Peaty Posted Wednesday at 11:41 Posted Wednesday at 11:41 I love the tone of the P-bass but Im not a great fan of the P-bass aesthetic. What is the collective opinion of the closest sounding non P-bass alternative, preferably something that can be picked up second hand without breaking the bank ? Quote
BassApprentice Posted Wednesday at 11:53 Posted Wednesday at 11:53 (edited) A Yamaha BB would be a shout, either reverse P or normal depending on your preference. Reverend or ACG for a different look. Edited Wednesday at 12:18 by BassApprentice 4 Quote
Cato Posted Wednesday at 12:10 Posted Wednesday at 12:10 (edited) If the problem is the Precision body shape then literally any body shape with the split pickup in the same spot will sound like a Precision. If it's the split pickup shape itself that causes offence then there are versions that are sold in humbucker style cases but it's going to take a bit of research to find which, if any, production models are currently using them in the correct P position. Edited Wednesday at 12:11 by Cato 2 Quote
Peaty Posted Wednesday at 12:40 Author Posted Wednesday at 12:40 It's the body shape that I find uncomfortable, the split pick up is totally fine. 'possible can of worms alert' Does the split pickup configuration (normal vs reversed) have any meaningful effect on the tone? Quote
Bigwan Posted Wednesday at 12:46 Posted Wednesday at 12:46 ACG. Here's mine, although it's had a P-Retro added since this pic. May be hitting the marketplace soon... Desperately need to cull the herd! 1 Quote
Cato Posted Wednesday at 12:46 Posted Wednesday at 12:46 2 minutes ago, Peaty said: It's the body shape that I find uncomfortable, the split pick up is totally fine. 'possible can of worms alert' Does the split pickup configuration (normal vs reversed) have any meaningful effect on the tone? I think it does. I'm not someone who's a great believer in tonewoods etc but I think having the magnets in those exact positions on the string length is where most of the tone come from. Also the split P is functionally a humbucker so apart from anything else it's less susceptible to hum and noise than ,say, the single coil in a jazz. 3 Quote
asingardenof Posted Wednesday at 14:37 Posted Wednesday at 14:37 2 hours ago, Peaty said: I love the tone of the P-bass but Im not a great fan of the P-bass aesthetic. What is the collective opinion of the closest sounding non P-bass alternative, preferably something that can be picked up second hand without breaking the bank ? You might be able to pick up one of the first gen Chinese Sadowsky MetroExpresses that have a PJ configuration. Thomann have a new one, but you might be able to find one even cheaper secondhand: https://www.thomann.co.uk/sadowsky_metroexpress_21_hybrid_carmp.htm 1 Quote
ped Posted Wednesday at 17:11 Posted Wednesday at 17:11 Is a G&L SB1 too much like a Precision shape for your taste? Quote
PainInTheBass Posted Wednesday at 17:14 Posted Wednesday at 17:14 4 hours ago, jd56hawk said: Orange O bass. Makes me crave Dairy Milk chocolate seeing that. 1 1 Quote
neepheid Posted Wednesday at 17:53 Posted Wednesday at 17:53 Any shape you like with a P shaped pickup in it. Not P sounding enough for you? Change the P pickup. 2 Quote
neepheid Posted Wednesday at 17:54 Posted Wednesday at 17:54 42 minutes ago, ped said: Is a G&L SB1 too much like a Precision shape for your taste? SB1 won't give you a trad P bass sound with that split MFD. LB-100 would be closer to trad P territory. Quote
ped Posted Wednesday at 18:35 Posted Wednesday at 18:35 40 minutes ago, neepheid said: SB1 won't give you a trad P bass sound with that split MFD. LB-100 would be closer to trad P territory. I found it very close personally Quote
neepheid Posted Wednesday at 19:36 Posted Wednesday at 19:36 1 hour ago, ped said: I found it very close personally Really? I was using an SB-2 on neck pickup only and a sound engineer asked me if it was active because it was so hot. Each to their own, I guess! Quote
ped Posted Wednesday at 19:55 Posted Wednesday at 19:55 17 minutes ago, neepheid said: Really? I was using an SB-2 on neck pickup only and a sound engineer asked me if it was active because it was so hot. Each to their own, I guess! Oh yeah it was hot as hell! But dial the volume back a tad and it sounded very P like 2 Quote
ped Posted Wednesday at 19:58 Posted Wednesday at 19:58 I actually think pickup placement is more important to the P sound than the pickup type. I’ve had really good P sounds from a few different basses with a variety of pickups. Standout ones are humbuckers with one hot coil, such as the MFD in OMG mode (iirc) or a custom thunderbird dual coil like I have now from Gemini pickups. 1 Quote
neepheid Posted Wednesday at 20:06 Posted Wednesday at 20:06 9 minutes ago, ped said: Oh yeah it was hot as hell! But dial the volume back a tad and it sounded very P like So that's what that round, sticky-out thing is for! 2 Quote
cocco Posted Wednesday at 20:18 Posted Wednesday at 20:18 There's definitely a good number of options. Is this enough of a departure? 4 Quote
redbandit599 Posted Wednesday at 20:24 Posted Wednesday at 20:24 Loving my Reverend Mercalli- plenty of Not A P options here https://reverendguitars.com/basses/ Quote
fretmeister Posted Wednesday at 21:07 Posted Wednesday at 21:07 8 hours ago, Peaty said: It's the body shape that I find uncomfortable, the split pick up is totally fine. 'possible can of worms alert' Does the split pickup configuration (normal vs reversed) have any meaningful effect on the tone? I think so, it can reduce a little low flub just by having the EA coil further back. Quote
Lozz196 Posted Wednesday at 21:17 Posted Wednesday at 21:17 The only reverse P I’ve any experience of was hearing a Mark Hoppus Sig bass, to me it evened out the sound very nicely, as above lost low end flub on the E/A, and also beefed up the D/G. Interestingly this was at a blind P-Bass shootout at the Herts Bass Bash some years back. Up against some heavyweight opposition (50s, 60s, 70s Precisions) the Hoppus was the runaway winner, bassists voting with their ears only. 1 Quote
Bassassin Posted Wednesday at 21:21 Posted Wednesday at 21:21 Any number of late '70s/early '80s post-copy era Japanese basses. Single P unit, usually (but not always) symmetrical body, 2-a-side headstock was a blueprint for dozens of the things. Westone, Westbury, Vantage, Washburn, Kasuga, Hondo - pretty much every brand did at least one. Prices start around £200ish, DiMarzio Model Ps used in lots of them, a good few with neck through builds. Got a couple myself, funnily enough. 4 Quote
jd56hawk Posted Wednesday at 21:47 Posted Wednesday at 21:47 4 hours ago, PainInTheBass said: Makes me crave Dairy Milk chocolate seeing that. Even though I'm on the other side of the Atlantic and I've never found these in stores, I have to buy 36-bar boxes of them from Amazon, there's nothing quite like them! 1 2 Quote
paul_5 Posted yesterday at 00:22 Posted yesterday at 00:22 I can get close enough (for a bar full of punters) on a Jazz bass by turning the bridge pickup off entirely and rolling a little bit of the tone off - gives a nice boost in volume too. Quote
Peaty Posted 14 hours ago Author Posted 14 hours ago Thank folks, that is what I needed to know. Lots of options @ bassassin What is the lovely woody one in your RHS photo ? Quote
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