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Why does my P-bass sound so good?
- Thread starter stefaniw80401
- Start date
I have seen those MIM '50s P Basses cited as good basses for the best part of two decades online. I've seen them cited as a step up from regular MIM P Basses and, even, the first tier of workable, good-out-the-box Fender basses, leading into the MIJ and MIA ranges.
I think having a chunky maple neck helps those basses along. They are stable, rigid necks and I think this influences the tone of these basses in a positive way. I doubt the anodized pickguard imparts anything into the mix, and I bet the bodies and electronics are stock MIM gear, unless the pickup specs are tweaked subtly.
I think having a chunky maple neck helps those basses along. They are stable, rigid necks and I think this influences the tone of these basses in a positive way. I doubt the anodized pickguard imparts anything into the mix, and I bet the bodies and electronics are stock MIM gear, unless the pickup specs are tweaked subtly.
Tort pick guards sound the best (as long as they don't weigh too much)
Sitting well in the mix is a funny thing. Agreed that the P is always a good bet. Sometimes though I think I find the pb tone 'indistinct.' Not sure if that makes sense.
Depending on the genre, a jb, mm, or soap bars sit in the mix quite well, if EQ'd properly, with more 'character' than a pb. Sometimes I prefer that. Other times, only a pb will do. Genre and EQ are as important as the pickups.
This, in spades, with cherries on top and extra salted caramel choco sauce. My Fender P bass sounds great, and so do my other 2 passive basses with split coil pups in or purt durn near the P position.....an Alien Audio and a Maruszczyk. It's not magic. It's simply the type of pickup and its' position that account for 95% of how a bass sounds (assuming it's properly built and not accounting for the big differences between strings of course). The split coil in that spot pushes mid grunt that enhances clarity.
Opinion is subjective & it’s your bass
P-Bass tone is pretty much what was heard on almost all hit songs from the 50’s to at least the 90’s. Kinda’ explains why it’s a popular tone…..
Amen to all of this. But, for some reason, I just don't like Js. Wish I did, but I can't bond with them. I own every thing from a Harley Benton to Fodera. I even have a Dano Longhorn because it looks so different and cool.
This may be true up until the mid to late 70s. By the mid 70s, brighter and stringier with more articulation was the up-n-coming flavor cemented in the 80s. P-Bass players were adding J position mods to their basses trying to roll with these changes and the PJ was born (unless if the P pickup is soloed, a PJ and P are not the same animal even if the PJ began life as a P). By the 80s (the overproduction era), folks were using rounds and trying to make whatever bass they had to sound like an Alembic and the single split P was just another color on the tone palette if the production goal was more classic (hair metal bands often recorded with straight Ps or PJs even if the video showed them playing a bass that looked like a ninja throwing star). I remember PJs like Spectors and Yamaha BBs were definitely in demand back then, but I also remember Stingrays were being favored in studios a lot at the time because of how they seem to sit phat on analog 2" tape. The genre was also important: late 70s/80s Dayton Style funk hits (Lakeside, Pleasure, etc) were mostly Jazz basses as one example
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Basically, it's a combination of pickup location and simplicity:
Pickups closer to the neck sound fat and less punchy while pickups closer to the bridge sound thinner and punchier.
The P-Bass pickup sits right in the middle; not too fat, not too thin - punchy, yet still with some "bloom" to the notes.
Other pickups in that spot will sound pretty close to a P-Bass ('51 Precision, G&L L-1000, etc)
The other thing is phase cancellation - a bass with multiple pickups will have phase cancellation that scoops the midrange when those pickups are used together.
A split coil P-Bass has phase cancellation - but only between the two halves of the coil, which sense different strings, so the cancellation decreases noise without scooping the produced note.
That's the basic recipe - you can tweak it with string selection, body and fretboard woods, pickup selection and make it sound brighter, more thuddy, more open - but the basic sound of a P-Bass is a single split coil pickup in that spot.
If you want your other basses to sound closer to a P-Bass, turn their bridge pickups all the way down and just play with the front pickup.
It won't sound the same as a P-Bass, but it'll sound closer.
Pickups closer to the neck sound fat and less punchy while pickups closer to the bridge sound thinner and punchier.
The P-Bass pickup sits right in the middle; not too fat, not too thin - punchy, yet still with some "bloom" to the notes.
Other pickups in that spot will sound pretty close to a P-Bass ('51 Precision, G&L L-1000, etc)
The other thing is phase cancellation - a bass with multiple pickups will have phase cancellation that scoops the midrange when those pickups are used together.
A split coil P-Bass has phase cancellation - but only between the two halves of the coil, which sense different strings, so the cancellation decreases noise without scooping the produced note.
That's the basic recipe - you can tweak it with string selection, body and fretboard woods, pickup selection and make it sound brighter, more thuddy, more open - but the basic sound of a P-Bass is a single split coil pickup in that spot.
If you want your other basses to sound closer to a P-Bass, turn their bridge pickups all the way down and just play with the front pickup.
It won't sound the same as a P-Bass, but it'll sound closer.
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It's that pickup in that spot. Single coil P Bass is close, Jazz Bass neck soloed is close, but the split coil in that spot has the right midrange with a little extra grunt. That puts it right where bass usually should be to our ears.
There is a great interview with Michael Tobias where he talks about the combination of an alder body, maple neck and rosewood or maple fingerboard. Although he specializes in a completely different build aesthetic, he says plainly that specific combination just works and as much as everyone wants to reinvent the wheel, ultimately that combination gets that sound that just works.
This answer, although brief, is essence of why Pbasses have won the hearts and souls of bassists and producers alike. Pickup and placement produce a very middy bass sound without extended top or bottom.
Many people find the sound of a Pbass unexciting by itself. I concur. I get very excited when I hear a recording, either of a live or studio performance, where I can analyze how the bass works with the other instruments.
I own some boutique instruments with Bartolini pickups and super hi-fi preamps. Solo, they sound gorgeous; deep lows, sparkly shimmering high end. In a mix, they disappear. I have stopped chasing that sound. it does not work for me.
Pbass works for almost every genre and you just have to plug it in. No gymnastics with extreme processing or radical EQ curves. Get out of the way and let the bass do what it does so well.... sit in the mix.
If your gig is as a soloist or you play in a contemporary urban gospel group, a pbass may not be the best choice. If you are primarily a rhythm section groover, its hard to beat a pbass.
BTW, Fender Pbases coming out of Mexico are an unbelievably good value.
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It's the gold anodized pickguard. The secret sauce that all the tortdogs are unaware of.
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