Do all precisions sound the same

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1490342416' post='3264364']
Despite what I am constantly being told, I feel that I can get a very Precision-like tone from a Jazz bass. OK, maybe not in a solo situation in in a studio when DI'd... but certainly withing a band rehearsal or gig scenario. Others tell me I'm wrong, but that doesn't change my opinion!

I've also played (and owned) P basses that lack that warm, woody "thump" that others refer to.

I'm not sure any of this helps or adds to the discussion though
[/quote]being a lefty my choices of bass are restricted so I have a VM Jazz as back up and with a push pull pick up series switch engaged it's not that far from a P, doesn't cut though quite as well in parallel

[Conan]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1490343813' post='3264381']
Oo-er, we're getting dangerously close to saying that body wood has a bearing on tone!
[/quote]

My body is made of lignum vitae. That's what makes me so heavy, and it affects my tone - which is usually ironic.

[chris_b]

Do all Precisions sound the same?

They can do. If that's what you want, but listen to JJ Burnell and Bob Babbitt and you'll hear that Precision basses will also let you sound totally unique. If you are a "no style" amateur player, a "meat and potatoes" semi pro player or a top pro player a P bass let's you shine. That's pretty impressive for a bass that "sounds the same".

The question is, is using a P bass a bad thing if the spread of tone is so limited? With many of the hit and successful records of the last 60 years being recorded on P basses, and the high percentage of touring bands out there today using P basses it seems that using a P bass was and is still a good thing. I guess all those players might be thinking they sound different to the next guy or they'd probably be playing something else.


[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMNTN-9SAUQ[/media]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoJUz1oajXo[/media]

Edited March 24, 2017 by chris_b

[MattM]

I've had 3 in my time, an old late 90s MIM, a Squier Matt Freeman with SPB3 Quarter Pounder and my current Limelight. I'd say they all had the essential Precision character i.e. middly but had very different sounds per se. Didn't like the MIM as it sounded thin, probably exacerbated by the rounds it had. Loved the build and quality of the Matt Freeman, and really liked the QP pickup - for me coming from a 2EQ Ray, if had more a bass-top emphasis than a standard P with more output, and I kinda got why players like Nate Mendel, Mark Hoppus and Mellisa Auf Del Mar would use it in an indie/rock context.

My Limelight however is by far the best P I've ever played. It doesn't just look and feel great, but the hand-wound pickup combined with flats is a whole new world for me. Love the thump, pretty much exclusively play it fingerstyle, and kinda now totally get the 60s/70s Motown/rock thang. Almost never have the tone more than halfway on either - love it rolled fully off. Here she is...
[url="http://s896.photobucket.com/user/MattM1314/media/FBE36F04-CEFB-43AD-A434-C2775BD3212C_zpsdw51locj.jpg.html"][/url]

Edited March 24, 2017 by MattM

[Muzz]

I'm a fan of the 'general' P-Bass tone (even though there's a vast spectrum available), but I don't have any Precision basses, or even copies. I do have some very different basses, but they all have a split-coil pickup in roughly the right place, and they can all do a very close impression of a lot of the tones posted in the thread. They're all active EQs, they have a range of different woods in their structure. To me, that emphasises what the P-Bass tone is all about...it's at least 95% the pickup and placement.

[Dropzone]

I agree, I suspect the wood / shape will not affect sound. Sustain maybe. Someone would need to swap all the innards / strings / necks etc over to do a test like that to prove it. I suspect someone in Japan is working on that right now ;-)

[discreet]

Leo spent a long time experimenting with scale length and pickup placement. The decision to use ash or alder was largely down to practical considerations.

[fretmeister]

[quote name='Dropzone' timestamp='1490363046' post='3264607']
I agree, I suspect the wood / shape will not affect sound. Sustain maybe. Someone would need to swap all the innards / strings / necks etc over to do a test like that to prove it. I suspect someone in Japan is working on that right now ;-)
[/quote]

There is a YT vid where a guy does a neck comparison, and actually swaps the neck only to see maple v rosewood. Everything else remains the same.

[Conan]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1490365585' post='3264640']
There is a YT vid where a guy does a neck comparison, and actually swaps the neck only to see maple v rosewood. Everything else remains the same.
[/quote]

Ah, but what about the tuners and the fret wire? The material of the nut? The thickness and age of the lacquer?? These things can have a massive influence on tone you know...

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1490269861' post='3263746']
I've seen that, too. Whilst I wouldn't say the 70s P absolutely slays the others - the Jap gets quite close at times - it does sound better and has that lovely stringy edge the others lack (although we don't know whether all had the same strings, of the same age/amount of wear, etc, etc). It certainly proves they sound different.
[/quote]

Really the only difference I can hear across all those different basses is how much top end is attenuated, otherwise they all sound pretty much the same to me. I'm willing to bet that you get to within a whisker of all of those tones by taking any one of those bases and just tweaking the tone setting.

Edited March 24, 2017 by bassman7755

[Twincam]

I think they have subtle variations. Although i had a fender USA p
bass once that sounded like the very definition of a pbass, it made other p basses that I had owned or played sound very ordinary. But it was a bit too much for me.

[oldbass]

I'm pretty well convinced that the thickness of the neck plays a huge part in tone etc. My old 71 had a bass ball bat neck and the tone was very thick and authorative specially on the A string..and I haven't played a newish USA model with the same weight of tone.

[Quatschmacher]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1490367244' post='3264663']


Ah, but what about the tuners and the fret wire? The material of the nut? The thickness and age of the lacquer?? These things can have a massive influence on tone you know...
[/quote]

He actually takes tuners from the rosewood neck and mounts them on the maple neck. (Though I'm sure your comment was intended tongue-in-cheek.) :-)

[Dood]

[quote name='ians' timestamp='1490442910' post='3265158']
I'm pretty well convinced that the thickness of the neck plays a huge part in tone etc. My old 71 had a bass ball bat neck and the tone was very thick and authorative specially on the A string..and I haven't played a newish USA model with the same weight of tone.
[/quote]

Stuart Spector and many others are in agreement!

[discreet]

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1490473358' post='3265433']
Stuart Spector and many others are in agreement!
[/quote]

I certainly think there's something in it. I prefer the sound of one-piece maple necks, particularly if they are a good handful of wood. Fnarr. Don't ask me why, or what proof I have, for there is none.

Edited March 25, 2017 by discreet

[tauzero]

They're basses. They all sound like basses.

[Chiliwailer]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1490482280' post='3265489']

Don't ask me why, or what proof I have, for there is none.
[/quote]

Exhibit A... the Fender Nocaster

[steve-bbb]

if its the USA youve decided on then consider a nice squier classic vibe and throw in a wizard thumper - should do the same thing for about half the beer tokens

hope this helps

[TrevorR]

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1490272265' post='3263790']
They can and do all sound slightly different to my ear. I have owned quite a few
They can range from very warm and woody to harsh and brittle. Depends what you like and what you are going for. The unmistakeable P sound is in ther tho.
[/quote]
[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1490274234' post='3263818']
I can absolutely tell the difference between the Squire and the '75 here. Is one better than the other? No, they're simply different, the '75 had a bit more depth, bit more low end to my ears.
Is someone going to hear the difference at a gig....through a PA....behind a band? Probably not. Really it depends which plays best in your hands.
[/quote]
[quote name='Dazed' timestamp='1490277023' post='3263863']
It's my humble opinion no two *insert model/brand here* of anything sound identical. Wood is an organic material and each piece is unique which will have some impact on its resonance and sound producing properties. Throw in electrics, strings, paint or finish, amp, build quality and then the player. That's a huge recipe of minor differences that all add up to a slightly varying end product.
Now, how about a nice non Fender P?
[/quote]
[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1490277306' post='3263869']
So many variables, but essentially they will all sound like a Precision, as Tim says, subtle differences, but still Precision-like. The only one I`ve had that was radically different was a 78 ash/maple Precision. It was so aggressive, for the older Basschatters out there, the easiest way to describe it is it was like Rev Ian Paisley, it barked at you.
[/quote]

There are many who'd say "All basses sound the same, they just go 'Bom bom bom bom...', don't they?"

Personally I'm with the guys above. A core tone with nuances caused by the innumerable variations in wood, construction, hardware and how they're played. Haven't we all had that guitar shop moment where we play three ostensibly identical basses of the same model hanging next to each other only to find one dog, one that's OK and one that sings to you.

I'll leave the last word to Lozz though...

http://youtu.be/Giu3-wVhAwU
http://youtu.be/51F3S4NVLmQ

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/238458-herts-bash-2-the-precision-test/page__view__findpost__p__2494670

Edited March 26, 2017 by TrevorR

[Lozz196]

Thanks Trevor, very interesting test that was, with a very surprising winner too.

[dmccombe7]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1490354032' post='3264504']
Do all Precisions sound the same?

They can do. If that's what you want, but listen to JJ Burnell and Bob Babbitt and you'll hear that Precision basses will also let you sound totally unique. If you are a "no style" amateur player, a "meat and potatoes" semi pro player or a top pro player a P bass let's you shine. That's pretty impressive for a bass that "sounds the same".

The question is, is using a P bass a bad thing if the spread of tone is so limited? With many of the hit and successful records of the last 60 years being recorded on P basses, and the high percentage of touring bands out there today using P basses it seems that using a P bass was and is still a good thing. I guess all those players might be thinking they sound different to the next guy or they'd probably be playing something else.


[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMNTN-9SAUQ[/media]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoJUz1oajXo[/media]
[/quote]

That's a great VID comparison. I could clearly hear the diferences in basses and personal fav was the MIJ on the isolated track but when it came to the full band sound the Larkin seemed to be very slightly clearer but they all sounded pretty much the same and so difficult to tell between them. IMHO that is.

Thanks for posting

Dave

[Mister RLP]

[quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]That's a great VID comparison. I could clearly hear the diferences in basses and personal fav was the MIJ on the isolated track but when it came to the full band sound the Larkin seemed to be very slightly clearer but they all sounded pretty much the same and so difficult to tell between them. IMHO that is.[/font][/color][/quote]

Totally agree with the MIJ being great on the isolated track. However, I think I preferred the Fender '73 on the full band sound. But as Dave noted they all sound similar.

[Lozz196]

Isolated MIJ, in the mix Antigua.

[lonestar]

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1490511384' post='3265528']
if its the USA youve decided on then consider a nice squier classic vibe and throw in a wizard thumper - should do the same thing for about half the beer tokens

hope this helps
[/quote]


I have an a secondhand SX precision( nice piece of ash) bitsa: wizard thumper,cts pots and goto 70s tuners. I fitted a s/h mighty rosewood mite neck. Sounds lovely and ticks all the p bass boxes for me. Whole thing cost me £185 in total.

Edited March 26, 2017 by lonestar

[bazzbass]

the pickups and strings would account for more differences in tone than the country of manufacture of the Fender bass