What precisely is good about Precisions?

[peledog]

Confirmation bias

 

[ofajen]

I was curious as to why people liked them so much. I traded a bass I wasn't using for it. I'll probably trade this one too after I've tried to get it where I'd want it.

Interesting. After thirty years with a Ripper as my main bass, I got an $80 B-stock SX P-bass and I really like it a lot. It's strung with flats and easily delivers great tone, both finger style and with a pick. I added a Q-filter mid-cut to add more tone control. That's a feature I've always liked about the Ripper.

If nothing else, it's fun to have a fretted bass I can keep strung with flats, while I prefer rounds on the Ripper. Obviously, YMMV.

Otto

 

[JustJoshin]

why is TC judging all P basses off of one?

there are lots of different P pickups and basses to choose from

and if you don't like those then get a PJ, the best config there is

 

[TheSlug]

You call this wimpy?

Maybe wimpy is not the right word. English is not my native language. give me a word for "lack of fullnes" and we are there.
Yes, all of the three examples lack fullnes and (subjective) could sound better with a strat or a humbucker in the bridge.

 

[Tanner5382]

Maybe wimpy is not the right word. English is not my native language. give me a word for "lack of fullnes" and we are there.
Yes, all of the three examples lack fullnes and (subjective) could sound better with a strat or a humbucker in the bridge.

I respect your opinion, but a 100% disagree. Perhaps "thin" is the word your looking for. Personally, I find a strat thinner than a tele.

 

[pacojas]

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.

same experience, Brother!
i sold my American Standard pbass and years later tried the CS59. the tone blew me away and i bought it immediately! it's definitely a keeper. now i'm gassin' for a CS59 with a maple FB. i'll proably put flats on it.

 

[monsterthompson]

Oh, good. Another thread about how changing one component of a system altered the tone, so that component must be the problem. No mention of technique, EQ, strings, genre, effects, amp, or cab. Simply a statement of "I bought this thing lots of other people bought, and I didn't like it." No statement of desired nor expected changes. No statement describing the problem with the result of change.

The Internet. It delivers.

 

[Antisyzygy]

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.

I absolutely disagree. I used a Tele for rock, delta blues and bluegrass as well!

Telecasters can get a fine range of sounds with very minimal modifications or extras. For example, the Baja Telecaster comes with a phase and series/parallel switch. Series gives a fat humbucker sound, out-of-phase gives you a strat-like mid-scoop. That's all you need.

Furthermore, people can swap the neck pickup, and they do it all the time. If you want something warmer or fatter just put a P90 or Humbucker in the neck.

One of the most versatile instruments I ever put together was a Tele with Charlie Christian pickup in the neck and a standard tele pickup in the bridge. It had a 4-way switch to do neck/ neck+bridge parallel / neck + bridge series / bridge as well as a phase reversing switch that worked in either series or parallel mode. It also had a bass roll-off knob I added so that the Charlie pickup could be tamed since it was a very warm, jazzy pickup.

 

[Up the dose]

I went through a similar thing. I bought an American Std. five string when I was playing in a blues band. I considered it to be the best bass for that gig. It sounded just Ok. I didn't want to change anything on the bass so I bought an aguillar outboard preamp. It improved the tone , but still not quite what I wanted. I ended up selling it to a friend and then buying a custom P bass made by Rob Curcio that has what I'm looking for . It's lighter, it sounds better, and I like the Hipshot bridge and tuners better than Fender hardware. It is a better bass in every way.

 

[Eric Swaim]

I guess you could have and in some cases could talk to Duck Dunn (God Rest His Soul), James Jamerson (God Rest His Soul), Adam Clayton, Pino Palidino, Willie Weeks, Steve Harris, John Deacon, David Hyde, Dee Dee Ramone, Carol Kaye just to name a few. The would be able to tell you better than most, why they play a Precision either live or on recording sessions.

 

[okcrum]

P basses don't sound particularly great in the bedroom.

P basses sound great in the mix.

 

[higain617]

I used to primarily play P-basses. I have always been a fan of the tone, but the necks are often thicker than I like.

 

[lowsideonacurve]

A Precision with a Jazz neck and I might be happy......until I find something else to gas over.

 

[pacojas]

THE PBASS OF DOOM!!!


ps: for those that think the pbass sounds weak when solo'd, this video is for you.

 

[JaredBT]

Carvin makes pretty nice PBass.... the PB5.

 

[The Chuck]

Just look at it!

View attachment 796610

Not to mention the sustain - SHHHH listen, hear it?

 

[jtharp]

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?

I bought a P bass early last year, and for a few months, I didn't love it. The thing is, it doesn't sound quite as good solo. But as others have said, in the band mix, they do have this sort of woody bite that just sounds tremendous. I would give it some time, try out some other strings (fodera steels!), and I think that like me, you will get used to it and realize how awesome the P sound is.

 

[njones89]

Because it's all you need. 1 split coil pickup wired to a volume with a tone pot. You can string through body or bridge, but that's about all the choice you get. Don't need all that extra crap. It sounds good in every kind of music, and if you can't "get the right tone", it means you need to practice more.

Some things I like specifically about it, though, are the machine tuners (especially the new ones), adjusting intonation/setup is easy, the input jack is located on the pickguard instead of the side, NO NECK DIVE, etc., etc. The thing is a piece of history because it was the first electric bass guitar design with frets for precision.

 

[[skyraider]]

I love the way a P bass looks, but I usually don't like the tone of a single-pickup P. I did have ONE old P that sounded and played amazing, but otherwise they are dull-sounding to me. And they are rarely set-up to play the way I like. But a 2-pickup P can be a great bass.

 

[mikeyjm2]

"A P bass sits well in the mix" just like "that rug really tied the room together" (in 'The Big Lebowski').

Maybe it's just a cult-ish kind of thing. I dunno.