Play it the way Leo intended

[JakobT]

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.

You’ve found something that works for you - more power to you. Many bass players have discovered the same thing.

But whether Leo intended it exactly that way is rather less important, and the genius of the P-bass is that it works so well in so many different settings, some of which Leo probably never envisaged.

So never mind what Leo intended - what’s important is that it works for you. Enjoy!

 

[Pings Bass]

That's my bass! (the covers were long gone when I bought mine used in 87)

 

[J Wilson]

It's amazing the number of modifiers (and the money they cost) you can put in the signal path between bass and amp only to find out the magic bullets didn't work.

Often, anything besides smart compression/limiting and a bit of EQ just muddied the water.

 

[gln1955]

Here’s another bass Leo designed…
View attachment 5358534

How did Leo say we were supposed to play our Rays? I don't want to break any rules.

 

[Lowbrow]

Unless it's going to hang on the wall as decoration I give it about 1 week before the covers come off again.

EDIT: make that 3 days

 

[Bag of Lazers]

I have a G&L how did Leo say we should play it someone help

 

[JRA]

This is the hill I will die on.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I don't think Leo intended for something to clipped onto the end of the headstock.

Just sayin'.

 

[NKBassman]

This is the hill I will die on.

Ok.

 

[r_bnks]

Wth?

 

[RColie]

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

Actually, Leo was an accountant by training and a self-taught radio repairman!

 

[MtManiac]

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.

Die on whatever hill you want.

 

[GIBrat51]

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.

That's the way I play my lefty, "A-Spec" necked '78 P-Bass. The little black thingy on mine is in the same spot, but - being a '78 lefty? It's a thumb rest... I do sometimes play it with my thumb, like some upright bass players do, but I've never felt the need to play it that way all the time. Mostly, I play between the covers - with a pick. As for the "original" P-Bass sound? Fender shipped P-Basses with Squier-made flats until 1982 (Jazz Basses got rounds in... 1978, IIRC). If the original, factory flats P-Bass sound is what you want? Well, 3 guys who used to work at Squier, and whose initials are G, H, & S - re-created those strings. The lighter gauge GHS Precision Flats are about as close to the original Squiers as you can get. That's what mine wears - with the foam mute in the bridge cover (naturally). It's an... interesting... tone; not much sustain, of course; but, not just a dead, low end thump, either. There is a solid low end, but... lots of low-mids; good mids; and, surprisingly, noticeable highs, too. A much, much, more usable tone than you'd expect...

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.

Perfectly possible - or else, there's a pair of holes in the body, under a replacement pickguard...

 

[ebo]

If Evil Knievel played bass he’d say, “Thanks Leo for designing the pbass, I’ll take it from here.”

 

[Chickenwheels]

How did Leo say we were supposed to play our Rays? I don't want to break any rules.

touché

 

[Chickenwheels]

Heck, I use a ‘75 with flats. Sometimes. It has it’s uses and is satisfying at times.

 

[Bag of Lazers]

I don't think Leo intended for something to clipped onto the end of the headstock.

Just sayin'.

OMG THANK YOU it's so infuriating.

 

[KenD]

Actually, Leo was an accountant by training and a self-taught radio repairman!

That makes him even less of a bass player. Accountants don't have a funky bone in their body

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

I cannot find any fault in the logic of devoting your bass playing around a person who didn’t play bass.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

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

exactly right except it's not a finger rest. It's below the G string instead of above the E string and it's a tug bar. You'd pull on that with your finger-tips as you played with your thumb. That's how I started playing bass in 1965 and my 1965 Jazz (bought it in 1966) had a tug bar. I quickly went to using a pick with my Jazz and played with a pick until 1968 when our new drummer convinced me to try finger-style, which is what I've mainly done ever since.