This.. I never got them either. I have heard good performances with them, but I prefer other models much better.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Why is P-Bass still the best?
- Thread starter tonyciv
- Start date
- Status
This.. I never got them either. I have heard good performances with them, but I prefer other models much better.
^This^
You can keep all those other basses with all the knobs and pickups and batteries and switches and extra strings and whatnot and discuss how "versatile" they may be until the cows come home.
To me "versatile" just means more opportunities to sound wrong.
I'm all for getting real. The quote is bunk, though. Bunk from Marketing constitutes most of the Fender site these days, unfortunately. That plus outright misinformation and error.
The actual original intent of the Jazz was to appeal to transitioning guitarists who wanted a smaller neck (as Stanley Clarke accurately pointed out once in an interview, in those days the bassist was merely the demoted worst guitarist in the band, not someone who had any previous exposure to an actual bass). The original intent of the Precision was to appeal to transitioning upright bassists.
"The NEW Fender bass for failed guitarists!" is hardly a persuasive ad slogan, but that was exactly the intended market for the Jazz. Though that sounds like a can't-lose proposition, it wasn't. People these days also don't realize what a sales dud the Jazz was compared to the Precision for a very long time. Still, it was a roaring success compared to its marketing twin, the Jazzmaster guitar.
I feel ya. I was an HH guy forever, like 25 years. Got a P to see what all the fuss was about. Hated it. Forced myself to play it exclusively. HATED IT. But after about a friggin YEAR, it started to really click. Now it's all I want to play. With flats no less. But if it's unfamiliar, it is definitely an acquired taste.
My very first P-Bass back in '65 sounded awesome; but for some reason I can't get one today that sound as good so I don't play them anymore.
To me "versatile" just means more opportunities to sound wrong.
This is the great fork between electric bass and bass guitar, which have effectively become separate instruments.
Nobody tells an upright bassist he has to "sound more versatile."
Think about it.
Hey Bongolation, I agree with your general sentiment about the J-Bass, marketing, and the original purpose of the P-bass.
I really do love my Jazz Bass. I don't know that it's better than any bass, but it's better for me. I think it's dead sexy in every way, and I'm not much of a bassist, but get tons of compliments on my sound.
A P Bass is just a bit chunky for me.
I would take one, though.
I also like Rickenbackers, Gibsons, and that's about the only basses I've tried and liked.
But I haven't tried that many.
A P Bass is just a bit chunky for me.
I would take one, though.
I also like Rickenbackers, Gibsons, and that's about the only basses I've tried and liked.
But I haven't tried that many.
I used to not be a P guy, probably because my first bass was a MIM P that was kinda meh. Then I sat down and gave it the old college try for a second time on a better P bass.
Turns out Ps are pretty awesome.
Wow, I never knew that.
If the only guitar you ever heard was a Jazz you might feel that way about a J type.
The P bass was there, while not at the beginning, in a lot of studios making a lot of records.
People pay thousands for a Moog Taurus to make that one Taurus sound. Is that sound perfect? Oh course.
I have a Carl Thompson. When I bought it the bass was , while a little bit more than a typical used P not much more. And much less than a Vintage.
I got it because I liked it. Then some guy from Primus got one and they became cool. Same bass. More money.
I still like it.
If the only guitar you ever heard was a Jazz you might feel that way about a J type.
The P bass was there, while not at the beginning, in a lot of studios making a lot of records.
People pay thousands for a Moog Taurus to make that one Taurus sound. Is that sound perfect? Oh course.
I have a Carl Thompson. When I bought it the bass was , while a little bit more than a typical used P not much more. And much less than a Vintage.
I got it because I liked it. Then some guy from Primus got one and they became cool. Same bass. More money.
I still like it.
Yeah, that's the stuff they won't tell you, isn't it?
Funny that. As I understand the history, the Jazzmaster was a flop among the Jazz guitarists Leo intended it for, as the options he thought they would want were exactly what turned them off it. Yet it gained some popularity among some surf bands.
As for versatility, I don't go for much, in my actual sound. I like to be a versatile player, but my base bass sound is usually a constant. Having Jazzes and Precisions is versatility enough in that department, for me. YMMV.
A P-Bass is this - get up on stage, power up your amp, plug in your P-Bass, check volume and tone, and play. Simple, no BS. Meanwhile, the drummer is struggling to construct his drum kit, the guitarist is fiddling and diddling with all manner of pedals, and the keyboard player is connecting up a ton of cables. In the meantime, us bass players are patiently waiting, ready to play. That's a P-Bass. 
It is if you need that note.
I've rarely seen dead notes so limited, anyway. Lots of Ps have about 8" of dead spot on the G and a dead open D just for fun. :scowl:
Likewise with a few others. Leo supposedly placed the G machine on the Music Man where he did to correct the Fender dead spot, and to a large extent it seems to work.
On impulse and with no information I bought a 2003 SLO passive SUB new at GC one afternoon for $329 when they discontinued the wine-vomit purple instruments. I strung it with some mystery flats off a used bass that was passing through. I think this is the most tonally-consistent bass I've owned or played in over forty years. Hideous and heavy, but a remarkable bass -- and as a passive, a natural for studio.
"Why is P-Bass still the best?"
It crushes it's enemies...
Sees them driven before it...
And hears the lamentation of their women...
It crushes it's enemies...
Sees them driven before it...
And hears the lamentation of their women...
The precision is legendary. It's a steak and potatoes bass. Today, though, there are more choces of bass that offer a broader tonal spectrum. I've owned a number of precisions over the past 40 years. I still own one. I would never call anything "the best". As much as I love my 75 precision, the Sadowsky goes to every gig. Sadowsky basses are what Fender could and should have evolved to. Far more flexible and far better constructed. Still love my precision and have owned it for 21 years. But it does not measure up to my Sadowsky.
- Status
