What precisely is good about Precisions?

[mark beem]

 

[flam]

The only two P basses I've ever liked were both at the same guitar center. One was a 73 with what appeared to be a factory pickup. The other was a 2012 with a Delano pickup of some sort. The common factor is that they both had La Bella flats. Same with the only jazz bass I've ever liked.

Oddly enough, the examples of a P bass in this thread are collectively some of the most irritating bass tones I've ever heard, IMO. If my bass sounded like that I would refuse to play it. Oh well, good thing there's all sorts of basses and styles of music.

 

[arbiterusa]

Here you are my friend:

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Nope. I want the Jazz BODY. The P body neck dives. The neck width thing is not so much an issue.

But you got my preferred color, fretboard wood, and inlay. Nice work!

That's a nice bass.

 

[Frenchy-Lefty]

They are...Precise?

 

[AlexanderB]

Regarding neck heavy-ness... With the innumerable combinatons available of neck dimensions, body variants and wood combos, finding one that balances well should be easy enough. My Squier JV has a slimmer and thinner (one piece maple) neck and balances just fine. One with smaller basswood body + hefty maple/rosewood neck (like a CV Squier) might not.

Regarding the "sounds great in a band/mix"... Well... After many years playing Precision exclusively, my first rehearsal with a (good!) Jazz bass was an epiphany. Truckloads of high mids and highs at the turn of a tone knob, solid, slightly deeper voicing and much more "interlocking" effect when playing in unison with the Strat wielding guitar player!
Still, for our contemporary blues/rock band, either Precision or Jazz just works. If anything, the Jazz bass will tend to make me play more actively, exploring more tonal ground and work more creatively with my amplifier settings and slotting in the mix. The Precision can appeal to the lazy side; plug in, turn up, move along close to the root of the chords etc

 

[pedroims]

I still dont know which bass I am going to use this next Sunday: My P or my J, both sound great.

 

[InThePocket123]

I love it because of the simplicity. The very nature of it forces me to change tones with my technique, rather than other methods. I also appreciate how well I can hear it regardless of who I'm playing with, or the type of music it is. I do admit that at first I didn't like it in a "bedroom" setting, though. I didn't think it sounded pretty by itself. Now, I enjoy it when alone, or playing with others.

 

[angrychair]

all my basses have a P pickup but my Fender Precision is my least favorite of the 3. It definitely has that classic P bass mojo. I just prefer the 80's metal sounds from active pickups and and preamps. Nothing wrong with it though.

 

[mouthmw]

My P with EMG GZR is simply awesome, I'd put it against the best of Ps any day. Oh and it has flats, because hell yes, it needs flats. And it has a tort guard, for extra "this and that". No active, no 5 strings, no frills no bs. Comfortable B size neck (highway one necks are awesome). I don't care for Js much. Had one, ended up trying to cope the P tone out of it, no cigar for me, never missed it after replacing it with P. Prefer the wider P neck too. Can't go back to J necks now either. P and Ray, they get the job done for me.

 

[Floridabwoy]

They are beautifully designed for simplistic dependability. They always sound good in the mix. They keep you from dialing knobs every song and pissing off the soundguy.

I like them because I use a lot some effects and the stability of the sound allows me to dial in and forget it. No worries if the bass is to loud during a live gig. She is always right on time.

 

[Helaskold]

Hell of a marketing campaign. Same reason so many bass players have an Ampeg fridge and so many guitarist have a Marshall stack. They see other people playing those and think "Must be the best if everyone's using it". I'm no 'hater', P basses are nice enough basses but extremely overrated.

 

[mojomike001]

I have 14 P basses and I hate them all. I keep buying and building them until I get just one that sounds right to me.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Whatever stiffens your spaghetti. I also happen to like fat necks, but that's not exactly difficult the change out.

Nothing sits in a mix like a P. Simple as that.

 

[AlienLanes]

I really want to like jazz basses but I just can't. The skinny neck makes my hand cramp up while playing in first position, pickups sound super nasally, and J's are just nowhere near as visually appealing as P's are to me. I'm a simple guy who likes simple things, and I think the Fender Precision is the purest form of how a bass is supposed to sound

 

[Alexander]

my pbass is indispensable! the FCS makes the best ones by a country mile, ime.

Totally agree. I bought an American Standard and it just didn't do it for me. Got a CS59 for the workmanship and vintage vibe. Was surprised how much better it sounded than the AmStd - bigger and warmer. Found a Masterbuilt 55 single coil P and it is absolute nirvana - I knew instantly it would be my #1. While both are great in a mix, I actually like my solo tone too and use the same EQ settings both ways. Just a little less time roll off with the band maybe. Love the simplicity and expressiveness of these basses.

 

[jwilson67]

P's just seem to cut through a mix in a way that no other bass can. They do traditionally have big 'ol necks with wide string spacing. Listen to this clip and try to tell me you're not hot to buy a P bass. The sound is just meaty and sexy all at the same time. This vid is a MIM one at that!

 

[Antisyzygy]

After almost 14 years of bass playing, I finally got around to getting my first P bass. I opted for a U.S. Fender American Standard Precision V. After a few days, I'm kind of hating this bass. While it's not terrible, it isn't that great either. It's not as deep/clear sounding as my other basses, the neck is appropriate for Major League Baseball, and it doesn't record nearly as well as my other basses. I thought to myself, "Maybe it's a dud?" I went down to Guitar Center and found out my bass is largely representative of how they sound / feel. So, I ask you; why do bass players love P basses so much?

Not every P bass is the same. Some have narrower necks, some have wider ones. You bought a 5-string P bass which in my opinion, Fender doesn't do very well. They make a better 5-string Jazz bass. Also, lots of 5-string basses are going to have narrower string spacing, so your dislike of that bass' neck probably has more to do with what you got used to rather than any problem with the neck itself.

A 4-string Fender P-bass has a pretty comfortable neck in my opinion but the neck isn't what makes a P-bass. It's the pickup style, position and minimalist nature of that bass that makes it a P-bass. I have two P-basses with the narrower Jazz neck and they still both sound like a P-bass.

The reason P-players like the sound is because it has just the right amount of low-end and mids to slot into the mix. That, and the bass is very minimalist. One tone, one volume, and it's hum-canceling so you don't worry about noise. It's a "Fire and forget" bass for filling in the low-end. If your goal is cutting through the mix you probably want to try something else like a Jazz, MusicMan, PJ, etc.

Another option is to get a different pickup that's more your style. There are a huge variety of very different sounding Precision pickups out there. The Seymour Duncan quarter pounder is much brighter than a stock P bass pickup for example. You might also like a Geezer EMG since it has some growl in the mids to it. Among P-bass players, we all prefer different pickups.

My main player P-bass right now is an SB-1. You might try that out sometime if you're after a 4-string. The MFD pickup is bright and high output. It cuts through the mix like nobody's business, and gets enough high end to play any sort of modern, brighter line you might want. I slap on it all the time and it sounds great.

 

[TheSlug]

Also like the Telecaster it's an iconic sound that is time proven in every genre imaginable

I hope you are talking about the bass and not the electric guitar, because the telecaster guitar is the most wimpy thing out there. Only useful for country.

 

[Jay2U]

A P-Bass is the ultimate macho bass.

 

[Tanner5382]

I hope you are talking about the bass and not the electric guitar, because the telecaster guitar is the most wimpy thing out there. Only useful for country.

You call this wimpy?