Unfortunately not an option, since neither of two are available here in Brazil. Need to buy it, import it, and then cross fingers. So trying to gather all the info I can...
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Would this be really a downgrade ?
- Thread starter Bobbadfinger
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Unfortunately not an option, since neither of two are available here in Brazil. Need to buy it, import it, and then cross fingers. So trying to gather all the info I can...
NORDSTRAND PICKUPS!!
sorry for yelling but i bet there is nothing wrong with that P bass that new pickups wont fix.
was this mentioned yet?
sorry for yelling but i bet there is nothing wrong with that P bass that new pickups wont fix.
was this mentioned yet?
Hunt yourself down a Squier Matt Freeman PB for yourself. It packs one of the finest necks you’ll ever find on any Fender-style bass out there. It’s my all time favorite PB. And I’ve owned my share of PBs over the years to compare it to. 
Hunt yourself down a Squier Matt Freeman PB for yourself. It packs one of the finest necks you’ll ever find on any Fender-style bass out there. It’s my all time favorite PB. And I’ve owned my share of PBs over the years to compare it to.
Funny you mention it, there's a used one priced ok (for Brazil's standards) - US$500. But 2000 miles away from me (big country) and seller just wanna make a local sale...
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It only matters what you like!
If you have a band leader who pays your way and requests certain gear then do that.
But lawd play what you like at home and your own shows and dates.
Waiting for other’s approval will be on your tombstone.
If it plays well and feels good, I too think trying different pickups and strings is the easiest way to get the most out of a P. I once had a Tokai Hardpuncher that was an awesome pbass, except it had some horrible, just "meh" EMGs in it. I wish I'd swapped them out, rather than selling the bass.
Know the feeling. Found something I really wanted for a long time where the seller would only do a local sale and wouldn’t budge about it. So it goes.
Anything you like better than what you’re playing is an upgrade.
It is really about the pick-up. As long as the route is in the traditional p location, the pick-up is the determining factor, more than wood imho...
Would this be really a downgrade ?
Yes. Instead of trading basses, get a new pickup. The '63 model Fender pickup has a good reputation for low end, as do many others. If you still want a Dano, you can always get one later. You will always have a need for a good Precision.
Yes. Instead of trading basses, get a new pickup. The '63 model Fender pickup has a good reputation for low end, as do many others. If you still want a Dano, you can always get one later. You will always have a need for a good Precision.
Maybe…but not necessarily. Depends on the type of music you’re playing and what you like. Until fairly recently I’d just buy a Precision whenever I needed one for something I was doing. But I never kept them after I was done for very long. For most of my music life I didn’t own or regularly play a PB. I started back ‘68. And it’s only been about seven years since a PB finally found a permanent place in my rack.
I’m not downplaying the PB’s usefulness or versatility when it comes to fitting in with most musical styles and genres. It’s a fine bass. No doubt about it. But I don’t think it’s as absolutely essential to own a PB as some may think.
Just my 2¢ anyway.
Only you can decide. If the bass is comfortable to play and the only thing wanting is tone, swap the pickups. If you don't really like the bass and feel it will never be right for you, move it and start over. The name on the headstock or country of origin has little bearing on whether or not the bass will fit you like a glove. Do the research first on the price differences and potential value of each instrument involved (something you seem to have already done) before any transactions. The goal is to get a bass that allows you to perform at your best. How you achieve that is up to you. Hope this helps.
All valid points. Best bet would be trying before buy it, but since I don't have that choice, I'll wait for those pressurewounds to arrive, and then maybe get a new pickup from a local winder (can't justify a US$130 pickup + US$35 shipping + 60% import tax to make an experiment...)
Just think if you had actually bought a Precision in '68, kept it, and how valuable and how good a tone it would have, and saved all the $$$ from buying/selling, etc., over the years. Yes, your post demonstrates that a player always has need for a Precision, even if sequentially, or only now and then, over the course of a career.
Not really. I picked them up mostly on a lark to try something different for a project. I think I only ended up recording with a PB twice. No knock on the PB. I just ended up using something that IMO was better suited to the task at hand.
These days, now that the world has started to more willingly look and think beyond what was the old acceptable bass sound and vibe, I think they’re even less essential from a purely sonic viewpoint. But they are readily available, sound good, are well made, and just work. So there’s lots to like about a PB. But I was never one to settle for “just works” whenever I had the time or inclination to pursue something more interesting or unique. Why sound like everything else, or settle for “just” if you’re doing more than covering somebody else’s songs?
Now that I can more easily afford to keep multiple basses I don’t have any incentive to immediately roll over anything I’m not regularly using. My biggest constraint these days is space and the time available to play. So right now I’ve got 2 PBs (1 was a gift from my SO that I’ll never relinquish because she gave it to me), 1 JB (a JB -not this one - was the very first bass guitar I started playing back when I was mainly an upright player), and a PJ Frankenbass I assembled late last year just to see what the big todo was all about.
A Jazz is the one Fender anything I have always had. I’ve never once been without some JB throughout the years I’ve played. I cut my teeth on one, know their quirks and limitations inside out, and have always been happy with what they can do.
As far as PBs go, there were several (MIA/MIM/MIJ - I’m sorry honey, I’ve been unfaithful!) so I’m admittedly late to the party. Right now I’m extremely happy with my modded Squier Matt Freeman PB. If I had bought this particular PB many years ago it would have joined a JB as a permanent member of my household. But it only became available in 2014. So better late than never. Do I need it for anything? No. But I enjoy playing it and practicing on it since I like to switch back and forth between 4 and 5 strings, fretted and fretless, and different scale lengths just to keep sharp.
Sorry if this is so long winded. But I think it pretty clearly shows my occasional, and now permanent ownership of two PBs is in no way predicated by any sort of need on my part. I just like basses. And now that I can better afford to keep them, they tend to hang around my place a lot longer than they did in the past.
As far as regrets for not keeping that first PB I bought ages ago goes, life is too short for playing shoulda-woulda-coulda. That way madness lies. Besides, I can always content myself with the fact I bought a used Ampeg B-15N in excellent condition back around ‘69 for $150 and always had the good sense to keep it. (Came with an ounce bag the owner had stashed in it and apparently forgot about too! That was like getting a $10 off coupon as part of the deal.
)Sometimes I do something smart in spite of myself.
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A friend of mine fixed me up with a pickup of his own winding for 30 bucks; vast improvement (more bass and volume) over the original.
In the meantime I convinced the Matt Freeman seller to ship it, so I guess I'll get my own Squier x Japan shootout pretty soon...
In the meantime I convinced the Matt Freeman seller to ship it, so I guess I'll get my own Squier x Japan shootout pretty soon...
