Doctor J

This really, badly, desperately needs an ebony fretboard 😂

It's actually the other way around. The two coils are wired in series, which gives the P its mid-honkiness. Series wiring emphasises the low mids. The reason P basses work so well is that they're not overly low-end heavy. They tend to cut through because the emphasis isn't on low end or high.

It's not standardised but it is possible to give an idea of what's going on which covers a substantial part of what different manufacturers are doing and remove much of the speculation. Personally, I find the reverse P more comfortable to play, for a start. There's also something very pleasing about that mixed PJ sound which isn't quite there with a traditionally positioned split P and J. But first, let's do some measuring. I don't have a Fender P, the closest I have is an old Japanese Yamaha BB1100S. Other traditional P types are a Bass Collection SB311 and an Ibanez SB900. Measuring the distance from the 19th fret to the leading edge of the pickup, we find: From what I could find digging around, it looks like the Fender P has the leading edge of the E-A coil positioned round 12.5cm from the 19th fret, which would put the D-G coil at around 15.5cm back. Someone be a dear and measure, if you have one. It would be interesting to see if Fender themselves are consistent across USA, Japanese and Mexican models. Anyway, looking at the reverse P types to hand we see this: The Charvel appears to be closest to the traditional Fender position but with the coils swapped around. The famous Warwick growl is coming from the pickups being much closer to the bridge than "standard" and the Warwick E string is read almost 5cm closer to the bridge than the Yamaha. It's a much greater difference than, for example, the 60's and 70's Jazz bridge pickup positions. If you think that makes a difference then surely there's more than snake oil? As for disco and funk, you can do a comparison by listening to the first Chic album, recorded on a P, and the subsequent albums recorded on a Stringray. The leading edge of the Stringray pickup is, what, a little over 17cm from the 19th fret, so the E and A string is being read from even closer to the bridge than a Warwick SS1. Which tone stands out more?

Ah here, expect a call from the Gardaí, you robbed him 😂

If you managed to get yer man down from 350 she should be buying you dinner tonight 😂

Complete bargain. They're massively undervalued for how good a bass they are. You got a lot for the money, for sure.

Ahh, I had my eye on that one for a long time, happy to see it's not on Adverts anymore 😂 The SR800 is a classic design, to me. They're superbly comfortable, sonically versatile and, usually, very light. Give it time and get to know it.

That's ridiculous!

B&Q style ply

My first bass had a plywood body and it sounded great. Also, all those 60's and 70's basses where the black part of the sunburst covers every contoured surface, they're plywood too and the price of those is continually creeping up. Age defeats wood snobbery 🙂

What's wrong with being sexy?

Yes, it was a joke 😉

No need to excuse oneself these days, anything goes 😁

Very true. When I split with the missus a few years ago and needed to raise cash for the legal bill, I worked out the order in which I'd sell them via a complex mental formula of emotional vs actual worth vs playability vs versatility. The ESP would have been last to go but, yes, everything would have gone if required. Thankfully, it didn't come to that. Starting from scratch would have been very interesting 😁

Ah here, since everybody is adding loads, I'll stick with Chamberlin and add: Sean Reinert - the finest drummer I was ever privileged to see perform and young Eloy from Sepultura, who is redefining drumming in Metal music

With metal hips and knees like the Terminator

Ricky is 50 now, an old man, that's if he survived prison.

Once you get into the oul doom, you'll also need one in BEAD and, if you don't have a drop-tuner on it, another one in ADGC. It's a slippery slope, I tell ya.

It's only a wee bass, maybe visualise Dave Elf-son instead 😁

I Don't Like Mondays, said Bob.

Imagine My Sharona being released in 2020. The cancellation would have its own gravitational pull.

I know it's just me, but 4 string SRs which aren't PJ just look odd 😂

Doug Wimbish does that a lot, doesn't not do him no harm.

Nice bass. They intrigue me. I'd love to spend some time with one but there's something about paying a grand blind for a Cort which doesn't compute in my head. Silly, I know, but opportunities to try them first are practically non-existant.