thebrig

I asked this question today on the Facebook Precision Bass Lovers group, so I thought I would ask the great BC community as well.

Not sure if this has been asked before, but what makes a Precision bass a Precision bass, is it just the shape?

The reason I ask is because there are so many different pickup configurations such as a single-coil, a single split-coil, a single split-coil + jazz, humbucker, soapbar, etc, most have a P neck, but some have a J neck, then there are the headstock and pickguard variations, active, passive, and so on.

Because of all these variations, they would surely all sound so different, but they are all called a Precision bass, so is it all down to just the body shape?

On 10/04/2022 at 10:25, warwickhunt said:

£1700 with free UK delivery.  

I can't believe this has not been sold, you are almost giving it away at that price, I once owned the same model but with a natural finish, the jazz neck was unbelievably good with lovely rolled edges making it a joy to play.

I've owned quite a few Fender P's over the years including a few top end models, but for me, none compared to the Lakland P's I've owned.

Surely someone will snap this up soon!

GLWTS.

19 hours ago, SteveK said:

Looking through the comments, I'm feeling really old (which, of course, I am)

 

In my day, when there was very little choice, my friends and myself (who were attempting to form a band, but as 13 year olds couldn't afford any decent instruments) would religiously watch TOTP, and salivate over our chosen instruments when they appeared. The majority of basses on show were P basses - they just looked so futuristic and "other-worldly"!

Imagine when we got word that our local music store had got one in and it was on display in the window. I spent what seemed like hours standing outside that shop, drooling over that sunburst P bass.

It took me about 4 years before I was in a position to indulge in the ultimate retail therapy and actually buy one... on the "never never", of course!

For about the first year It lived in the corner of my bedroom, so If I woke up in the middle of the night, I could turn the light on and admire its wonderful curves.

Now, 53 years later, that very same P bass is on view in my lounge. It's served me well, and continues to do so🙂

 

It was the single most important purchase of my life! I can't say it was "on a whim", but it was most certainly "cos of its looks"

What a great post, and doing the sums, I make you around the same age as me (70), and I'm so glad you still have your very first bass.

I used to go to bed reading the Bell's of Surbition catalogue of musical instruments, and I used to drool over the "Beatle" bass, but at 55 gns (£57.75p), it was way out of my price range.

Then at the age of seventeen, I borrowed £15 pounds from my sister and bought a second-hand Burns Sonic bass, it wasn't that great, but I loved it because it was my first ever "proper" instrument.

On 24/03/2022 at 14:07, Lozz196 said:

Yes, a good few years ago I was in Coda Music in Stevenage and I saw a Mex Fender precision in white/rosewood, there was something about that bass that I just had to have it. I`m currently trying to resist the temptation with a bass up for grabs on here, same colour scheme.

I was in Coda Music in Stevenage a few year's ago to look at their bass range and I ended up buying not a bass, but a Martin DC28e.

I just happened to be looking at the Martin DC28e in the acoustic section upstairs and the salesman asked if I was interested in buying one, I replied that I'm a bass player and can't play guitar that well, but then he said that they are knocking them out for £1099 because they had over-stocked on them, and suddenly I was interested, I knew this model sold for around £2,500 so I got my card out and paid the money.

I kept it for a while, but soon realised that this beautiful guitar was far too good for someone like me, so I put it up for sale and doubled my money.

On 24/03/2022 at 13:59, Barking Spiders said:

I have, yesterday.😁. I already have three other basses, having sold four in the last 18 months. I'd only gone into the store to get some strings but it just looked so inviting I couldn't resist it. As I already have a Ray 4 single humbucker model I didn't even bother trying it out in the shop. Luckily it's great. Nice low action with no fret buzz and a great tone with the double humbuckers.

I bought this exact same bass on a whim, I'm a P Bass man but I thought I needed something different, so I ordered this online and returned it a few days later for a full refund.

I would like to point out that the Sterling by Musicman SUB Bass HH is a fantastic bass, especially for the £399 that I paid for it, and as you say, it was set up with a low action, no string buzz, and played beautifully straight out of the box.

BUT! I didn't need it, an active bass just doesn't work with the type of music I play, so I came to my senses in time to be able to return in during the cooling off period.

11 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Too loud is all relative.

You could find yourself in the danger zone I mentioned in the first reply.

 

This is when you turn up just a little more, and a little more, then a little more doesn't add any more volume but cooks the driver.

 

Beware of volume creep over the course of gig or rehearsal.

The cab is intended mainly for home practise, but I will use it for quieter rehearsals on occasions.

When I say I don't like playing too loud, I really do mean it, my ears are already shot, our drummer is technically good and doesn't beat the life out of his kit, so I think the ONE10 should be able to keep up with him without pushing it, and if the guitarist says he can't hear me, then I'm not going to budge on my levels, he will have to turn down. 😉

Thanks for the replies so far.

I don't like playing too loud, and I never use much gain on the amp because I like a clean sound when I play, so I guess I should be alright. 😉

The Barefaced ONE10t states that the Max amp power is 250W RMS (500W clean), and the Nominal impedance is 8 ohms.

What exactly does "clean" mean?

Does this mean I could run my Genz Benz 9.2 Shuttle head through it, which is is rated at 500W/8ohms, 900W/4ohms?

2 hours ago, fleabag said:

 

Leburn 

 

How would you know they didnt tell  him how to behave , a fabrication, just like the rest of the program.  They're deliberately squeezing in drama. 

 

I blame Chris Tarrant's millionaire producers way way back on that quiz.        " And pause for the result .. wait for it ... hang on...  just a bit more...  "     Etc etc  

 

Create tension.  Now that phoney tension is everywhere on TV like a bad rash. 

 

If you knew Leburn, you'd realise how professional he was, even if he isnt a top  A list artist.

I don't know if he was told to act unprepared, but I would still have the hump with him, and if he was told to behave like that in front of the camera's, then he should have refused to do it, after all, he's a pro musician and has his reputation to think of.

I've watched all episodes so far and it's like any other reality program, they have put people in there to be mocked, (think Ann Widdecombe on Strictly for example).

Personally, I don't take their music proficiency, or lack of, too seriously, and if I was in the room with them I would accept their level, but the one person I would have had the hump with would have been Lebrun, regardless of ability, I expect everyone to turn up to rehearsals prepared.

3 minutes ago, T-Bay said:

Rehearsals should be for getting everyone playing well together NOT to learn the parts but sadly so many people don’t seem to realise this / care.

Absolutely agree, and I told them this but I just got blank looks.

57 minutes ago, Skybone said:

I'm intrigued to know whether @thebrig was offered a position in either band.

 

Good luck to anyone looking for, or trying out for a band. As @Happy Jack put it, in the main, you're dealing with flakes and fantasists. Bloody musicians.  

I was offered a position in both bands, but I politely declined their offers. 😏

I've now been without a band since December 2019 and although I really want to get into a band again, I just can't put up with people who aren't prepared to put the work in.

15 minutes ago, Phil Starr said:

I used to undervalue myself a little, grateful for anyone who would look at me as a bassist but 'reliable', 'organised' and 'hard working' are in short supply so add those to 'steady and reliable'.  Really target what you want in a band and do some research before wasting your time on someone else's dream. 

 

I'm not one of life's pessimists, I've met some great people as well as some of the examples above but there is a world of difference between the genuine semi-pro gigging band and the bedroom dreamers and you need to spot the signs.

 

Good Luck

You some it up perfectly Phil, I used to undervalue myself too, hence me stating that "I'm not the greatest bass player around", but if I'm honest and without being bigheaded, if I was a drummer, guitarist, or whatever in a band that was looking for bass player, then I would love to have someone like me as the bassist because I would learn the songs properly, and always turn up to rehearsals and gigs fully prepared.

I generally set out to learn the bass line as per the original, but I quite often change it a bit to suit the way the band plays the song.

And I agree with your point about "interpretation" and "laziness", I've come across many musicians who say that they like to put their own slant on songs, which I'm not against, but in reality, what they really mean is, they can't be bothered to learn the songs properly and are happy just to wing it.

I’ve just auditioned for two different bands in the last two weeks, and both bands sent me six songs to learn from their setlists.

Now I wouldn’t class myself as the greatest bass player around, but I do work hard and have been told that I am a very steady, and reliable player.

Anyway, I did my homework and learnt the songs note for note, structurally 100%, and to gigging standard, because they want to play the songs as close to the originals as possible, but when I turned up for the auditions, both bands were all over the place with the songs, some members in both bands got their phones out to listen to some of the songs to remind them of how the songs went, and in both bands, the two guitarists were trying to learn their parts during my audition.

This has happened to me a number of times in the past when auditioning for bands, and I find it so frustrating, is this common, or have I just been unlucky?

Just an update.

I decided to go with earlpilanz and Brian made me a lovely matt black pickguard for my Lakland P Bass.

I would highly recommend him for great service and communications, and it was less than half the price I paid TinyTone for a similar matt black pickguard for my Lakland PJ.

Thanks for all the tips everyone, although I'm not sure about rubbing my nuts on it, unless the guitarist asked to have a go on it. 😁

I think I will just try an be patient.

13 minutes ago, John Cribbin said:

I'd suggest patience ....

 

It's possible that the neck has darkened due to exposure to daylight and the wood under the tape has remained the original colour.

 

I'd be leaving it where it gets daylight and see if it blends in naturally.

That's what I was thinking John, most woods do darken when exposed to daylight.

Trouble is, I'm not a very patient person. 🤔

I've just purchased a lovely Lakland USA bass, but the previous owner put sticky tape on the side of the neck so he could see better in low lighting.

Unfortunately, after removing the tape, it has left pale patches where the tape was, so how do I go about getting the neck to look even again, will I need to take all the original finish off and refinish it, or is there something I can use to just blend the pale patches in?

I believe Lakland finish the necks with oil.

15 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

My Sharona by The Knack, but check out the awesome version by Phil X & The Drills to hear how good it really is on bass & drums.

+1 for My Sharona, especially Phil X & The Drills version, they seem to cover a song and improve it in many cases.

Thanks for the advice so far, as someone who is just starting out in guitar making, all advice is very much welcome.

I have reasonable DIY and woodworking skills but I know it will take time, and a few pink torpedo-ups along the way, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

18 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

Not wishing to restart the tonewood wars but what do you class as a tonewood?

You just have! 😉

Seriously though, I'm no expert by any means, I just thought that any wood that can be used to make a musical instrument sound good, could be classed as a tonewood.

This is just going to be a hobby for me in my retirement, so to start off, I would be looking for the usual suspects like alder, swamp ash, mahogany etc, if I'm able to turn out some half-decent creations, then I might move on to more exotic woods.

I'm in the process of equipping my garage out with all the necessary equipment to build basses from scratch, any suggestions for good quality tonewood suppliers wood be very much appreciated. 

Sounds like the place to go 👍

I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to home recording and I'm wondering whether I should plug straight into the audio interface, or should I Di into the audio interface?

Up until now, I normally plug straight into the interface with pretty good results, but I'm wondering what you more experienced guys out there normally do.