Vanheusen77

I wanted to try something different than my usual P bass:

I think the people who care are generally musicians themselves, and among non bass players I get the feeling Fenders are the most “approved” and recognised brand . So even if you have let’s say an Ibanez with a p pickup that sounds exactly like a P bass many musicians might be sceptical OR intrigued at first. The audience does not care unless it’s something totally wild like a BC Rich in a jazz band or something if even then. To generalise I also think that different instrument groups are more or less conservative(not talking politics here). For example guitarists seem more conservative and wants everything to be more “vintagey”, while drummers and bass players tend to be more open minded about modern stuff.

Yeah as previously mentioned, remember that people listen with their eyes. Took me a long time to realize that!

I use the Helix stomp amp models or IK Multimedia Amplitube Ampeg B15 in logic with headphones and I really get a great practice amp sound. DI can sound great though!

Any link to the shootout for those of us who missed it! I’ve heard about it before and that the results were rather unexpected and interesting! Regarding the OP, I think the dry lined signal in headphones of any bass is sort of an aquired taste. I happen to like it but many use an amp sim when practising through headphones.

Haha this thread certainly took off to unexpected, interesting and hilarious places, do go on! On the generations thing, I think it is important to remember that this not at all representative of this generations music or instrumentation since hip hop has taken over as the dominant pop music for quite a while now.

Hi! Not sure where to post this since it’s sort of a general question. I love Rocco Palladino’s sound with Tom Misch! Does anyone here know what strings/amps he uses? I know he plays a jazz bass with what appears to be a both pickups on with flats sound. In particular the sounds on ”Lift Off” and ”Kyiv” w. Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes.

Yeah those look cool!

They should make a pacifica bass! Like a p bass but slimmer and faster looking! Kind of like the attityde but with less customizations!

I have a Midwestern 2. It’s a great bass for sure! I bought it without trying one and have never owned a short scale bass before. It is not expensive for what it is in my opinion, it’s a handmade top tier instrument.

I try not to fly with expensive basses and use Hiscox. They are pretty light too which helps when on tour. Airlines are not very helpful with musicians.

I think the first one is the Yamaha and the second is some kind of Fender. Both sound great!

I love the sounds on all their albums, including bass. From the kind of dry minimalistic blues groove thing in the 70’s to the full on synthy slappy reverby things on Brothers in Arms.

I think those settings are for the guitar amp since they include reverb. Damn those guitar players always get more info! As someone mentioned, not much super low end on 70’s and 80’s records but that’s part of the charm.

He answered, and what a nice guy!! It was the 59 P bass through the Basing street Ampeg amp. Yay!

This might seem strange to some but ever since I started playing I always loved and chased the tone on the first Dire Straits album. For the longest time I assumed that it was a P bass based on a lot of photos of John Illsey from this period (he mostly played a jazz later on). Then through the power of internet i heard this isolated track, and I don´t know what to make of it. It sounds more like a jazz with both pickups I think, it has that phasey thing going on in the high end but I am not sure at all. But it sounds amazing! It is through an amp for sure at least. I´m hoping for some knowledgeable Dire Straits nerds to chime in! Here´s the video:

If you put foam under the strings and maybe use flats any P or Jazz will sound super retro and thumpy as well! And then you will still have the option for more open sounds.

My BBP34 is actually slightly lower than my fender 60s in output with the same pickup height. They are not crazy high output compared to typical p basses.

The potential trade off is of course that the sound with both pickups on will be different then, as well. Someone should try!

I made those video comparisons. Many people seem to prefer the p bass on just the p pickup sound, even the people in this thread which surprised me a little. It seems most folks prefer the BB with both pickups on instead as the ”go to” BB sound.

I´m curious, what pickup and tone settings do you BB fanatics usually use? I´m usually on the P pickup tone full on, sometimes both pickups on and tone down a bit to tame the brightness.

Haha thats what other musicians usually say as well. The look is usually more important from my experience...

Interesting, will check it out! I actually have a 1024x as well but have not used it in a couple of years due to it being slightly tour damaged. EDIT: Checked it out. He only used both pickups on for all basses except the first on which he used the bridge(although he wrote neck pickup for some reason). But you are right that they definetely sound different on both pickups for sure(I kind of liked the newer ones). What really blew me away in that clip though was the amp sound, which apparently was one of the Logic bass amp models. I have to use them more😀!

I was the one that made the video comparisons a few pages back. While all of the BB basses have a variation of the p bass sound, I can clearly hear the difference from my 60s Am. Orig. bass. They sound different, but I like them both for the different takes on that same sound.

Hi! Since these are relatively new models the specs are available on the manufacturer websites: BBP34: https://europe.yamaha.com/en/products/musical_instruments/guitars_basses/el_basses/bb_2017/specs.html Am Orig 60s P Bass: https://shop.fender.com/en-SE/electric-basses/american-original-60s-precision-bass/0190120800.html The strings are medium aged Ernie Ball Slinky 45-105. Although it perhaps would have been more scientific to have brand new strings on both, I chose to do the comparison using "broken in" but not too old strings because that is the state where the strings sound their best I think, as well as the condition most strings out there are in. Both sets are about the same age and condition though.