NBD...a Dinosaur comes back from Extinction...

[SoulReflection]

IMO, the P-Bass is less like a dinosaur back from extinction than the "B-52 of basses" which is based on a ' 50s design but keeps on doing its job, decade after decade. The P-Bass has never been extinct as a mainstay of the music world.

I don't know if you were referring to me but, I am the dinosaur, not a P Bass . The P Bass has survived over the years because it is immune to extinction.

 

[Pet Sounds]

I don't know if you were referring to me but, I am the dinosaur, not a P Bass . The P Bass has survived over the years because it is immune to extinction.

Oops, sorry! I misread your post.

 

[SoulReflection]

I came up in the 80's, and there was nothing more "uncool" then than an unmodded big ole P-bass. Fender barely survived back then. People either forget that, or didn't live it.

Fender came out with about a zillion modern unloved instruments that no one bought (and no one remembers), just to try to stay relevant.

@HearNoStevil, ok, when you're right, you're right! There probably was a brief period of near extinction then, but the '80s sucked, anyway, so who cares what people thought then?

Doesn't this just say it all? Music preferences swing like a pendulum...back and forth. So do the preferences of those as time moves on. Each generation seems to have to have a unique way of identifying themselves.

One thing that should be noted, however, is that the P bass was relevant in the '80's just as it has been since the 1950's. It has survived.

My reference to a dinosaur relates to me alone. The P Bass is just as relevant today as it was back then...check the stats on groups and recordings.

Yes, there are other fine and well respected bass manufacturers, each doing their best to attract customers. That's the way it should be. What we really need is to ignore what is better than another and concentrate on the goal...making good music. That is what I intend to do as a dinosaur who has survived extinction.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

Thank you. Where do I go for the ring and do they have curb-side pickup?

Fullerton California of course!........

 

[bh2]

Congrats... there's something about tort and burst.

Mojo... that's it!

 

[SoulReflection]

Congrats... there's something about tort and burst.

Mojo... that's it!

Thank you from across the pond .

 

[stevieg]

From the '60's to now I have wanted a Fender P Bass. I finally did it. After a few years with short scales, it was time jump in. I am so glad I did. From the days of a '60's Telecaster Bass to now, my evolution is complete:

View attachment 3932855

Congratulations! Enjoy in excellent health...
stevieg

 

[SoulReflection]

Congratulations! Enjoy in excellent health...
stevieg

Hey, from fellow neighbors, thanks @stevieg. I am enjoying it and doing everything possible to do so, in excellent health (as much as my health can be). Rock on...safely!

 

[aureliab20gt]

Boom! Sunburst/tort are the best sounding Fenders. You should join the Order of the Tort. You know I have a lot of different basses, when I pick up my Fender Precision I am home.

know what you mean about the 'At home' feeling.....

I've posted this before somewhere, but it's worth recalling it here

Apologies in advance to anyone who may be offended by the sexism....it's not my aim, it's just amusing:

A guy once told me that he loved Ps because they were like a good wife....reliable, solid, your best friend, dinner's always ready etc etc......and a Jazz I asked?....well that's your mistress and you take it out once a month and it's beautiful and you're proud to be seen with it......and a Rick?......well, he said, that's the hooker you get caught with every year or two......

 

[EatS1stBassist]

know what you mean about the 'At home' feeling.....

I've posted this before somewhere, but it's worth recalling it here

Apologies in advance to anyone who may be offended by the sexism....it's not my aim, it's just amusing:

A guy once told me that he loved Ps because they were like a good wife....reliable, solid, your best friend, dinner's always ready etc etc......and a Jazz I asked?....well that's your mistress and you take it out once a month and it's beautiful and you're proud to be seen with it......and a Rick?......well, he said, that's the hooker you get caught with every year or two......

Perfect!

 

[bobyoung53]

know what you mean about the 'At home' feeling.....

I've posted this before somewhere, but it's worth recalling it here

Apologies in advance to anyone who may be offended by the sexism....it's not my aim, it's just amusing:

A guy once told me that he loved Ps because they were like a good wife....reliable, solid, your best friend, dinner's always ready etc etc......and a Jazz I asked?....well that's your mistress and you take it out once a month and it's beautiful and you're proud to be seen with it......and a Rick?......well, he said, that's the hooker you get caught with every year or two......

I'm playing my hooker right now.

 

[Kevin Colt]

great bass.

 

[SoulReflection]

great bass.

Thank you sir...now I feel I am back in the '60's .

 

[aureliab20gt]

I'm playing my hooker right now.

I have one too!

 

[Samatza]

Wow! Play that baby! Enjoy in good health

 

[SoulReflection]

Wow! Play that baby! Enjoy in good health

Thank you, @Samatza. I am enjoying playing it and my health is ok for an old dinosaur

 

[dabbler]

Hmmm, I dunno about that.

I came up in the 80's, and there was nothing more "uncool" then than an unmodded big ole P-bass. Fender barely survived back then. People either forget that, or didn't live it.

Fender came out with about a zillion modern unloved instruments that no one bought (and no one remembers), just to try to stay relevant.

For instance, I bought a mint NOS 1978 Precision for $200 in 1989; it couldn't be given away. No one wanted it, and I didn't even feel "right" playing that big thing back in the era of Spectors and what-not. My friends looked at me funny when I did play it. It was completely not cool.

Things changed quickly and have completely turned around, but in the mid to late 80's, nothing was more unfashionable than a stock Fender Precision, especially if it had the covers on it. I remember seeing them in pawn shops for $100. Hell, I bought one for $60! Beat up, but $60 for a 1974 Precision. That's just the reality of the mid-late 80's and the Fender P. It wasn't truly extinct, but it was on its way until the course correction we have now.

I'm not disagreeing with your experience but I'd like to offer a different perspective.

I've never played professionally, but I've heard it said that every studio kept a P bass. And sometimes, when a player brought his own bass and it wasn't working, the engineer would tell him, "just use this", and hand him the P.

IF this is true, and I do happen to believe it, I'll bet you money none the studios got rid of their "house" Ps in the 80s. And I bet they are still being used... as needed.

It may not be so true as it once was, but there are times when the bass you see being played live is not the bass that was used in the recording... and a lot of times, that was a P.

Just sayin'.