I finally GET precision basses

[BassTractor]

For me, a P has that sound of coming home to the cosy, comfy past. I love doing a P on my cricket bat.

My "career" started in '80 or '81 with a P copy that I suppose may have been a Cort. It wasn't as bad as most P copies hanging in music shops those days. Have no idea whether that one really sounded like a P, but neither that nor a real P has ever bothered me, or sounded uninteresting.

That said, listening to early Rays or Streamers (or what were the old WWs called) back in the days, was a different ballgame, and a "sensation extraordinaire" much like listening to Chris Squire. Pardon my French.

These days, I can't imagine living my whole life without a P, but if I'd have to choose, I'd rather live with only a Bongo than only a P - and by a large, large margin.

Will get me a P though. Soon!

best,
bert

[cloudburst]

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1347391767' post='1800245']
Que the pendants and Fender critics giving you their alternative answers to this one
[/quote]

I think you'll find it's "pedants".

CB

[risingson]

[quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1347403504' post='1800496']
I think you'll find it's "pedants".

CB
[/quote]

Quite right! Thank goodness I have someone watching my back when it comes to my grammatical inaccuracies.

[cloudburst]

Sorry about that. Couldn't resist, since it was THAT word :-)

CB

[BassTractor]

... and "queue"

/pendant

[cloudburst]

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1347403905' post='1800509']
... and "queue"

/pendant
[/quote]

I think in that context it would be "cue". But I didn't want to say! :-)

CB

[machinehead]

I've always loved Fender 6 string guitars but, until recent years, never liked Fender basses.

Over the last few years I've moved to playing Fenders almost exclusively and a Fender P mostly at that.

At last I see how practical, gig-worthy, reliable, easy to play and great sounding a well fettled P bass can be. I also love the jazz bass.

As a slight aside, I haven't yet had any desire to own any of the expensive Fender clones. They don't appeal to me. (Yet)

I think I could easily spend the rest of my bass playing life with only a P bass.

Frank.

[BassTractor]

[quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1347404553' post='1800526']
I think in that context it would be "cue". But I didn't want to say! :-)
[/quote]

Yeah, but I had a [s]pendant[/s] penchant for "queue". Slightly more fun that way.

[risingson]

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!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F-rTyBzZN0

[The Dark Lord]

Fender USA Precision. Nothing else comes close. Accept no substitute. Strap on. Rock.

[chrismuzz]

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1347428833' post='1800594']
Strap on.
[/quote]

I really need to grow up

[Kiwi]

Hated my first bass, a precision with a ply body. Just sounded unrefined compared to the statuses and jaydees I was hearing at the time in the mid 80's. I've sort of come around to Fenders as sources of classic tone and have dabbled with the idea of a late 70's jazz bass. But they're still not my preferred instruments.

[rallyeluke]

I agree with all that is being said. I played thin jazz neck basses for years and recently purchased a jazz copy off ebay which turned out to have a wide p neck on it and enjoy playing it more then my cort gb74 now.

[Evil Undead]

Fender P for me all the way now. After searching for the best feeling, playing and sounding bass (for me) and going through loads of different ones (specifically avoiding Fenders for some stupid reason), I bought a new US standard P earlier this year and can't ever see myself wanting to play another bass.

[chris_b]

Most of the music coming out of the US studios, Stax, Motown, Muscle Shoals, American and those on the west coast, in the first 40 years of rock and roll was played on Precision basses. 90% of my music collection is Precision based.

There are a lot of fantastic basses around but I've owned a Precision since I was 19 and I totally get it.

[Adrenochrome]

Boring, dull, conservative bass. The reason that so many say they sound 'right' is because they reflect what was the status quo for so long. The only ones that sound any good have more full-range sounding pups in. All In my opinion, of course.

[Looper]

I'm not sure that I quite GET jazzes yet. Got a jazz recently as an up-grade from my p-copy and I'm still spending a lot of time fiddling with the pots each time I pick it up. I miss the simplicity of the P, but like the narrower neck. Amazed fender doesn't do hybrids as standard, plenty of people must want a jazz neck and p-body, or p-neck and jazz body.

[Low End Bee]

No other bass has felt as comfortable to me. The forearm contour the balance and the neck all feel right. This may be because I got my first one in 1979 though. Other basses feel like getting in a car with the seat too close or far away from the pedals and you can't adjust it. A nice Precision is like a comfy pair of slippers to me.
As to the sound. In most genres they sit well in the mix. This is possibly because shed loads of past music from country to punk has been recorded on them so that's the sound you're expecting?
They have their faults. Upper fret access, limited tonal variation, neck's too chunky for showboating, etc. There are undoubtedly lots of technically superior and better made basses around but not many that are as fit for their purpose.Luckily none of that is a problem in a noisy guitar pop band anyway. They're not for every genre but if you want something to work on a huge spectrum of popular music they're pretty damned good.
A top piece of design before the days of CAD.

[Adrenochrome]

[quote name='Looper' timestamp='1347438129' post='1800675']
I'm not sure that I quite GET jazzes yet. Got a jazz recently as an up-grade from my p-copy and I'm still spending a lot of time fiddling with the pots each time I pick it up. I miss the simplicity of the P, but like the narrower neck. Amazed fender doesn't do hybrids as standard, plenty of people must want a jazz neck and p-body, or p-neck and jazz body.
[/quote]

I'm not a fan of the bass player but I've heard many good reports about the Pete Wentz bass which has a Jazz neck, P body and a better pup (maybe Seymour Duncan?).

[megallica]

I'm tempted by the roger waters signature precision, like the black and maple look.

[Spike Vincent]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1347379330' post='1799994']
Yep, started out out on a Kay EB-0 copy,
[/quote]


Likwise.Utter garbage.Straight on to Precisions,had many non Precisions since,always go back to my 1978 Fender P.Except for the odd video or photoshoot,that Tokai Thunderbird does look nice.

Edited September 12, 2012 by Spike Vincent

[hubrad]

'Cue the pendant'.. Isn't that the party game, favoured by children in warm countries, involving beating the [email="cr@p"]cr@p[/email] out of a papier mache donkey to get at the sweets inside?

[Low End Bee]

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1347439702' post='1800703']
Likwise.Utter garbage.Straight on to Precisions,had many non Precisions since,always go back to my 1978 Fender P.Except for the odd video or photoshoot,that Tokai Thunderbird does look nice.
[/quote]

Avon EB0 Here. dreadful rubbishy thing.

Maybe we should start a support group. We were abused in our formative years by cheap Japanese Gibson copies.

[tauzero]

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1347428833' post='1800594']
Fender USA Precision. Nothing else comes close. Accept no substitute. Strap on. Rock.
[/quote]

Sold mine in 1987 to get a Warwick. For some reason I later bought a fretless USA Precision, which I sold not long afterwards (it wasn't a patch on the Frontier fretless bass that I traded in for it). Never felt any desire whatsoever to go back to one.

[The Dark Lord]

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1347434954' post='1800641']
Fender P for me all the way now. After searching for the best feeling, playing and sounding bass (for me) and going through loads of different ones (specifically avoiding Fenders for some stupid reason), [color=#ff0000]I bought a new US standard P earlier this year and can't ever see myself wanting to play another bass[/color].
[/quote]

Yep.