P bass sound without being a P bass ?

[Peaty]

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 ? 

[BassApprentice]

A Yamaha BB would be a shout, either reverse P or normal depending on your preference.

 

Reverend or ACG for a different look.

 

Edited 14 hours ago by BassApprentice

[Cato]

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 15 hours ago by Cato

[Peaty]

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?

[jd56hawk]

Orange O bass.

[Bigwan]

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!

[Cato]

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.

[asingardenof]

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

[ped]

Is a G&L SB1 too much like a Precision shape for your taste?

[PainInTheBass]

4 hours ago, jd56hawk said:

Orange O bass.

Makes me crave Dairy Milk chocolate seeing that.

[neepheid]

Any shape you like with a P shaped pickup in it.  Not P sounding enough for you?  Change the P pickup.

[neepheid]

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.

[ped]

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

[neepheid]

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!

[ped]

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

 

 

[ped]

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. 

[neepheid]

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!

 

[cocco]

There's definitely a good number of options. Is this enough of a departure?

[redbandit599]

Loving my Reverend Mercalli- plenty of Not A P options here https://reverendguitars.com/basses/

[fretmeister]

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.

[Lozz196]

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.

[Bassassin]

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.
 

 

[jd56hawk]

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!

[paul_5]

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.