• 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 ???

#81
nilorius said:
Just my opinion - i hate presicion as design, as the sound.
Click to expand...
That's kinda like a golfer saying he hates pitching wedges. I'm not a huge fan of P Basses in general, but I've still got 4 basses with split pickups in the sweet spot. If I'm doing session work, I typically ends up using a P Bass, sometimes at the request of the session engineer...
 
#82
I got lucky several weeks ago and happened up on a CL deal where I swapped my 2015 MX Fiesta Red Roadworn for a 2000 Teal green AM Deluxe Precision in new condition. Straight up swap. I'm not sure the gentleman was fully aware of what he had, as he had no idea what my added Schaller straplock pins were on the Roadworn and his AM Deluxe had them. Hmmm... My new No.1 four-string.

And the 2018 AM J5 Elite was an accidental pickup. I'd run to Houston to look at a Warwick 5 but the 11.75 lb weight put me off, but I spotted the J5 in the upper stratosphere of GC so I tried it. Well, it started ringing out just pulling it down, and the feel and sound unamped was superb, so I jacked it into an amp and wound up driving home with it. My new No.1 fiver.

Yes, the craftsmanship and quality are very much evident in both. Worth it to me, YMMV
 

Attachments

  • 8306F548-9CA1-4F18-99A5-500BCA5D3439.jpeg
    8306F548-9CA1-4F18-99A5-500BCA5D3439.jpeg
    692.9 KB · Views: 68
#83
IMO, a lot of music these days is still rebelling against certain 90s (and to a lesser extent 80s) aesthetics. In this era, I'd bet Fender was at its lowest point in terms of being represented media and pop culture, relatively speaking. I think this trend especially applies to those in the 20-40 age range, as others have said. Like it or not, showing up to an indie rock gig with a P bass gives off pretty different vibes to some people than showing up with a 6 string active bass, and to these people it wouldn't be very fashionable. I'd bet if we give it another 15 years things will shift yet again.
 
#85
I'm going to answer your question straight up with no asides. I, too have noticed a preponderance of P basses on the live stage. And in a lot of recordings. I believe this is because the Precision is a known quantity. Nearly all of them have a very similar sound and are very controlable. No wide swings for signal to the board. Very even response and a lot of engineers like the way they sit in the mix. YMMV
 
#86
primusfan1989 said:
"Hard Rock" and "Rock and Roll" are different beasts to me and Primus doesn't really fit into either of those categories for me.

Im also just speaking generally in regards to my first post on this thread, of course there are exceptions.
Click to expand...
I guess my point is, there are many pro players in Rock & also country, that play expensive boutiques & not P basses & the boutique basses sound great. Lots of pros in those genres play Modulus, Spector, Roscoe and similar higher end basses & they work great.
 
#89
primusfan1989 said:
In a way its always been the industry standard, sound engineers love them because they already sit in the mix pretty well with little tweaking.



Why buy a Ferrari if a Honda will get you from point A to B? Because you want one. P and J basses will work for pretty much any music situation one will come across, appropriate music situation for Boutique basses are much fewer IMO (Im sure there are plenty of people on here who would argue this point, hearing an active boutique type bass in a country or rock and roll setting is just awkward sounding to me bu to each their own)
Click to expand...

Boutique in country or rock and roll. You're kidding. At the Grand Ole Opry the guitarists would have vintage Teles and the bassists multistring coffee table boutiques. Generalizing is as dangerous as generalizing.

Whatever you see or don't see, keep looking.
 
#90
chadds said:
Boutique in country or rock and roll. You're kidding. At the Grand Ole Opry the guitarists would have vintage Teles and the bassists multistring coffee table boutiques.
Click to expand...

Ok...and I still think its sounds awkward to use an active coffee table bass in that setting. I didn't say you couldn't do it or that people didn't already do it....Im just saying I think it sounds awkward, doesn't really fit in to my ears.

And you're right, what is currently referred to as "country" in todays music scene resembles r&b and pop more so than the music that defined the genre from the turn of the century until the 80s. So yea... a boutique bass fits in quite nicely in todays "country" scene.... but man would Buckaroos sound awfully awkward if their bassist was using a Fodera
 
#91
primusfan1989 said:
Ok...and I still think its sounds awkward to use an active coffee table bass in that setting. I didn't say you couldn't do it or that people didn't already do it....Im just saying I think it sounds awkward, doesn't really fit in to my ears.

And you're right, what is currently referred to as "country" in todays music scene resembles r&b and pop more so than the music that defined the genre from the turn of the century until the 80s. So yea... a boutique bass fits in quite nicely in todays "country" scene.... but man would Buckaroos sound awfully awkward if their bassist was using a Fodera
Click to expand...

I love Buck Owens!!
Sound is subjective.

Isn't it more how the touch and eq choices make the music sound than the specs of the bass?

(I know a Nashville bassist who uses nothing but a Ken Smith. I had a BMT Elite G. I liked the rigidity but it just wasn't perfect sound wise. Recorded a lot of CDs and it did a lot of live work. The above mentioned Bassist said he dialed up the highs and lows all the way. I tried that. It was full phat and rich. Who knew?)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Watchootognbout
#94
Bluwaterbob said:
Aight guy's, I've been around for a while and though I'm really only a recreational bassist at best I'm still a bassist thru and thru. But I got a question : Why, in the last 5 or so years is it that anytime you see a video or live TV, is the bassist playing a P bass (or one that looks like it) ????? And, if that's what it takes for a pro bassist, WHY the hell would you spend $3k + on a bass of a different flavor ?? Just another FAD period? There was a time when if you saw a Funk group, the bassist was probably playing an Alembic or the likes.... and a washburn or Jackson on the Metal scene..... Anybody ???
Click to expand...
A real bassist is judged by his P-nes
 
#95
Well, it's like this: you get a Jazz bass, a Sting Ray or whatever and spend a decent amount of money on it. You put on a good set of round wounds and you're good to go. The pro bassist gets a P bass that doesn't cost an outrageous amount (at least it didn't when it was new, half a century ago), and then spends a fortune for a set of Viennese flat wound low tension strings. They better last forever at that price! But that sound!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bluwaterbob
#97
Hi interp. :)

interp said:
I used to see a few Skodas (Czech-made automobiles) on the roads around where I live. Then I bought one. Now I see a LOT of Skodas on the road.
Click to expand...

Could be worse! (Lada! :laugh:)

interp said:
I used to occasionally hear local German speakers use the word 'genau.' Then I found out what it means. Now I hear it constantly.
Click to expand...

Exactly! :D We all tend to see what we want to see / hear what we want to hear.

Don' t translate "Prost"!!! :smug: You might end up drinking! :wacky: :laugh:


greetings

Wise
 
#99
I'll always check what a musician is using. I like to know what his choices have been. But that's the extent of my interest in his gear. The main thing that gets my attention and makes me remember him is the line he's playing, and how well he's playing it.

If P basses are a fad it's one that has been around for a long time. Since the 50's the recording world has been using them extensively because they allow the bass line to "own" the song. It's the same instrument and every song has been different. Not because of the basses used but because of the players talent.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bluwaterbob and MynameisMe

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back