I've never had a P-bass . . .

[Bryan T]

I've owned a few Musicman Stingray 5 strings, a Carvin, a MIM Jazz, and a few G&L basses (SB-2, L5000), but I've never had a P-Bass. What am I missing out on? The SB-2 is probably closest, but it has a narrow neck and G&L's MFD pickups, which I think are pretty far removed from a P-Bass.

Bryan

[alanbass1]

I started playing bass when I was at school and in 1975 got my first 'real' bass which was a Fender Precision. I have been through a bucket load of basses since then (many of which I still have - two 70's MM Stingrays, Warwick Thumb thru', Iceni Custom, Fender Jazz, Alembic MK sig, Zon Sonus) and have gravitated back to a Precision. Two years back I got myself a Sadowsky NYC P bass as I wanted a P Bass again but I thought I needed the active electronics. However, I tended to use it with the actives either fully backed off or bypassed and used the passive tone control. I recently picked up an all original '63 P Bass which sounds and plays killer.

What does the Precision give me? Well, played on it's own at home it is probably the least inspiring sound of all my basses - no real high presence, but a nice smooth low end. Doesn't 'slap' very well, doesn't sub sonic rumble etc.

When playing in a band, it cuts through like no bass I have, fills out the low end without domineering the sound, and you can hear every note clearly without having to pronounce the mid frequencies. Also, in a band context the slap sound, whilst not great, is not that bad either. It seems to allow me to have a warm bass sound whilst retaining note definition. P Basses seem to sit so comfortably in the mix allowing people that want to follow the bass line hear it clearly without shouting 'listen ato me' at the rest of the audience.

[dillonfiore]

I think the main thing is that the P-Bass has become the "standard." It really depends on what you are looking for. In my situation the guitarist plays a single coil guitar. My P-Bass fills in the sound more than my Jazz Bass.

[Brian Scherzer]

P-Basses, when matched to the right amp (SVT comes to mind) give a tone that is difficult to describe other than to say that the mids really cut through. Although somewhat different in sound, an often overlooked bass is the old G&L L1000. I bought one in a pawn shop years ago for $40 and foolishly let it go. It is the only bass I have played on with a single pickup that I might consider as an alternative to a P-Bass.

[walterw]

that midrange "donk" when you hit a p-bass, especially with a pick, is one of those sounds that just mixes with a band perfectly. i think that since leo designed the thing in '57 (the one we all use now, not the single-coil original), he was still fighting to get a usable sound through low wattage tube amps with crappy, fragile speakers. therefore, the sound was made to punch through cleanly without blowing speakers or overtaxing low-headroom amps. now of course, we have all the power and volume we need from bass gear, so "hi-fi" basses with lots of highs and lows can be heard properly, but producers and soundmen are still happy to see precisions because they are so easy to mix.

[Ishouldbeking]

I've wondered this same thing -- what i'm missing by not having ever owned a p -- since for the longest time now my two main basses have been a single pup Stingray and a MIM Jazz. One of these days I'll get around to buying a P when i see one that suits me... It's funny about the stingray, because it sounds great on its own, and sounds great in say, a 3-piece, but it takes a little more work get that natural bottom end that still cuts when using it in a larger band. Of course the thing feels like heaven in my hands and is infinitely more playable than my fender, but still... maybe i'm missing out.

[daddyo]

Another great sound is a P Bass with flatwounds.

[alanbass1]

Another great sound is a P Bass with flatwounds.
No,no,no - one of the great sounds is a P bass with flats...Jerry Jemmott anyone

[musicofanatic5]

Do people put roundwounds on a P-bass?!?! My flats stay on for 3-4 years before I'l break one (almost always the "A"?!?), and that's a sad day when new strings have to go on. Old flatwounds are the best electric bass sound in the world, but NEW flats might be the worst!

[Bassomatic]

Old flatwounds are the best electric bass sound in the world, but NEW flats might be the worst!

I can think of some others.

[agreatheight]

After 20 years of playing bass I got myself a P-bass earlier this year, I was incredibly excited about it... and I sold it after about 2 months, lol. I thought it sounded nice recorded and between OK & good in band situations but it is fairly boring solo. It was also a bit heavy / uncomfortable. I really prefered my Zon Sonus in practically all facets / applications. I was trying to round out my stable, but I really think that I am more of J guy than a P guy. Zon calls the Sonus their modern Jazz, so there you go. If I went Fender again, I'd likely get a Jazz, or maybe a Jaguar. Who'd have thunk it?

[Deaj]

I have a MusicMan Bongo strung w/flatwounds. Side by side with my (now gone) Precision I was able to dial the Bongo in to sound almost exactly like the P Bass. With the added flexibility the P Bass was out - I sold the P not long after. The Bongo may be ugly but it covers alot of ground.

[Jake]

I've been a Jazz Bass guy since I got my first one in '79. Since then I've had a pair of Pedullas w/ PJ Bartolinis, a couple other Jazzes, G&L's (L2000, L5000, L1000), an original MM Stringray and a couple others. When all was said and done I settled on my Pedullas (an 80's MVP and Buzz), my old 70's Jazz and an Ibanez "Challenger" which is as close to a maple boarded cloan of my original Jazz as you'd ever want to find. But in all of them there was this tone that I just couldn't find. Then one day, on a whim, I picked up a P-Bass off eBay, took it to a gig, plugged it in and WHAM there was the tone. It was a deep, funky sound that I loved from all my old heros (James Jamerson, Duck Dunn, George Porter and others). Not a pop & slap "funky", but a deep-friend, capable of digging a groove so deep that it's a ditch "funky".

Now you'd think that if I really thought about it I'd notice that those guys all played P-basses, and that was the missing link. But you see, I had 5 different basses with a P-bass pickup in them, including a '76 Precision that had been modded to add a Jazz pickup in the bridge. But all of them had something "extra" that I'm now convinced masked "the tone" - everything from a Badass Bridge to preamps. A simple, unadorned Precision is what does it - and it's pretty much all that does for me. I originally played my with roundwounds and was happy with the tone, but I agree that flats are a must for the classic P-bass tone. I wound up upgrading my original MIJ P-bass with a US 62RI and am loving the snot out of it. Toughest thing for me is getting used to the string spacing on it. But if you're not doing fretboard gymnastics then it's not a big deal.

That said, I did play a Jazz Bass that someone had rewired so the pickups were in series rather than parallel (this can be done dynamically with a switch) and it came pretty darn close to the tone I'd been looking for.

[zekmoe]

I've had several basses, but also never had a P Bass. I've been hankering for one though. What makes one better than another? They seem like simple instruments. What kind of neck's are usually prefered? Rounder, flatter?
I currently have a Jazz, a Rickenbacker and a MusicVox 12 string (I'm a guitarist mainly). But I think a rosewood fingerboard p-bass would be a nice alternative.

[musicofanatic5]

I played upright for years before I crossed over to "the dark side". Tried several P-bass's until I found one that didn't do a neck dive when on a strap, then bought that one. Light weight, good balance, and acoustic response are the three main things I like about my P.

[pharaohamps]

http://www.pharaohamps.com/ebay/62p_4.jpg

I've had a lot of basses over the years, and this one is my favorite. It's a Fiesta Red MIJ E-series, 1987. The body might be a bit newer, I'm not totally sure when it was made (no dates,) but it sounds great and plays like buttah. It had a white body with some major damage when I bought it, and had a Bart P pickup installed. I ditched the body and the Bart, sold off everything but the neck and bridge, and put it back together. '62 RI tortoise pickguard and 15-year-old GHS flatwounds tie it all together.

I love this bass!

Matt Farrow

[bmgblues]

Being a band leader and a guitarist, when I hire a bassist for my gig, he has to have a P-bass. I have a 71 SVT for backline, and I hear all kinds of bitching about having to move and set that amp up, but the only thing that does it for me is a Fender through a ampeg. It also helps if it has flatwound strings on it too. For blues and classic rock, its the perfect sound, and since I'm paying the cost to be the boss, it has to be a P bass period. Sounds like the bass players in this forum have it together. It does my heart good to hear so many people defend the sacred Precision.

bmgblues
(Big Mike Griffin)

[backaxe]

I play a right-handed Precission left-handed....nothin' plays sweeter, or sounds right to me, I've tried Ibanez Ergodyne, Spector, always wind up picking up the "P"....greg:)