What P Bass?

[Fred Leicester]

Up until recently I owned a Mexican Fender roadworn P bass. Generally loved it but, after playing it for an hour or so, I found the wide neck a little uncomfortable so decided to let it go.

 

I’m missing that P bass sound though and would love to find another which has that worn in feel, relatively light but resonant body but with a slightly slimmer neck. 
 

Doesn’t need to be jazz bass skinny, I prefer a bit more meat than that - just not as wide as the roadworn. 
 

I’ve only played a handful of P basses so wondering if you fine people could narrow down my choices a bit with some suggestions? 
 

Budget is flexible…ish - I’d stump up for the right bass but would also snap up something bargainous. Doesn’t need to be brand new or roadworn either, but would be lovely if it does have that played in feeling. 
 

Appreciate any suggestions! 

[JJMotown]

Sire P5, has rounded fretboard edges, so has that worn in feeling neck, but not as fat as the fender roadworn. Easy to upgrade if you want to take it to the next level.

[ossyrocks]

Late 80’s/early 90’s Made in Japan Fenders can be lovely. I had one for a while, it was super. The nut width was the same as my 70’s P’s, 41mm.

[Beedster]

This 

 

 

[Lozz196]

I think that’s what I’d be looking at too

[la bam]

I had the me 50s roadworn, amazing sound. Loved it. 

 

Same thing though, that neck gets a bit too much.

 

Sire P5 for me as a replacement, easy to play, looks and feels gorgeous, very very good price wise. 

[Steve Browning]

I would agree with the MIJ PB70 suggestion, and Chris's suggestion re the signature bass. 

 

A Nate Mendel signature has the same neck profile and would fit the bill.

[Reggaebass]

I’ve had quite a few precisions and the necks do vary, if you don’t want the wider nut ie 44mm I’d stay away from the 60s reissues, the Nate Mendel as mentioned might fit your needs, it was based on a 71 P (41.02 mm) nut , but it only came in one colour I believe which is the red 

[OliverBlackman]

Have a look at the spec sheets on the Fender website. The B width neck is my preference too and my 2006 MIM model has one.

[Reggaebass]

48 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said:

Have a look at the spec sheets on the Fender website. The B width neck is my preference too and my 2006 MIM model has one.

Same as my 2008 mim one, it’s the only Mexican one I’ve kept 

[ezbass]

The Squier 40th Anniversary model is worth a look.

[Lozz196]

The US Standards of 2013-16 have a deep neck (though regular Precision width) it’s a chunker. Took me a while to get used to it, so may be worth avoiding this range. 

[Pea Turgh]

This looks delightful;

 

 

[GreeneKing]

6 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

This looks delightful;

 

 

It’s a great bass tastefully modified. 

[Jonesy]

The Hama above will be a lovely bass, but will have a J neck so may be too skinny for you? I love Japanese Fenders, especially that reissue line, and reckon they're a perfect mix of price, quality and features that I like (EG. gloss necks and vintage frets). The PB70 mentioned will top bass too, although you don't see them pop up too often.

 

This looks to be fairly similar and would be worth looking at.....
 

 

 

If you like maple boards, then the PB57 is also worth checking out and comes in at 42mm at the nut. There's one in a BassBros. The body will be basswood (not Alder as specified on site), so should be fairly light....

 

https://bassbros.co.uk/product/2005-fender-japan-pb-57-precision-bass-reissue/

 

 

 

 

[Fred Leicester]

15 hours ago, la bam said:

I had the me 50s roadworn, amazing sound. Loved it. 

 

Same thing though, that neck gets a bit too much.

 

Sire P5 for me as a replacement, easy to play, looks and feels gorgeous, very very good price wise. 

How does the Sire compare to the roadworn 50s broadly speaking? 

[GreeneKing]

I bought a new Player 2 recently. I played at least half a dozen before deciding on the one. 
Fenders are expensive for what you’re actually getting. I couldn’t afford a US P bass. 
In terms of neck stability relative to many other basses I find Fenders a bit all over the place with temperature and humidity. 
I built a Warmoth P many, many years ago. It ended up with a Dark Star pickup in it. 
Then I spotted a reduced purpleheart and ebony neck on the Warmoth site, it even has block luminary markers. 
It’s now a P with a 41mm nut, 20 frets, graphite rods, swamp ash body, Gotoh 201 bridge, Vintage 63 pickup and Obsidian wiring. So much better than any Fender imo and I got the fun of finishing myself. 
Excuse the grotty photo. 
 

It’s not light at 10lb but I have another underway with a chambered body. 

[BassAgent]

I'm pretty surprised nobody has named this yet:

Lakland Skyline 44-64 Vintage. Excellent quality, sounds and looks like a Precision but with a nice, slim neck. I had one for a while and sometimes regret selling it a bit.

[fretmeister]

Sandberg California II VS4 Passive.

 

39.5mm nut. Very comfy and often lighter weight than a Fender.

 

Or you could get a Jazz bass neck and stick it on your existing body.

[la bam]

21 hours ago, Fred Leicester said:

How does the Sire compare to the roadworn 50s broadly speaking? 

 

I did really like the P5. They're a think of beauty. Lovely to look at and play and sound great. 

 

The 50s roadworn was something else. Something special but the width and flatness of the neck was too much. The sire is more a standard size neck and easy to play. 

[GreeneKing]

Over the course of nearly 30 years I've owned a huge variety and number of basses. Well over 100 (I had 27 at one time - ADHD and obsessive pastimes may be an issue here  ). For me, there is something about a good P bass that sounds uniquely kind of visceral. They connect to my sense of bassiness.

 

There are many instrument manufacturers who put a better effort into the details of construction in my opinion. Fender do the basics (no pun intended) well enough. Sandberg are better but there are many others.

 

Fender are expensive for what you get methinks but they hold their value well. Stupidly so sometimes. I can remember back when many 70's Fenders were considered inferior and essentially worthless. They were avoided. Now they sell for a ridiculous amount just because they've got old.

 

I've presently got a mere 5 basses. Well 4.5 actually, with one presently up for sale. My Zoot Funkmeister 32" scale pair are superb.They aren't going anywhere. I have a P equivalent that was custom built for me by Mike and a J likewise that I bought 2nd hand from Mark its original owner who was awaiting another Zoot to be finished. Both are active with a passive bypass and both are very strong in terms of tone, build quality, playability and appearance.

 

Then I have my recently completed Warmoth build above. I originally had a chambered body with a bubinga top with this, as it turned out, very heavy neck. It didn't balance well (hardly a surprise). I ordered a Warmoth swamp ash solid body to complement the neck and it's now met all my expectations. The fretwork is really good allowing a setup with a low action and tremendous neck stability. 

 

I've a quarter sawn maple neck in process to pair to the original body. It'll need to be finished. An East P-Retro V2 will give added options.

 

Which leaves the Sire D5 that's presently in the for sale section. It plays and balances very well courtesy of the Hipshot Ultralites. I'm going to bring it along to the next band rehearsal and see how it sounds alongside the Warmoth. I may then pull it from sale. It doesn't sound like a P bass exactly. No bass with a Curtis Novak Gold Foil pickup could  It's something else entirely and that's no bad thing.

 

Peter

 

 

Edited January 14 by GreeneKing

[diskwave]

As with most here Ive owned a ton of P's over the years, vintage, Jap, Squire, Fender, Mex. Picked up one of those CV70's P's recently, terrific bass, 70's nut but with a fat profile ...very comfortable and very cheap too. Its as good or better as anything Ive had before.

[ead]

Some of the later Japanese Squiers had narrower necks and are shockingly good value.  Pretty sure that there's a Silver Series P bass on here that is nicely run in and has a 40mm nut.  It used to be mine.

[Supernaut]

On 12/01/2025 at 12:14, ezbass said:

The Squier 40th Anniversary model is worth a look.

I can definitely back that statement. Fantastic basses. 
 

[-asdfgh2-]

On 11/01/2025 at 23:01, ossyrocks said:

Late 80’s/early 90’s Made in Japan Fenders can be lovely. I had one for a while, it was super. The nut width was the same as my 70’s P’s, 41mm.

 

Best one I had was a JV Squier, second best was a 1984 MIJ. Currently, my best is a 1990s P Lyte. Worst I had was one of two Cowpokes, second was fine. I wish I still had three of them.

 

If you aren't set on an FSO, then early Westone Thunder Is are P basses. Tokai and Ibanez did some good copies or near copies.