The Most Versatile Bass? You'd Be Surprised

[TRichardsbass]

I'm gonna reiterate again. J Bass style passive pickup configurations (J, Dual Soapbar, P-J and even the Lackland MM-J) will always provide more tonal choices then a simple single soap bar, lipstick tube or p-bass configuration. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that. All of them will allow you to dial in more then enough usable tones.

Active pickups, and of course in dual configuration, provide the maximum sonic spectrum. Again, don't take rocket science. But saying that a J bass is the most versatile, while subjective, is pretty much, IMHO, rubbish. My Ex-Factor blows my J Bass Plus away in total tonal versatility, and they have the same active onboard circuitry, so I have a perfect apples-apples comparison. Phil Kubicki got that so much more right then anyone else. (Again, my opinion.)

Now, as for fitting in to most recorded and live situations, the P-bass is supreme. Not because it is all things and all mighty, but because when someone thinks about "bass" they have been raised, at least those around my age and older, on recordings that were primarily made with Fender P Basses. So the P Bass sound fits in most music, just about every genre, and if you are in a cover band you play songs that the P Bass will do for you better then most.

If you compare sounds of the basses on most of the AM-Bubble gum pop hits of the 60s and early 1970s, you will find that only two basses were primarily used. P Bass and J bass. I had the priviledge to talk with Joe Osborne many years ago, and also have spoken with Carol Kaye. For the most part they were always taken direct or in LA through Fender amps, and the volume and tone knobs on their basses were turned to 11. They didn't fiddle with tone knobs at all. The engineers took the direct signal full. Same for Jamerson I believe. So the tone came more from the pick/fingerstyle they used and the strings on the bass.

Garry Tallent recorded most of the "Born to Run" album with his Dan Armstrong modified Danelectro Longhorns. Darkness on the Edge of Town was a combo of a Fender P and MM Stingray. "The River" I believe was mostly if not all the MM."

Duck Dunn used a Precision. David Hood used a Jazz. Larry Graham used a Jazz. Rick James used a Rick. Jack Bruce used everything BUT a jazz bass.

What did this rant prove? Nothing.

First I guess we really have to get what the OP meant by "versatile".

Either way, I own only one J Bass. I have eight others.

 

[TripleDouble]

I guess I'll speak up on behalf of my 1 Pickup MM Sterling, not as the definitive word, but a very cool bass.

Treble rolled back, very slight mid boost=Jazz bass-ish but still a unique voice
Treble rolled way back, slight mid cut, slight bass boost = P bass
Slight bass Boost, humbucking pickup mode = Stingray
Bit of treble and bass boost if you're a hi-fi slapper dude or want a modern pick sound
The coil tap/paralell switch does great stuff to all of these settings, so there's 12 very useful tones.

Mine is old and has the dial up string mutes and a hipshot too. It was drunkenly used to play the drums a few times. It can absorb floodwater in a basement. It also once used it to fend off a potentially rabid alleycat. I did not hurt the animal, but was pretty scared. The bass was not. It can make people who are used to fenders wonder where the hell to rest their thumb. It can sound wayyy too bright or muddy if you are young and/or uninformed. It can make vintage poser snobs turn up their noses. This bass can do a lot of crap.

I like my P bass more for rock gigs, but this for jazzing.

 

[Bongolation]

Well, it's always been a bass guitar, whether people called it that or not.

They didn't.

It was an "electric bass" or in musician's union designation, "Fender bass" (note period album credits).

It was primarily marketed to and for upright bassists as an alternative to schlepping "the doghouse" all over town and a method of getting more projection.

As innumerable famous bassists of past generations have pointed out, when rock became a prevalent and popular youth genre, "the worst guitarist had to play bass" and the Fender Jazz bass was belatedly introduced specifically and intentionally to appeal to this market, guitarists who were finding themselves bass players. It was more guitarlike and less basslike, a more comfortable transitional instrument.

It was not a bass for Jazz, but rather merely named to be a marketing mate to the Jazzmaster guitar introduced at the same time.

And I'm sure there's a lot of folks a generation or two before you that thought using an electric bass and things like multitrack recording were major wrong turns in music that were a minority compared to how your generation felt.

I neither know nor care.

My position is based on my background in #1-market broadcast, music analysis and national playlisting and format development.

My primary objection to "modern bass guitar" is not stylistic but rather that it leaves critical bass registers of ensemble music unoccupied. It creates a sonic void that traditional bass previously filled which now has to be artificially occupied by other instruments, normally keyboard synthesizers or even secondary true bass tracks.

But aside from that, I do absolutely detest the sound of aggressively bright bass overlapping guitar registers, and aggressively overplaying -- being more guitar than bass. To me it seems clueless and misguided in musical product.

I think this trend is traceable back to the inferiority complex bassists have been trying to get out from under since playing "bass guitar" was viewed as the band jail for guitarists who couldn't cut it.

I've said this all before.

TBers typically don't understand my points and to the extent they do they tend to be upset by them. A few get it.

I'm no longer interested in discussing it.

Rock on.

 

[THand]

They didn't.

It was an "electric bass" or in musician's union designation, "Fender bass" (note period album credits).

It was primarily marketed to and for upright bassists as an alternative to schlepping "the doghouse" all over town and a method of getting more projection.

As innumerable famous bassists of past generations have pointed out, when rock became a prevalent and popular youth genre, "the worst guitarist had to play bass" and the Fender Jazz bass was belatedly introduced specifically and intentionally to appeal to this market, guitarists who were finding themselves bass players. It was more guitarlike and less basslike, a more comfortable transitional instrument.

It was not a bass for Jazz, but rather merely named to be a marketing mate to the Jazzmaster guitar introduced at the same time.


I neither know nor care.

My position is based on my background in #1-market broadcast, music analysis and national playlisting and format development.

My primary objection to "modern bass guitar" is not stylistic but rather that it leaves critical bass registers of ensemble music unoccupied. It creates a sonic void that traditional bass previously filled which now has to be artificially occupied by other instruments, normally keyboard synthesizers or even secondary true bass tracks.

But aside from that, I do absolutely detest the sound of aggressively bright bass overlapping guitar registers, and aggressively overplaying -- being more guitar than bass. To me it seems clueless and misguided in musical product.

I think this trend is traceable back to the inferiority complex bassists have been trying to get out from under since playing "bass guitar" was viewed as the band jail for guitarists who couldn't cut it.

I've said this all before.

TBers typically don't understand my points and to the extent they do they tend to be upset by them. A few get it.

I'm no longer interested in discussing it.

Rock on.

ahhhh..the bitter pill of truth!

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

The fact that you neither know nor care of/for previous generations opinions on the topic is indicative of why much of the current generations neither know nor care about your experience on the topic- can't be too surprised about that

 

[Joospocks]

I was only a little surprised because after reading the title, I expected the OP to try to be surprising by claiming a passive P is the most versatile bass ever. But I wasn't too far off either. I agree with a previous poster who stated that there is a difference between musical diversity and tonal diversity. Most of us have heard passive fenders in a lot of the music we listen to; their sounds are classic and "tried-and-true". However, a bass with a 3 band preamp, and coil switching abilities on its pickups will almost certainly be more tonally diverse. Whether the switches and preamps are necessary is another argument.

 

[Bongolation]

I expected the OP to try to be surprising by claiming a passive P is the most versatile bass ever.

No, you're approaching that from the wrong angle.

"Versatile" doesn't matter; if it can't be played well on a Precision, it's not bass in the first place.

 

[Bongolation]

The fact that you neither know nor care of/for previous generations opinions on the topic is indicative of why much of the current generations neither know nor care about your experience on the topic- can't be too surprised about that

Not to put too fine a point on it, my "opinions" (not a word I would normally use myself in this context) used to mean millions of dollars to the recording and broadcast industries (and unfortunately, I didn't get any of those millions ).

How many millions of dollars were theirs...or yours...worth to anyone?

Just some perspective here.

I'm not a fan or wannabee. Like most significant music industry people, I don't even personally like music. Before a family tragedy compelled me leave my career years ago, my role was perfectly analogous to the guy in the white coat in the white room at the winery who swishes a stainless-steel spoonful of the wine around in his mouth with a look of rapt concentration and spits it out down a drain. He doesn't drink the wine, he may not even like wine. That would be a distraction. He's the rare guy who has the superb sensitivity and objectivity to say if the wine is good product and if it's viable or if it should be salvaged to vinegar. The consumer has no more understanding of his role and his mindset than music fans do of mine.

So, when I say I have problems with some sound or trend or approach, it's not based on my personal tastes, as I don't actually have any. I'm analyzing components of product, whether something works or not in the subtle ways that music consumers (and most musicians) don't even realize exist.

Music fans would find what I did and what I think incredibly boring and tedious, to the extent they understood any of it at all.

 

[rockstarbassist]

Wrong. And dumb.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Seeing as how fully viable and successful product completely contrasting your own notion of what works based on your analysis existed both before and after your time, maybe it's time to take a break from the winery

 

[Duke21]

+ many to all of this....

as for Knobphobia - 100% personal taste in my mind. Some people prefer to have the ability to tweak at will to alter tone to meet this situation. I prefer fewer 'on the fly' options as I prefer to maximize the tonal options within a set tonal framework. Like here is my 'base' tone - through the use of the vol and tone knobs and hand placement I find enough differences to be authentic enough. Another player might prefer 3 or 4 distintly switchable tones and use a more consistent attack and hand position.

I have certainly heard a pile of examples from each camp that worked great.

I can't think of a time I saw a 'pro' band and was struck with an example of the bassist hurting a song by failing to cop an appropriate tone. However I am sure we have all seen a band murder Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes because the bassist couldn't cop the feel and notes of the bassline.

Well maybe, but not alway. Jeff Berlin played Squire's bass part on ABWH live, and I must say his tone just didn't worked. I think his tone hurt the songs.... But so did Bruford's electric drums...

 

[James Judson]

IMHO versatile describes the player not the instrument. I can make any bass work on any song. Like one poster says "does anyone in the audience detect a difference". I'm a little confused what the OP wants from me.

Versatile is my P bass, you plug it in and go, and no setting will mess up the tone. Grab that one cuz one size fits all. Great for that situation with no sound check.

Versatile is my Lakland, you plug it in and it sounds like crap until you make some adjustments and "coaxe" the tone out of it. My Lakland will sound killer after a song or three. 100,000 great tones here and twice as many that suck.

The most versatile bass for me is the one I'm in love with at the time. That changes week to week.

YMMV

 

[Diogenes]

well no...that point about a P has been made 7 or 8 times prior to your post in this thread....

Are you sure?

 

[vin*tone]

I chose the Lakland 55-02 ( also because the American one's are expensive) because of the versatility in the pick up selection. I can get the jazz tones, and then some. Active or passive is huge also. So I would like to nominate the Lakland pickup/electronics as the most versatile.

Ding! ding! ding! We have a winner.

You guys can bang on all you like about Precision v Jazz but IMO neither of them are even in the game. As far as versatility goes...the Laky kills em both.



Does it 'nail' all those tones? nope. But it's easily more versatile than all bases noted in the thread so far.

Watch the vid then listen with eyes closed and try and pick the bass change.

 

[plangentmusic]

Ding! ding! ding! We have a winner.

You guys can bang on all you like about Precision v Jazz but IMO neither of them are even in the game. As far as versatility goes...the Laky kills em both.



Does it 'nail' all those tones? nope. But it's easily more versatile than all bases noted in the thread so far.

Watch the vid then listen with eyes closed and try and pick the bass change.

Coupla things. First off, I can hear a difference. It is huge? nah. it's bass. He also didn't use the P with a setting that is most "P" like. (Too trebly, played by the bridge.

I hate to say it...that Lakeland sounds a LOT like my Ibanez SR500 with bartolinies and 3 way tone control. 500 bucks.

 

[Alex E]

I disagree. Everytime I play my Jazz or my Jaguar and even my Precisions, I'm wondering where the rest of the tone is. After picking up my Sterling, Stingray or ATK, I find the rest of what was missing.

You are able to get P tones on your Stingray and Sterling? I never was able to live. I know they record great, but I found their tone to be way too nasally when I had a Stingray. That's why I sold it.

In fairness though, I've only dinked around with a Sterling at the store, but I didn't like the live low-end it produced either. Just didn't sound to my ear anything like a P or the low-end of a J.

 

[vin*tone]

Coupla things. First off, I can hear a difference. It is huge? nah. it's bass. He also didn't use the P with a setting that is most "P" like. (Too trebly, played by the bridge.

I hate to say it...that Lakeland sounds a LOT like my Ibanez SR500 with bartolinies and 3 way tone control. 500 bucks.

Yeah sure you can hear a difference. As I said - it doesn't necessarily nail all those instruments. But if you're talking about versatility then the Laky covers a lot of sonic ground.

I'm not a Lakland owner BTW but I do appreciate them as damn nice instruments. Just as nice as your $500 Ibanez apparently.

 

[plangentmusic]

Well maybe, but not alway. Jeff Berlin played Squire's bass part on ABWH live, and I must say his tone just didn't worked. I think his tone hurt the songs.... But so did Bruford's electric drums...

I agree. But in Berlins case, it's mostly the attack. Did he use a pick? Here's Squire using a Jazz. It sounds like ...well, Squire.


Proof!

 

[pudgychef]

*snip*

As innumerable famous bassists of past generations have pointed out, when rock became a prevalent and popular youth genre, "the worst guitarist had to play bass" and the Fender Jazz bass was belatedly introduced specifically and intentionally to appeal to this market, guitarists who were finding themselves bass players. It was more guitarlike and less basslike, a more comfortable transitional instrument.

It was not a bass for Jazz, but rather merely named to be a marketing mate to the Jazzmaster guitar introduced at the same time.

**snip*

enjoyed your post - but most histories of the Jazz Bass and Fender that I have read acknowledge that the driving force behind the J was not to further appeal to guitarists OR Leo trying to improve the P (which he basically perfected with the '57 changes) but a result of requests from salesmen and the marketing department for a 'Deluxe' model. The moniker 'Jazz Bass' was decided on to send the message that it was "a high-end model for advanced players with jazz technique"

From Don Randall "After establishing the fact that bass guitars would sell and that people wanted them, then the next thing was to make a prettier one, a more elaborate one. We wanted an upscale model to put on the market. The Jazz Bass wasn't Leo's idea particularly, it was more of a marketing idea, something that we wanted to expand the line. Mostly it was not just a love of the product, it was a market oriented move"

So you can see that while the P bass is a sacred and pure instrument, designed with a whisper from heaven to share the voice of the electric bass with the world...and thus all those that play it are equally pure in their pursuit of music....The J bass is a bastardized, big business designed tool of market whose only intent is to pry more pennies from your purse with pretty graphics and fancy hoopla - and as such all those that prefer Js are shallow, not in it for the music, its all about image poseurs...

 

[pudgychef]

IMHO versatile describes the player not the instrument. I can make any bass work on any song. Like one poster says "does anyone in the audience detect a difference". I'm a little confused what the OP wants from me.

Versatile is my P bass, you plug it in and go, and no setting will mess up the tone. Grab that one cuz one size fits all. Great for that situation with no sound check.

Versatile is my Lakland, you plug it in and it sounds like crap until you make some adjustments and "coaxe" the tone out of it. My Lakland will sound killer after a song or three. 100,000 great tones here and twice as many that suck.

The most versatile bass for me is the one I'm in love with at the time. That changes week to week.

YMMV

awesome post