P bass sound without being a P bass ?

[Mokl]

18 hours ago, ped said:

I found it very close personally

Same here!

[Bassassin]

4 hours ago, Peaty said:

Thank folks, that is what I needed to know. 

Lots of options 

 

@ bassassin What is the lovely woody one in your RHS photo ?

 

 

 

That's a Kasuga SCB-1200 Scorpion, mine's rebranded as 'Pro Martin', like a lot of Kasugas were in UK/EU.

 

[Paul S]

This listing on eBay (not mine) has less than a day to go.  Vantage Avenger.  Looks nice!

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326408937508

 

[Chienmortbb]

https://ashdownmusic.com/products/roasted-saint?variant=54907498365314 a bit left field but might just scratch that itch?

[Jonesy]

Squier have produced a few different Jaguars over the years with a PJ setup. You could pick one of those up for us under £200 second hand.

[Bassassin]

9 hours ago, Paul S said:

This listing on eBay (not mine) has less than a day to go.  Vantage Avenger.  Looks nice!

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326408937508

 

 

Exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about. Probably a bit less neck-divey than the more symmetrical models, too.

[Stub Mandrel]

A great secondhand option is a Westone Thunder 1 or 1a.

My Thunder 1 sounds "more like a p-bass than a p-bass". They look great and have Matsumoku build quality. Very giggableand affordable. What's not to like?

 

Example...

 

 

[Bassassin]

11 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

A great secondhand option is a Westone Thunder 1 or 1a.

My Thunder 1 sounds "more like a p-bass than a p-bass". They look great and have Matsumoku build quality. Very giggableand affordable. What's not to like?

 

Example...

 

 

 

And they still often sit in the £150 - £200 bracket, despite some unrealistic BINs on Ebay.

[-asdfgh2-]

On 22/01/2025 at 12:40, 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?

What about the body shape is the issue? Or is it the body size?

[-asdfgh2-]

On 22/01/2025 at 19:58, ped said:

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. 

 

When using a J bass I tend to just use the neck pickup. I have some old recordings that might be that or might be a P. I didn't label them at the time and I can't tell now. Yes, if I played one then the other now, I could tell, but I can't be definitive as to which on the recordings is a P or J.

Edited January 31 by -asdfgh2-

[-asdfgh2-]

On 24/01/2025 at 00:13, Stub Mandrel said:

A great secondhand option is a Westone Thunder 1 or 1a.

My Thunder 1 sounds "more like a p-bass than a p-bass". They look great and have Matsumoku build quality. Very giggableand affordable. What's not to like?

 

Example...

 

 

The pickup in the some 1As (with the Magnatone pickups) is closer to the bridge so sits somewhere between a P and MM in sound.

 

Thunder IIs sometimes came in dual P.

 

The Magnatone pickups on the III are essentially humbuckers, but with only half the poles installed to make them a split pickup, more-or-less, although IIRC, the neck pickup may be a little closer to the neck. On some you can potentially install extra poles and make them full humbuckers with a series/parallel option.

 

The above is true of some of the Arias that look basically the same as the Westones.

[AndyTheBassBison]

There's a hondo version of a danelectro longhorn for sale on here for a decent price (not mine!) - it's a 34" P bass but with a very different shape!

[fretmeister]

Nordstrand now do 51 style P bass pickups in a jazz housing:

 

https://nordstrandaudio.com/collections/4-string-jazz-bass-pickups/products/51j4s

 

So if the placement is right in a bass with J pickups then that should be pretty nice too.

[kwmlondon]

4 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Nordstrand now do 51 style P bass pickups in a jazz housing:

 

https://nordstrandaudio.com/collections/4-string-jazz-bass-pickups/products/51j4s

 

So if the placement is right in a bass with J pickups then that should be pretty nice too.

Is that an AI page translation or are the marketing team stoned?

[Cato]

9 hours ago, kwmlondon said:

Is that an AI page translation or are the marketing team stoned?

 

I stopped reading at 'bubblethumpwhip'.

[kwmlondon]

1 hour ago, Cato said:

 

I stopped reading at 'bubblethumpwhip'.

You see now you've piqued my interest...

[Stub Mandrel]

Marketing ploy, that's all.

 

You're better off with Maga Trumpbuckers.

[kwmlondon]

7 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Marketing ploy, that's all.

 

You're better off with Maga Trumpbuckers.

But they only work with Orange amps.

[bremen]

13 hours ago, kwmlondon said:

Is that an AI page translation or are the marketing team stoned?

"I'll have what they're taking!"

[BigRedX]

A P-Bass that doesn't look like a P-Bass?

 

[-asdfgh2-]

On 03/02/2025 at 21:44, kwmlondon said:

Is that an AI page translation or are the marketing team stoned?

It's "edgy". It also means I have to trawl for reviews as the copy is incomprehensible. Maybe I'm just too old and if I was under 30 it would seem more groovy and happening.  A friend of mine uses a screen reader and might assume that it had gone rogue reading that page.

Edited Wednesday at 07:51 by -asdfgh2-

[ead]

19 hours ago, BigRedX said:

A P-Bass that doesn't look like a P-Bass?

 

 

Is it just me that feels that this bass needs to be cut from the sprues like Airfix plastic model kits?

[Chienmortbb]

On 31/01/2025 at 22:11, -asdfgh2- said:

The above is true of some of the Arias that look basically the same as the Westones.

All made by Matsumoku. 

 

[kwmlondon]

2 hours ago, -asdfgh2- said:

It's "edgy". It also means I have to trawl for reviews as the copy is incomprehensible. Maybe I'm just too old and if I was under 30 it would seem more groovy and happening.  A friend of mine uses a screen reader and might assume that it had gone rogue reading that page.

I’d assume I’d spilled some wine in the green reader. 

[Peaty]

On 24/01/2025 at 00:13, Stub Mandrel said:

A great secondhand option is a Westone Thunder 1 or 1a.

My Thunder 1 sounds "more like a p-bass than a p-bass". They look great and have Matsumoku build quality. Very giggableand affordable. What's not to like?

 

Example...

 

 

Thanks All, I have picked up one of these locally, it does indeed sound very P like and is comfortable to play, mine is less pristine that the one in the photo but plenty good enough for me.