P vs P-like: Can you tell the difference?

[johnk_10]

yay. i got it right! thanks Stuart for the entertainment.

 

[StuartV]

yay. i got it right! thanks Stuart for the entertainment.

Yep! I'm so glad that I don't have to make fun of you now in front of all the rest of TB. LOL!

And thank you again for restoring the '66 for me to such an awesome looking and sounding state.

There were a couple of other folks who also nailed it. For all of you, I would really like it if you would post here and share what it is about the different sounds that allowed you to correctly identify them.

 

[Porkbun]

And the answer is....

Bass 1 = Parts bass (maple board)
Bass 2 = 1966 Fender Precision (rosewood board - chronicled in this thread: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/66-precision-restoration-project-744456/)
Bass 3 = G&L SB-2 (maple board)

Current voting is:

Bass 1 = 23
Bass 2 = 20
Bass 3 = 25

I didn't really expect people (in general) to be able to pick the '66 out by sound. But I REALLY didn't expect the actual '66 to get the least votes of all. And the G&L to get the most!

I was typing out my response when I decided to see if anyone else was thinking the same thing I was so I could quote them. I was correct because of "my reasoning". 1 sounded nasally and "cheap" to me. 2 sounded better, but since 3 was bassier, I assumed that since it was newer, the SB-2 would sound bassier with advancements in technology etc. I dont know how much of that is correct, but I still guessed correctly. Played through Harman Kardon speakers and subwoofer which arent your run of the mill computer speakers One day Im going to catch one of these can you tell threads before the results are posted! My ears and speakers havent failed me yet!

 

[peledog]

Yes

 

[johnk_10]

IMO, the '66 has more depth and clarity to it's tone. like all of the notes are 'breathing', 3D, and have more transparency. to me, the other two are more 'one dimensional'. i think that, while they all sounded good, the JB-2 was my least favorite of the three and sounded duller than the other two. IMO, that '66 has 'it'.

 

[StuartV]

When I listened to the clips earlier today (where I could actually turn them up), I thought the parts bass sounded like it had more high-end definition, or maybe just "brighter" is the right word. I wonder if that is the maple board versus the '66's rosewood board.

I thought the SB-2 sounded a bit muffled or something, which is a bit surprising to me considering it has no tone control. So, that obviously has to be coming from how much I had the P volume turned down. I would not normally play the SB-2 that way as I think it sounds much better with the P volume turned all the way up. I played the SB-2 (with nickel roundwounds) on Friday at a jam session, through a Traynor YBA-3 and 4x10 cab and it sounded KILLER!

 

[johnk_10]

this thread kinda makes me want to record my original 1962 P, my orig 1970 p, my orig 1971 p, my orig '73 P and my '89 '62 RI body with the '72 maple neck for comparison. the problem is, i don't want to change the strings back and forth on 5 p basses and they all have different types of strings on them right now. (too much work )

 

[Porkbun]

When I listened to the clips earlier today (where I could actually turn them up), I thought the parts bass sounded like it had more high-end definition, or maybe just "brighter" is the right word. I wonder if that is the maple board versus the '66's rosewood board.

I thought the SB-2 sounded a bit muffled or something, which is a bit surprising to me considering it has no tone control. So, that obviously has to be coming from how much I had the P volume turned down. I would not normally play the SB-2 that way as I think it sounds much better with the P volume turned all the way up. I played the SB-2 (with nickel roundwounds) on Friday at a jam session, through a Traynor YBA-3 and 4x10 cab and it sounded KILLER!

Cheaper wasnt the right word to use. Its hard for me to describe this, but the parts bass sounded like a bridge soapbar to me, and its like each recording was moving the soapbar closer to the neck. Hope you can understand what im saying.

 

[narud]

1 and 2 were a toss-up for me. the g&l was the easier one to spot. i based my answer off of having both the stock and fender original pickup in my 64 p. the fender original had a little more air and sparkle to the sound which was why i went with the second bass being the parts bass. the stock pickup in my 64 has more grind and less air in the highs but its wound to around 12.2k. the fender original is around 11k.

 

[ksandvik]

G&L SB-2s sound that dark, with no tone control?

 

[StuartV]

1 and 2 were a toss-up for me. the g&l was the easier one to spot. i based my answer off of having both the stock and fender original pickup in my 64 p. the fender original had a little more air and sparkle to the sound which was why i went with the second bass being the parts bass. the stock pickup in my 64 has more grind and less air in the highs but its wound to around 12.2k. the fender original is around 11k.

I'm confused because "stock" and "fender original" would mean the same thing to me.
Is "stock" stock, and "fender original" some kind of replacement pickup (like the '62 RI pickup in my parts P)? If so, that your post kind of sounds like you get exactly the same results with your '64 (depending on which pickup you use) as I do with the '66 with its stock, original pickup, and the parts bass with its '62 RI pickup.

 

[narud]

I'm confused because "stock" and "fender original" would mean the same thing to me.
Is "stock" stock, and "fender original" some kind of replacement pickup (like the '62 RI pickup in my parts P)? If so, that your post kind of sounds like you get exactly the same results with your '64 (depending on which pickup you use) as I do with the '66 with its stock, original pickup, and the parts bass with its '62 RI pickup.

the 62 ri pickup is called the fender "original" iirc

 

[StuartV]

G&L SB-2s sound that dark, with no tone control?

You're the one who said this:

"My guess, just a guess, is that sample 2 was the G&L as those have a somewhat more hollow and high-end sound. And that depends very much what the two volume control settings are."

So, I would expect that you would know better than I. As I said in my original post, the SB-2 was recorded with the bridge pickup volume all the way down and the neck pickup volume at around (roughly) 75%.

What I have read elsewhere on TB is the the SB-2 volume controls make a noticeable difference to the tone, not just the volume. Especially as you go from full on down to 60 or 70%. I am inclined to agree with that statement.

 

[StuartV]

the 62 ri pickup is called the fender "original" iirc

Got it. Okay, so to go back to your previous post, I interpret that as you thought Bass 2 had more "air and sparkle to the highs" compared to Bass 1. And after my listen today, I would have said the opposite.

I will have to go back and listen some more (tomorrow - if my g/f goes out and I can crank it again - we both work from home).

 

[ksandvik]

You're the one who said this:

"My guess, just a guess, is that sample 2 was the G&L as those have a somewhat more hollow and high-end sound. And that depends very much what the two volume control settings are."

So, I would expect that you would know better than I. As I said in my original post, the SB-2 was recorded with the bridge pickup volume all the way down and the neck pickup volume at around (roughly) 75%.

What I have read elsewhere on TB is the the SB-2 volume controls make a noticeable difference to the tone, not just the volume. Especially as you go from full on down to 60 or 70%. I am inclined to agree with that statement.

I had a G&L Tribute for a while and I don't remember getting that kind of dark sound -- then again I returned it within a couple of days. Even with the bridge pickup turned down the front pickup had a little bit more high end than the sample provided that sounded like someone would turn down the tone control to 50% on a Precision.

Anyway, another good reason why I returned the SB-2.

 

[StuartV]

I think if you heard the SB-2 with the neck volume on full you would agree that it does not have that dark sound.

I am tempted to record a sample with it that way, but... I'm not really feeling like doing another set of string swaps just for that.

Also, your Tribute experience probably also involved roundwound strings and I was using TI Flats (not that used, but definitely not new) for this test.

 

[narud]

Got it. Okay, so to go back to your previous post, I interpret that as you thought Bass 2 had more "air and sparkle to the highs" compared to Bass 1. And after my listen today, I would have said the opposite.

I will have to go back and listen some more (tomorrow - if my g/f goes out and I can crank it again - we both work from home).

my terminology seems to be different than most most describe the upper mid/low highs content as "bright", "lots of highs", or "detail". i was always just think of it as grind. i end up calling the glassy, clicky, string noise kind of high end "bright" or "airy".

 

[johnk_10]

IME, all passive pickups (without a bypass cap and resistor on the volume pot) dull down by varying degrees when you back off the volume from full. that's what you're hearing on the JB-2.

about 15 years ago, i A/B'd my '62 p bass's original stock pickup with a duncan SPB-1 (both wound around 11k DCR) and they sounded exactly the same in our 24 track analog studio, so ever since, i've found it to be the most correct sounding replacement pickup for a p bass, and IMO, it still is. fender's old (80's and 90's) '62 RI's were also very close. IMO, their newest version with the beveled magnet tops is great, but a little bit brighter/thinner.

 

[ksandvik]

I think if you heard the SB-2 with the neck volume on full you would agree that it does not have that dark sound.

I am tempted to record a sample with it that way, but... I'm not really feeling like doing another set of string swaps just for that.

Also, your Tribute experience probably also involved roundwound strings and I was using TI Flats (not that used, but definitely not new) for this test.

I don't know what brand the Tribute was shipped with, D'Addario roundwounds (?), but yes that would explain some of the sound differences.

 

[groove_druid]

Yay I got it right.