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Why do Pros use a P Bass...


TheGreek

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Just to be clear, it’s not about Scott, it’s about an LA pro, one of about 4 or 5 on that sewn-up LA session scene where the P bass thing is an actual thing. So much of this thread is about “naaaa, just do your own thing”. No, do the thing that gets the job done, because that what a professional of anything does. We’re not talking about some crappy engineer who you’ve payed £50 to record your bands demo, we’re talking about producers who really REALLY know what they’re doing, and more importantly what they want....and they’re paying the bass player.

Do other Basses exist? Yes. Are there recordings with other Basses on? Yes. But the video is talking about ‘Pro session players’ (who probably will all tell you the same thing) and is getting information from an LA session beast.....who really knows the game and what is expected of everyone in his circles.

Do session players matter? Not if you don’t care about doing that, but that is what the video is about, so why do you care? Lol

So again, why is everyone getting their nose out of joint like they’ve been held at gun-point to buy a Precision?

Si

Edited by Sibob
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1 hour ago, dlloyd said:

Huge respect from me to anyone who can build a business from scratch generating £2M of revenues and supporting the livelihoods of 10 staff; and at the same time providing bass tuition to 15,000 paying subscribers.

Even more impressive following a career limiting injury. 

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Completely unrelated to the P Bass thing, but Scott set up a Jaydee I bought, many years ago when he was at Overwater and we both had hair. Lovely bloke and the setup was bob-on for me straight off, something that doesn't happen often. That's it really. xD

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I met him at one of the Bass bashes when he was sitting with Chris from Overwater and he was very approachable. I have no issues with the guy at all. 

He's helpful when asked and i've picked up a few helpful tips from his free VID clips and he knows his stuff inside out.

Dave

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I had a further reflection on this, following my initial negative reaction, and I do see the point. The producer isn't interested in exploring the possibilities of a wondrous sonic landscape but just wants to get the backing down as quickly as possible so the Talent can come in and do the vocals and everyone can go home. Plugging the bass in and pressing a button marked "P" does that, so the producer wants a bass player who has a bass that he can press the button marked "P" for. If an actual band goes in, the same producer would presumably be happy to accommodate their non-P requirements (if they have them) and go exploring sonic landscapes and flights of fancy.

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3 minutes ago, tauzero said:

The producer isn't interested in exploring the possibilities of a wondrous sonic landscape but just wants to get the backing down as quickly as possible so the Talent can come in and do the vocals and everyone can go home. Plugging the bass in and pressing a button marked "P" does that, so the producer wants a bass player who has a bass that he can press the button marked "P" for. If an actual band goes in, the same producer would presumably be happy to accommodate their non-P requirements (if they have them) and go exploring sonic landscapes and flights of fancy.

So basically, the P bass goes down as a guide track so the real bass can be synthed over on top...?

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7 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

So basically, the P bass goes down as a guide track so the real bass can be synthed over on top...?

No, Tauzero is quite rightly making the distinction between a producer tasked with building/writing a track for a singer/artist, where they’ll have creative control and a producer who is hired by a band/artist. In the latter example they might have some creative input, but will usually have to bow to the wishes of the band. That said, most bands will hire a producer they respect, and if that producer says a P bass is best in that instance, most players of worth will at least try it.

Si

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5 minutes ago, Sibob said:

No, Tauzero is quite rightly making the distinction between a producer tasked with building/writing a track for a singer/artist, where they’ll have creative control and a producer who is hired by a band/artist. In the latter example they might have some creative input, but will usually have to bow to the wishes of the band. That said, most bands will hire a producer they respect, and if that producer says a P bass is best in that instance, most players of worth will at least try it.

Si

It was tongue in cheek.

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22 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

So basically, the P bass goes down as a guide track so the real bass can be synthed over on top...?

 

5 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

It was tongue in cheek.

It's probably not as far off the mark as a lot of us on here would like to think.

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15 hours ago, Sibob said:

So much of this thread is about “naaaa, just do your own thing”. No, do the thing that gets the job done, because that what a professional of anything does. We’re not talking about some crappy engineer who you’ve payed £50 to record your bands demo, we’re talking about producers who really REALLY know what they’re doing, and more importantly what they want....and they’re paying the bass player.

^ This in spades.

On Basschat we're very much blurring the lines between work and play / profession and hobby. And I imagine that in our day jobs, most of us do what is asked of us by our clients. We might make suggestions and rescue clients if they're truly heading for calamity, of course. But we otherwise do what we're paid to do, within reason. Session musicians are no exception. And how many of us here are professional session musicians? Exactly.

Also just to add, there is far more objectionable content on YouTube than Scott's Bass Lessons. To me, he always comes across as a nice bloke and I feel we should be supporting such champions of our oft-ignored instrument, as they are in short supply.

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1 minute ago, Ricky 4000 said:

I'm thinking two P basses - because one should be set up with flats. 👍

 

But what colour should they be, the red ones are always sound different to the sunbursts [2 and 3 tone] and do they match the performers clothes.

 

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1 minute ago, Ricky 4000 said:

I'm thinking two P basses - because one should be set up with flats. 👍

It's also a requirement by the studio that I work for (the imaginary one that I go to during the night).

According to Carole Kaye, it should be a P bass with flatwounds & played with a felt pick (axe ⛏). ;)

She played on over 10,000 records, so it must be right!

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1 minute ago, bumnote said:

But what colour should they be, the red ones are always sound different to the sunbursts [2 and 3 tone] and do they match the performers clothes.

 

Sky-blue pink with yellow polka-dots.

The only way to fly!

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15 minutes ago, Teebs said:

According to Carole Kaye, it should be a P bass with flatwounds & played with a felt pick (axe ⛏). ;)

She played on over 10,000 records, so it must be right!

Carole my bass teacher you mean? ... that was another dream. 😁

S'funny how Carol doesn't use the term "electric bass". When talking about session work, she says either "stand up bass" or "Fender bass". 😎

I was saying the same thing to Jerry Preston just the other day ... dammit, that was yet another dream! :facepalm:

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