Play it the way Leo intended

[Phrankho]

I have a Fender Precision I purchased new in 1976 as a teenager. In 1996 I picked up a new Sting Ray Sterling which became my go to bass. I played the Precision occasionally but the Sterling was lighter, gave me more tonal options, and had a great neck.

Over the past year I was working on some Stax/Motown stuff so I picked up the Precision again. I wanted to dial in the tone so I hooked it up to compression, EQ etc. etc. etc. It sounded good and played great - it always did...but something was missing.

I got a set of DR Legends, took off all the electronic aids, and set everything to flat on my amp. The fat, thick, bottom-y, feel it in your plums Precision sound came out.

In a band setting it was even better. It sat right in the middle of everything...creating space.

I realized none of the electronic aids existed when Leo created the Precision. So I am going to play it the way he intended. This is the hill I will die on.

 

[Phrankho]

I put all the hardware back on so it is exactly how Leo designed it.

 

[DirkP]

You have to play with your thumb only and rest the remaining fingers on the finger rest

 

[Gluvhand]

If that's the original pick guard the bass is older than a 1976. The thumb rest replaced the tugbar sometime in 1973, IIRC. Maybe you bought new/old stock.

 

[frankie5string]

DR Legends are interesting. I have them on my Yamaha BB.
Compression absolutely existed when Leo Fender designed the very first P-Bass. RCA, and Pultec existed for outboard EQ, and RCA had a number of compressor designs by then. Most of Leo's early amp designs came right from RCA broadcast designs.

I don't think Leo had any concept of how his instruments should be played. He had lots of input from bass players who wanted a more compact solution, and Leo knew how to design a guitar... I'm sure the thought crossed his mind: How hard could it be?

Also, George Fullerton had to convince Leo Fender to redesign the bass based on the Stratocaster body, which Leo did not solely design. The bass Leo Fender designed didn't look like your bass at all. If it weren't for the others, it would have taken Fender MUCH longer to get away from those crude slab bodies.

But enjoy your bass...

 

[Killing Floor]

Leo intended you to play with your thumb resting on the bar under the strings with your hand backwards. Wasn’t until a few years later when he realized the thumb is normally on the top of the hand when the palm/finger tips face the strings.

 

[HaphAsSard]

I got a set of DR Legends, took off all the electronic aids, and set everything to flat on my amp. The fat, thick, bottom-y, feel it in your plums Precision sound came out.

DR Legends are interesting. I have them on my Yamaha BB.

I'll remain steadfastly agnostic on the electronic aid aspect, and P's have a proven track record with a variety of strings, but it's interesting to note DR Legends are one of very few flatwounds that are round-core, like the original Fender Mastersound Flatwounds (and like the last in-house produced, pre-2010 Fender flats, as pointed out by @hasbeen who specced the ones that replaced those).
Pace all that say GHS, the DRs may be the closest (save for gauges, which are different) option one can currently find to Fender stock strings from the Sixties.

 

[DirkP]

If that's the original pick guard the bass is older than a 1976. The thumb rest replaced the tugbar sometime in 1973, IIRC. Maybe you bought new/old stock.

Maybe he just relocated the thumb rest? Looks to me as if not only there are holes in the pick guard for the thumb rest above the strings, but the body has the holes drilled for it.

 

[Grinderman]

If that's the original pick guard the bass is older than a 1976. The thumb rest replaced the tugbar sometime in 1973, IIRC. Maybe you bought new/old stock.

Relocated.

 

[Gluvhand]

Maybe he just relocated the thumb rest? Looks to me as if not only there are holes in the pick guard for the thumb rest above the strings, but the body has the holes drilled for it.

Good catch. My eyes are horrible and I didn’t blow up the photo.

 

[Jeremy Crockett]

Nice bass.



Can of worms to follow.

 

[KenD]

On the other hand, Leo was a radio repairman by training, not a bass player

 

[Matt R.]

I’ll just keep playing the way I intend

 

[jnewmark]

If you are doing the Motown thing, that usually means Jamerson, so install the under the bridge cover mute. I have one on my Pbass with flats and it definitely gives you that thumpy tone.

 

[tpaul]

On the other hand, Leo was a radio repairman by training, not a bass player

Which explains why his single coil pickups get such good reception.

 

[mikeswals]

Leo played the saxophone growing up. Many folks think he was never musician, but he used to be.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I have a Fender Precision I purchased new in 1976 as a teenager. In 1996 I picked up a new Sting Ray Sterling which became my go to bass. I played the Precision occasionally but the Sterling was lighter, gave me more tonal options, and had a great neck.

Over the past year I was working on some Stax/Motown stuff so I picked up the Precision again. I wanted to dial in the tone so I hooked it up to compression, EQ etc. etc. etc. It sounded good and played great - it always did...but something was missing.

I got a set of DR Legends, took off all the electronic aids, and set everything to flat on my amp. The fat, thick, bottom-y, feel it in your plums Precision sound came out.

In a band setting it was even better. It sat right in the middle of everything...creating space.

I realized none of the electronic aids existed when Leo created the Precision. So I am going to play it the way he intended. This is the hill I will die on.

I've been playing Stax, Motown and Muscle Shoals since the the late 60's. Having been alive when Leo designed his basses, during the early years of Leo's creation most recording bassists used a DB. The use of a PB in the studio in mass was a number of years after the fact. Most of the bassists ( like Jamerson) were DB players used to the dead thump of a DB hence the preference of dead muted PB.

Compression is not a recent development when is comes to recording studios, or radio stations for that matter. Records were mastered for play on AM radio until FM radio took hold almost 14 years after Leo's modern PB was developed. I'm sure there was other gear used and other recording techniques used that have gone the way of the dodo. I think one can get pretty close to that sound today, but AB it and I'm not so sure it's a dead ringer.

Frankly, like I said I've been employed to play this genre for over 50 year now and have been using new or relatively newer round wounds for 47 of them. Countless gigs rehearsals, and recording sessions. In this time I have never had anybody, band mates, band leaders, producers, or sound engineers suggest or insist I use flat wound strings.

I had one keyboard player once asked me why I didn't use flats. I turned on my amp, plugged in, and played one note. He responded " Oh I get it." Other comments I've receive come from sound men and sound engineers thanking me for not bringing in a PB with dead strings they can't do anything with.

 

[Chickenwheels]

Here’s another bass Leo designed…

 

[MattZilla]

Came here for hootenannying.

Saw no hootenannying.

what a load of mularkey.

 

[5StringBlues]

Take care of your plums.