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Old P-Bass vs New P-Bass

#2
Bondtana said:
Hey guys. Just wondering, how much difference will there be in tone if you went out and got an old 60's P-Bass and a 2008 P-Bass?
Is there anywhere I could go to check out the differences?
Click to expand...

I'm sure someone can explain it scientifically but IMO the wood is the main difference. Old wood has seasoned, moisture evaporated, etc. And there's something cool about a broken in bass, like an old pair of jeans, that just fits.
 
#6
Its like cars man. Guitars are like cars. an older car may not run better, but it has style baby. I believe this is a good time to post one of my favorite poems. Style by Charles Bukowski.

Style is the answer to everything.
A fresh way to approach a dull or dangerous thing
To do a dull thing with style is preferable to doing a dangerous thing without it
To do a dangerous thing with style is what I call art

Bullfighting can be an art
Boxing can be an art
Loving can be an art
Opening a can of sardines can be an art

Not many have style
Not many can keep style
I have seen dogs with more style than men,
although not many dogs have style.
Cats have it with abundance.

When Hemingway put his brains to the wall with a shotgun,
that was style.
Or sometimes people give you style
Joan of Arc had style
John the Baptist
Jesus
Socrates
Caesar
García Lorca.

I have met men in jail with style.
I have met more men in jail with style than men out of jail.
Style is the difference, a way of doing, a way of being done.
Six herons standing quietly in a pool of water,
or you, naked, walking out of the bathroom without seeing me.
 
#7
Mastermold said:
I'm sure someone can explain it scientifically but IMO the wood is the main difference. Old wood has seasoned, moisture evaporated, etc. And there's something cool about a broken in bass, like an old pair of jeans, that just fits.
Click to expand...

The wood will lose moisture if it's surrounds have less moisture. Conversely, if a bass "lives" in an environment that has more moisture than the wood, the opposite would happen. No?
 
#8
ihavebrownhaira said:
Its like cars man. Guitars are like cars. an older car may not run better, but it has style baby. I believe this is a good time to post one of my favorite poems. Style by Charles Bukowski.

Style is the answer to everything.
A fresh way to approach a dull or dangerous thing
To do a dull thing with style is preferable to doing a dangerous thing without it
To do a dangerous thing with style is what I call art

Bullfighting can be an art
Boxing can be an art
Loving can be an art
Opening a can of sardines can be an art

Not many have style
Not many can keep style
I have seen dogs with more style than men,
although not many dogs have style.
Cats have it with abundance.

When Hemingway put his brains to the wall with a shotgun,
that was style.
Or sometimes people give you style
Joan of Arc had style
John the Baptist
Jesus
Socrates
Caesar
García Lorca.

I have met men in jail with style.
I have met more men in jail with style than men out of jail.
Style is the difference, a way of doing, a way of being done.
Six herons standing quietly in a pool of water,
or you, naked, walking out of the bathroom without seeing me.
Click to expand...

No way Bukowski couldn't afford a vintage Fender P. :D
 
#11
Mastermold said:
I'm sure someone can explain it scientifically but IMO the wood is the main difference. Old wood has seasoned, moisture evaporated, etc. And there's something cool about a broken in bass, like an old pair of jeans, that just fits.
Click to expand...

I agree.

You don't necessarily have to go all the way back to the 60's either. There are late 70's and early 80's P-basses floating around that are comparable price wise to a new US. Most are plenty 'broken-in' and and not quite as pricey. Just watch the quality control - IMO not all P's are created equal. (that goes for new and old)

I have a 76' that I put a set of Duncan Antiquity II's in, and it has very organic woody sound with a ton of thick low end. When I hear and play newer ones I feel like I'm hearing the pick-up more than the wood. (if any of that makes sense)
 
#12
Maybe it's the wood, maybe it's the pickups, maybe it's the paint, maybe it's how the instrument has worn to fit comfortably in human hands, maybe it's all in our minds, maybe it's all just "mojo".

I've played and owned new basses and old basses, and there is something in the way an old bass feels that is just different than a shiny, new bass. Each bass I have feels different to me, and sometimes it changes the way I feel mentally about the music I'm playing.

Is old better? Maybe, maybe not. That's for each of us to figure out on our own. My moderatly-worn '68 Fender P has a neck that fills my hand just perfectly, and a tight mid-range punch that I've never heard in another bass. I love playing it. I also love playing my brand-new, self-built, fancy-maple J-bass. It's light, fast, and sounds open and clear.
 
#13
I am by no means an expert on P-basses - on the contrary (I usually prefer J basses). I have just recently begun messing around with P's. However, I have tried several newer P-basses (2005-2007), and I have recently bought a couple of old P's (78 & 79).

Based on that rather limited P experience, I'd say that the old ones beat the crap out of the new ones - especially regarding tone: fat punch, yet infinite clarity...

The new ones I have tried was set up poorly, and a proper adjustment may likely have been a very different experience, but tonewise, I have no doubts...
 
#14
Here's my experience with both. I love my late 60's Pbass. I'm becoming leary about using it in clubs. I recently purchased a 2008 Am Std. It's one awesome bass! All it needed was some chromes and a slight tweak of the trussrod. The weight of the '08 is nice and light, very similar to my 60's p. Now I can enjoy the sound of a Precision without worrying so much.

Here's my Late 60's:
PBassFull3.jpg


And My 2008:
DSCF0635.jpg


Cheers,
Jim
 
#16
I'm not sure you can say without hearing one you can buy--which is your question. The problem is if you get four old P-basses they won't sound exactly alike. I've had some 70's stuff that was junk. That was before they were "vintage!" Remember back then many people replaced the pups like crazy--myself included. There was a reason for that--many seriously needed it and improvement could be easily had (espically late 70s). Quality-wise my newer P and J are far better and they aren't the 08's. I like my P with the S-1 switch--and I use it.

I'm not sure hearing something online or CD would even help given how it might be processed. Good luck.
 
#17
I think each of what, I consider, the "vintage decades" each has their own sound. In my opinion the non-SC Precisions sound very aggressive due to their greater than normal midrange. Most 60s P's I've played have a warmer woodier sound while Precisions from the 70s gradually got brighter and harsher.

Of course the IMO, IME, and the necessary YMMV.
 
#18
dagrev said:
...if you get four old P-basses, they won't sound exactly alike...
Click to expand...

+1

Well, yes. Also, many of them have issues with upper frets, truss rods, and since about '70, very heavy poly on the bodies and necks. :p

I've had a '55 single coil (still have it), a '68, a '70 fretless loaner, and a '71 fretless that now has a '69 neck (rosewood FB) on it. The best split coil I every played was a '65 (or '64?) with a C neck, but that was due to the feel, not the tone.

I'm gonna get some heat here, but a good sounding P-bass is a good sounding P-bass. If you have a good neck, that is a huge part of it.

Check this: I put a very nice Fender Japan P-bass neck on my '71, because the hump, crumbling finish, and bad fret job on the '69 MIA neck were driving me just plain nuts, plus it would not set up well.

The MIJ neck killed the tone. It wasn't just me who thought so. I took the bass with the MIJ neck mounted in to my Luthier (RSguitarworks). I had the '69 Fender MIA neck refretted, dehumped, refinished (nitro) and reinstalled. As Roy handed me the bass with the '69 Fender neck on it, unprompted he said, "Jeez, that other neck just killed the tone."

I kid you not. So, find a P-bass (no matter the vintage) with a neck that is as good as possible, and play it with and without an amp. Look for evenness, punch, loudness (unamplified), sustain, etc. If you think it is good, it probably is.

Finally, IMHO, the 2008 MIA Fender P-basses are as good as most CBS Fenders, and better than a lot of them. :hiding:
 
#19
GeneralElectric said:
Most 60s P's I've played have a warmer woodier sound while Precisions from the 70s gradually got brighter and harsher.
Click to expand...

I think a main reason for that is that Fender has made so many different P pickups, and that's why I get a little confused when people talk about the "P sound". Factor in the tonal variations from different strings and the P sound gets even broader.

I'd really like to see list of the details of Fender P pickups over the years (sc's included) that gives the year, DCR/turn count, coil height, wire gauge/type, magnet type/height, etc. That would be interesting; you could look at the specs and get an indication of how a particular pickup may sound, and you could also use that info to guide you in pickup selection if you've decided on a tone you'd like to get from your bass.

I also agree with what Jim said about necks from my limited experience with swapping stuff around.
 

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