p bass confusion

because some are made in Mexico, some are made in America.

A good P Bass will run you about $900-$1200

anything less is probably mexican made, and lower quality. Here is an explination of all the different kinds I know about:

Standard Series: A regular P bass, made in Mexico. costs about $400 and is more of a "starter bass"

Deluxe Series: A mexican P bass, with a J Bass pickup in the bridge position for a more growly tone. Costs a little more than standard series.

American Series: THE Precision bass! Made in America, high quality (usually) and no extra features.

Hot Rodded American Series: Same as above with a J Bass pup, so its like the Deluxe series, but made in America.

American Deluxe Series: Very High Quality P bass with active electronics and a special design Humbucker in the bridge position. Almost "custom shop" like in quality.

-----------------------------

there ya go.

 

Honastly I cant tell the difference between the MIA and MIM in playability, yes I can hear the difference with the noiseless pickups and what not, but if they had the same pickups I wouldnt be able to tell if one was better construction wise or not.

Im sure someone with a MIA and an MIM can give you a really good answer.

 

Ill just say this much: There isnt as much of a difference as Fender would like you to think there is.

Hint Hint...

 

Thats what Id do. I dont know if any MIM's come with noiseless though, you could easily buy some though.

 

ive heard real good things about the oldder japanese fender basses. Porbabably a good middle ground between a mexiacan and american. I can notice a HUGE difference between an american and mexican one. The mexican ones are glued together with tons of pieces of wood and therefore have a horrible sound. Honestly though most people aren't gonna notice the difference much. Also i don't know what yoiur price range but someone mentioned that an american pbass might cost yoiu at least $900. I think they meant new. You can get a good used one for around $500 if you look real hard. Good luck.

 

MIM P-basses can be very good or very blah, same as some MIA P's. While I like my MIA Precision, it does have a few dead spots in the 15th fret area(I bought it used for 300 bucks) which I wish I could get rid of, but it's still a very nice sounding bass. Just play both and decide if the price difference is worth it.

 

My MIM is not glued together with tons of wood. It has a solid body and sounds great.

Are you prehaps thinking of the squires?

S

 

LOW END

YOU GOT SOMETHING AGAINST P.DIDDY ?

I have to agree with Low-End about there not really being much difference. The woods are of a
better selection on the U.S and better electronics
but they are very close IMHO. The paint is from the
same paint shed. I wonder who makes the most
money per hour between the Mexican shop and
the Corona shop?

 

What?!

 

Noiseless pickups, on a P bass? Are you sure that you guys aren't thinking about a MIM Jazz?

P basses have humbuckers, and are very quiet. The only reason that you would want to change the pickup would be for higher output or better tone.

 

Oh poop were talking about P Basses not Jazzes.

Sorry.

 

Allow me to clear a few things up:

1. I have no problem with P. Diddy. I just think JT is funny.

2. P basses have noiseless pups to begin with. If you want to replace them, its for better tone. I got Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders for mine and they are AWESOME sounding.

3. By $900 for a P bass, I meant at MOST. You can get them for under $900 in most cases. They have them in Musicians Friend and Guitar Center for like $870.

4. When it comes to MIA vs MIM, FORSFYD!!

5. My name is LO-END not LOW-END!! get it right or pay the price!!

 

hey man! I've got a cheap Mexican made Fender J-bass and love it. Of course for my style of music, I don't necessarily need an expensive bass or anything. I haven't messed around with the P-basses much mainly b/c of their appearance, but I'm sure they handle as well as the Jbasses. If you're looking into just getting a four string to have one, I'd say go ahead witha cheap P bass and have it set up and possible grounded too, but if you're into upgrading, you might want to shop around....just my 2 bits tho bro!

 

Welcome to Talkbass.com, Waste!

personally, I dont know how anyone couldn't like the look of a P bass. they are the most popular bass guitar ever, and for good reason. The Fender Stratocaster body design was based on the original P bass, believe it or not!

 

Thanx a lot for the welcome, man! I'll tell you straight up, I'm a Fender man (or boy, I'm only 20). I love the J basses b/c they have the dual pickup appearance, I can't explain it, but to me the Pbass "looks" alittle weaker than the Jbass. But I read above that the Pbass actually has a humbucker...is that true?

 

MIA P-basses are definately better. They are always better build than a MIM. The pickups aren't neccesarily called "noiseless" like the pups that come in the deluxe jazz basses. The MIM p-basses dont have the fit and finish that the MIA ones do, and they dont feel as good. All of this is my opinion though, and if the bass feels good to you, buy it no matter where it is made.

I bought mine from Musicians Friend for $599 when they had the sale to make room for the American series.