Which modern available P-Basses have the royal tone of a 60's p-bass? Talking a fully assembled bass. Can you add modern pick-ups to an existing bass to get the royal tone?
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Royal P Bass
- Thread starter BroDon
- Start date
I have been told a Mike Lull P or PJ with Fralin's can do it. What are other contenders?
That's what they call tone in France.
Bryan R. Tyler
TalkBass: Usurping My Practice Time Since 2002
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- May 3, 2002
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So what he wants is a quarter pounder tone. Well, you’re gonna want to start with one of these and then put a Seymour Duncan quarter pounder P pickup in it.
The path of the righteous bass player is beset on all sides by the inequities of the guitar players and the tyranny of dirty strings. Blessed is he who, in the name of thump and good tone shepherds the newbs through the valley of chord shapes for he is truly his drummer's keeper and the finder of lost picks.
Based on the image below, which is the only one I could find in an admittedly not-very-thorough internet search for a royal playing a precision bass, I'd say you are looking for a white '58 Pbass with gold anodized pickguard. Most of the basses you hear on '60s recordings were probably manufactured in the late '50s anyway.
You're welcome.
You're welcome.
Any of them, with the right setup and strings. I've owned and played everything from an original 59 P to a 2022 Player P - put decent flatwounds on them and they both have the classic P bass sound. Im my experience (50+ yrs of playing precision basses) expensive mods, including high-end pickups, are not really necessary to get the classic P tone. Certainly there are some differences with different pickups, but in a live setting with a band, hard to tell the difference.
+1
Recently got the MIM Classic Series reissue version of this (but in black). Was shocked by the quality. Never played a fender so balanced across the fretboard. Definitely has the “sounds like a P bass” tone.
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American vintage 2 1960 p bass. Theres a couple used ones on reverb right now that you can snag at a great price. I REALLY like the new Pure Vintage 1960 pickup these come with. I’ve had a couple 60’s P basses, and these new reissues hit the nail on the head. I’ve had a couple too, it really gives you the whole package. Nice light weight with the reverse tuners, vintage sound, big neck, and nitro! I think you’ll really enjoy it.
Heres a pic of mine, gigged it and enjoyed it!
Heres a pic of mine, gigged it and enjoyed it!
The Royal tone of a 60s p bass might require The royal signal path of a 60s recording console, And the royal ears of a 60s recording engineer.
