With P Basses, it’s all about the neck. It seems like every P Bass I’ve ever picked up has had a wildly different neck. Personally I never found one I liked until the Player Series. Gigged with mine tonight!
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What's REALLY the difference between all the different P-Bass models?
- Thread starter Tazziedevil
- Start date
G&L LB-100. Fender dna. You can pick your color, neck size, fretboard and finish. Quartersawn neck if you want and you’re still under 2000.
I love the qualities of all things on the US models
My Blue American Performer is dreamy to play and made me spend double on my first P bass
I might have next bought an incredible American Elite Precision...but do not dig the body shape...But it was the nicest Precision I played out of all models Fender makes
Could not connect with American Professional P as neck is a little more chunky.
60s originals...i do not like the 1 3/4 nut width
Mexican Players were ok...Nate Mandel was nice, but heavy
My Blue American Performer is dreamy to play and made me spend double on my first P bass
I might have next bought an incredible American Elite Precision...but do not dig the body shape...But it was the nicest Precision I played out of all models Fender makes
Could not connect with American Professional P as neck is a little more chunky.
60s originals...i do not like the 1 3/4 nut width
Mexican Players were ok...Nate Mandel was nice, but heavy
i don’t really need a J pickup, and I’m not a huge fan of the baseball bat neck. Something between a jazz and super thick neck would be ideal for me!
Oh wow- TBH I don’t know much about G&L Basses. I’ll have a look and see if that would work
If you're planning on taking a trip to go bass shopping try Japan first. You're a lot closer and they have quite a selection of quality instruments that aren't available here in the USA, as well as some that are. The high online prices seem to reflect the shipping and "commission" for sellers to take your money and spend it at the local brick and mortar store for a bass that's hanging on the rack. They buy them there and then send it you as if they were the original owners. That's why you see the same bass for sale by twenty different people with slightly different prices. You'd be better off going there for a day or two and do some serious bass shopping in Tokyo. Hope this helps.
To me, I comes down to a combination of budget, the kind of instrument you want (specs), looks, how it feels in your hands (neck) and on the strap (weight & balance) and how it sounds.
Neck
If you don’t want the super beefy old school necks, the standard P bass neck has a 1.625" nut width, so look for your preference there. On the other hand, if you are wedded to a Jazz width neck, look for one with a 1.5" nut width. If you don’t know what nut width you prefer and want a standard P bass experience such as most P players have had for decades now (and you aren’t totally committed to old school beef), I’d get the 1.625" nut width.
Next comes neck profile - if you don’t know what profile (the carve of the back of the neck, the shape that fits in your hand) you want, "modern C" works well.
Graphite rods - cost more, add stability to the neck. I dunno, once you hear about them, you naturally want them. That said, my basses and guitars without graphite rods in their necks stay stable enough
Fretboard radius - 9.5" is the standard for Fender instruments since some point in the 70s, though Fender has come out with a number of models with the old school, rounder fretboard radius of 7.25". If you don’t know which you prefer, get the 9.5" radius.
Fretboard material - you pay more for rosewood these days due to restriction in trade of the species. If you like the look and/or sound of maple (somewhat brighter than rosewood, though some here will argue that), there ya go. If you prefer the look and/or sound of rosewood, you pay more. If you want the look of rosewood but don’t want to pay for it and can handle a sound somewhere in between maple and rosewood, you can get pao ferro. There are other options, either cheaper or more expensive, I believe, but those are the main ones.
Frets - you can either get regular (medium jumbo) frets or thin ‘vintage style" frets. Either are fine to me, but if you don’t know, medium jumbo is good.
Body
Ash and Alder are the traditional P bass woods, usually ash with a maple neck/fretboard and alder with a rosewood fretboard. IMO, Ash is a little more 50s, alder is a little warmer and more 60s (many people have differing opinions on this, including that it makes no difference). If wood isn’t important to you, other body woods are generally cheaper. One factor can be that particularly soft woods dent easier and can have problems with screw stripping - iirc, basswood is one such wood.
Color - for me, this is a biggie and will have a lot to do with which models I choose from. YMMV. Pickguard can be changed out, but the body paint is not simple to change.
Finish - if you know you’re into an old school, nitrocellulose lacquer finish, then Fender offers those but you have to pay more. Otherwise, most Fenders have come with a polyurethane or urethane finish for decades now. Fender prices polyurethane finishes higher than urethane iirc, but to be honest I don’t know the difference - they’re all "plastic" finishes (as opposed to nitro lacquer) to me. If you don’t know what you want, polyurethane finish is fine.
Weight - you can get lightweight parts, but you said you’re not into swapping stuff out, so go for one that is comfortable right out of the box, weight-wise. If you don’t know about weight, for me, the 8 to 9 lbs. range is good, with any little bit over 9 lbs. getting old fast. Other people can tolerate more, and I even know one guy what actually craves a "beefier" bass. If you have back problems, get something light.
Pickup(s) - the standard P bass experience is one split coil pickup. Alnico pickups generally have more detail than ceramic pickups, though ceramic pickups can be punchier. If you don’t know your preference, get alnico. And then it comes down to the sound you like - more expensive isn’t always better (though it often is). Try sound samples online if you can’t listen for yourself. You can always change the pickup later...
Electronics - the standard P bass experience is passive electronics, one volume, one tone. If you have other needs, pursue accordingly
Hardware: bridge, tuners — generally, anything on a Fender is going to be fine for me here, YMMV.
Basically, I typically look at price range and color to see something I might possibly be interested in, then I get into the specs and see if they suit me. Then I get the instrument in my hands and see if the neck and weight suit me and if I like the sound, and finally if there’s some special something that makes me want to pull the trigger on that particular bass, I may actually buy it! If ordering online, I just go by looks, price and specs and take my chances.
I probably wouldn’t go all out on a first P bass - you might get a more moderately priced one first, find out what you like and don’t like, and then pursue your "Dream Precision" later if needed. The more expensive ones do have a subtly but undeniable nicer look and feel to them, but it doesn’t mean that the particular specs involved will actually suit you
Good luck!
Neck
If you don’t want the super beefy old school necks, the standard P bass neck has a 1.625" nut width, so look for your preference there. On the other hand, if you are wedded to a Jazz width neck, look for one with a 1.5" nut width. If you don’t know what nut width you prefer and want a standard P bass experience such as most P players have had for decades now (and you aren’t totally committed to old school beef), I’d get the 1.625" nut width.
Next comes neck profile - if you don’t know what profile (the carve of the back of the neck, the shape that fits in your hand) you want, "modern C" works well.
Graphite rods - cost more, add stability to the neck. I dunno, once you hear about them, you naturally want them. That said, my basses and guitars without graphite rods in their necks stay stable enough
Fretboard radius - 9.5" is the standard for Fender instruments since some point in the 70s, though Fender has come out with a number of models with the old school, rounder fretboard radius of 7.25". If you don’t know which you prefer, get the 9.5" radius.
Fretboard material - you pay more for rosewood these days due to restriction in trade of the species. If you like the look and/or sound of maple (somewhat brighter than rosewood, though some here will argue that), there ya go. If you prefer the look and/or sound of rosewood, you pay more. If you want the look of rosewood but don’t want to pay for it and can handle a sound somewhere in between maple and rosewood, you can get pao ferro. There are other options, either cheaper or more expensive, I believe, but those are the main ones.
Frets - you can either get regular (medium jumbo) frets or thin ‘vintage style" frets. Either are fine to me, but if you don’t know, medium jumbo is good.
Body
Ash and Alder are the traditional P bass woods, usually ash with a maple neck/fretboard and alder with a rosewood fretboard. IMO, Ash is a little more 50s, alder is a little warmer and more 60s (many people have differing opinions on this, including that it makes no difference). If wood isn’t important to you, other body woods are generally cheaper. One factor can be that particularly soft woods dent easier and can have problems with screw stripping - iirc, basswood is one such wood.
Color - for me, this is a biggie and will have a lot to do with which models I choose from. YMMV. Pickguard can be changed out, but the body paint is not simple to change.
Finish - if you know you’re into an old school, nitrocellulose lacquer finish, then Fender offers those but you have to pay more. Otherwise, most Fenders have come with a polyurethane or urethane finish for decades now. Fender prices polyurethane finishes higher than urethane iirc, but to be honest I don’t know the difference - they’re all "plastic" finishes (as opposed to nitro lacquer) to me. If you don’t know what you want, polyurethane finish is fine.
Weight - you can get lightweight parts, but you said you’re not into swapping stuff out, so go for one that is comfortable right out of the box, weight-wise. If you don’t know about weight, for me, the 8 to 9 lbs. range is good, with any little bit over 9 lbs. getting old fast. Other people can tolerate more, and I even know one guy what actually craves a "beefier" bass. If you have back problems, get something light.
Pickup(s) - the standard P bass experience is one split coil pickup. Alnico pickups generally have more detail than ceramic pickups, though ceramic pickups can be punchier. If you don’t know your preference, get alnico. And then it comes down to the sound you like - more expensive isn’t always better (though it often is). Try sound samples online if you can’t listen for yourself. You can always change the pickup later...
Electronics - the standard P bass experience is passive electronics, one volume, one tone. If you have other needs, pursue accordingly
Hardware: bridge, tuners — generally, anything on a Fender is going to be fine for me here, YMMV.
Basically, I typically look at price range and color to see something I might possibly be interested in, then I get into the specs and see if they suit me. Then I get the instrument in my hands and see if the neck and weight suit me and if I like the sound, and finally if there’s some special something that makes me want to pull the trigger on that particular bass, I may actually buy it! If ordering online, I just go by looks, price and specs and take my chances.
I probably wouldn’t go all out on a first P bass - you might get a more moderately priced one first, find out what you like and don’t like, and then pursue your "Dream Precision" later if needed. The more expensive ones do have a subtly but undeniable nicer look and feel to them, but it doesn’t mean that the particular specs involved will actually suit you
Good luck!
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They ‘re all different, some are nicer and more expensively made, without necessarily being a «better» bass as such.
I own a MIM P and an AmStd P - they’re both very nice basses, and there is little between them in practical terms. One cost twice as much as the other, has more expensive electronics and hardware, but it’s not twice as good, just, well, different.
There really is no standard answer to your question. You just have to try out different models in your price range, and find the one that speaks to you. That will be the one, regardless of where it was made, what materials went into it and what the price is. Like a friend of mine says: «Get what you want. Pay for it.»
You can relate money and instruments quality in the same way you can relate money with clothes.
There are Tshirt that can cost 100€ (es. Armani), other that cost 25/30€ (es. Levi's or North Face).
But... still a Tshirt.
I take the 25 one and I'm happy.
I would never spend more than 1000/1200€ for an instrument.
I prefer to have 5 basses in the 1000€ range that only one for 5000€.
Because the sound and feeling in my opinion is the same (or 98%), once recorded or amped.
Sometimes I think that maybe I can also be happy with a 200€ bass... but 1000 is firmly my price range now.
Multiply the prices in my post for 1,62 to have AUD dollars
Looking at this one makes me feel gooey....
I wasn't going to chime in but this comment made me decide otherwise. I had a brand new P bass bought in '73 for the ridiculously reasonable price of $250US and that was with an actual case. I rocked that bass for at least 11 years or so and only sold it due to a career change which required my full time attention. It was a good - not great - bass but I did learn what I did & didn't want in a bass from playing this one. It came down to body shape, pickup sound & neck profile. As I've gotten older weight is now a concern.
When I did get back into playing I gravitated towards J basses primarily due to the neck profile. No matter what else you can say about a J bass that neck profile just works. The body shape? Not so much. Even after years of rocking a J bass I realized that I always found myself trying to make it sound like a P until I remembered that Duck Dunn rocked a P with a J neck for many of his later years. Violá! I found the secret - put a J neck on a P body. My last bit of insight would be to install an EMG-GZP pickup in it not just for the sound but also the shielding. I went thru several other pickups until I landed on this one and this one is the ONLY one that doesn't howl like a banshee under stage lights.
So, what am I saying? Warmoth is your friend. They make an excellent version of a '62 J neck + you can spec a body based on weight and pick & choose the hardware from a myriad of suppliers out there. If you're not comfortable with your ability to assemble an instrument try to find a luthier that can help. Also, don't worry about your finishing skills. My bass has NO paint on it at all. Tru-oil, Watcos, etc. + some stain is all you need. My bass is almost 8 years old with not a lot of playing time but it has the look & feel of a more vintage instrument. Good luck!
I keep hearing good things about Peavey basses, but I don't think I've ever seen one in a shop here in Australia. Bass amps, yes, guitar amps and PAs, yes, but not Peavey basses and only occasionally Peavey guitars.
Neck profile and pickup are pretty much the only things I care about in P basses. If those suit my needs I don’t really care much about other aspects.
I only buy used - more bang for the buck - but I understand you want a new bass. However, restricting yourself to a new bass also means you are limited to whatever is in current production.
Personally I don't think the price of a new Pro P is justified. I've heard great things about the Player line. On the other hand the Squier CVs are fantastic too if you're not put off by the decal on the headstock.
It's tough not being able to try a bunch of basses before you buy. Maybe make a trip to the nearest large city and spend the day going around to all the shops trying basses? It would be a fun day and you'd learn a lot.
Personally I don't think the price of a new Pro P is justified. I've heard great things about the Player line. On the other hand the Squier CVs are fantastic too if you're not put off by the decal on the headstock.
It's tough not being able to try a bunch of basses before you buy. Maybe make a trip to the nearest large city and spend the day going around to all the shops trying basses? It would be a fun day and you'd learn a lot.
There even getting harder to find here in the states. Oh well, plenty of other great P basses to choose from!
