gareth Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 Pound for pound, what's the best P bass? FENDER MIM 50'S PRECISION 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 33 minutes ago, MattM said: Don’t underestimate a good standard USA Precision. I moved to a 2008 Standard (same as the post 2012s, graphite neck, rolled edges, through body stringing but minus the Custom Shop pickup) from a Limelight. Mainly because it was slightly lighter and had low mass tuners which made is easier for my 10yo son to learn on. The tonal variation isn’t as wide as the Limelight, but the fundamental tone is superb. Was minded to try out the Custom Shop pickup but tbh it sounds great as it is. I paid a decent price for it used and won’t lose out should I move it on. Oh and my son loves it... Nice! I asked for a lightweight body and Gotoh res-o-lite tuners on my Limelight. I didn't want anything heavy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushscored4 Posted March 3, 2018 Author Share Posted March 3, 2018 On 2 March 2018 at 11:13, rushscored4 said: Fair comment but you knew what I meant! The one on eBay for £1,150 is a 2013 I think which would make me 5 not 55 this year... They dropped the price to £999.99 last night and somebody bought it straight away. Got a bargain there I think but makes you wonder how little the poor sod who pawned it must have received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 1 hour ago, gareth said: Pound for pound, what's the best P bass? FENDER MIM 50'S PRECISION Funnily enough, there's one for sale on here at the moment, bought in haste and then barely used. You can find it among my posts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westenra Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 I got my Yamaha BB424x for silly low money and I can happily confirm that the label "precision killer" is completely justified. Sounds absolutely lovely with flats or rounds, then you've got the added benefit of having a J pup and a PJ scooped sound. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbass Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 I went through that thing of thinking I had to spend big bucks to get a good P bass so I bought a sunburst 71 but it wasn't great, it looked good, had the vibe and tons of goodly mojo but it was heavyish and sounded dull. I now play a 180 quid VM Squier P and it trounces the 71 in pretty well every department. Sure the 71 had a tad more 'heft' to the tone (love those thick necks) but in a band setting its the mid range and playability on the VM that puts a smile on my face every time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Ive just ordered a vintage (the brand) v4 reissue. They seem to have very good reviews and theres an excellent video on youuube comparing it against a usa precision. They sounded very close. At £230 ish with wilkinson bridge, tuners and pickups it has to be worth considering. Pound for Pound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbass Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 I tried a RW P a couple of yrs ago..the whole thing felt lovely but I wasnt sure about the wide neck...I should have bought it really, I do think the RW's are a bit special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushscored4 Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 4 hours ago, la bam said: Ive just ordered a vintage (the brand) v4 reissue. They seem to have very good reviews and theres an excellent video on youuube comparing it against a usa precision. They sounded very close. At £230 ish with wilkinson bridge, tuners and pickups it has to be worth considering. Pound for Pound. I already have a Vintage Jaco Pastorius lookalikey jazz bass which only cost me £130 second hand but is excellent. Looks cool as f*** too... in fact now I come to think of it I might use it at my next gig on Saturday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 My vintage v4 reissue turned up today. wow! How do they produce that for the money?! Very light, but immaculately made. Lovely varnish finish (even though im not a fan of gloss varnish). The tuners (wilkinsons) are fantastic as well as the wilkinson bridge. The sound is brilliant. Really punchy. Really punchy. Plus the tone pot actually does make a big difference from treble to no treble. Having owned a usa precision in the past which i gigged for about 10 years, id genuinely struggle to tell much difference between the two. Id say the usa was chunkier and heavier, but the vintage definitely has more tonal control. One huge tick in the box was i could tell this bass had been carefully set up before sending. The bridge had been adjusted, the strings play even all across the board and it has a lovely clear low action with perfect intonation. Very happy with it. Far surpassed what i was expecting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 That's my P bass above , great value for money , I've got 2 other CIJs and there all fantastic , never felt the need to get an MIA . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deedee Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 29 minutes ago, lojo said: That's my P bass above , great value for money , I've got 2 other CIJs and there all fantastic , never felt the need to get an MIA . Great basses. I’m the same with my MIJ 70’s Reissue P, best P I’ve ever played. I must get another SH though 😍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 My biggest regret was parting with my CIJ 62 reissue P, red with cream pickguard - played and sounded amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmjos Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 I have & have had a few pre cbs P's from 59-65. The only modern instrument out there that hits the P mark square on is the Moollon. The tone and feel is there in spades and better IMHO than a custom shop. Nuff said. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 G&L SB-1 😎 Leo Fender got it right eventually! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 Dunno if these have been mentioned yet as solid P contenders: Lakland Moollon If not, they should be in your list Si 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 I know it's not a purists P bass, but I am SERIOUSLY lusting after this Ltd edition American Pro at the moment! Roasted maple, Daphne blue, stacked vol/tone for each pickup.... 🤤 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 I have a Japanese Fender Precision, a Classic Vibe Squier Precision and a USA Elite Precision. The Japanese Precision and the Squier have nicer necks (shallower and better finished) than the Elite. I prefer the passive sound of the cheaper basses too. The Moral of this story is, spending a lot of money on a bass, doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get a better bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 (edited) On 01/03/2018 at 20:01, wateroftyne said: I've rarely played a new Fender that justifies the expense. +1 Edited August 18, 2019 by LukeFRC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 For me, bang for buck = Bruce Thomas Profile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegummy Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 It's interesting that the posts vary to the point of one person talking about how great a 200 quid bass is while another says that only a bass costing over 2000 really hits the spot. Not being sarcastic to either, genuinely find it interesting how much opinion can vary. There will be many different reasons for each of their conclusions. Can be very confusing for less experienced people to really know the market; is the cheapest bass essentially as good as any or is it totally rubbish? What about 500, 900 etc.? Does adding a thousand or two to that get a noticeably different quality? Is anything under this high price going to have compromises? (They're all hypothetical questions, just a range of varied possibilities that could be true to someone who hasn't had experience across the board.) Possibly one thing that's certain: whatever the sweet spot is of getting a great bass for the lowest price, going above that gives fewer and fewer improvements for more and more money. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 6 hours ago, thegummy said: Possibly one thing that's certain: whatever the sweet spot is of getting a great bass for the lowest price, going above that gives fewer and fewer improvements for more and more money. This is so true. I'm reminded of a similar discovery I made in the world of photography. To squeeze a little more quality the leap was from a £300 lens to a £1400 lens. And I often go out with a £300 lens on the front of a camera which cost half the price of my 'best' camera because I find the combination more comfortable to use and prefer the photographs produced. I'm putting together an album of prints for my daughter and guess what? A layman would be hard pressed to pick out the camera phone snaps from those taken with an expensive camera. All of this is analogous to bass guitar. Does the instrument feel comfortable to you? If you have more than one which one do you find you reach for most often? Which combination of bass and amp pleases you most? Price isn't quite the same as value. With photography, the more expensive camera will produce better large prints which under close scrutiny will stand out in an exhibition. Similarly a bass assembled with more expensive components will often produce noticibly better results on a recording which can be studied more carefully. As with so much in life subjectivity rules! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 Pound for pound, the best P bass for me is still in the shop. Do not want one. Money saved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 2 hours ago, itu said: Pound for pound, the best P bass for me is still in the shop. Do not want one. Money saved. I love a P bass. In fact I have four of them. 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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