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P with flats your only bass?

#21
lermgalieu said:
Not to discount your experience, but I have played P with flats in live environments for years with zero problems like you describe. Cuts just fine, no volume wars...in fact the mid character of the P makes it cut without trying to impinge on the high frequencies being used by guitars and cymbals. For the past few years I have been using a Mesa D800 and the together the P slots into the mix nicely playing soul, rock, etc.
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I realize you arent discounting my experience. We all have different situations, so its all cool. I would love to play live music with a disciplined group of ppl who are aware of and respectful of the entirety of the band’s sound (apparently you have that), a drummer with desire to keep stage volume safe and comfortable and use restraint when appropriate, and a good sound guy who understands that bass is a hard instrument to properly mix and who takes the time to do it properly to make the whole group sound great. It just rarely happens with me.

It seems very clear (to me) that we can’t just rally around the “P with flats” mantra without addressing the entirety of the sound and mixing experience.
 
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#22
If I was forced to have only one bass it would be a P with flats. I am one of those that think the Motown / Jamerson sound is the gold standard, pure fundamental and no fluff.

However, I am an unapologetic electric bass fan, all flavors. I don't need a lot, but I like having a few classic wood / string combos at my disposal!
 
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#23
I’m with the OP in that I’d love to work with just a P bass w/ flats. I finally found a workable octave pedal so I could see it as a possibly if I can dial it in and readjust my approach on certain tunes.

OTOH ... a solid low B can really fill out the stage sound on certain songs.
 
#26
I’m trying to get down to two, a P with flats and a P with rounds. I function just fine most of the time with only a p with flats. Occasionally, I will swap the flats out if the sound needs rounds. So the second p with rounds is strictly for convenience.

While I love the low B string, I let go of fives a long time ago for a number of reasons.
 
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#29
SteveC said:
Just curious. I sometimes think I'd like to do that, but then the band plays a tune like "Uptown Funk" and I need a 5 string with rounds?

Everyone says all you need is a P (with flats?) but sometimes that just doesn't work, right? I watch Sean Hurley talk about dumping his 5 string Lakland for a 4 string P. That's all he plays now.

Thoughts?
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Sean does play his signature P bass with flats more often than not, but he also has a '66 P with rounds that he uses as sometimes too. He plays his fretless StingRay once in a while as well.
 
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#30
SteveC said:
Just curious. I sometimes think I'd like to do that, but then the band plays a tune like "Uptown Funk" and I need a 5 string with rounds?

Everyone says all you need is a P (with flats?) but sometimes that just doesn't work, right? I watch Sean Hurley talk about dumping his 5 string Lakland for a 4 string P. That's all he plays now.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I love my tony franklins, though they have rounds on em, but yes sometimes they don't work. At least, not as a pure P bass soloing the split-P PU. There are occasions where if I use it, I have to turn it into a jazz bass by using the bridge PU. Like certain types of funk style I've been playing with lately - in some cases it just works better on the bridge PU. Or as of the other day, my L2000 fretted bass works well or maybe even better.

In my experience, it's not totally realistic to think you can go through life on one bass. And have that single bass and single type of string always ding all of your bells all the time forever after.

There are players who do that and literally only play a 60's P bass with flats. Sean Hurley as mentioned before being an example, though I think even he has a 5 string music man or something like that. And reportedly will occasionally use it sometimes even over against his Precision bass.

I've tried forever to do the one-bass-only thing and it's never been successful. When I got my Jaco with Fender flats on it this last time around, I thought I had finally achieved it. Well, look what happened to me! I just got my 5th bass the other day (my CLF L2000 fretted bass). And I'm a hack. I'm not even a good player with musical talent and a gig. If I could play and had a gig, it could be an even tougher decision....

My latest struggle is the fretted vs fretless thing that's slowly taking over my life. Meaning, after 20 some years of playing only fretless, I'm finding I need a fretted bass again (hence the L2000). But a decision on whether to stay committed to the FL or to move back to the fretted bass where I started as a young man is on the horizon. Maintaining proficiency on both is what I'm choosing to do now for the time being, but if I want to really commit, I may have to, you know... really commit... :)

But that bears on the topic, as it's really difficult to meet all of your wants and needs with just one bass or even type of bass for all eternity......

L
 
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#31
This is my setup. People are shocked because I am considered a mEtAl GuY even though I'm not, but everything I'm asked to play I use a flatted P and I never regret it. I have a Stingray that I love, but it sits much of the time.
 
#32
"need" is a weird word.

i remember once a great upright player was hired under some misunderstood circumstances, and was subbing for someone in a rock band. classic rock/covers. he showed up with his fine old german upright, and the band was super confused and assumed they needed to get him an electric to play, or find someone else on short notice.

he, being a gangster musician, shrugged and said "guys i've got a bass, don't worry about me."

i was not there, but everyone told me how hard he rocked and how great it sounded.

tone may not be "all in the fingers," but good musicians can make good music even in unusual situations.
 
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#34
Four string P with GHS pressure wound is what I use the most. (In between round and flat) And what I’d choose for only.

this thread should be good for hundreds of replies... I might as well get in early!
 
#37
If I was forced to have only one bass, it wouldn’t be a P. Whatever bass I’d pick certainly wouldn’t have flats on it. I have a P, it works sometimes, but it’s just not flexible enough for every gig I do. Actually, no bass is (sometimes I need a fretless), but the bass I have that can do most of the gigs I do is a 2 pickup 5’er with rounds.
 
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#38
micguy said:
If I was forced to have only one bass, it wouldn’t be a P. Whatever bass I’d pick certainly wouldn’t have flats on it. I have a P, it works sometimes, but it’s just not flexible enough for every gig I do. Actually, no bass is (sometimes I need a fretless), but the bass I have that can do most of the gigs I do is a 2 pickup 5’er with rounds.
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That’s been my pick as well. But I do like the P with flats.
 
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#39
SteveC said:
That’s been my pick as well. But I do like the P with flats.
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Nothing wrong with that. If that’s your thing, go for it. It just isn’t mine - the 2 times I put flats on a bass, within a couple of days I grew tired of trying to dig the tone in my head out of strings that fought me the whole time.
 
#40
The “P with flats” is undoubtedly a legendary tone that works for a lot of different styles and is personally one of my favorites. For me, though, it doesn’t work for everything I do, even if I wish it did sometimes.

Pragmatism always wins when I’m faced with these “If you could only have one” quandaries, and my answer is a 5 string J/J or P/J with rounds. I know I will be able to cover every BG gig I play with one of those.
 
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