Why does my P-bass sound so good?

[wvbass]

I’m a P bass guy. I have a bunch, and multiples of them are my favorite. My 1970 P is the best for P-bass-with-flats tone. My Mendel P is great for time and playability for a round wound tone. My Highway 1 can do anything I need it to. I could go on; I have more favorite P basses.

Having said that, my Spectors absolutely kill in the mix. I favor the more aggressive Spectors, but they all do exactly what I want them to do.

I also have some J-MM basses. I think that is a questionable pickup configuration compared to a single P pickup.

 

[alembicbones]

It took me many years to appreciate the P but I'm a fan of my AVII '54P. It's getting its maiden gig tomorrow night in downtown Seattle.

Bones

 

[P. Aaron]

I have three great basses in my stable:

1996 Carvin BB70 all Koa body with ebony board.
1999 Sector Q4 with EMG soap bars
2017 MIM Fender Classic 50's P-bass black lacquer, gold anodized PG and maple neck

In my studio, the Carvin and Spector sound great, but out on the gig there's no balls.

The P-bass on the other hand sounds great in my studio, and blows me away on gigs.

The Koa Carvin is so light, and I would prefer to play it because of that fact. The spector and my P-bass weigh the same.

I feel like I should just get rid of the carvin and the spector since the P-bass does everything better.

Anyone else have these same thoughts about their own bass collection?

I gig a Precision V (2010) and a Dimension Deluxe 5 (2014, both USA) and the both have a good enough feel where if I had to choose, I would be happy being stuck with either. I use EB Cobalt Flats.

The venue can give one fits at times and going in simple makes problem-tone solving easier. Too many options isn't always the best thing.

Yeah, a P-Bass just works. Havin' a solid rig makes the work that much easier tho'.

 

[sikamikanico]

A bit of a spin, but maybe swap the neck pickup with one of these,
51J4S
No, it's not a split-P, but it is a split design based on the OG Precision pickup, which I always thought was fantastic.

Yeah, it'll cost you some dough, but it's a reversible mod.

this, or DiMarzio Model J is another classic choice for a “P in a J” pickup swap.

Other than that, and what micguy suggested (strings in particular!), you could try loading the pickup with some caps and/or resistors to shape the resonant peak.

 

[Supernaute]

 

[Fernando Costa]

Yeah, I have 4 here, Three frankenP, one MIA, all average... One of them is much better (MIA), but still nothing special. Fenders... Out of 50 basses only 10 are amazing, you were lucky - or knew how to choose - to have one of them, enjoy it because it's a great bass, not as versatile as some others, like the Jazz, but anyway, the other Fenders too it has its good and bad days... I believe that the heavier P-bass, with baseball necks are "The Tone"! Anyway, a lot of P-bass masturbation from fanboys around here, normal, it's a great bass.

 

[FRoss6788]

Yeah, I have 4 here, Three frankenP, one MIA, all average... One of them is much better (MIA), but still nothing special. Fenders... Out of 50 basses only 10 are amazing, you were lucky - or knew how to choose - to have one of them, enjoy it because it's a great bass, not as versatile as some others, like the Jazz, but anyway, the other Fenders too it has its good and bad days... I believe that the heavier P-bass, with baseball necks are "The Tone"! Anyway, a lot of P-bass masturbation from fanboys around here, normal, it's a great bass.

Eyeroll...

 

[FatOwlBass]

Sell everything and get another good P bass and passive J bass. You will have every great tone you will ever need.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

The Crescent wrench, The paper clip, The saftey pin, The Precision Bass.....
What are inventions that got it right the first time.

 

[logdrum]

I don't think ballsier is to P-Bass only. Are you using the same strings on all basses. Are those other basses active?

 

[Axtman]

I have owned lots of basses over the years but I keep coming back to a Precision bass. Why you ask? Because it sounds good.

 

[Rooster009]

One thing to try with the carvin and Schecter is adjusting the pickups a little closer to the strings. Generally I find that raising the pickups can add a bit more low end and lowering the pickups takes away a bit of low end, so play around with the pickup height.

 

[Rib 13]

One thing to ponder: When you mention that your P has "balls" - pickups don't have more or less bass - all magnetic pickups are flat from the lower mids down - it's just inherent in the physics of such things. How does one bass sound "ballsier"? A few reasons:

1) Pickups pick up different things depending on location - a pickup location closer to the neck gives you more low end in the signal.

2) Active circuits can be non - flat - your Carvin (assuming it's active) might be working against you, in which case, you'd need to adjust its eq controls.

3) Your perceptions of how much low end there is in the signal is influenced by what else is there - if the pickups or electronics on a bass accentuate the upper mids and/or treble, your attention gets grabbed there, and you notice the low end less.

So, suggestions:

1) Don't mess with the P bass, as it sounds good (duh!)

2) Mess with the eq on your Carvin - can you take off some top end, thus making is "ballsier"?

3) Use the neck pickups on the other basses - use position to your advantage.

4) Try strings that are less bright (pressure wounds if you're using rounds, or flats if you're using pressure wounds) on the basses with less low end.

One of the most important things is pickup height. Even a millimeter can be a huge difference between "Meh" and "Wow". I often suggest to try that first before changing too much of anything else

 

[blastoff99]

Any chance y'all could talk about musical instruments without having to reference body parts or forms of gratification? I realize some of you may *actually* be 12 years old, but most of us here aren't.

 

[brisonic]

I have three great basses in my stable:

1996 Carvin BB70 all Koa body with ebony board.
1999 Sector Q4 with EMG soap bars
2017 MIM Fender Classic 50's P-bass black lacquer, gold anodized PG and maple neck

In my studio, the Carvin and Spector sound great, but out on the gig there's no balls.

The P-bass on the other hand sounds great in my studio, and blows me away on gigs.

The Koa Carvin is so light, and I would prefer to play it because of that fact. The spector and my P-bass weigh the same.

I feel like I should just get rid of the carvin and the spector since the P-bass does everything better.

Anyone else have these same thoughts about their own bass collection?

I will definitely echo the live vs practice/studio thing. I like hifi sounding things, but those basses, though great when being played solo, are not as able to cut through a band mix as well.

 

[MasterMonkeyMan]

The P stands for Perfection.

 

[Fernando Costa]

In fact, when people avoid being literal, explicit and clear about opinions that they dislike, they should not be respected. Either they understand what you wrote, or they don't. Either they agree or they don't. Either they have arguments or they don't. If their language is emojis, they think they are smart and modern, but they are nothing, emoji is just a children's drawing, Shakespeare never needed that. Adults argue when they disagree or ask questions when they don't understand.

 

[pbass2]

I will definitely echo the live vs practice/studio thing. I like hifi sounding things, but those basses, though great when being played solo, are not as able to cut through a band mix as well.

Well, in mixing, the most valuable EQ technique is understanding how to cut frequencies to find each instrument's sonic space, to dovetail it all together. A passive P, and in a different way, a passive J, have a baked in EQ curve that simply works. They are tonally pretty simple. A lot of hi-fi active instruments are waaay more full-range, and you can't just plop all that in a mix and expect it to work without much more fussing about. That's why folks who don't understand mixing are often flailing around about "cutting through" with their bass, and they end up making it worse, when they should be thinking more in terms of "notching it in". Leo's OG designs still nail it right outta the gate.

 

[Kubicki Fan]

IMG_20190317_145742848

• stefaniw80401
• Mar 17, 2019
• carvin bb70

Gorgeous bass, the Carvin. I would not hack that up for a P pickup if it were mine.

 

[Salem6127]

One thing to ponder: When you mention that your P has "balls" - pickups don't have more or less bass - all magnetic pickups are flat from the lower mids down - it's just inherent in the physics of such things. How does one bass sound "ballsier"? A few reasons:

1) Pickups pick up different things depending on location - a pickup location closer to the neck gives you more low end in the signal.

2) Active circuits can be non - flat - your Carvin (assuming it's active) might be working against you, in which case, you'd need to adjust its eq controls.

3) Your perceptions of how much low end there is in the signal is influenced by what else is there - if the pickups or electronics on a bass accentuate the upper mids and/or treble, your attention gets grabbed there, and you notice the low end less.

So, suggestions:

1) Don't mess with the P bass, as it sounds good (duh!)

2) Mess with the eq on your Carvin - can you take off some top end, thus making is "ballsier"?

3) Use the neck pickups on the other basses - use position to your advantage.

4) Try strings that are less bright (pressure wounds if you're using rounds, or flats if you're using pressure wounds) on the basses with less low end.

micguy's in depth replies are always a fun read