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P basses

#83
They are SOOOOOOO BORING!!!

I know, right?!? I mean, look at mine! Aren't they just an absolute snore?!?!?

ImageUploadedByTalkBass1392822599.563411.jpg
 
#84
Let's clarify: the first-generation Precisions WERE ugly! I have a Classic '51 P RI that is a perfect example of Leo Fender's pragmatic, utilitarian philosophy: a long upper horn to balance the thing on a strap, a tug bar to brace your hand on while you played with your thumb, a huge pickguard because Leo and George Fullerton had no idea where players would be picking the thing, and a headstock barely big enough to display the logo on.

By the time the second-generation P was designed, Fender had hired Freddie Tavares, a man with a much sharper eye for the graceful shape. So the split-coil has a swoopy wing of a pickguard, and a headstock patterned on the Strat (in turn, probably patterned on the Bigsby:D).

I have both, and they get equal love from me. The '51 is an iconic example of post-war industrial design, while the '57 is an instructive case of someone taking a relatively awkward design and turning it into something quite attractive.

It's no accident that the G&L L2000 and MusicMan StingRay have very similar shapes.
 
#88
lpdeluxe said:
Let's clarify: the first-generation Precisions WERE ugly! I have a Classic '51 P RI that is a perfect example of Leo Fender's utilitarian philosophy: a long upper horn to balance the thing on a strap, a tug bar to brace your hand on while you played with your thumb, a huge pickguard because Leo and George Fullerton had no idea where players would be picking the thing, and a pragmatic, headstock barely big enough to display the logo on.

By the time the second-generation P was designed, Fender had hired Freddie Tavares, a man with a much sharper eye for the graceful shape. So the split-coil has a swoopy wing of a pickguard, and a headstock patterned on the Strat (in turn, probably patterned on the Bigsby:D).

I have both, and they get equal love from me. The '51 is an iconic example of post-war industrial design, while the '57 is an instructive case of someone taking a relatively awkward design and turning it into something quite attractive.

It's no accident that the G&L L2000 and MusicMan StingRay have very similar shapes.
Click to expand...

I agree heartily that the 51 p is a pretty unsightly axe. Interesting that Tavares brought the aesthetics. I would speculate that Freddie was a fan of the female form...
 

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