There are certainly players who can make a P sound good. I can't do it. I attribute it to a lack of desire to dedicate time practicing on an instrument which makes me uncomfortable. I don't like any neck profile of any P bass I've played, and I don't like how my fingers make them sound. On top of that, I can't stand how they look. So...put all that together, and you have a bass that I am just not interested in. Obviously that's just my experience and my opinion, and it is no more (or less) valid and worthwhile than anyone else's.
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Seriously, is there anything a Precision Bass Can't do?
- Thread starter de la mocha
- Start date
bassbenj said:
I don't think you understood a single thing I said, especially the religion comment, but for the record it's your type of attitude I have a problem with on TB. My main point is who the hell cares if someone thinks a P bass is the $hit or the $hits? Let the lovers love and say what they want in their own threads, and if you want to open up a troll thread for hating on P basses, be my guest. You'll have lots of company.
I own two P basses and I never use either. I much prefer the neck on my Peavey cirrus and the many extra tone variations available with an active bass. This said, I will agree with you that you can use a P for anything, however, you can use any other bass for anything and no one cares.
There are four people who pay attention to what kind of bass you are playing and it's tone, the player and the three other bass players in the audience.
There are four people who pay attention to what kind of bass you are playing and it's tone, the player and the three other bass players in the audience.
Might I suggest re-reading the posts in question? I respectfully suggest that you are not gathering the information correctly and/or are not garnering a proper gestalt of the arguments being put forth. It would seem, rather, that you are taking a few sentences out of context, and twisting them into a fallacious statement by Mr. Mason.
davidgoldman said:
Ain't that the truth. This made me smile to myself ... so true ... sad, but true.
Yet, those four people REALLY pay attention ... sometimes to the point of not really paying attention to the music ... weird world
Very very true.. IMHO the only time varying the tone makes much of a difference is when recording. I usually just get a good fat solid sound, and the use my right hand position to vary what I need. However I have found that certain basses allow me too compensate for room acoustics easier than fiddling with the amp. Especially at a jam where for one thing I can not see the controls as easily ( I am 52) and for another I do not like messing with other peoples amps. YMMV
While true, people are a lot more savvy than musicians ever like to give credit, and they know bad sound from good sound for sure. And playing to the least musically savvy people in the audience has never been my bag.
tekdiver500ft said:
I think maybe he was typing too loudly to be able to concentrate on what I was trying to say. That's ok, whatevah...
I would love to try one of those Japanese built Precision A/E models, those always struck me as really cool looking basses.
Nothing like bumping a 10 year old post back to life! I am the opposite, I cant keep a P bass. I have wanted to love a p bass, I have bought 2 fender p basses, play them for a short time then sell it. Same with 2 fender jazz, I have bought one, wanting to love the sound, then sell it. I am GASSING for something else,
PlentySlap bass, classic rock, metal, reggae, punk, hard rock, R&B, Gospel, Jazz, and what else do I play, oh yeah, experemental crap, out of all my Basses, I always grab my Precision bass first and I often wonder why I keep my other basses if this is the only bass I really use (poor fretless).
I just cannot fathom how a stupid bass with just one tone and one volume knob can be so versitile! I use this thing for everything.
I play right on the neck for reggea with the thumb and the tone knob at zero for deep reggea, or play with a pick at the bridge for punk and play fingerstyle right over the pick up in Gospel with minor adjustments with the tone knob respectfully.
It just amazes me how something so simple can be so versitile. And the way it sits in the mix, so warm and fat. The precision just fits like a glove when I hold her. I honestly wish I could have been there when they was designing this bass to see how they came up with this.
Also, Precision basses don't hummmmmm or buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!! Something in which I hatefully despise!
Damn, just plug the thing in and play man!
View attachment 1679356
View attachment 1679357
It'll never have the piano like tones of an Alembic
I have a P and a J. Both sound good, but I prefer the J for the body shape. It just fits my shape like an old slipper whereas the P feels like an add-on.
I have an awesome Fender P that I really love, but I used my 2 Status on my latest recording. I don't think I was able to get this tone with my P.
Check the tone and sustain from min 1:50 to the end:
Check the tone and sustain from min 1:50 to the end:
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For some of us, this is a very good thing
Sitting in its case or on a stand, it can't do anything except look nice.
The real question is whether there's anything me or you or any player can't do with a Precision Bass.
I've lived through enough 'you can't do THAT on one of THOSE' wrong opinions where actually THAT guy DID THAT on that bass that I would have never believed. . . . but had my nose rubbed in it, I was that wrong.
When I worked retail, we had a great local slap player, back when that was not all that common, and this guy could make one walk and talk. We always had music playing in the store, and he walked in one day, 'Roundabout' (a new record in those days) was playing, and he stopped dead in his tracks listening to Squire and wanting to know who that was, the record, etc.
He comes back a week later, wants to know if we've got that record still, and put it back on. He grabs a nice 335-style EB we'd just taken in trade, strings dead as can be, and slaps through a letter-perfect 'Roundabout' along with the record. Not funk at all, he'd learned Squire's part perfectly, and tone-wise, on that dead sounding axe (they weren't real bright to begin with), you'd have sworn he was playing a Ric or a Jazz. Slap was a perfect equivalent for that tone.
Right then is where it was burnt in my brain, it's the player, not the axe. In spades.
The real question is whether there's anything me or you or any player can't do with a Precision Bass.
I've lived through enough 'you can't do THAT on one of THOSE' wrong opinions where actually THAT guy DID THAT on that bass that I would have never believed. . . . but had my nose rubbed in it, I was that wrong.
When I worked retail, we had a great local slap player, back when that was not all that common, and this guy could make one walk and talk. We always had music playing in the store, and he walked in one day, 'Roundabout' (a new record in those days) was playing, and he stopped dead in his tracks listening to Squire and wanting to know who that was, the record, etc.
He comes back a week later, wants to know if we've got that record still, and put it back on. He grabs a nice 335-style EB we'd just taken in trade, strings dead as can be, and slaps through a letter-perfect 'Roundabout' along with the record. Not funk at all, he'd learned Squire's part perfectly, and tone-wise, on that dead sounding axe (they weren't real bright to begin with), you'd have sworn he was playing a Ric or a Jazz. Slap was a perfect equivalent for that tone.
Right then is where it was burnt in my brain, it's the player, not the axe. In spades.
