Is there a SS Bass model that sounds like a P Bass?

Squier Jaguar. Maybe not quite as low on the bottom end as a real P. But with a set of flats and some amp EQ settings it gets the job done for me. Its the only P bass I need, or own.

 

Birdsong:

www.birdsongguitars.com/

Fender Mustang but they may well now be manufactured in Mexico, I do not know provenance.

 

Mustangs have a P bass vibe on the attack but with a little shorter decay. I never had any problem getting a good P tone with a little EQ.

 

The Fender Precision Bass Junior. Actually a little shorter than the normal SS bass. Full size P bass pick ups. No longer made but you can find them used. They were MIM and made between 2003/2004 I think, but I'm sure a used dealer or someone selling in the US needs the cash. Set up right (mine are) they play really great. Light weight, fun, punchy, and a great all around bass. I'm really happy with mine. Also a used one should be well under a grand.

I tried the Mustang and couldn't get the punch out I wanted. Squire ones are made in Indonesia I think, and the Fender Mustang is a RI CIJ.

 

The scale length is 28.6"

http://forums.fender.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=26509

 

I bought a vintage ('77 USA) 'Stang whose previous owner replaced the pickup with a Fender P-bass p.u.

This is as close to the sound of a P-bass as you can get without playing a 34" scale.

Should you go this route, you'll probably need to get a qualified repair person to rout out the body and install the P pickups. Of course this means they'll have to send a pickguard tracing to a company like WD so they can make you a custom pickguard with the overall shape for a Mustang but with a cutout for the P pickup.

I know what you're thinking: expensivo. But sometimes I see inexpensive used American Mustangs on eBay. And you can search the TB Classifieds as well.

BTW, I owned a 1969 Gibson EB-0 for 20 years. I inquired on this very site as to how to modify it to achieve the Fender sound I yearned for. Some good person gave me some GREAT advice, which I followed: I sold it and got my Fender Mustang bass instead.

 

Squier VM SS Jag.