P-Bass. Should I have one? If so, which one?

[skhatru]

Hi,

First off, as newbie to the forum, let me introduce myself.

I'm Dougie, 46 years young, from Motherwell, Scotland, and been playing bass for 32 years.

My first bass was a Columbus copy of a 70's Fender Jazz, 3 tone sunburst with red pickguard. Lovely to look at, not so nice to play eventually, but, for a beginner, I loved it. Over the years I have owned just about everything, EXCEPT a Precision bass. In fact, no Fenders at all!! I have had Washburns, Peaveys, Rickenbackers, Jaydees, numerous Yamahas, Westones, Spectors, Warwicks, Ibanez's, to name a few. The 2 basses I have now, the Yamaha has been with me for about 8-10 years now. Love it. The Spector is new (for me) but it's a keeper too. However........

I don't know really, what it is about P-Basses that put me off. I remember playing one in a rehearsal studio years ago, and to me, at that time, it just sounded like somebody farfting through the Trace Elliot rig I was using. Put me off for years. Recently however, the more I look at them, the more I like them. I play in a heavy rock outfit (recording only for the moment, maybe taking it live) and I just feel a P Bass should and could have something to offer me, apart from the aesthetic porn aspect. I know you can get a good one or a bad one. My Yamaha BB605 for example. I'm sure they threw away the mould after making this one.

I'm geeky to the extent, that when I hear a track, I like to try and guess what bass is being used (anybody else? lol), and usually, it's easy to recognise a P bass, but invariably that's because it's the "stock" sound I don't really like. Then again, you get tracks where the bass is pounding away, gorgeous sound, plenty bottom end thump, nice clarity, and low and behold, it's a P bass.

My dilemma is this. Should I add a P Bass to my basses? If so, which one? I don't want to pay big bucks for a Fender American P Bass, but should I perhaps get a Squier, with a view to modding the pups with a set of quarter pounders say? Leave alone? Should I go for a good second hand Fender P Bass like the one advertised on the list in the last week?

Help guys and gals. Oh, I should add, I play 5 string these days, and I would like a 4 string P Bass, so the P bass neck profile isn't an issue. Just looking for good sound general advice from people with P bass experience/knowledge who can point me in the right direction or not. Was looking at a Schecter Diamond P Bass (has an added MM type pup in bridge position. Was nursing a semi droolin at that).

Thoughts/comments please.

Cheers

Dougie

[yorick]

Have a look at the Squier Classic Vibe series of basses, great quality and well loved on here. The new series of Mexican built Fenders look great, not played one mind. Also, Japanese Fenders turn up on here secondhand from time to time. I've owned one for six years, and they are superbly built, great sounding, everything you want from a precision.
Happy hunting

Nige

[munkonthehill]

[quote name='yorick' post='1192565' date='Apr 8 2011, 08:31 AM']Have a look at the Squier Classic Vibe series of basses, great quality and well loved on here. The new series of Mexican built Fenders look great, not played one mind. Also, Japanese Fenders turn up on here secondhand from time to time. I've owned one for six years, and they are superbly built, great sounding, everything you want from a precision.
Happy hunting

Nige[/quote]

if you check the for sale section you will see a young fella selling his squier Jag for a song. It has the benefit of the split P/J so you can upgrade both the P and J pups or either one at your discretion depending on your tastes.

It may be worth checking out buddy, plus parker muse seems like a good guy to deal with so you should be ok with dealing with him.

[dannybuoy]

Yes, you need one. Our maybe two so you can have one strung with flats and the other with rounds! Squier is probably your best bet, and the Classic Vibe or Vintage Modified series are supposedly the best.

[casapete]

Get one now!
Stick your toe in the water with a Squier/Mex etc and you'll never look back. Don't bother with the Schecter,
just find a good Fender and its job done. There are usually some good examples for sale on here - last week
there was a great 50's two tone sunburst reissue. If you find the necks a bit large, there are P-basses with slimmer
more jazz style necks available too (Precision bass special) - again, there's one for sale on here by willyf87.
Good luck!

[geoffbyrne]

Add a Yammy BB414 or BB415 to taste, & you don't need no P bass.



G.

[mart]

[quote name='skhatru' post='1192552' date='Apr 8 2011, 08:21 AM']...I'm geeky to the extent, that when I hear a track, I like to try and guess what bass is being used (anybody else? lol), and usually, it's easy to recognise a P bass, but invariably that's because it's the "stock" sound I don't really like. Then again, you get tracks where the bass is pounding away, gorgeous sound, plenty bottom end thump, nice clarity, and low and behold, it's a P bass....[/quote]

From this paragraph it looks as if there are some P sounds that you enjoy. Perhaps you should find out what specific type of P is being played on the tracks you like, and what sort of amplification. It may be that your Trace rig wasn't bringing out the best in the P bass you tried, but another amp would. Sounds like you need to spend a few hours in a well-stocked shop!

[spongebob]

+1 on the Classic Vibes.

I've never been a P-bass player - tried some in the past, but really couldn't get the feel.

Tried again with a 60's CV-P after reading glowing reviews.

Upshot is, I love it. Far prefer it to any other P I've played, all of which cost a load more cash! It just felt great from the box, and really has a vibe of it's own.

And it sounds great!

[Cat Burrito]

If you've been playing 32yrs without one I doubt very much they'll suddenly start floating your boat now. Personally I can't imagine life without mine but I readily accept not every bass is for every player. Perhaps one with a hotter pickup might raise your interest a bit but I'd certainly look to avoid anything too traditional i.e. my tastes.

[Gust0o]

I don't think you can really go far wrong with the Precision - it's so ubiquitous, and fits so many styles. It's like the background noise of the universe; the Precision is everywhere!

Farting through a rig? Possibly, but sounds more like the rig. You should be able to pop into just about any decent music store and find a Precision of some brand or another to have a noodle on.

I've played a Classic Vibe and was very impressed. For a about the same money as a new CV, you could pitch for a used Fender MIM (Made in Mexico) - might be worth a look around the For Sale section.

I don't think you'd be making a mistake; of course, it's still open to your self as to whether you enjoy it more or less than other types.

[RhysP]

I've been playing for the same length of time as you & I've never owned a Fender bass (Precision or Jazz), nor do I ever intend to.
I've never played one that I thought was anything more than OK.

Quality-wise all the nicest ones I've played have been, without exception, Japanese models. If you MUST get one then I'd say go for a Japanese one.

[rasher80]

Get one. I never looked back after I got my CIJ, some of the Squier CV/VM series are seriously good for the money, as has already been mentioned above

[Quatschmacher]

Sorry for the [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=127715&hl=cij"]shameless plug[/url].

[edster]

I've also never been a fan of Fender, I did buy a Mexican P and Mexican Jazz to see if I was missing anything. The P was a lovely tone and I think it was a good example of a Mex as I've been told QC varies wildly however I sold both to buy a Lakland 55-01 and I'm glad I did. Neither bass really did it for me. I like the look of Jazz basses so I've bought Rob89's Sandberg JM4 and I'm led to believe it's better than Fender going by the reviews. I'd say you don't have to go Fender for that P sound but if you must I'd go for a Japanese example.

[Gust0o]

[quote name='Quatschmacher' post='1192905' date='Apr 8 2011, 02:37 PM']Sorry for the [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=127715&hl=cij"]shameless plug[/url].[/quote]

Now that is lovely...

[Truckstop]

The Sting '54 Signature is lovely!
CIJ, around £800 new but I reckon you could pick up a second hand one for about £500. Great basses! Full of '50s vibes!

Truckstop

[iconic]

+1 for MIM P and the Yamaha BB414...for classic warm typical Pee sounds, I'm biased I have both.

haven't played the VMP but if they are up to the VMJ and VMJF I have, they will be good, the CV P I tried was good too....

...if I had a £200/£300+ it would be the MIM or if you want a little more range then the BB414...that J pup will give you more fun..but hey, you already have a jazz and P's should be basic, no faffing about with batteries 'n stuff, simple, simple, simple, a volume pot and a tone pot that normally is set down.

The MIM's I've played do the 'should be' simple, but sometimes 'hard to achieve' job of being a good P bass as intended and does it well..also, any parts are a breeze to get hold of should you need them.

[iconic]

PS if you want a not so classic fat as f*$k P bass sound, go telebass

[BottomE]

I know where the OP is coming from. I been playin years and never had a P Bass and think that i should. Trouble is i am on a one in and one out policy....

[Lozz196]

I`ve tried many P-Basses, ranging from Squier Affinity, Standard Mex, Classic 50s (Mex) Mike Dirnt (Mex), US Standard, all the way up to Custom Shop Pino Palladino signature model.

My ones that felt instantly at home with me were a Road Worn, the CS Pino, and my two US Precisions.

All of the others were great, however, the Affinity especially was a hell of a lot of bass for the money.

Given the choice out of any of them, I`d go for the two I actually own at present, but the Road Worns are great basses too. At present, they seem to be fetching more 2nd hand than US Standards.