Stag

Mmm, very nice OTPJ! Im wondering, do I want a maple or rosewood fretboard? I get on with rosewood, but suppose it would do me in good stead to try maple as well. Any major differences?

Yep, its got the new case and the new vintage bridge and all that stuff goin' on, diff tuners... Im looking at sunburst with a tort pickguard 'cos James Jamerson's one just looks the absolute business. I dig your white ones though, that would be my second colour choice with the tort p'guard (already have a white...umm...actually maybe "nicotine yellow" aged Ric so fancy summat with a different colour). I like the idea of a P as well as all my other basses are kinda, well, not the norm (I dont think of Rics as "normal" hehe) and I need a versatile weapon in case i try a different band / style of music out.

Im seriously considering purchasing an MIA 2008 P after trying one in a local shop. Ive tried various vintage instruments, some for stupid money, that didnt have the right sound for me - add to the fact that 70's P's can vary A LOT and dont grow on trees, and hopefully you can see where im coming from. I already have some nice "mojo" basses in my stable... do I need another one? For nearly double the price of a new one? Plus, ive never bought a new bass in my life - fact! - so maybe its time to try a new one out, a guitar to truly [i]"be mine"[/i] from the off. There's an awful lot of difference in prices over the internet - you can pick one up for £849 delivered with an SKB moulded case, pretty damn fine deal if you ask me. I keep seeing people on here talking about the "new" MIA's (some like, some dont). Were the "new" ones introduced as of the start of 2008? I cant find anything to suggest any discernable difference between the 08 and 09 design for the MIA models - lots of blurb on t'interweb about the MIM's getting a2009 facelift but not the MIA's. Of course, as usual im happy to be told otherwise... Fender experts, fire away

If you can get hold of a Musicmaster they are pretty cool. Ive lent mine to a friend at the moment (a lady with small hands) who wants to learn and she is finding it nice and easy to play when compared to a fullscale weapon.

I have a Roqsolid on my Ampeg too, very nice. Choice of colours as well, which is also nice. Ive only had one rip in the outer fabric nad thats because I rammed it into a sharp piece of wood (duh)

Its a very early nice Flea sound he has created IMO...

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='643381' date='Nov 2 2009, 01:29 PM']Assuming that you were in Vintage & Rare, consider yourself lucky that you didn't try the 70's Jazz in a sort of Cherryburst finish. It's quite simply the heaviest bass I've ever picked up. It's in absolutely mint condition but I'm not surprised - no one in their right mind is going to sling something that heavy around their neck. Well, more than once, anyway.[/quote] Actually it wasnt one of the P's in V&R, they only had one in there I think and that had just been sold. I did however go in there to have a look and DID try the Jazz (With the rather amazing price tag on it), which wasnt as heavy as this P-Bass in another shop. It was in lovely nick though - playing such a good example reinfoced my feeling that i dont "dig" Jazz basses.

PS. in a "totally unrelated to Fenders" post I nearly had a sex wee in my pants when i saw the 5 string Ricky 4003 in Wunjo's. Unnnghh.... yummmmm

I tried a 78's (or was it 76'?) P on Denmark St at the weekend (for a not-stupid price either, for that place... you all know the decent dealers down there and this is one of them) and it weighed about as much as a small aircraft carrier. Never thought id hold a bass heavier than my LP - this was truly HEAVY. As I said on a previous thread, ive had a bit of Fender GAS (for a P only, for some reason dont like Jazz's) and was looking around for one being my 30th birthday, and some very nice people on this forum had mentioned the incredible differences in weight between so many Fenders. This bass highlighted it very well as it was so damn heavy I couldnt consider buying it. Monstrous tone, but monstrous fees to physiotherapist in a few years. Yet my singer's 75' P is extremely light and still sounds MASSIVE. So I suppose this post is to entirely back up Porkpie's post that they are all a bit different... in quality, weight etc... so im pretty happy to consider something a bit "newer". As long as it doesnt weigh more than my house.

how many people have been hit by that thing? lol

;-)

[url="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270473442784"]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=270473442784[/url] If I was a man with thousands of pounds I would buy this. not for the bass, probably just for the signature. lol

All very interesting stuff guys, and very interesting that there are so many conflicting opinions about old or new P's. Matter of taste and sound when you pick it up, I suppose? Ill have to go trying some out.

The neck on the '75 ive played is what has pretty much fuelled this GAS - amazingly fast and easy to play (well, feels like it after a Ric, anyway - lol)

I always wanted a Ricky 4001 when I started playing - so I got one on my 21st birthday with the aid of a lotta people's cash all put into buying it. Later on, I really really wanted a Gibson EB3 due to "that" sound in Crossroads. I got some inheritance money(sadly), so I got an old Les Paul Bass cos it does the same thing and looked cooler IMO, and felt it was a good use of the money as something I could keep and cherish. Now... ...its 2 weeks from my 30th birthday. I have some savings. I have a rig that certainly doesnt need upgrading (apart from an SVP or BSP, but thats for another time I feel) so Im thinking - do I [i]need[/i] another bass.... and if I do... I think it would probably be a P-Bass. The singer in my band has a lovely 75' P that everytime ive used seems to feel better and better. I will be trying it out through my Ampeg rig fairly soon if I can persuade him to bring it to a gig once more. It SANG to me thru my Trace before, so im expecting great things from the Ampeg, as it has the sound ive wanted from a cab for ages (not that the Trace was bad at all!) My question to the floor is - tell me what you think of them. Ill try and structure what im currently mulling over into some nice easy bite-size points : 1) Im thinking (I could be wrong, ask my missus, apparently im frequently wrong ) they are pretty versatile - the tone knob on the one ive played rolls so much on (or rolls so much off the other way!) I reckon you can get pretty much any sound you want out of it, even with just the one pick up. Is this correct in most people experience? 2) I hear the weights of the instruments can tend to vary quite dramatically - is this true? 3) Are the current prices for a "vintage" one (ie. pre 1985ish - round about the £1100 mark) the REAL going rate? 4) Ive heard some rather disturbing things on here about MIA instruments and the quality of them. If I decided to go down the "new instrument" path, should I be very careful when buying an MIA one for a lot of money that may not be too pleasant at all? 5) Do you get a hard case as standard with new ones? A decent case is of course essential when spending good money on a guitar, and therefore is an added expense I could do without.... unless you get it with the guitar, which would be lovely. Thanks chaps / chapettes. If I think of anymore stuff ill post it. In the meantime please add anything that you think may aid my decision, or anything thats just vaguely interesting about these hallowed pieces of wood.

I used them for a while but preferred the zing of fresh rounds on my Ric... bu this thread is making me think I may want a change!

I have a standard case for mine (one of those nice semi-hard (ooer) Protection Racket cases but its a bit big round the sides, and certainly too big at the top for a short scale bass... need summat a bit smaller