When is the Precision the wrong tool for the job?

[SoulReflection]

Thank you for giving me a reason to post THIS clip of the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing their first European tour, supporting George Clinton. Flea had issues with his Musicman Stingray and is forced to use a Fender P-bass for the majority of this gig, and he makes the mistake you've mentioned.

What can you say when the whole thing sounds like a mistake?

 

[MtManiac]

Precision is the wrong choice 90% of the time, but the groupthink on talkbass is strong.

Love this - the smug certainty, along with the implication that most people on Talkbass are just following a crowd somewhere! Brilliant - do you have a YouTube channel all about chemtrails, Ivermectin, curvature of the earth, mainstream media, and pizza shops by any chance?

 

[MtManiac]

Ok. Let me re-state with all your points in view and see how/if it changes things....

Consider these names: Jack Bruce, Paul McCartney, John Entwistle, Chris Squire, Getty Lee, and John Paul Jones

Even in the very early years of rock and roll, and with relatively few options, it's sobering to realize that while all these rock gods encountered the P bass, and perhaps even used it for a time, none ended up choosing it as their signature go-to axe beyond the short-term - if at all - while building their legendary careers.

Sure, sure… but we can also point to many who have. So what?

 

[jamro217]

In the early days of electrified instruments, the P bass was pretty much all you had to choose from. Today there are more models to choose from and amplification and recording technology has improved exponentially. Making any sixty-year-old instrument sound fresh and relevant is easy in a modern studio. This is taking one of the most versatile basses of all time into account. The number of musical situations where a P bass is not the right tool is probably quite small, and frankly, I'm not sure I'd want to sit through a concert where a P bass would be out of place. What kind of music would THAT be? I think the number of musical situations where a P bass might not be your first or best choice is more realistic. Maybe something with an extended range or extreme treble response would be appropriate. Hope this helps.

 

[ravelax]

I'm not sure I'd want to sit through a concert where a P bass would be out of place. What kind of music would THAT be?

Classical!

 

[Geogio]

If a Pbass is all you got, that's all you got. Use it for anything and everything.

That's the beauty of being an electric bassist... not everybody needs a banjoist, not everybody needs a trumpetist, not everybody needs a trombonist, or a Pianist, but everybody needs a bassist whether electric or acoustic, or washtub... at the very least a tuba honker, or perhaps a Marimbula (bass kalimba). The human ear begs for that foundational vibration.

 

[Geogio]

Classical!

Pizzicato most certainly!
Arco? Not so much, but an ebow might work.

 

[21DaHoagie12]

Love this - the smug certainty, along with the implication that most people on Talkbass are just following a crowd somewhere! Brilliant - do you have a YouTube channel all about chemtrails, Ivermectin, curvature of the earth, mainstream media, and pizza shops by any chance?

Lol old buttburt man yells at clowd

 

[bootstrap]

Lol old buttburt man yells at clowd

Meh. Two things TB needs less of: smug certainty and groupthink. Ok, three: spelling errors.

 

[21DaHoagie12]

Meh. Two things TB needs less of: smug certainty and groupthink. Ok, three: spelling errors.

lol the irony that this comment comes from someone who’s name includes “toan” and “dayz” ... proper spelling on the interwebs is kryptonite

 

[bootstrap]

lol the irony that this comment comes from someone who’s name includes “toan” and “dayz” ... proper spelling on the interwebs is kryptonite

"who's"

keep going, I'm here all morning.

 

[micguy]

“A P bass sits in the mix”. “The producer said to use a P Bass”. “The engineer said he prefers to record a P Bass”.
“Every hit is recorded with a P Bass”.
— TalkBass

I’ve been playing bass since 1977, never played a bass with the Fender logo on it, I’ve never heard any of those things, and I have more requests for gigs than I can say yes to. All that stuff may have been true in 1962, but it hasn’t been true in the last 50 years - it’s an old wives’ tale at best.

 

[MrLenny1]

When? Never.

 

[Mike Vee]

Rarely. For me, only when a jazz bass or Stingray sound is called for.

 

[selowitch]

For me at least, a P-Bass with flats covers about 40% of my needs and a J-Bass covers another 40%. About 10% of the time, I’ll sub in a Music Man and another 10% of the time I’ll use a short-scale for a song or two.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Unnecessary PC/Culture Wars bickering removed. If you are looking for a place to be triggered and express your outrage about anything remotely political, Talkbass is not the site for that. Let's please carry on talking about the actual subject of the thread.