The basic flaw in the p-bass

[Tomkat8]

I know my Alembic Persuader manages to sound amazing no matter where I set the only tone shaping control. I don't really know how it works or even what it is (would love to know though) but I always sound great.

Yes I get the wah wah effect

Its a frequency control, basically the same sweep as a wah pedal.. Very cool feature. In fact I had a p bass with alembic pickup and the electronics and that filter for a tone control...

 

[dkelley]

Its a frequency control, basically the same sweep as a wah pedal.. Very cool feature. In fact I had a p bass with alembic pickup and the electronics and that filter for a tone control...

My BTB does that too. However it's a bandpass or notch, not a lowpass like the older alembics used that I love so much

 

[PJ Muzikmansky]

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It looks like the great man might have had a style cut and shampoo before the gig...

 

[sigmafloyd]

just means you probably don't hold a lot of notes on the G string between the 5th and 7th fret, neither do I.

Mine doesn't seem to have one

 

[frankieC]

That's an issue I haven't encountered with my old 64 P bass. Especially when I'm playing through the Sunn 200S or the old Ampeg B15 x 410.

 

[David Jayne]

I'm usually in the 'dead spots don't matter' camp as well. But I've got this G&L SB1 that's got a huge one at D on the G string, which is actually a real pain.

 

[ggunn]

Does it have an inductor wired to ground?

The older Varitone circuits and Bill Lawrence's "Q-filter" can do this as well, basically making a notch filter by using an inductor to ground on a basic tone control.

I don't know about the internal workings but it is an active circuit.

 

[sigmafloyd]

Maybe it has a maple fretboard and rounds and not a tort pickguard

 

[David Jayne]

Maybe it has a maple fretboard and rounds and not a tort pickguard

I'd like a maple guard with a tort board.

 

[TC.65]

IMO the only flaw in the P-bass is that it's too simple for many to appreciate. Instead of adding switches, changing pickups etc etc etc....just play the darn thing.

I agree 100% with this.

 

[Outsider]

Guys, this thread has been fun, lots of opinions and fighting, even some graphs.
I really don't want to go back and read every-single-post. Does anyone have TL;DR for this thread?

 

[sigmafloyd]

I'd like a maple guard with a tort board.

Hahah

 

[bassdude51]

And just to show you how perceptions differ, I couldn't care less about dead spots. Most of the time I'm not playing a note long enough to worry about the dead spot, and when I am, there are other places on the neck I can play the same note and not have it go dead.

Ha ha ha ha ha! Good one, Jimmy! Yeah, a "dead spot" would only be a concern if one was playing a whole note at 20 beats per minute! ha ha ha

How long do we hang on notes? A half a second or less?

 

[SolarMan]

Guys, this thread has been fun, lots of opinions and fighting, even some graphs.
I really don't want to go back and read every-single-post. Does anyone have TL;DR for this thread?

What is TL;DR?

 

[FretNoMore]

What is TL;DR?

"too long;didn't read" = please give me a summary as I can't be bothered to read it myself.
.

 

[miles'tone]

"too long;didn't read" - please give me a summary as I can't be bothered to read it myself.

It started with a John Entwistle quote saying he stopped using the P-bass.
It very recently came full circle with a John Entwistle quote saying he started using a P-bass again.

 

[Bassdirty]

I remember a while ago, somebody being amazed that this thread went on for 5 pages.


can't wait for Part 2.



.

 

[Bassdirty]

As much as I like John Entwistle, that is up to about 1973, it's strange to me to have read his quote and complaint about low end lose in a P Bass! By the time he died, his sound had evolved to a terrible sound and tone which was almost totally de-void of low end frequency! So why did he care about what the treble roll off pot did to the P Bass?

Perhaps being nearly deaf had something to do with his final terrible bass guitar sound.

A- friggin- MEN.

I saw some show (cant remember wth it was right now), with several clips of JE..he was talkin bout some "awesome" tone that he like(d) these(those) days (wasnt playin a P, I think it was that buzzardy lookin thing).. O-M-G.. his "tone"(using the term loosely) SUCKED..sounded like mad beez in a coffee can.
He had like 3 racks with all kindsa different effects and all this crap.
NO BASS at all-ALL Highs..distorted nasty , nasty sound.

Even the guy that was doin the interview looked a little confused when JE started playin, sayin he really liked his latest tones.

Had to be cuz he went deaf. Had to be.

Also makes me wonder when I hear some "pros" who seem to have a really high clickety clangy tone with no bottom.Same problem I reckon..as you really need those highs to cut through when you almost cant hear anything at all.

Yikes


jmo..

 

[petrus61]

I'm usually in the 'dead spots don't matter' camp as well. But I've got this G&L SB1 that's got a huge one at D on the G string, which is actually a real pain.

Yes. There are dead spots and there are dead "zones". One or two frets, fine. But I've encountered some pretty awful ones that I'm surprised ever left the factory. It all depends on playing style, IMO. Someone who only visits that part of the neck for a very brief stab won't see it as a big deal, which is probably most people. But some folks do visit that part of the neck quite a bit, for example, repeating 16th note octaves in that position for a funk song can really suck. To have every note ring clear then choke out in the course of a run is just flat out annoying, again, IMO.

As to the length of this thread, it seems the most inane topics get the most attention sometimes. Not to say that this is one of those topics or anything...

As far as the Ox's tone, I have to wonder how many saw him live compared to just hearing some concert footage. I'm not saying I liked what his tone evolved to...his best was Precisions and Thunderbirds into Hiwatts, Sunn and Marshals. But the last incarnation of his tone was something that did not translate well into television, computer or even surround sound. It was modular and very complex, with the lows, mids and highs being cranked through separate stages. His low end live was massive and much more balanced then it comes across through film/board recordings. I also hated what his tone eventually became compared to what it was in the glory days of the Who. I think what he always wanted to sound like was finally realized through technology, and that was to sound like a bass 'GUITAR'. Unfortunately, the results were not as well received.

 

[George Mann]

Had to be cuz he went deaf. Had to be.

Anybody who had seen them live in the '70's could attest to how loud and overbearing his bass rig was.