, Ric, Ray, etc...) and they want to emulate those sounds captured way back when. Sure, some of the more contemporary basses might capture part of that sound (they are basses, after all) but really nobody wants a facsimile. I credit that to at least part of the huge resurgence of the tried and true basses of yesteryear and that just happens to include in no small way the Precision. Ironically, many a music student starts their first semester with a 6 string active and winds up graduating with a Fender in the stable.

Some of you might think that sounds crazy and that's ok.
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Ok, I'll play ( actually, I like your theory - it has merit! Do you mind if I borrow it in other conversations?)

issues: James Brown was one of the most widely sampled in hip-hop (still is): Bootsy-era was a Jazz bass. Tim Drummond was a P. So it depends on the track

Sly and the Family Stone was also sampled a great deal. Larry Graham was mostly Jazz bass

Michael Jackson was sampled a bit. Louis Johnson did a lot of that basswork - Stingray and Alembic mostly

70s/80s Dayton Ohio sound was also mostly Jazz Basses or similar. ( Ray Ransom from Brick, Nathan Philips of Pleasure, Aaron Mills of Cameo -- Michael Burnett, who replaced Mills, used some weird Kramer, Lakeside, etc). There were a few Ps

NY Sound was a mix (like Fatback, who was often sampled - Fatback was a P-bass)

Bernard Edwards was mostly Stingray and BC Rich (!!!-- i know, right?)

There was a bunch of early 70s underground funk (not to mention porno music from that era) that was most certainly a P more often than not, although engineering and recordings were so bad that it can be hard to distinguish

Anyway, the point is: a lot of that sampled music is a giant mix of basses. i wouldnt say the P dominates that library
 
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#223
Rib 13 said:
Ok, I'll play ( actually, I like your theory - it has merit! Do you mind if I borrow it in other conversations?)

issues: James Brown was one of the most widely sampled in hip-hop (still is): Bootsy-era was a Jazz bass. Tim Drummond was a P. So it depends on the track

Sly and the Family Stone was also sampled a great deal. Larry Graham was mostly Jazz bass

Michael Jackson was sampled a bit. Louis Johnson did a lot of that basswork - Stingray and Alembic mostly

70s/80s Dayton Ohio sound was also mostly Jazz Basses or similar. ( Ray Ransom from Brick, Nathan Philips of Pleasure, Aaron Mills of Cameo ( Michael Burnett used some weird Kramer), Lakeside, etc). There were a few Ps

NY Sound was a mix (like Fatback, who was often sampled - Fatback was a P-bass)

There was a bunch of early 70s underground funk (not to mention porno music from that era) that was most certainly a P more often than not, although engineering and recordings were so bad that it can be hard to distinguish

Anyway, the point is: a lot of that sampled music is giant mix of basses. i wouldnt say the P dominates that library
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I was hoping my post would have illustrated that I wasn't speaking specifically about the P bass...I actually went out of my way to do so!
 
#229
Rib 13 said:
this is one of the Precision's virtues for sure

also, i dont hate P-basses either. As ive said countless times, its a great sound when utilized in the right places. Theres even some genres, like (typical) modern punk, that I personally like hearing its tone the best.....
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I do admit I like the tone that Mike Dirnt of Green Day has. Say what you want about him; he's my first early bass influence and when I got into bas a bit more in 2013, I really dug his tone, especially on American Idiot and their recent live albums. While I'm not a huge fan of his Gibson EBO bass tone, his Precisions are amazing. Absolutely spot-on.
 
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#230
MovingPitchers said:
I do admit I like the tone that Mike Dirnt of Green Day has. Say what you want about him; he's my first early bass influence and when I got into bas a bit more in 2013, I really dug his tone, especially on American Idiot and their recent live albums. While I'm not a huge fan of his Gibson EBO bass tone, his Precisions are amazing. Absolutely spot-on.
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I really dont understand what people have against Dirnt....I always thought many of his basslines were melodically good and well thought out. Maybe its just his association with "Green Day" that people dont like ( As a band they're OK, its the fact that they shamelessly plagiarize songs is what gets me :D)

.......and i could almost swear that he used a Gibson G.3 the most
 
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