Why Do We Keep Coming Back to the P-Bass?

[Paleet]

Hey everyone,

First-time poster here, long-time lurker. I’ve been playing for a while, tried a bunch of different basses over the years, active, passive, 5-string, short scale, modern boutique builds, but somehow, I always find myself coming back to a plain old Precision Bass.


There’s something about that simplicity. One pickup. One tone knob. But the sound? Massive. Sits in the mix like it was born there. No frills, just punch.


So here’s my question for you all:
What is it about the P-Bass that keeps it relevant decade after decade — even with so many high-tech options out there?


Thanks,
Paleet

 

[Yahboy]

Tone ~ simply the best !






and a PJ just for fun ~

 

[Bass4LifeRS]

I think it is because it's still useful.

 

[Paleet]

I think it is because it's still useful.

Exactly! The P-Bass keeps proving it’s useful time and time again, simple design but that classic, punchy tone that fits almost any style.
Sometimes less really is more!

 

[el murdoque]

I really like mine as a different flavor.
My main is a six string in J bass setup.
My backup is a six string with dual pickups, too.

Sometimes it's refreshing to have all those limitations.
Baseball bat neck. No 24 frets. Four strings, one pickup.
Makes you focus on the essentials.

 

[JonathanPDX]

I'd argue bass players care FAR more about the P-bass than the rest of the music industry. Where exactly are you seeing the P-bass as the go-to outside of boomers in bar bands?

Pop music is dominated by synth bass more than ever, and the handful of songs that have actual bass sure don't feature the classic P-bass tone very often.

Top players? The vast majority of name bass players are touring with non-P basses. Sure, most of them still have one, but for every Pino with a signature P-bass there are a thousand guys playing all sorts of modern boutique instruments.

Even looking at major touring acts, I see far more jazz basses and variations than I do P-basses. I haven't done a deep dive into every major touring act, but even a quick search of the top bands on the road right now the P-bass looks to be in the minority.

 

[andare]

As long as there's a need for bass that supports the song without sticking out too much, there will be a need for the specific EQ profile that a split coil pickup in the P bass position delivers so effortlessly.

Any bass with that configuration will work but a P bass is just so realiable, fixable and customizable, and so much part of our culture that there's little need to look any further.

 

[RattleSnack]

Because:
1. in our mind, we are stuck in good old times when music was better so that instruments are a must
2. we qualify musician with our eyes and not ears, so if musician has certain brand/model of instrument, he must be competent
3. we are afraid to experiment with our sound and forget that our musical heroes were not afraid to do so
4. we have a herd psychology and stick to same thing most of other bass players do

Perhaps even, in small measure, because:
5. Precision is tried instrument that does work good in most situations

 

[DJ Bebop]

So here’s my question for you all:
What is it about the P-Bass that keeps it relevant decade after decade — even with so many high-tech options out there?


Thanks,
Paleet

History of modern recorded music?

At the dawn of modern electric bass recording, the P-bass was there. Despite the advancements in recording, playback equipment, and basses in general, the P bass still fills a niche frequency-wise that is hard to beat in many music genres. It still sounds good played back through most materials used for speakers to reproduce sound.

You can use whatever you want bass-wise, but the hassle-free answer is usually the P bass, this has been my observation

 

[Jay Corwin]

Simplicity, effectiveness, reliability, familiarity to the ears, and also some nostalgia. Maybe Leo just got it right before anybody else did. Here are my two, though I've had many more throughout the years.

 

[dmt]

Just sounds right

 

[ahbradot]

I recently bought my first Fender Precision Bass.
When I was a teenager in the late 70s I thought they were dull and for the music of the past.
Now I really can appreciate the incredible tone of a P bass.
The P bass and J bass are my favorite passive basses.
I play them both the most.
After that I enjoy playing an EBMM and the MTD., etc...

 

[Lionel Albert]

Because Youtube said it, so we do.
Fashion works like this even if the P-Bass can be the bass, every bass can sound like a P-Bass if you touch the right knobs.

 

[lordradish]

I'd argue bass players care FAR more about the P-bass than the rest of the music industry. Where exactly are you seeing the P-bass as the go-to outside of boomers in bar bands?

I think there's a lot of merit to this. It's more than boomers in bar bands but they're not the go-to that a lot of people on here think they are. I've never owned or wanted one. they're great, but they're not the sound I gravitate towards as a player.

 

[Gervais Cote]

Jam sessions are always a good test for me and in those situations, the p bass always stands out for its oomph, punch and musicality and it never gets lost in the mix.

 

[InnerCityBass]

I'd argue bass players care FAR more about the P-bass than the rest of the music industry. Where exactly are you seeing the P-bass as the go-to outside of boomers in bar bands?

Pop music is dominated by synth bass more than ever, and the handful of songs that have actual bass sure don't feature the classic P-bass tone very often.

Top players? The vast majority of name bass players are touring with non-P basses. Sure, most of them still have one, but for every Pino with a signature P-bass there are a thousand guys playing all sorts of modern boutique instruments.

Even looking at major touring acts, I see far more jazz basses and variations than I do P-basses. I haven't done a deep dive into every major touring act, but even a quick search of the top bands on the road right now the P-bass looks to be in the minority.

I think other musicians is at least as P-bass leaning, as bass players are, and don't see that "only a handful of songs have an actual bass", also I see touring bass players sports the bass more often than other basses, maybe an equal split with Jazz basses, so the statement that for every P-bass player, there's thousands of none P-bass players.. That's not my experience being a touring musician.

 

[ctmullins]

“We” don’t.

You guys do.

I really don’t like the P bass.

 

[mambo4]

I keep coming back to my pbass because it’s one of two choices I

it never gets lost in the mix.

There is also this. It’s really hard for circumstances to foil a pbass

 

[JonathanPDX]

I think other musicians is at least as P-bass leaning, as bass players are, and don't see that "only a handful of songs have an actual bass", also I see touring bass players sports the bass more often than other basses, maybe an equal split with Jazz basses, so the statement that for every P-bass player, there's thousands of none P-bass players.. That's not my experience being a touring musician.

Whether you want to look at the top "name" bass players, or the big touring acts (Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar, etc.) or just regional/national touring acts. Doesn't matter how you break it down, the vast majority of those bass players are not on the road with P-basses.

 

[Yahboy]

“We” don’t.

You guys do.

I really don’t like the P bass.

You don't, but we do.....