Which records more easily: Precision or Stingray?

[bigtone23]

Verse=P
Chorus=SR

Not sure I would’ve bothered switching, but, they both sound great.

Killer track! The bass switch really accentuates the verse/chorus division. Both great sounds.

 

[Brad Johnson]

You said any bass could sound like any bass using plugins. Thats what i took issue with. That appears to have been a typo, but I figured it was not since it was on right on topic.

Plugins can definitely do a ton of cool things but its much better to be using them on high quality source audio and to be tracking in with the bass sound you want from the beginning.

I read it that way too. Had me curious because I haven't seen that yet. I have had people trying to convince me but morphing one bass convincingly into any other bass is a pretty tall task.

 

[mouthmw]

The sound is a bit more scooped than a P, but it is a great tone for the song.

Thanks, I'm digging the tones I got out of it too. There's a few more tracks with it where it sounds different, depending on the song, so it's not a one trick pony either.

 

[donCameron]

Maybe that's why he put the low tension strings on it.

I don't know. I got him to put some la bellas on and it started playing more like the 20k instrument he was always bragging about.

 

[GBBSbassist]

I'm not an audio engineer or anything, but I've always had better home results recording a P bass. I've had many situations where it's just much more difficult to dial in a tone with a stingray/sterling. A P bass is almost foolproof.

 

[donCameron]

Agreed. A bass would have to be in really bad shape not to sound good recorded. The P Bass thing must be mostly a rock and country thing. I seriously doubt any urban gospel recording has a P Bass on it unless it's by older musicians playing quartet style. Smooth jazz, fusion jazz, contemporary jazz.......I would say it's a very low % of P Bass. But it's not a total washout. The guy from Snarky Puppy plays a P Bass. With all the plug-ins available in ProTools, you can make any bass sound like any bass through any type of rig on the planet.

I don't see how the "P Bass thing must be mostly a rock and country thing." Jamerson and Babbitt played all those Motown hits on Precisions. And you can't make any bass sound like any bass with any plugin I've used. And I've used 99 percent of them.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I don't see how the "P Bass thing must be mostly a rock and country thing." Jamerson and Babbitt played all those Motown hits on Precisions. And you can't make any bass sound like any bass with any plugin I've used. And I've used 99 percent of them.

If may speak for him, I am pretty sure DW is talking about more contemporary R&B, Funk, or Smooth Jazz, not 45 or 50 year old Motown tunes. Of course, P-bass can be used on newer material, but it is not the default tone of those genres.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Aw c'mon Doc!
You know exactly what all the P-bass guys are going to tell you!

And you also know what the Fender Haters will say.

 

[donCameron]

If may speak for him, I am pretty sure DW is talking about more contemporary R&B, Funk, or Smooth Jazz, not 45 or 50 year old Motown tunes. Of course, P-bass can be used on newer material, but it is not the default tone of those genres.

I don't know much about those new genres. Of course my, music library has few tracks created after 2k. However... Just because I'm an old fart, doesn't mean I completely reject new music. I'm currently rehearsing for a former student and current Berklee sophmore's EP release next week. It's all modern RB and Pop with some serious "Persian" overtones. I'm using my Tony Franklin fretless on it and it's fitting like a glove. Not the OJ glove, mind you, but a proper one!

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Early Chic was a P but the biggest hits came on a Stingray, however most people dance to both without giving a damn about which bass was used so they both win.

The video for Le Freak shows a Precision, but I'm damned if I could ever nail that tone with one...

 

[Dr. Cheese]

The video for Le Freak shows a Precision, but I'm damned if I could ever nail that tone with one...

Videos, especially lip synced videos, are eye candy only.

 

[Gaolee]

You are right, but time is money is a studio. Recording a jingle or a soundtrack is a situation where a bassist can not afford to lose time for a contractor.

A Precision makes a predictable, reliable, and unchallenging sound. If you are recording a jingle or soundtrack, chances are the music is "designed" to do something, and the bass is not intended to be edgy or out there in some way. That makes a Precision an obvious choice. If you are recording something else, then a Precision may not be such an obvious choice, because you are going for a different effect.

Take my opinion for what it's worth - it comes from a person who knows absolutely nothing about recording beyond making bar band demos in the basement.