NBD: 99 Fender P in the fold

[lildrgn]

I wanted a P and have been searching. I was gonna go with a LB-100 Tribute, then got a wild hair about wanting a Fender P. Found one I finally liked today, that had some nice upgrades. I contacted the seller via CL and drove 30 miles to check it out today.

He had flats on it and it played really nicely and sounded great through his Kustom amp. Paid him, got an extra pickguard from him, and brought it home.

Say hello to my new 1999 Mexican P-Bass, complete with rattle can finish (debating if I want to DIY to a Fullerton red), upgraded 62 Original P pups, Etsy pickguard, and chrome covers.

Truth is, it was the PG that caught my eye, the rest of it is just gravy.

The s/n indicates original color was a brown sunburst. I'm curious if stripping the black spray paint might reveal it?

Take a look!

 

[Tony E.]

Oh yeah! That pickguard really does makes it pop. Congrats on your new groove machine!

 

[CallMeAl]

Nice! Glad I caught the reveal @lildrgn , happy ending to your search enjoy!

 

[StevieMac]

Congrats, I dig it.

 

[wvbass]

That bass reminds me of something. Hmm...

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Love it!

 

[lildrgn]

Took the pup and bridge covers off and dig the traditional look as well. And it does play easier with my thumb resting on the pickup. But then it leaves screw holes. Noodled around with it tonight with my Carvin Cyclops and it sounded great.

With or without... Decisions, decisions.

 

[StevieMac]

Nothing wrong with pickup cover screw holes IMO, three of my p basses have them.

 

[andare]

It looks beautiful either way so it's up to you. Playing comfort and position over the strings are everything, especially on a P bass.
That pickguard is giving me ideas. I'm a 70s guy so stripes are it for me. Also LOL at TC's chopper!

 

[lildrgn]

Here's how that P sounds:

 

[Swipter]

That bass reminds me of something. Hmm...

View attachment 4560397

I thought I saw those colors before.

 

[tindrum]

Here's how that P sounds:

Man that genuinely sounds AWESOME!!!! Perfect P Bass tone!

 

[lildrgn]

APR (After Practice Report):

Hooked up with the mates a few nights ago, plugged into my Trace Elliot GP-12 powering an Avatar 2x10 and Ashdown 1x15 via an Aguilar Tone Hammer DI. Because I stand at practice, I immediately noticed the amount of neck dive this bass has. Maybe it's the strap, but more likely the neck. Not too big a deal.

With the flats via my rig, the tone was as I expected: gnarly. In the mix with the band, it was round and full, with bite as needed. My usual #1, a 2019 CLF Research (G&L) L-1000, usually sounds great, but the P just hits differently. Having the flats added a different physical experience, dulling the usually zingy L1K sounds that I'm used to.

Overall, I really loved the sound and the P played quite well, despite the "setup" I tried giving it (to be fair, the previous owner had it set up really nicely to begin with).

I record every practice with my cell phone, using a small stereo Sony plug-in mic. It's placed closest to my rig, adjacent to my drummer and across from both my guitarists. We were noodling around on an idea fairly aimlessly, so please excuse any clams or train wrecks.

 

[Killing Floor]

Great! I dig that striped guard.

 

[hypercarrots]

those are trd colors

and candy corn

serial number looks like 1998

 

[lildrgn]

Here it is again via my SABBDI into the PC with some EQ and compression via ProTools.