Fender P Bass - What's the difference?

[Perry]

I'm GASing for a P Bass, but I have a few questions.

1 Will it sound the same as my Jazz (MIA) if I dont use the humbuckers?

2 Whats the difference with the P basses (Standard/squire/Mexican/usa/Jap) ?

The prices vary quite a lot.

[wateroftyne]

Hello!

1. Not quite sure what you mean?

2. Lots of differences, but wether they're enough to justify the difference in the prices is a point for debate. I've had a few Mexis in the past which I wasn't keen on.. they just felt cheap and I had to spend a bit on them to upgrate pickups and hardware, etc. The new range of Mex stuff is far better, apparently (50s Precisions, etc).

I've had a few Japanese basses as well. They felt much better, but they hardware was still a little flaky in places. Especially the tuners.

The new MIA stuff I've had has been top-notch.. for Fender, anyway.

In any event, the law of diminishing returns applies. Is a £2000 custom-shop bass £1600 better than a £400 Mexican bass? That's what you have to weigh up.

[Perry]

Well, there's the:

P Bass Special
Aerodyne Classic P Bass
Deluxe P Bass
American P Bass
American Standard P bass

Hope this helps you coz it's giving me a brain ache.

Edited February 9, 2008 by Perry

[NancyJohnson]

[quote name='Perry' post='137016' date='Feb 9 2008, 10:39 AM']I'm GASing for a P Bass, but I have a few questions.

1 Will it sound the same as my Jazz (MIA) if I dont use the humbuckers?[/quote]

No.
P

[Hutton]

Go and try some. You only have to look through these forums to find that just about every variant of the P bass has its devotees. If you then find it difficult to make up your mind I would go for the new American Standard P bass.

[Hit&Run]

Don't forget the Highway 1

[nash]

dont forget the laky BG's are mint aswell

[Tee]

i have a US P bass and what i like about it compared to a CIJ i had (a top of the range one or thereabouts) are the tuners (vastly superior), the headstock (it's fatter and looks and feels better) and the string through bridge.

All IMO of course

Edited February 9, 2008 by Tee

[martthebass]

Hard to compare MIA P and J, different sound and different feel (neck). FWIW I get on well with my MIA P despite the S1 switch (just switch it out!), gets that nice thuddy 70's sound that you just can't get with a Jazz. Quality wise I'd say it's on a par with the Lakky Skylines but maybe not quite as 'robust' as a MM 'ray. I've had a couple of standard MIM's - both Jazzes - IMHO they didn't feel or play as well.

[Josh]

[quote name='Perry' post='137033' date='Feb 9 2008, 11:27 AM']Well, there's the:

P Bass Special
Aerodyne Classic P Bass
Deluxe P Bass
American P Bass
American Standard P bass

Hope this helps you coz it's giving me a brain ache.[/quote]

The only one out of the lot that will sound remotely like a jazz bass would be a deluxe, ironically in the examples I've heard and seen, they at times sound better than most jazzes.

[bassbloke]

I was having one of my all too frequent bouts of insomnia last night/this morning and spent a while of the fender youtube channel in the hope that it might send me off to sleep.

Fender have brought out a new Amercian Standard range featuring lots of refinements

1) Thinner finish
2) New bridges with heavier steel plate and brass saddles
3) Better hard cases.
4) New Hipshot lookalike lightweight tuners

So, I'd expect quite a few stores to start discount the previous generation of Amercian Standard basses at somepoint to make way for the new range. Might be a chance to bag a USA bass for Japanese money.

[bassbloke]

[quote name='Perry' post='137016' date='Feb 9 2008, 10:39 AM']I'm GASing for a P Bass, but I have a few questions.

1 Will it sound the same as my Jazz (MIA) if I dont use the humbuckers?

2 Whats the difference with the P basses (Standard/squire/Mexican/usa/Jap) ?

The prices vary quite a lot.[/quote]

You should pop along to [url="http://www.audereaudio.com"]Audere Audio[/url] and treat yourself to JZ3D preamp. Your MIA Deluxe Jazz will sound wonderful afterwards. I honestly can't believe how much more amazing my bass sounds.

[charic]

Ive played 3 standard MIMs (i really have to try these things before i buy!) and 2 standard MIAs (it said standard anyway lol) aswell as the fact i bought a MIM and upgraded hardware.

IMO i prefer the feel and sound of the standard MIM to the MIA
I also prefer the sound of my MIM upgraded with a BAII and SD 1/4p pups to the standard MIM.

The only basses that ive played that compare in feel and sound have been warwicks and MM sterling so far