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Is The P-Bass Thing Altering Your Brain?
- Thread starter ZenG
- Start date
I thought I was the only one. I like odd-shaped basses with obnoxious paint jobs, so of course I own oddballs like the plastic-bodied Ibanez Ergodynes. However, I also have 3 cheap P copies that would probably horrify some folks around here. First, I converted them all to 5-string. I painted one sparkly purple and put a metal pick guard with a target sticker on it (yes, I use it for metal!) and covered the second with railroad-themed stickers. The third bass has a custom spalted maple neck, aftermarket clear pick guard, and skull sticker. My fourth P has been restrung BEAD, but I left everything else alone because the factory paint job is screaming neon pink.
Ergodynes! I had an EDC700 with a sparkly dark purple finish that would sometimes show up as blue with stage lights. I loved that bass, regret selling it. In fact, finding one in great condition (original hardware and pickups) is on my list.
And your cheap P copies would not horrify me. Not even the neon pink one.
It's funny how much pressure there can be to conform to the cult of Precision. I have nothing against P basses, I just don't think they're any more special than any number of other basses on the market. A lot of folks love their Ps and that's great - we should all be lucky enough to play what we most enjoy playing - but it seems as if many of those people take things a step further and seek to impose their taste on others. What I find funny (and annoying) is when non bassists who probably couldn't even tell a P from a Jazz in a blinfold test try to tell me that I should be playing a Precision. I'm convinced that for a lot of Peetotalers it has nothing to do with the sound - it's strictly a matter of history, a sense of safety and subscribing to some kind of trend that links the Precision with "authenticity" or some other such nonsense. It's silly.
My 83 still sits here because I feel obligated to own an old P bass even though at this point I'm mostly playing progressive metal and ambient, neither of which are great genres for a P-Bass.
So you decided to bump this one because.....?
The P-bass gets all kinds of ridiculously silly crap comments such as it's "outdated", "obsolete", a "one trick pony", so I understand why P-bassers like to give 'em props. That said: it's OK to encourage someone to try something new, but it's silly to say that one's own preference should matter to anyone else.
Also, the history of the P-bass can't be ignored. It was the first electric to become popular, it was used on a bajillion recordings, it is still hugely popular today. That says a lot. Does it need to be stated over and over? Not necessarily, but there's plenty of redundancy here in many different topics....
Well...
One of the greatest quotes ever came from Suzi Quatro in her Rolling Stone interview back in the 70's. She said:
"Guitar is for the head, drums are for the chest, bass gets you right in the groin"
(Suzi often played a P-bass, btw...)
My brain has nowhere to go but up and the P-bass helps considerably every time I play it.
...and since it bumped....
There are many great sounding basses out there. I played mostly jazz styled for years. Always disliked the necks on Precisions. I bought one after trying it out in a shop and thought the neck was not what I remembered it to be. The REAL shocker to me was when I did a session with it. Then to confirm heard a playback of a live gig I did.
I guess I have overlooked this simple design for so many years and until listening to my own recordings, I realized the real value of this simple beast. The mix...simply sounded better than the others I have done.
And I was avoiding that for years?
I think this may be the reason for the P-bass craze. These simple things fit just right.
There are many great sounding basses out there. I played mostly jazz styled for years. Always disliked the necks on Precisions. I bought one after trying it out in a shop and thought the neck was not what I remembered it to be. The REAL shocker to me was when I did a session with it. Then to confirm heard a playback of a live gig I did.
I guess I have overlooked this simple design for so many years and until listening to my own recordings, I realized the real value of this simple beast. The mix...simply sounded better than the others I have done.
And I was avoiding that for years?
I think this may be the reason for the P-bass craze. These simple things fit just right.
It's funny though because, to me, the early use of the Precision doesn't elevate the status of the bass at all. It was one of very few options so of course it was used a lot back in the day. If there had been as many options then as there are now then the use of the P in recordings early on would say a lot more to me about how great the Precision is. As it stands I see it as one good option amongst many.
I can only speak for myself, but I have always said I am glad there is such a range of basses out there, that I love all kinds of non-P and non-Fender-type basses and I would never tell someone they "need" a P bass.
I can completely understand why some people don't care for them and have zero interest in owning one. Sincerely.
For me it's not a question of history, or trends or perceived "authenticity" or anything. I like playing all kinds of basses, and have owned all kinds of basses. But I would say that if I could only own ONE bass, it would probably be a P bass and that is because they just sound and feel like home to me.
There's no right or wrong in discussions like these. People have different tastes, different needs, different experiences.
Play what you like, like what you play.
I do agree, though, that on many threads like this one, there are really vehement supporters and detractors on both sides of the coin (consider the "Rickenbacker Love/Rickenbacker Hate" discussions...
I don't see a reason to get up into ecstatic religious fervor over what instrument you like to play or whether other people like or dislike playing that same instrument for whatever reason.
According to your avatar, you're a dead ringer for James Jamerson. You'd look great with a P!
And yes, me too. I've had a bass crush on a P ever since I started hanging out on TB. Fender should pay for TB like a billboard, and they know it too.
And yes, me too. I've had a bass crush on a P ever since I started hanging out on TB. Fender should pay for TB like a billboard, and they know it too.
I'm liking that terminology! For me: "I like my P basses ok, but I'm no Peetotaler or anything."
I have a pretty dry sense of humor......this thread was just intended as a light-hearted poke......
Amen! I have to remind myself of this periodically. TB is a world unto itself. I catch myself referencing common TB tropes in (in-person) conversation with other bass players and wondering why they don't know what the hell I'm talking about... or worse, I find myself obsessing Seinfeld-style over opinions I read here. There is a wealth of good information to be mined here, but it's easy to forget that TB can be a bit of an echo chamber for a relatively small number of voices.
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