Which records more easily: Precision or Stingray?

[FugaziBomb]

Honestly, prioritizing speed at all in the studio is usually going to be counterproductive. People get tense and don't play as well or listen as closely. Numerous people have lauded Ps as "fast" to record. To me that's first of all false, but secondly it's about the last thing you should really be worried about it. "Does it sound good for the track?" should be number one and anything else is a distant second.

What you really want is to work EFFICIENTLY but not hurriedly. There's nothing inefficient about a MM or any number of non-Fender basses if that's what you're going for. There's nothing mythical about the P bass. It's a great all purpose bass and they were the default for a lot of stuff because they were the first/only. But not we have many many many many many many more options to use. So we should use them. If P's were so perfect, why don't we just burn all the rest and have everyone play a P? How many of you would sign up for that? How many of the "oh, just always use a P to record" people play something COMPLETELY different the whole rest of the time. Why wouldn't you just record with THAT bass? Maybe it's because I think being a joiner is stupid but to me just recording everything with a P goes against everything great about music. It's all those little variation and changes that make things interesting. Why did Queen use a Wurlitzer instead of the much "better" Rhodes on Youre My Best Friend? I dont know but THAT'S the sound of the track. Meanwhile, Pink Floyd's Sheep would not be the same with a Wurli instead of the Rhodes. It's all about finding the right tools for the job. Sometimes that will be a P, but it should never be assumed that it will be just because it's been around the longest. That's just pure laziness.

So my "final answer" is "whatever the bassist feels most comfortable with and inspired by and sounds good in the track".

P Basses aren't favored by engineers because of speed - that's all up to the player. The reason engineers like them is that they put out a lot of mids. That way if, say, the kick drum is sounding sweet at 300 hz, you can duck the bass there and still have a lot 200 hz and 400 hz to stand up in the mix. In the same token, if you've got a Jazz bass with both pickups dimed and a relatively narrow band of mids in the same spot that kick drum sounds sweet, it will take a lot more work to get the bass to sit well in the mix (or you compromise on the kick). I'm not a huge P Bass enthusiast by any means (I tend to like double buckers) and still I own 3...

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Although I am no pro by a long shot, I always got the impression that modern mid heavy basses like Ken Smiths, Peavey Cirrus, and Sadowsky Moderns, are liked by engineers too. Obviously, they are active, two pickups basses, that are not as simple to set up as a Precision, but they won’t get lost in the mix. I am pretty sure that if my Peavey Forum five had become more common, it would have been liked by engineers too.

 

[DWBass]

I recorded heavily in NYC during the 80's-90's. I was never asked to play a P Bass. I did once have a guy ask me to play the house bass (A heavy, POS Sadowsky that played like @$$). I plugged in my Ibanez and he was happy. Artist was happy as well.

This was recorded in 1999. 4 song EP for a local avant-garde artist. I used my Ibanez on the session.
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[Dr. Cheese]

I recorded heavily in NYC during the 80's-90's. I was never asked to play a P Bass. I did once have a guy ask me to play the house bass (A heavy, POS Sadowsky that played like @$$). I plugged in my Ibanez and he was happy. Artist was happy as well.

This was recorded in 1999. 4 song EP for a local avant-garde artist. I used my Ibanez on the session.
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I think by time, Marcus Miller, Will Lee, Tinker Barfield, etc. had moved the needle towards the Jazz and preamps in NYC. I will see abou checking out that link. As I said before, when it comes to skills, you are the most understated guy on TB.

 

[India_Sierra]

Although I am no pro by a long shot, I always got the impression that modern mid heavy basses like Ken Smiths, Peavey Cirrus, and Sadowsky Moderns, are liked by engineers too. Obviously, they are active, two pickups basses, that are not as simple to set up as a Precision, but they won’t get lost in the mix. I am pretty sure that if my Peavey Forum five had become more common, it would have been liked by engineers too.

Mid-heavy basses work well in the studio. Guys are right when they say that the bass midrange is an attractive slot of frequency to play with above a kick drum.

Incidentally, although the P bass has a bump in the low mids that allows it to survive being 'gutted' by the bass drum in a mix, I still typically find them to be a very muddy sounding instrument once they're thrown into a mix unless they're played with a pick. They have their place in big sessions though.

I don't think there is a definitive answer for whether a P bass or a Stingray is easier to record. I'd rather hear a Stingray any day of the week but I prefer very clean, refined mixes where each track is given equal weight rather than everything being stuffed in around the drums and vocals. There is, however, the issue of the talent and the time available to the recording engineers and that matters. In terms of commercial viability, perfection must be shelved and acceptable mediocrity is the order of the day and for that, a P bass will do.

 

[DWBass]

I think by time, Marcus Miller, Will Lee, Tinker Barfield, etc. had moved the needle towards the Jazz and preamps in NYC. I will see abou checking out that link. As I said before, when it comes to skills, you are the most understated guy on TB.

For some reason, that link isn't working. Try this one. Your life, No more love

 

[Dr. Cheese]

For some reason, that link isn't working. Try this one. Your life, No more love

That link works! Sounding good too!

 

[mesaplayer83]

For some reason, that link isn't working. Try this one. Your life, No more love

I thought the bass in those tracks sounded good, and definitely fit the music very well - but I'd guess that the same bass might have been buried in a rock mix that was more dense and guitar orientated...

 

[DWBass]

I thought the bass in those tracks sounded good, and definitely fit the music very well - but I'd guess that the same bass might have been buried in a rock mix that was more dense and guitar orientated...

I had it eq'd a certain way for that session. Bass dialed up and treble dialed back. It was further eq'd at the mixing board. I could most certainly get a good rock sound out of that bass.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Whichever the engineer is more used to working with.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Mid-heavy basses work well in the studio. Guys are right when they say that the bass midrange is an attractive slot of frequency to play with above a kick drum.

Incidentally, although the P bass has a bump in the low mids that allows it to survive being 'gutted' by the bass drum in a mix, I still typically find them to be a very muddy sounding instrument once they're thrown into a mix unless they're played with a pick. They have their place in big sessions though.

I don't think there is a definitive answer for whether a P bass or a Stingray is easier to record. I'd rather hear a Stingray any day of the week but I prefer very clean, refined mixes where each track is given equal weight rather than everything being stuffed in around the drums and vocals. There is, however, the issue of the talent and the time available to the recording engineers and that matters. In terms of commercial viability, perfection must be shelved and acceptable mediocrity is the order of the day and for that, a P bass will do.

I don’t think the P-bass sounds anymore mediocre than the person playing it. That said, a lot of times, I prefer a more modern bass tone.

 

[Planespotter]

I didn’t read the whole thread, but my own personal experiences playing music ranging from punk to spacy pop, the stingray was always my least favorite at home, but consistently got the most positive reaction from band mates. Alternately the Precision is the benchmark for what electric bass guitar is, so I’ve never encountered a situation where people weren’t happy with it either.

 

[Vinnie Boombatz]

Whichever the engineer is more used to working with.

And/or which ever the player is more comfortable playing.

 

[Ant Illington]

Mid-heavy basses work well in the studio. Guys are right when they say that the bass midrange is an attractive slot of frequency to play with above a kick drum.

Incidentally, although the P bass has a bump in the low mids that allows it to survive being 'gutted' by the bass drum in a mix, I still typically find them to be a very muddy sounding instrument once they're thrown into a mix unless they're played with a pick. They have their place in big sessions though.

I don't think there is a definitive answer for whether a P bass or a Stingray is easier to record. I'd rather hear a Stingray any day of the week but I prefer very clean, refined mixes where each track is given equal weight rather than everything being stuffed in around the drums and vocals. There is, however, the issue of the talent and the time available to the recording engineers and that matters. In terms of commercial viability, perfection must be shelved and acceptable mediocrity is the order of the day and for that, a P bass will do.

I like this reply a lot. My TL;DR: Either is easy, I find the Stingray's notes to be more clear and easily discernible in playback.

Full disclosure: I have little studio time other than a couple of home studio things over the years or plugging in a bass to record along side songs that I am learning. I use a Stingray for this but I have a P and I like the P for general use. I plug and play the Stingray and it sounds awesome. I am sure that the P would sound great, too. I don't think it can be said that either is significantly more difficult to record.

If playback matters to you, and in agreement with the above guy's thoughts, despite my having very limited recording time, I do have a billion hours of transcription time and I have found that songs that I believe, or know, to have been recorded with a P are generally more difficult to transcribe than those tunes where a Stingray was used (or other basses, known or not known but definitely not P's), especially in dense arrangements and/or quick bass movement. True the P bass doesn't get lost in dense arrangements, the boom is still there but the note discernment is more challenging with the P. And, no, I am not comparing only 60's Jamerson's, et al, P's to modern day songs done with Stingrays and others. I am no technician so I don't know if this is because the P produces fewer and/or less pronounced partials or what but I have heard things said and I, too, have my suspicions. Even when playing my P alone, the lowest notes are not as clearly different from each other as compared with other basses. I believe that this is due to the subtle "chorus-y" thing that the P bass is known for (yes, my bass is set-up correctly- that effect is inherent to the sound of the Fender P).

 

[JimmyM]

Honestly, I think the idea of ANY basses being difficult to record and place in a mix is a myth. Now that doesn't mean that all basses sound appropriate for all types of music, or that certain types of basses don't make it easier than others, but I really can't think of any that are particularly difficult to make work.

 

[5StringBlues]

Honestly, I think the idea of ANY basses being difficult to record and place in a mix is a myth. Now that doesn't mean that all basses sound appropriate for all types of music, or that certain types of basses don't make it easier than others, but I really can't think of any that are particularly difficult to make work.

I pretty much have to agree with this, after recording my friend's CD last year.


I used a Squier Vintage Vibe P (single coil Fralin ) , a Roscoe Beck 5 string, and one of these

,with, a Seymore Duncan Quarter Pounder in it, to record




The engineer never once said a thing about switching basses. Maybe it helps that not only does he know his snit, but he's also a bassist?



A good engineer/producer should be able to work with just about anything, IMHO.

 

[JimmyM]

I don't think there is a definitive answer for whether a P bass or a Stingray is easier to record. I'd rather hear a Stingray any day of the week but I prefer very clean, refined mixes where each track is given equal weight rather than everything being stuffed in around the drums and vocals. There is, however, the issue of the talent and the time available to the recording engineers and that matters. In terms of commercial viability, perfection must be shelved and acceptable mediocrity is the order of the day and for that, a P bass will do.

 

[mouthmw]

I really liked recording with my 2 band ray and loved the results. Switched to a jazz for a short while, and it's nice, but I felt like I wasn't really getting "my tone" so I went back to Stingray, but this time it's 3 band. I'm yet to use it in studio (it will be used, there are some tracks that need to be rerecorded anyways). I also love P bass for recording, just as much. This is all for originals band, so I'm not forced to use anything that I wouldn't want to use.

 

[Bass4LifeRS]

Honestly, I think the idea of ANY basses being difficult to record and place in a mix is a myth. Now that doesn't mean that all basses sound appropriate for all types of music, or that certain types of basses don't make it easier than others, but I really can't think of any that are particularly difficult to make work.

it would be nice to hear a couple of engineers' take on it.

 

[India_Sierra]

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You may pout but you cannot deny that acceptable mediocrity is the order of the day. Studios do not usually operate unlimited budgets with free time to make everything exactly perfect and symphonic.

In this commercial enterprise, there is a job to be done and a job done quick is money saved. This is not revelatory. If the record company can spend $100 of studio time getting a P bass to sound okay or $200 getting a Stingray to sound amazing, I would wager they'd take the cheap option because recorded music is very rarely 'art' and money talks.

I don't subscribe to the school of thought that Fender are easy to mix and everything else is simply more difficult to record well. There is only the question the skill and motivation of the studio staff. They know how to record a Fender quickly and easily but a good technician or engineer could easily get superb results from an Alembic or a Modulus - or whatever - if they just step out of their comfort zone for a second.