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Is The P-Bass Thing Altering Your Brain?

#41
Oh man. So relieved i'm not alone. I really want to buy one to make the voices stop. But i can only afford one and i don't know which kind to get. The voices don't specify.

Do they mean the original P with the tele-headstock and single coil or the regular P with the split pickups?

I KNOW it must have flats and a tort guard. The voices are clear on that. But WHICH one?
 
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#43
Seriously. There ought to be a TB signature P bass. Like it or not this website MUST be responsible for some small percentage of sales.

Several color options, but all with tort, flats and a carrot inlay at the 12th fret.

Someone needs to contact FMIC and get on this.

Edit... oh yeah and there should be a red sticker on the pickguard plastic advertizing it as "best for metal"
 
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#48
Man, I got away from them for years. Pulled the trigger on a 5 string one a while back to satisfy the Nashville acts I was playing with on occasion.

And there was that tone. It just does what it does so well.

Is it the only good tone out there? Certainly not.

But since I got my P bass my Roscoe Beck Signature 5 has been a backup.

I'm not one of those who preaches that if you don't play a P bass you suck. But it really does sit in a mix in a very special way.

Just go ahead and get one. You will probably enjoy it. If not, there are plenty of folks around here to buy it from you. And you don't go to bass hell if you don't like it.

:thumbsup:

My only advice is that if you do get one, really give it a few weeks to grow on you. At first it will sound different and may not blow you away. But after a few gigs or rehearsals you may just get into it. Again, if not, no big deal.

The voice in your head is not evil. :cool:
 
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#51
I don't hear the voices because I've recognized that P is one of the nucleotides in my DNA. Since 1978 I've always owned a P-bass of some kind. I switched to five string back in Y2K -- there were hardly any P5s back then, but here's what I've wound up with:

c72cd1354YhsLhSsiy89KU3pPSjCs_nVFp2kpmrqybs=w1298-h730-no.jpg


Plus my newest as of this year, custom built by a local luth:
Dj-vsVI2TgpdoYN_WEPxIFAG_YxE97F46u0qD55_lp0=w1298-h730-no.jpg




Marko 1 said:
Just don’t give in to the flats thing and you won’t be a total nerd. :D
Click to expand...

Only one of the basses above is strung with flats... :ninja:
 
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#52
Rodger Bryan said:
You shouldn't give a __ about what the TB consensus is on this.

You will know if it is the best choice for you when the music making is effortless and the sound of the *whole* ensemble is right. If it feels nice, don't think twice.-JT
Click to expand...

I could be wrong but I feel like the OP was just starting a fun conversation. He wasn't actually looking for us to tell him what to do. We're not gonna kick him out if he doesn't actually buy a P bass.:thumbsup:
 
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#54
Does a G&L count? Lakland? Fender send so hit and miss while others seem much more consistent and are not accepted because of the logo/headstock. I hear the G&L LB100 kicks but over a Fender.

How about a Roscoe with the active/passive Aguilar P/J electronics? Way better build and it has the required pickup and electronics.
 
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#55
Brendan said:
Funny thing is, 10-12 years ago, you couldn't give away P-basses. Talkbass was all jazz, all the time, with the P crowd being treated like lepers. Okay, not lepers, but... like a drunk uncle at Thanksgiving that you keep having to tell to go outside if he's gonna smoke. The pendulum swings, I guess.
Click to expand...

It swings slowly but surely. I started on TB back in 2007 and I was a primarily P bass player. They told me that Pbasses were for beginners and old people.
 
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#56
I saved up and bought an American standard Jazz bass when I was 18. It's the one in my picture. Bought it new in 2000. Was a NOS 98' model, so I got a discount. It's been my only bass for the last 15 years. Everyone always compliments me on my tone. About 7-8 years ago I started gassing for a single coil 51' style P. I'm a big Police fan, and have alway dug Sting's tone. Lately though I'm thinking I want a Road Worn 50's. Since then, I've been reading all over TalkBass and everyone has P-Bass fever. Man I thought I was crazy for feeling this way. Looks like I'm not alone

What really sealed the deal for me was I went to a Jam a couple months ago with a bunch of local musicians and brought my bass. I was told I would probably be the only bass player there. Turns out, another guy showed up, and was playing a 72' natural P-bass. I loved the tone, and the way it was sitting in the mix. Once he realized I was there, he took off his bass and motioned for me to come play. I asked if he minded me playing his bass, and he said, please do. I put it on and realized how much lighter it was than my jazz. Barely any finish left on the back of the neck. Definitely had that "worn in" feel. Also it had Flats on it!!! Never played flats before either. Now I had played P-Basses at music stores before, but never with a band. I turned up the volume and realized he had the tone rolled down. I left it that way. The music started and after the 1st bar, I was hooked. There it was, that thumpy Motown like tone. It sat in the mix beautifully. I had heard it a million times, but now it was me standing behind the bass!! Now all I can think about is getting a P.
 
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#57
Brendan said:
Funny thing is, 10-12 years ago, you couldn't give away P-basses. Talkbass was all jazz, all the time, with the P crowd being treated like lepers. Okay, not lepers, but... like a drunk uncle at Thanksgiving that you keep having to tell to go outside if he's gonna smoke. The pendulum swings, I guess.
Click to expand...

Even funnier, in a way, is that from circa 1994 well into 1996, you couldn't find a Fender of any description, except maybe in the ads, in Bass Player magazine.
 
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#60
Nev375 said:
Seriously. There ought to be a TB signature P bass. Like it or not this website MUST be responsible for some small percentage of sales.

Several color options, but all with tort, flats and a carrot inlay at the 12th fret.

Someone needs to contact FMIC and get on this.

Edit... oh yeah and there should be a red sticker on the pickguard plastic advertizing it as "best for metal"
Click to expand...

You think the Custom Shop could do a taco inlay at the twelfth instead of a carrot, with popcorn side markers on the neck?
 
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