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Is the Precision still #1?

#102
Ash Jazz said:
Hi all,

I was watching this popular bassists YouTube channel, you may be able to guess which one, and he and his cohost were admitting to being die hard P bass players all the way.

For myself, I had both and sold the P bass. I liked the P bass but when listening to recordings I made, my lines stood out in the mix better when playing the jazz. Additionally the wider string spacing on the P bass made some of my cross string manuvers harder to pull off.

But that's just me.

I know James Jamerson and Carol Kaye and others played precisions but I pretty much considered the Jazz, and other basses, to be evolutionary improvements to the genius beginings of the electric bass.

If I could only bring one bass to a recording session I wouldn't take a Precision but for these pro's, who could out play me in thier sleep, its thier #1.

Just wondering what others thought.

Thanks
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The thing is, the bass is not usually supposed to stand out in the mix. It needs to be felt as much as heard. The P bass just fits in the pocket and does that.
 
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#105
micguy said:
CBS didn't change the headstocks on the basses - if they had upsized them, they would have been comically large (they're already a bit too big).

I don't have a problem with the CBS logos - they look fine. The sloppy work I could do without, though.
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In case of headstocks I was talking more about Stratocaster, did not remember if the basses changed too. However, larger logos affect the perception of headstock's size that's for sure.
 
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#106
Old Fart said:
The Fender Precision is the most commercially successful mass produced bass guitar in the history of our solar system and there is a reason for that. Several reasons. That was the case in the 1950s and is still the case now. By a wide margin.
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Fender makes the #1 and #2 selling basses for certain, but which is which and/or what the ratio of sales is, I wouldn't hazard a guess - Some folks at Fender certainly know, but I'd bet your guess would be....off.

I worked for the company that makes the corresponding microphones - when it comes to professional mics for music, there is one company that makes #1 and #2; most folks in the industry know who that company is, and which mics I'm referring to. But if you ask them which is number 1, and which is number 2, and what the ratio is between them sales wise, most everyone gets it wrong - I had access to those numbers, so I know the real situation, and the reality isn't what most folks think it is...

The P is your suggestion for #1. Yet there are more models of the J available (I counted this once). Why would Fender put more effort into developing versions of the second best selling model? You may be right, but I at least doubt that there's a "wide margin" between the two.
 
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#107
micguy said:
The P is your suggestion for #1. Yet there are more models of the J available (I counted this once).
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This was what I was thinking when I was reading your post. Probably correct. But, maybe there's more J's because they aren't needed for the P--P buyers may be more "traditional" and the sales don't need boosting through different models.
 
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#108
SharpCat said:
This was what I was thinking when I was reading your post. Probably correct. But, maybe there's more J's because they aren't needed for the P--P buyers may be more "traditional" and the sales don't need boosting through different models.
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My argument would be that Fender doesn't do things that don't add significant sales - they don't even offer a decent number of colors, regularly pruning those that don't sell well. We don't really know though, which is my point.

As to P buyers being "traditional", I'd argue that anyone buying a "J" from Fender is also traditional - someone who isn't "traditional"...is probably not going to buy a Fender of any sort - there are gobs of alternatives for anyone who's bass desires stray even a bit from the Fender formulas.
 
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#109
micguy said:
Fender makes the #1 and #2 selling basses for certain, but which is which and/or what the ratio of sales is, I wouldn't hazard a guess - Some folks at Fender certainly know, but I'd bet your guess would be....off.

I worked for the company that makes the corresponding microphones - when it comes to professional mics for music, there is one company that makes #1 and #2; most folks in the industry know who that company is, and which mics I'm referring to. But if you ask them which is number 1, and which is number 2, and what the ratio is between them sales wise, most everyone gets it wrong - I had access to those numbers, so I know the real situation, and the reality isn't what most folks think it is...

The P is your suggestion for #1. Yet there are more models of the J available (I counted this once). Why would Fender put more effort into developing versions of the second best selling model? You may be right, but I at least doubt that there's a "wide margin" between the two.
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More people buy beta 58s than sm57s?
 
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#110
micguy said:
My argument would be that Fender doesn't do things that don't add significant sales - they don't even offer a decent number of colors, regularly pruning those that don't sell well. We don't really know though, which is my point.

As to P buyers being "traditional", I'd argue that anyone buying a "J" from Fender is also traditional - someone who isn't "traditional"...is probably not going to buy a Fender of any sort - there are gobs of alternatives for anyone who's bass desires stray even a bit from the Fender formulas.
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I think the number of units sold is not the point. The OP was talking what A listers are using on sessions and that they were across the board talking about using P basses a large percentage of the time
 
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#113
TheArchitect said:
I think the number of units sold is not the point. The OP was talking what A listers are using on sessions and that they were across the board talking about using P basses a large percentage of the time
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A listers like…. Nathan East and his Yanaha, Carole Kay and her Ibanez, Lee Sklar and his Frankenbass, or his Dingwall, Tony Levin and his Stingray, Victor Wooten and his Fodera - those A listers?
 
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#115
micguy said:
A listers like…. Nathan East and his Yanaha, Carole Kay and her Ibanez, Lee Sklar and his Frankenbass, or his Dingwall, Tony Levin and his Stingray, Victor Wooten and his Fodera - those A listers?
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TheArchitect correctly explained my OP (thank you). I was listening to a couple specific A listers, both stating they were die hard P bass players all the way. I basically stated I would have thought more modern versions of the bass would have been more popular so I asked the question.

It has turned into a great topic with a lot of interesting opinions.
 
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#116
Popcorn3.jpg
 
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#120
Ash Jazz said:
TheArchitect correctly explained my OP (thank you). I was listening to a couple specific A listers, both stating they were die hard P bass players all the way. I basically stated I would have thought more modern versions of the bass would have been more popular so I asked the question.

It has turned into a great topic with a lot of interesting opinions.
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I’m sure there is at least one A lister beyond Sean Hurley that uses a P much of the time. Even Sean, who is known for being the “P bass with flats” guy, brings several alternatives to a session. There are a lot of folks that don’t use one most of the time. It’s 2025, not 1957, we have many good options now.
 
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