Whats the deal with P basses?

[AltGrendel]

dude.... just....

Gotta love the Brits!

That's hilarious.

 

[Flyingaero]

if you come on to a forum like this and start shouting the odds about the instrement that started it all, with no valid evidence or a good argument your gonna get flamed.

Going to? This was not the effect I was going for.

 

[steelhead2]

obviously there's more than one style out there,myself it has to look like i walked into a music shop in the 60's (and bought it)or it jus aint right(for me),maybe that'll change someday

try a Kay or Harmony

 

[Bygde]

I'm not a P-fan either. I can respect the position and status it has in the history of bass (and music), but I find them boring. But if some people wants to play a P, it's fine by me. Just don't expect me to play one as my main bass.

 

[Ric5]

I was at daddys junky music the other day and I was playing some of the "P" basses there and most were on a 35" scale and had terrible glossy necks.

Is there even such a thing as a 35" scale 4 string p-bass?


Perhaps you had an encounter with a parallel universe.


Did Spock have a beard?

 

[meRTKendrew]

I usually practice without an amp and you can make your bass sound like anything with a good one. No string change needed.

Judge the bass on its merits. It was designed to be plugged in, so it deserves to be plugged in. Just plug it in. You came onto a massive bass forum, and asked what is so special about a P bass, and now that we tell you what you need to do to hear the P tone, (...PLUG IT IN...) you refuse to do so because you normally practice without an amp? Are you in a band? That is where a P bass shines. And amps are often helpful for a gig.
Just saying.

I understand you might not like the feel. You currently have an Ibanez correct? They have some of the skinniest necks available. See if you can try out a Precision with a Jazz neck profile somewhere.

ps. How old are you?
And you need to fill out your profile.


-RTK

 

[Bygde]

Judge the bass on its merits. It was designed to be plugged in, so it deserves to be plugged in.

I agree, they are electric and not acoustic instruments. I LOVE the Stingray tone, but I played one unplugged and it wasn't that nice. Not bad, but a bit flat and not what I expected. Through the amp though, everything changed!

 

[Dave Vader]

I got turned into a P fan from an unplugged '76 that my friend bought. He knew I didn't really like P's much (even though I've had one forever) so he put it in my hands and told me it would change my life. I plucked it once, it sang at me, without being plugged in and I saw the light. I went home and stripped the crappy poly finish from my old P, refinished the whole thing in danish oil, put a set of flats on there and I've never looked back. Oh, and for the record, it sounds like god unplugged now, just as that magic '76 did.
Although I put the rounds back on last month, and I don't like it again. I think the secret lies in the flats, and that tone knob when it's plugged in.

 

[Swampman Cory]

...difference is between a "P" and a normal bass...

I would love to know what qualifies as a 'normal bass'...

Also: It sounds like your bass wasn't nice ("sharp frets"), but it's a preference thing. Some people love P-basses. Some people love jazzes. Some are MM dudes. Each has its own special things to it, none that are better than any other.

 

[5string5fingers]

What I want to know is what p bass were you playing that was a 35" scale???????

 

[countrybassist]

Well I guess your teacher was wrong. You're not at a level to make a P bass sound good and since they are very easy to make sound great, you must really suck.

 

[5string5fingers]

Well I guess your teacher was wrong. You're not at a level to make a P bass sound good and since they are very easy to make sound great, you must really suck.

EPIC WIN

Seriously..it has 4 strings and 2 knobs,how hard can that be??

 

[kevcooke]

Whats the deal with P basses? They just work.

I've got to say, it's only over the last year and a half to two years that I've truly come around to the precision bass (shamefully) - I used to be put off by cheap p bass copies which sounded weak and lifeless, but if you invest in one that is well built it just feels good, sounds warm and... they just work! For everything, if you're player enough.

Disclaimer: DEFINITELY not saying I'm personally player enough

 

[stranded horse]

I usually practice without an amp and you can make your bass sound like anything with a good one. No string change needed.

Seems like you know everything already, why do you keep asking here?

 

[loendmaestro]

/cracks open beer.
/puts feet up.
/watching with bemusement.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

/cracks open beer.
/puts feet up.
/watching with bemusement.

/thread.