Is bassist-life possible without a Precision?

[pmaraziti]

of course a question to provocate some experience sharing, but the other day I found an P Am. Vintage '62 that spoke to me... since then she's alone in the shop and I'm thinking about it...

But I have too many basses... I had already planned to sell my Jazz V , but... if I take her I should sell more...

what to do?

 

[Baird6869]

I have a dozen basses and even though I rarely play mt 1974 P, I will likely never be without a P. A completely amazing bass for certain tunes/styles of music.

A '62 RI is one of the best MIA Fenders IMO. Great bass.

 

[Padams4]

Buy the P then you will sell stuff that you do not play anymore. Simple really.

PA

 

[Alistair R]

Every bassist should own a P bass at some stage throughout their playing career.

 

[Fealach]

Every bassist should own a P bass at some stage throughout their playing career.

Or at least play one long enough to know they can't stand them.

 

[cmewhinney]

It's only possible to live without a P Bass if you're Victor Wooten, Michael Manring, Jaco Pastorius, Todd Johnson, Matt Garrison, Stanley Clarke, Brian Bromberg, Steve Bailey, Hadrien Feraud, Jim Stinnett, Dave Buda, Marcus Miller, John Patitucci, Stu Hamm, Geddy Lee, Roscoe Beck. Of course those guys don't get any gigs.

But if you want it- go for it!

 

[pmaraziti]

Or at least play one long enough to know they can't stand them.

Funny enough I had an American Standard (5 strings) in my hands for a little while, I liked it but not enough and so I traded it for an amp I needed. I didn't miss it since then, but at the time I was not in a regular band... now some time has passed and when I tested that Precision the other day , it really seemed different (also meantime I learned to appreciate 4 strings for my usual band gigs..)

Uhmmm.....

 

[SuperDuck]

It's possible, but not recommended. (At least my me.) I picked up my P for the first time in a while the other day and fell in love all over again! There's nothing that you can't do on a P!

 

[spade2you]

Do we mean an actual Precision bass or something with just a P pickup? My CB 4 string has Bartolini PJ pickups and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

 

[lonote]

It's only possible to live without a P Bass if you're Victor Wooten, Michael Manring, Jaco Pastorius, Todd Johnson, Matt Garrison, Stanley Clarke, Brian Bromberg, Steve Bailey, Hadrien Feraud, Jim Stinnett, Dave Buda, Marcus Miller, John Patitucci, Stu Hamm, Geddy Lee, Roscoe Beck. Of course those guys don't get any gigs.

But if you want it- go for it!

Just because they are strongly identified with other basses doesn't mean they don't own and use P-Basses. I have no idea whether they do or not but it seems likely some of them might (or might have, as the case may be).

 

[Papersen]

Well, in my case is possible.
I`ve owned/played several basses thru the years and been lately looking for a nice Pbass sound.

However, of all the Fender Precisions I`ve played (not too many) never liked their neck profile, they`re too round for me.
Anyway, I`ve recently recorded 4 tracks with my band looking for a good Pbass tone, and my Peavey Cirrus (active, dual humbuckers) did a wonderful job.

 

[serein2j]

P bass tone is good but I like the J better and it suits the music I play whole lot better. And J + Active Pre can cover most of P bass tone I needed. Talking about versatility here.

 

[Ezbass]

It's only possible to live without a P Bass if you're Victor Wooten, Michael Manring, Jaco Pastorius, Todd Johnson, Matt Garrison, Stanley Clarke, Brian Bromberg, Steve Bailey, Hadrien Feraud, Jim Stinnett, Dave Buda, Marcus Miller, John Patitucci, Stu Hamm, Geddy Lee, Roscoe Beck. Of course those guys don't get any gigs.

But if you want it- go for it!

Roscoe owns a P.

Give in to the GAS get the P.

 

[Craig_S]

I had to buy a P. I already had a Jazz, and yes it does (pretty close to) the P thing, but a vintage (reissue or...) will do it straight out of the gate, no fuss no muss. The P-Bass is the foundation of the bass sound in electric music. I don't think you can go wrong with it. Get rid of one or two of the other basses.

 

[Liko]

Oh sure. My first one was a P, but I no longer have it (stolen) and have gotten along just fine without a replacement (4 basses, none of them Ps). I like the extra zing of a bridge pickup. Now, if you need a P, really nothing else will do; you can approximate it if you have a Jazz with humbucking pickups, by simply turning off your bridge pickup. However, a P has more gain and midrange than most neck Js so it won't be an exact match.

 

[Turkeybasster]

My first was a Fender Squire Precision Bass which I played for a while. Then I got an Ibanez Soundgear and never looked back. To make that bass useful, I defretted her and now she's got a great stand-up sound with a bare wood finger board that only a Pbass can reproduce. I don't feel much use in P's since I feel that many jazz's or soap bars can get a similar tone.

 

[stflbn]

I owned a 4-string P-bass for a year last year. I sold it recently. I have everything I need sound-wise out of what I have now.

Maybe at some point I'll try a 5-string P-bass, but I'm not rushing toward it.

 

[SteveC]

There's a P at the store tempting me. Unfortunately, I always seem to sell my 4 string basses. There's always a few songs that need a 5 and I hate changing basses on a gig. I can get a "good enough" P sound by rolling to my neck pup.

I could use a "backup" bass I guess. I guess a 4 might be OK, but if it's a backup, shouldn't it be a 5?

 

[Mark Wilson]

it's possible!
but I wouldn't be happy!

 

[Atshen]

Possible, but miserable.

By the way, Geddy once played a P.