uk_lefty Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 So, I've got a Fender player P bass. It sounds perfect with Ernie Ball flats being played through a valve amp with the gain set nice and high. I don't always have this luxury though and sometimes I want a bit more bite from it. Example: I played a festival last weekend and had v little time to set up using unfamiliar kit, the sound was very woolly. Here's my thoughts on options, grateful for any advice: Put round-wounds on it Add a j bridge pickup Add a p pickup at the bridge Add one of those fender "double jazz" things at the bridge Save up and get a Fender Aerodyne jazz when one comes available at the right price Stop whining, it's a p bass doing it's thing And here's some of the complications... I've never got on with PJ basses. I have a jazz bass and a Stingray already so why butcher the P? I could buy a Harley Benton PJ to see if I get on with it for just a fraction more than the cost of the pickups... Saving up for an Aerodyne isn't possible right now as I just moved house and tradesmen seem to think everything needs to cost £5000+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Roundwounds. I'll get flamed for this but I've found the Precision to be a two trick pony; both tricks are superb and depend entirely on the strings (OK, four tricks if you include fingerstyle/pick). I've never got on with PJ as the staggered p pickup blended with the inline j means there's a significant difference in tone between EA and DG. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 I’d invest in a preamp pedal. My VTDI, with the bite switch engaged, really lifts the highs of my Mustang and P, both fitted with flats. That way you have the advantage of 2 tones. I also have a Sadowsky SBP2, which works ok with those 2 basses, but is better suited to my J and MM types and isn’t as flexible as the Tech21. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonlittle Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 I’d agree with @bremen. Instant extra bite and you don’t have to butcher your bass. Plus you can easily swap back to the flats when you do have your favourite amp setup. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 You like your Pbass You like flat wound strings You like Ernie Ball strings So a set of their Cobalt flats could be the solution, as much more roundwound sounding than regular flats. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 All my P basses have got very worn in flats and I’d say none sound woolly, mellow yes, personally I wouldn’t go altering your bass, do you think it could have been because you didn’t have enough time to familiarise yourself with the new setup and experiment a bit 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Pre amp pedal would be my advice. No matter the rig I always sound basically the same now. Sansamps are hard to live without once you have one. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moving Pictures Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 I support the preamp pedal idea that some have suggested. That has saved me much trouble when playing festivals where the back line can be quite varied. SansAmp and the ToneHammer have done the trick for me. Someone suggested EB Cobalt flats and I have to say that is a great suggestion as well. Most aggressive flat I’ve used. They can easily be tamed with EQ as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 4 hours ago, uk_lefty said: played through a valve amp with the gain set nice and high. I don't always have this luxury though and sometimes I want a bit more bite from it. I’m with everyone else that says go for a pedal. The Darkglass Microtubes is a fave of mine, you may find the Deluxe or Ultra version could tick the box for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted September 14 Author Share Posted September 14 Thanks everyone. I used cobalt flats before and something about them just didn't work for me. I just started using a Boss ME90-B so might just get under the skin of that to find the right pre for each bass. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 My main bass is a Mike Lull PJ5 with 10 year old TI flats and a lump of foam. Sounds magic. If I want to sound like a traditional P bass I'll turn the J off and use my Aguilar TH500. For a modern P bass sound I'll turn the P pickup on full and have the J on at about 90% and use the AG700 amp. If I want more mids and top I'll use the Aguilar AG700 and turn the J and tone control up to about 90%. The rig is Aguilar and Barefaced 112's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 On the basis of cheapest options first, I'd plump for a set of rounds. I would also ask what are you aiming for? You are satisfied with your sound using your own gear? I am presuming the valve amp you mention is yours? Using 'foreign' gear is always a lottery. It may be a pedal is what you want (a valve pre I suppose). I'd explore the strings first. I certainly wouldn't be adding pickups/buying different basses. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Cheap solution that has worked for players of PBasses with flats from 1951 to 2024. A pic 👍 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Keep your bass how you like it and if the wooliness strikes again when using unfamiliar kit, back off some bass and dial in more treble at whatever amp you're given to use. Obviously I wasn't there but from what you've said that's what I would do after the first song. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minininjarob Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 1 hour ago, Beedster said: Cheap solution that has worked for players of PBasses with flats from 1951 to 2024. A pic 👍 Yes yes a thousand times yes! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Play the Stingray instead of the P bass? Lots of bite from a Ray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 11 minutes ago, jezzaboy said: Play the Stingray instead of the P bass? Lots of bite from a Ray. Yes good point, he's got the Ray so why not play it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 (edited) Plan M (Plans A, B, C.... used so far), Try a used set of TI flats (when they appear on BC) and turn the tone control up. As per @chris_b the TI flats on my SB-1 are about 10 years old, on my SG bass about 8 years old. Neither bass lacks bite or gets wooly. Stating the obvious, with festival type gigs, what you hear on stage and what the audience hear are probably two different things. I played two (small) outdoor festival gigs this year. In both, the onstage sound could be identified as a bass and I could hear the notes I was playing, nothing more than that though. In both I was later complemented by audience members (and other bass players) on the bass tone. Thank you sound engineers Edited September 14 by 3below Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 10 hours ago, ezbass said: I’d invest in a preamp pedal. My VTDI, with the bite switch engaged, really lifts the highs of my Mustang and P, both fitted with flats. That way you have the advantage of 2 tones. I also have a Sadowsky SBP2, which works ok with those 2 basses, but is better suited to my J and MM types and isn’t as flexible as the Tech21. I agree with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 +1 to @ezbass and @LukeFRC a preamp that you are familiar with will help you rapidly get a usable tone with unfamiliar kit (unless you a very unlucky). I use a VT bass Deluxe as my go to DI tool, the Laney Digbeth pre looks really useful with the tilt control. Disclaimer, I have not tried one so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 5 minutes ago, 3below said: +1 to @ezbass and @LukeFRC a preamp that you are familiar with will help you rapidly get a usable tone with unfamiliar kit (unless you a very unlucky). I use a VT bass Deluxe as my go to DI tool, the Laney Digbeth pre looks really useful with the tilt control. Disclaimer, I have not tried one so far. I guess the obvious "standards" you see would be... VT bass Sansamp Tonehammer EBS microbass (maybe not as valvey) Ampeg SGT the trick is you learn to set it up for your sound - then send your DI signal to FOH from it, and use the amp as a stage monitor. Depending on the amp your stage sound might still sound like rubber bands and a tin can - but it doesn't matter as the FOH sound will be fine! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 11 hours ago, bremen said: Roundwounds. I'll get flamed for this but I've found the Precision to be a two trick pony; both tricks are superb and depend entirely on the strings (OK, four tricks if you include fingerstyle/pick). I've never got on with PJ as the staggered p pickup blended with the inline j means there's a significant difference in tone between EA and DG. This + 1👌 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Buy a TC Spark Booster and be done with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy Posted Sunday at 07:10 Share Posted Sunday at 07:10 20 hours ago, uk_lefty said: So, I've got a Fender player P bass. It sounds perfect with Ernie Ball flats being played through a valve amp with the gain set nice and high. It's a well known formula that physicists around the globe agree on: P bass + flats + valves = perfection I agree with the pre amp crew. Have it as an always on, send the signal to FoH and use the effects loop of whatever amp you plug into to bypass its pre and you'll always sound like you want to. Now the fun of finding a pre starts! I'm sure you get loads of suggestions, I use a VT bass and really love it. Keep an eye out for the deluxe model and you can program a few different tones into it if you want different sounds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted Sunday at 08:19 Share Posted Sunday at 08:19 (edited) I've never heard a Precision, going through a FOH PA, that didn't sound woolly (except for a Fender Telecaster bass, at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival which had a big lump of foam at the bridge to give it definition and attack). On the other hand I've heard some great Precision sounds, where the bass is not going through the FOA PA and I'm hearing the bassists own amp with his/her own EQ settings. So I would fall in line with what others have already said and get a good preamp so that you can have your sound for when you have to go through the FOA, or play through an amp that isn't yours. Edited Thursday at 11:04 by gjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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