Looking for advice on first bass purchase!

[Heavy Blue]

It's a shame the current MIM Player Series only come with maple or Pau Ferro boards (although I like Pau ferro more than Rosewood)...

I suggest the OP give the Pao Ferro a try. I love my '18 Player with the PF board. Warmer than maple but with its snap. Great stuff!

So true. This OP's search is one of the easiest to solve though in bassdom! All he needs are three things, and he's still way within budget:
Squier Classic Vibe '60s Precision Bass - Olympic White
La Bella 760FS Deep Talkin' Bass Flatwound Bass Strings - Standard
Foam rubber - Wikipedia

Boom. Done.

Hard to top that! GHS Precision Flats are a bit less pricey though and still give the old school thump. That being said, the LaBellas are the real deal OG string from the era. Particularly the Original '54's. They're stiff as cables though so maybe not and stick to the FS ones as you linked to.

 

[pbass2]

I suggest the OP give the Pao Ferro a try. I love my '18 Player with the PF board. Warmer than maple but with its snap. Great stuff!


Hard to top that! GHS Precision Flats are a bit less pricey though and still give the old school thump. That being said, the LaBellas are the real deal OG string from the era. Particularly the Original '54's. They're stiff as cables though so maybe not and stick to the FS ones as you linked to.

Pretty sure Pino used the super heavy Jamerson set on his "Voodoo" bass, and also downtuned to C or C# if memory serves. I've tried all the gauges of Labellas and for my purposes I get a perfectly classic sound with the lighter ones, with a lot less effort!

 

[jamro217]

Welcome to TB. The P bass style has been copied by so many manufacturers there are literally thousands of choices. Some brands are competitive with Fender and offer better instruments at the same price and equal value instruments at a fraction of the cost. Consider a Peavey, Yamaha, Ibanez or other well made bass with a P pickup in the same position. That's the secret to the P bass tone. The major difference between Fender models compared to Squiers are the quality of the hardware. Pickups are easy to swap out. The other thing is the neck size. A Jazz bass is 1.5" (A neck) at the nut, a P bass (B neck) is 1.625" and the largest available is 1.75" The difference is really noticeable, so try out a few and narrow down just what one is the right size for you. Hope this helps.

 

[sonojono]

Put flatwounds on it and a hunk of foam under the strings down at the bridge and you're there.

Done and done

 

[red_rhino]

Have you checked the classified here? You are likely to get an instrument that is well cared for.

+1 to this. If I was in the market for a P bass, that's where I would start. Especially if you're already certain that a P bass is what you want.

However, if you're not sure what you want, then go to a music store and try a bunch of different instruments, and, if you just have to buy new, (always always always) buy the one that feels best to you.

 

[Standalone]

My humble suggestion is to look for the best / most resonant wood within your price range. Ensure that the bass isn't heavy (for you), and doesn't have typical problems like:

• Significant dead spots, especially on the G strings between 5-9. frets
• Weak sounding G string
• Dead sounding E string
• Hard to fix defects on the truss rod (that's untypical though)

The rest can be upgraded easily if needed.

So - ideally, you got to try before buying - with new strings.

Also don't worry about all these things too much. My #1 bass has some dead spots on the G string and the string is a bit quieter overall but my hand just knows to play it a bit louder....

Pick up a bass that feels and sounds good to YOU and just play it. Don't spend too much time chasing perfection.

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

My #1 bass has some dead spots on the G string and the string is a bit quieter overall but my hand just knows to play it a bit louder...

So this means; "I settled for low quality, you can as well" or what?

 

[Standalone]

So this means; "I settled for low quality, you can as well" or what?

I get more compliments on the tone of that bass than anything else. Without fail. The audience is not wrong.

To me, the "I must have the best of everything" mentality is such a trap. I live much freer, by enjoying things that have some minor compromise or another.

I have plenty to choose from. My #1 happens to have a bit of a dead spot, but as a thoughtful musician, I compensate for it.

I'm taking a $80 defretted MIK pointy basket case into the studio in May — because it sounds awesome.

 

[Standalone]

So this means; "I settled for low quality, you can as well" or what?

Which is the better advice for a neophyte? "Don't worry too much and pick something that sounds and feels good to you," or "select the most resonant tone wood and analyze for common dead spots and string-to-string balance etc..."

Pros spend much time and much money seeking that kind of perfection. But I'm a gigging musician making the point that it's not really necessary, even after playing for 30 years. I think it's better for a beginner to hear the general advice here, that it's no big deal, than to feel pressured to score a super sweet instrument magically free of imperfections common to the instrument.

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

Which is the better advice for a neophyte? "Don't worry too much and pick something that sounds and feels good to you," or "select the most resonant tone wood and analyze for common dead spots and string-to-string balance etc..."

I didn't understand what the gear show-off was for; but we can simply agree to disagree.

According to my subjective opinion and teaching experience, an initial instrument can motivate or de-motivate a beginner. At the very least, the instrument shouldn't have dissatisfying flaws. So it doesn't hurt to start with the best possible instrument within the price range. Since a beginner wouldn't be able to tell such details apart, it is also a good idea to select the instrument with a more experienced peer, who hopefully has a high standard for quality.

Another subjective opinion: The sooner he/she learns what makes or breaks a good bass, the better.