Dude! Get a 55-02 and call it day! Hard to beat those for a single bass!
55-02s are great. I've had a few.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Only a P-bass?
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
55-02s are great. I've had a few.
I took the Chromes off my 2006 USA P bass this weekend and actually put a set of Fender nickle round wounds on and fell in love with this bass all over again. I liked the Chromes but for me, the P bass comes alive with a growly set of rounds on her. The Fender strings work well with the tapered E string and I was able to groove all day on her with a minimal setup.
I am a Stingray guy at heart and just sold my 08 USA Jazz to fund another SR5. But I have no plans of selling my Pbass as its just so nice to have a good passive bass around when I want a change of pace from my other basses. Don't know if I would want to only play a P bass but I sure enjoy playing the one I have.
I am a Stingray guy at heart and just sold my 08 USA Jazz to fund another SR5. But I have no plans of selling my Pbass as its just so nice to have a good passive bass around when I want a change of pace from my other basses. Don't know if I would want to only play a P bass but I sure enjoy playing the one I have.
I never used to like P basses. Liked the tone that other people got, but always preferred a jazz. Until I bought an A-necked P. I don't know if there's something special about this bass (besides the neck) but played with my B15 it really just is the sound. I recorded a few cover tunes a few weeks ago and my friend who is doing the engineering came up to me afterwards and asked which bass I used on a particular song. He said that was the one, that's the sound of bass. It was the P-bass.
I've owned a bunch of basses but 90% of the time I play a P-bass (probably more)
I've always said, if you can't make it sound good on a P-bass, you're doing it wrong.
I've always said, if you can't make it sound good on a P-bass, you're doing it wrong.
I get what you are saying, and it's catchy and makes the Pbass choir stand up and shout Amen! I'm in that choir on a part-time basis, so I think that's totally cool. Honestly I do.
But as an example, these are also the kinds of phrases that perpetuate the myth for the inexperienced that a P bass "just always works." There are times when a P bass simply does not fit the song or musical genre no matter how hard a player may try. Sure, some P bass-only fanatics might like it simply because it feeds their craving for that sound, but that doesn't mean it's a good musical choice for most folks who could give a rip what the bass sounds like. Most folks just want the entire song to sound and feel "right", as nebulous as that might be. That might mean putting the P bass down and playing something else, even if it's outside the personal preferences of the bass player. This is just one of the things that separates professionals and semi-professionals from novice players. There's more to being a well-rounded bassist than skillful playing IMHO.
Not buying it. I play everything from Jazz to hard rock on my P bass and I never seem to have a problem. Good tone is good tone. It's really about the NOTES that you play, anyway.
P-bass is my desert island bass.
As much as I love a Jazz bass, I like P-basses a little more.
My go to Basses are a 1966 P-Bass, and a new Lakland BG, with a Chi-sonic pickup.
GASING hard for a USA Standard P-5.
"Only" $1199? Yes, I know that's the asking for these things, but "only"???
Only is *not* the word that leaps to mind when I see $1200 for darn near anything short of a car or a house...
Only is *not* the word that leaps to mind when I see $1200 for darn near anything short of a car or a house...
I'm in a P-Bass lovin' frame of mind! I would have an impossibly HARD time thinning down to ONLY one! I also have a couple of awesome Jazzes, no problem thinning those if you leave my P's alone. My P-J Fendowsky is here to stay!
$1199 for a house gets you an aluminum shed from Home Depot. For a bass, you can get a really nice intrument.
You also have a Zon Sonus 5 and a 4-94, so it's not like you don't pay decent money for your gear.
P and other single pup basses can be excellent. Especially if they sound great passive and ones added a nice active eq preamp to replace the single tone control. But the thing about fenders version is necks so wide. If theyd offered jazz neck P basses all along, theyd of had more fans imo. By same token some might have liked a P necked jazz bass. Them with long alien world fingers.
My fave P basses remain BC Rich's.
I think what makes P pup basses so popular is that P pups have a note bloom in their attack not found in most jazz or humbucker/soapbar pups. I tend to use this a lot as a mod to lead synth voices I use by increasing the attack time a little bit. Its the same sort of fast yet still haveing a sense of note bloom like found with air powered pipe organs. To me anyway. Lol.
My fave P basses remain BC Rich's.
I think what makes P pup basses so popular is that P pups have a note bloom in their attack not found in most jazz or humbucker/soapbar pups. I tend to use this a lot as a mod to lead synth voices I use by increasing the attack time a little bit. Its the same sort of fast yet still haveing a sense of note bloom like found with air powered pipe organs. To me anyway. Lol.
As far as pure versatility of sounds, I really don't think you can beat an L2000. Lots of killer usable tones. I own 2 Jazz basses and 3 L2000s...the L2000 definately has more usable tones. Although my Jazz with an East pre amp comes close.
I think most basses can sound good and do most gigs if you know how to use the EQ on your amp. Too often, we look to basses for sound options, but the real place to look is the EQ on the amp.
Besides, amp EQs are usually a lot better than whatever pre we have on basses.
John
I think most basses can sound good and do most gigs if you know how to use the EQ on your amp. Too often, we look to basses for sound options, but the real place to look is the EQ on the amp.
Besides, amp EQs are usually a lot better than whatever pre we have on basses.
John
Yeah... yeah... but I buy all must stuff *used*... I'm a full-tilt cheapskate and proud of it (obviously!)
That said, the new P-basses are without doubt the nicest Fenders I've seen produced - so if you just *gotta* buy new, and you want a Fender...
I love my P5 and could probably get by with only that one, but that's not a choice I would want to make or need to make at this point!
The P is not the most versatile instrument, but what it does, it does it very well. It's just a matter of taste.
The P is not the most versatile instrument, but what it does, it does it very well. It's just a matter of taste.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
At under $500, this looks like a great budget alternative! Being a Tobias design, you know it will have 19mm spacing at the bridge, a zero fret, and an assymetrical neck. Drop in an aftermarket P-pup, and this bass should kick major booty!
At under $500, this looks like a great budget alternative! Being a Tobias design, you know it will have 19mm spacing at the bridge, a zero fret, and an assymetrical neck. Drop in an aftermarket P-pup, and this bass should kick major booty!
I don't know, Fender switched to the 1 and 5/8" nut width for P basses more than 30 years ago (maybe 40+, I can't remember). That's only 1/8 of an inch wider than a jazz neck, it's hard for me to believe it makes that much difference. (I play only four-bangers and I'm comfortable with both widths plus 1.75", though the middle one seems to fit me best).
Tell that to a record producer. Go try being a session player with nothing but a Pbass and see what happens. Try to land a gig touring with an urban gospel band playing your P bass and see how it goes. I played a smooth jazz festival a couple months ago with a couple dozen big names in the genre. Didn't see a single P bass all weekend.
Nobody is saying the Pbass isn't great. It's just not always the best choice. The same is true of any bass. Sometimes as a player you have to look beyond what your personal favorite instrument is and play what the music requires. That's all I'm saying.
Sure, good tone comes from a P, but only ONE good tone, really. This is one reason the Jazz bass is, by far, a more popular instrument. Sorry to rain on your parade.
Leo Fender put a LOT of research into the design and development of the P bass, and there are many valid reasons that it works well with the majority of music types. I really enjoy playing my assortment of basses, but every time I hear a live recording of one of our performances, I find it so amazing how damn good my '08 P with flats sounds. Maybe it is only one tone, but is is a darn good one.
