NBD: P Bass Battle

[Anachronism]

I've been wanting to get a P again, but without sinking too much money into it. Then two interesting options came up locally, and I bought both with the intention of having them duel for my affection.

First is a 1981 Fender Bullet Deluxe B-34. These are oddball basses (Mustang P-style pickup, 34-inch scale, tele-style neck, slab body) that were made in the USA for the first few years before being moved to Japan later in the decade.
Second is a 2003 Highway One P that was in rough cosmetic shape (see pic). I refinished it in red (not a great job, but it looks fine until you get close) and put in an Arcane 65 pup.

Both basses are light, weighing in at a hair over 8 pounds. Each has a 1 5/8 nut width, a 9.5 fretboard radius and a shallow C neck profile. Both take a low setup and are comfortable to play.

Tonally, the Arcane 65 really helped the Highway One, which was just a generic P with the original pup--not bad, but nothing special. Now it still thumps well, but has more clarity with the tone up, or in the upper registers. The Bullet, meanwhile, is certainly P-bass adjacent, but it trades a bit of the characteristic P-bass low-mid emphasis for more balance and clarity across the strings. Overall, I really like it, and preferred it to the original Highway One pup, but the Arcane may have put the Highway One back ahead.

I'm not sure which bass wins. Right now I'm leaning toward the Highway One, but I need to spend more time with them, comparing them not only to each other, but also to my other basses to see what fits in the best.

 

[JimmyM]

The winner is you!

 

[SJan3]

Minor correction, your bass is a Highway "1".
Highway "One" is the second iteration of the Highway series and has graphite rods in the neck, truss adjustment at the butt of the neck, no skunk stripe and a Badass bridge. I believe they changed the paint and pickup too.
A very different instrument, part for part.

 

[C Stone]

Nice grabs, let us know where you end up after a few more test drives, enjoy 'em both...

The winner is you!

 

[svlilioukalani]

Keep both. They are already paid for! Give it a few years to decide.

 

[Anachronism]

Minor correction, your bass is a Highway "1".
Highway "One" is the second iteration of the Highway series and has graphite rods in the neck, truss adjustment at the butt of the neck, no skunk stripe and a Badass bridge. I believe they changed the paint and pickup too.
A very different instrument, part for part.

Confusing nomenclature

 

[SJan3]

Confusing nomenclature

It has confused many for years..

 

[Iridescentone]

It has confused many for years..

Yeah it sure has. Nomenclature aside, the physical differences between the two are real.

 

[SJan3]

Yeah it sure has. Nomenclature aside, the physical differences between the two are real.

Yes, I've owned both. Still have my Highway One Jazz bass.

 

[MTN.bass72]

I've been wanting to get a P again, but without sinking too much money into it. Then two interesting options came up locally, and I bought both with the intention of having them duel for my affection.

View attachment 4418341

First is a 1981 Fender Bullet Deluxe B-34. These are oddball basses (Mustang P-style pickup, 34-inch scale, tele-style neck, slab body) that were made in the USA for the first few years before being moved to Japan later in the decade.
Second is a 2003 Highway One P that was in rough cosmetic shape (see pic). I refinished it in red (not a great job, but it looks fine until you get close) and put in an Arcane 65 pup.

View attachment 4418342

Both basses are light, weighing in at a hair over 8 pounds. Each has a 1 5/8 nut width, a 9.5 fretboard radius and a shallow C neck profile. Both take a low setup and are comfortable to play.

Tonally, the Arcane 65 really helped the Highway One, which was just a generic P with the original pup--not bad, but nothing special. Now it still thumps well, but has more clarity with the tone up, or in the upper registers. The Bullet, meanwhile, is certainly P-bass adjacent, but it trades a bit of the characteristic P-bass low-mid emphasis for more balance and clarity across the strings. Overall, I really like it, and preferred it to the original Highway One pup, but the Arcane may have put the Highway One back ahead.

I'm not sure which bass wins. Right now I'm leaning toward the Highway One, but I need to spend more time with them, comparing them not only to each other, but also to my other basses to see what fits in the best.

Great score!!
I haven't seen a Bullet bass in forever... the first band I was in, as a drummer, around 25 years ago, the guy that ended up being the bassist, a guitarist that didn't have a bass... he used a Bullet that the other girl, that was the guitarist, just had laying around her house..
To this day I don't see how he played it. The stings were literally about a half inch off the fretboard. But he played the snot out of it.

 

[JRA]

two beauties that's for sure! i'm with @JimmyM = you win --- or maybe it's win/win! if it's a tough decision between them then you're in an enviable place! congratulations on your new instruments!

 

[Runlikegregg]

The bullet is just too weird looking for me. plus I usually find a slab body pretty uncomfortable if playing for more than a few minutes.
I kind of also like the raw wood and kind of messed up finish of the HWY ONE or 1 or whatever it is. I think that would be my winner.

 

[tpaul]

You should put rounds on one and flats on the other.

 

[porterbass]

Confusing nomenclature

I had a 2003 Highway 1 for several years. I installed a David Allen P 1088 pickup in it and it was my favorite P bass I've owned up until I got my '83 Fullerton '62 Reissue P. I stupidly sold the Highway 1 a few years back and wish I still had it.

Nice job on the refinish...looks great! With the addition of that pickup, I vote for that one!

 

[Anachronism]

Though nothing is certain until I'm shipping one of these off, I think I've settled on the Highway 1 over the Bullet. It is a tough call because I really like both of them, but my reasons are:
1. I like the looks better, mostly because the Bullet's burst is a poor match to the white pickguard, IMO. I know that can be changed, but it might take a custom order.
2. Though I wouldn't say that it sounds better, just different, the Highway 1 with the Arcane 65 is a better complement to my other basses. Though these basses are closer to each other than they are to anything else I have, the Highway 1 is a little further away from them, and a little more of a pure P tone.
3. The finish on the back of the neck isn't as glossy.

Still, the Bullet is an excellent bass when properly set up--it's a very smooth-playing and articulate P-style bass, and I like the tele headstock. If I had to chose one of these as an only bass, I could easily have picked the Bullet. But there can only be one (well, probably).

 

[JimmyM]

Other than the neck, Bullet is a Mustang. Never knew that long scale was an option though. But while I do like Mustangs I still prefer a P.

 

[Texaspandj]

I had one of those bullets a few years ago. It was black, white PG, maple neck. I eventually sold it as I couldn't get used to the pickups. I wish I still had it as I like the tele headstock look... however I would put a 50s style P-bass pickup in there.
If I were in your position I definitely keep the bullet because they're so different meanwhile you can get a regular looking P-bass anytime, anywhere.