3 P basses - but which is which?

[Panamonte]

So what we have here is one of the least rigorous pickup shootouts that you're likely to encounter.


[url="http://soundcloud.com/torquil-macleod-730760653/p-bass-comparison"]http://soundcloud.co...bass-comparison[/url]


The 3 basses involved are:

2010 Fender American Deluxe Precision with Fender 62 RI pickups

Squier MB4 with Fender Deluxe pickups (as fitted in post 2009 Am Dlx P basses)

Bitsa P (J neck and P body from cheapish copies) with Aguilar AG P60 pickups


One is strung with D'Addario Chromes, one with DR Lo Riders and one with Elixir steels.

Clearly in terms of comparing the pickups this is of limited use given that the basses are all wearing different strings, but having just put the bitsa together I was struck by the fact that they all sound fairly different. So what, I wondered, is the 'P bass sound'? Is it there in a certain character that they all share, or does one of them leap out as sounding like you think a P bass should sound? Just a bit of fun really - can you identify which is which and which sounds closest to your idea of a P bass?

Edited December 22, 2016 by Panamonte

[Mudpup]

Dunno whats what but i liked the second one best - a bit fruitier sounding. A wild guess - 2010 AM Deluxe wearing DR strings.

Didnt like the last one - that was the one with the flats, maybe the Squier

First one was ok but i prefer a bit more mid zing. Maybe the bitsa with elixirs?

Edited December 23, 2016 by Mudpup

[dannybuoy]

Last one sounds weird so bet that's the Squier since it has 2 pickups?

First one sounds fatter than the second, and the best of the bunch. Is that the bitsa?

[Pinball]

Well I would say the first 2 have P bass character. I wouldn't have recognized the third as a P bass.

I like the first overall but just to complicate things a little more what I like on it's own doesn't always work best in a band.

[Panamonte]

Thanks for your responses. All will be revealed this evening!

[Mister RLP]

Interesting! All sound like P-basses but first two with rounds on and the last with flats. Sounds not too disimilar to my Matt Freeman with flats on. I think I liked the sound of no.2 best. Possibly.

[Marc S]

The first two had more of a typical P bass sound. The last one did sound a bit like a P bass - just not quite as obvious as the other two.
I think I preferred the first one, as it just seemed to have a bit more presence in the mids......

That said, I only listened on my PC, on small-ish headphones, which are OK, but not great quality
And as you have pointed out, to truly be a comparative test, all 3 basses should be wearing the same strings

I'm looking forward to the answers though

Incidentally, somewhere on youtube, there are blindfold tests, in which the blindfolded players are each given 3 different basses: I think a Fender CS, a standard US, and a Squier Classic Vibe. The same tests have been repeated with 6 string guitars too.... and in each case the Squier CV's come out really favourably. My own Squier CV sounds very P bass-like to me, just as much as my Fender P's

[Tweedledum]

I like No 3 best, it's got that thumpy Jamerson tone.

[Dazed]

They all sound like a P to me, the 3 rd strung with flats. If pushed I'd go for the 1st as my preference.

It just shows, P basses sound alike but not exactly the same.

Edited December 23, 2016 by Dazed

[Pinball]

Interesting, I was just playing along to the clip with my G&L 1500, with flats and passive setting and it was close in terms of tone...lol

[HowieBass]

I liked the first one best; I've no way of guessing which bass it was!

[Highfox]

Think I liked the first one best. Funny I couldn't even tell which one had the flats on it
3 sounded the least thickest of them to me, Guess that's the 2010 with flats lol. No idea.

[Painy]

My personal choice would be number 2 - a bit more aggressive sounding to my ears than 1 - which I like. I'd be more than happy to use either of those two tones though.
Number 3 definitely sounds more like the odd one out and not just because of the flats either. Kinda like it could be any 2 pickup bass with the neck pickup solo'd, not necessarily even a split coil specifically in the P position.

That said I was listening on my phone so they could have all been acoustic mandolins and not even basses for all I know!

Edited December 24, 2016 by Painy

[Paul S]

.... and?....

[Panamonte]

Apologies for the delay in The Big Reveal - it's that time of year!

Many thanks to all of you who commented - very interesting to hear what you had to say.

Here are the basses in the same order, from left to right, as they appear in the recording.


[url="http://s1187.photobucket.com/user/panamonte/media/3%20P%20basses.jpg.html"][/url]

1. Bitsa P with Aguilar pickups and DR Lo Riders

2. Fender Am Dlx P bass with Fender 62 RI pickups and Elixirs

3. Squier MB4 with Fender Deluxe pickups and Chromes


Like some of you, I actually like the sound of the bitsa best (maybe because it's the newest addition). I'll get a chance to play it in a band setting in a couple of weeks, but playing it through my rig at home it has a bit more of a low mid thump than the Fender so I think it will work very well.

As regards the Squier, I wonder how much the fact that it has an 'upside down' pickup rout contributed to it sounding a bit different. The Deluxe pickups that I put in it definitely have a more polite, modern sound than the two others.

Anyway, thanks again for joining in and I hope you all have a very enjoyable Christmas.

Edited December 24, 2016 by Panamonte

[Panamonte]

I've also just noticed that the pickup position is different on each bass. The distance from the 12th fret to the line where the EA/DG halves of the pickups meet is:

Bitsa - 295mm

Fender - 287mm

Squier - 282mm


So I guess that makes a difference too.


Right, I need to put the tape measure down and wrap some presents.

[tom1946]

I have a complete Legend P bass and the body is ply. I fitted a USA pickup, gotoh 201 bridge and fender tuners with a KiOgon loom and man it's a great sounding bass.

[Panamonte]

@tom1946 That Legend neck has been sitting around, unattached, for the last six years and I'd forgotten how nicely it plays.

(The Legend J body it was originally attached to currently has a Squier CV J neck and Wizard 64s.)

I bought the blueburst P body here on BC a month ago. The seller wasn't sure what its origins were, but there was a suggestion that it might have come from a Benson bass. Anyway, I couldn't be happier with the result and it cost a fraction of most of my other basses.