Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

I finally GET precision basses


Geek99
 Share

Recommended Posts

After trying and failing to get on with numerous P-Basses I have recently bought a 90s MIJ P-Bass and am immediately completely in love with it. I prefer a thin neck and it has a Mighty Mite Jazz neck in place of the stock neck - nice. It has a very lightweight body - another foible of mine and the deal breaker for any other P-Bass I have picked up - nice. Just tinkering with the pickup for *that* special tone but at the moment none of my other basses are getting used. It just seems *right* somehow. Body is tatty as hell, no decal on the headstock - I most likely won't bother with one - and I don't care. I just have a big grin on face whenever I pick it up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1347408726' post='1800556']
Note to self - vet everything I ever write on this site, ever :)[/quote]

Noooooo! I learned this from my ex:
"Every error is a gift. Present it with joy and receive it with gratitude. Have fun."
She struggling with Dutch, and me with Norwegian, we've had a lot of joy from these things.

best,
bert

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since getting my P, I am not loving my jazz any more. I pick up the P as my automatic choice, it feels like "my bass", love the flats on it, adore its solid feel and just dont think I will want to play anything else now.


I'm going to put flats on the jazz to see if I find them better (really dont like the current strings, no idea what they are), but unless a miracle happens I will move it on.

I am a total convert .....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can definitely see the clear divide with Jazz and Precision basses. They are totally different. Neck, body, weight, tone, variety, etc.

The thing I don't sometimes understand with the Jazz is that the rather cool Jazz growl with both pups sounds incredibly good solo, but in a mix, especially rock, it just gets swallowed up. You HAVE to EQ it quite a lot.

The P just works...whatever EQ. Maybe its that low mid thump. It seems to have less overall boom, and more kick, than a Jazz.

I've seen countless bands using Jazz basses live and getting totally lost in low end with a trebly click. Not all mind, but the majority. When the guitars cut out you can hear that great Jazz tone, but it doesn't sit as well. I tend to find Jazz basses work better in a non-rock or one guitarist type band...but still, the P would need ZERO eqing most the time so its easier to pickup a P.

I used to think Fender American Standards/American Series were awful. The MIJ I used to own was better. However, the 2008 changes have thrust Fender back into the game, despite their random QC.

My perception changed when I picked up a Stingray. Here is a bass that can not only sit in a mix, it can totally snarl and cut if you want it to. Out of all the basses I've played, the Ray responds to different types of strings the best. With flats it cuts the snarl and boosts the smoother fatter tones. With rounds its aggressive, and slices through the mix.

I still think the Ray edges over the P. Better control, better build, better features (especially the truss rod wheel) and has such a distinctive personality. I also prefer, if im playing fingerstyle, to rest on that beefy humbucker.

Edited by Musicman20
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='debwilliams' timestamp='1347453449' post='1800972']
Since getting my P, I am not loving my jazz any more. I pick up the P as my automatic choice, it feels like "my bass", love the flats on it, adore its solid feel and just dont think I will want to play anything else now.


I'm going to put flats on the jazz to see if I find them better (really dont like the current strings, no idea what they are), but unless a miracle happens I will move it on.

I am a total convert .....
[/quote]

I hate to say I told you so...


...however... ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1347408726' post='1800556']
Note to self - vet everything I ever write on this site, ever :)

Back to the OT, this clip really sums up for me why I love P-Basses. It's been posted before, but it really does showcase the talents of the extraordinary talents of Pino Palladino and Meshell Ndegeocello. Wonderful stuff, and props to the organ player for a solo that literally rips your face off!

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F-rTyBzZN0[/media]
[/quote]

I'm a huge Pino fan. Always have been. But this does absolutely nothing for me. I find it too busy with too many notes and quite uninteresting. If I heard this and didn't know who was playing it, I wouldn't give it a second thought. Sorry - just being honest and I'll probably get flamed like crazy, but it just goes to show how different people hear things differently. When Pino played fretless through an Octaver, you could tell a mile off with HIS inventive melodies, and sliding double stops and sliding double-stopped harmonics, that it was HIM playing on some new album when you heard it for the first time. You looked up the credits and hey presto, there HE was.

Really sorry folks.
Awaiting incoming.

CB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1347471500' post='1801353']
When Pino played fretless through an Octaver, you could tell a mile off with HIS inventive melodies, and sliding double stops and sliding double-stopped harmonics, that it was HIM playing on some new album when you heard it for the first time. You looked up the credits and hey presto, there HE was.
[/quote]

Interestingly,I prefer his more recent work on a Precision with guys like D'angelo and John Mayer than I do his
fretless playing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1347471500' post='1801353']
I'm a huge Pino fan. Always have been. But this does absolutely nothing for me. I find it too busy with too many notes and quite uninteresting. If I heard this and didn't know who was playing it, I wouldn't give it a second thought. Sorry - just being honest and I'll probably get flamed like crazy, but it just goes to show how different people hear things differently. When Pino played fretless through an Octaver, you could tell a mile off with HIS inventive melodies, and sliding double stops and sliding double-stopped harmonics, that it was HIM playing on some new album when you heard it for the first time. You looked up the credits and hey presto, there HE was.

Really sorry folks.
Awaiting incoming.

CB
[/quote]

It's perfectly acceptable for you to things from the other side of the fence! Whilst I do like Pino's fretless bass playing, overall it doesn't really do much for me even though I respect him carving a sound out for himself. It was very 'of its time' though and as a younger player maybe I don't get as much out of it. But it's when he carries through his melodic sensibilities to fretted bass that I become really interested. There's no denying the indulgence of the bass playing in the clip but I just love his groove, his choice of notes and the fact that all that's there is an organ, bass and drums and he bridges the gap between everything so well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1347471500' post='1801353']
I'm a huge Pino fan. Always have been. But this does absolutely nothing for me. I find it too busy with too many notes and quite uninteresting. If I heard this and didn't know who was playing it, I wouldn't give it a second thought. Sorry - just being honest and I'll probably get flamed like crazy, but it just goes to show how different people hear things differently. When Pino played fretless through an Octaver, you could tell a mile off with HIS inventive melodies, and sliding double stops and sliding double-stopped harmonics, that it was HIM playing on some new album when you heard it for the first time. You looked up the credits and hey presto, there HE was.

Really sorry folks.
Awaiting incoming.

CB
[/quote]

Totally agree with you, could often be just anyone when he's playing a Precision.

I used to own Precisions and I loved them because they were so fat and growling.. But I've been too much in situations that I cursed myself not bringing a Jazz bass along (especially in big halls where your sound drowns in the bass-drum and all the EQ in the world doesn't help).. Precision basses are often felt in those circumstances but rarely heard.
I bought this thing as an alternative..

[IMG]http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t247/wombatboter/FENDER001.jpg[/IMG]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='wombatboter' timestamp='1347476544' post='1801448']
Totally agree with you, could often be just anyone when he's playing a Precision.

I bought this thing as an alternative..


[/quote]

I tried one of these out recently, I was really impressed and it sounded great! The neck is much more 'accessible' to players more accustomed to a slimmer neck like a jazz.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...