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I'm not converted, but I see the light...

madbassplaya

madbassplaya

Supporting Member
Dec 28, 2007
8,397
142
#1
Well, I guess I'll start out by saying that I was wrong. I do like P basses after all. I've had them before and they didn't work for me in the bands that I was in. I found a J bass to be all I needed and still love a jazz bass! I have always been a church musician and the J just seemed to work better in that mix. Tried P's before, but they just didn't cut it.

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Well, now I'm in a power trio: singer/guitarist, drummer, and bass (me). We're playing covers (secular stuff) and going to write our own music as well. The Jazz bass was doing fine in the mix, but I got to thinking, I really don't wanna mess up my G&L by taking it to bars and such and it is my "church" bass anyway. I started looking for suitable gigging basses that were affordable. I'm a grad student that just quit working full time so spending a ton on basses wasn't an option.

I found a nice P copy in the classifieds, but wasn't sure if I wanted a Precision bass. I thought: I'm a jazz bass guy, I don't like P basses. They aren't versatile. They don't look as cool! Then I borrowed a friends precision and used it and the band leader as well as the drummer flipped out about how great I sounded. The P takes up more space in the mix and being that its just a 3 piece that totally works compared to playing with 8 other instruments on Sunday morning.

Here's the P I ended up with first and got today:
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It's a Fernandes P copy and I think its as good as any US Fender P bass I've owned.

Anyway, just thought I'd share this heart warming story about a man who thought he had it all figured out... ;)
 
#9
#11
Sometimes they just fit. Last night I was at a quick rehearsal with a jazz bass. We were shy one guitarist, so it wound up being a trio. The Jazz bass sounded okay, but I wound up just using the front pickup to get a more chunky tone to help take up more space so the guitarist could just put some icing on top. It sounded great, but a P bass would have taken it up another notch for sure.
 
#12
I wouldn't say a P takes up more space than a J...in fact, I'd say in some ways it takes up less as it's more mid focused.
However, that's what will let them stand out of some mixes better;)

I'm primarily a J player myself, but, I've got several great P I still use from time to time.

The white one: that's an MIM 50's reissue? What pickup is that?
 
#14
Not that a P doesn't work in bands with a more dense sound but I really like hearing one in bands that have a more open sound where the bass isn't competing with a wall of guitar noise. A California based band called Orgone came through town last summer and the P bass through an SVT was one of the best I've ever heard.
 
#15
We're a 4 piece with keys, electric/acoustic guitar, bass and drums. 3 of us sing. I have been using a jazz. Not sure if a P would be better or just different.

I suppose ideally I'd/we'd all have a bunch of basses so we could have just the right bass for each situation - or even tune. Unfortunately, I really like/need one bass per gig. We call tunes on the fly and changing basses just ruins the flow if we have one. It's bad enough the guitar player has to change from electric to acoustic. But that can be covered by keys as he makes the change. I suppose keys could cover bass changes, but it's not the same.

I have stuck with a jazz bass as i can roll to the front pup for a quasi P tone. Not perfect, but in the neighborhood. I have a bigger dilemma with 4 vs 5. Want to like 4, but seem to miss the B the few times I use it.
 
#16
Chef said:
I wouldn't say a P takes up more space than a J...in fact, I'd say in some ways it takes up less as it's more mid focused.
However, that's what will let them stand out of some mixes better;)
Click to expand...
Agreed, the Jazz has a much wider, deeper voice than a Precision, but a P bass seems to take up more space because of it's heavily mid-centered voicing. By space, I mean it occupies the region where it's voice sits with more authority than jazz. In a trio type setting, it just feels bigger even though it isn't. I'm a jazz guy myself, but I love a P bass in some settings.
 
#18
M0ses said:
I love the look of the white P. If mine looked that nice I'd still be married to it. Stupid black.....but I'm stuck with it because I am POOR. Great sounding bass though, hope yours is too.
Click to expand...

Nope, just need time, sandpaper and stain. Mine turned out great.

As for being poor, start looking for a Peavey Fury. SaaaWeet basses and generally available for pretty low money. Got one for $50 and refinished it and have another that I picked up for $100. In the middle of bright copper/dark bronze sunburst refinish on that one.
 
#19
SteveC said:
We're a 4 piece with keys, electric/acoustic guitar, bass and drums. 3 of us sing. I have been using a jazz. Not sure if a P would be better or just different.

I suppose ideally I'd/we'd all have a bunch of basses so we could have just the right bass for each situation - or even tune. Unfortunately, I really like/need one bass per gig. We call tunes on the fly and changing basses just ruins the flow if we have one. It's bad enough the guitar player has to change from electric to acoustic. But that can be covered by keys as he makes the change. I suppose keys could cover bass changes, but it's not the same.

I have stuck with a jazz bass as i can roll to the front pup for a quasi P tone. Not perfect, but in the neighborhood. I have a bigger dilemma with 4 vs 5. Want to like 4, but seem to miss the B the few times I use it.
Click to expand...

Maybe try a P/J? As for the 4 vs. 5 thing, the only time I use a 4 anymore is if it requested. Which in my case has been rare. :ninja:
 

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