Fender Precisions - they're fantastic

[Guest BassKS]

[quote name='Clarky' post='899816' date='Jul 20 2010, 11:05 AM']the guy from the Meters[/quote]

George Porter Jr. He rules

[OldGit]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='899802' date='Jul 20 2010, 10:53 AM']Are you sure about this OG?

All the Katana's I've seen have been more Flying-V than Explorer...[/quote]

Ah yeah sorry. You are right Mike.
That, according to Ed Roman, is a Fender Explorer bass "common in Europe"...

This a Katana. As you can see it's just like a boring ol' P bass. Split pickup, 20 frets...
Fender eh? Never do anything different

[AndyTravis]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='899766' date='Jul 20 2010, 10:07 AM']No, you're alright, if I want to speak to a knob I can unzip my own trowsers, thanks.[/quote]

i've just laughed so much i dropped the laptop.

[OldGit]

99ster spotted this
[url="http://www.gruhn.com/catalog/b.htm"]http://www.gruhn.com/catalog/b.htm[/url] (Garry Beers of INXS - selling his basses)Including his amazing custom built one-off Perspex P Bass....

[Musicman20]

I think the most adventurous ill go is the Big Al when I re-order again at some point, and even that is pushing it a LOT.

Ive always been into the older style basses and guitars.

I tried a few modern approaches when I was younger and I just looked like an idiot. Eg. smaller bodied basses and 'metal' looking basses.

[Davo-London]

I'm VERY late to this debate ... but it won't stop me.

I think there may be a link between the simplicity of the P and a demand for straight-forward bass playing. I cannot deny that the P sounds good in the mix. I also cannot deny that my bass playing development has been significantly held back by only owning a P-bass. Chords don't work and I find it impossible to play fast and articulately. If only I had bought a Jazz instead of a Precision 32 years ago I think I would be a different player.

That said, I would happily own a 60's P with a narrower neck. My 70's P feels like a great slab of wood.

So I went from the sublime to the ridiculous and commissioned a Cliff Bordwell Ball Bass as my main fretted bass. They are different instruments, they really are but I'll try and use the P-bass next time I'm in church. I'll need to give it new strings though!

As for Leo getting it right. Well he did alright. I don't think Fender's popularity can be so easily dismissed. There's been plenty of opportunity for other basses to take the No1 spot. But they haven't. And the resale of Fenders is by far the easiest route.


Davo

Edited July 20, 2010 by Davo-London

[KiOgon]

[quote name='OldGit' post='899863' date='Jul 20 2010, 11:51 AM']99ster spotted this
[url="http://www.gruhn.com/catalog/b.htm"]http://www.gruhn.com/catalog/b.htm[/url] (Garry Beers of INXS - selling his basses)Including his amazing custom built one-off Perspex P Bass....

[/quote]
That is ace! Neat wiring too - you sure it's a Fender

Who put the P in Perspex - - - - was it the same bloke that put the (*nt in Scunthorpe

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='AndyTravis' post='899826' date='Jul 20 2010, 11:12 AM']i've just laughed so much i dropped the laptop.[/quote]

Well you'd better secure that laptop then, plenty more where that came from

[dannybuoy]

[quote name='Davo-London' post='900249' date='Jul 20 2010, 04:44 PM']I'm VERY late to this debate ... but it won't stop me.

I think there may be a link between the simplicity of the P and a demand for straight-forward bass playing. I cannot deny that the P sounds good in the mix. I also cannot deny that my bass playing development has been significantly held back by only owning a P-bass. Chords don't work and I find it impossible to play fast and articulately. If only I had bought a Jazz instead of a Precision 32 years ago I think I would be a different player.

That said, I would happily own a 60's P with a narrower neck. My 70's P feels like a great slab of wood.

So I went from the sublime to the ridiculous and commissioned a Cliff Bordwell Ball Bass as my main fretted bass. They are different instruments, they really are but I'll try and use the P-bass next time I'm in church. I'll need to give it new strings though!

As for Leo getting it right. Well he did alright. I don't think Fender's popularity can be so easily dismissed. There's been plenty of opportunity for other basses to take the No1 spot. But they haven't. And the resale of Fenders is by far the easiest route.


Davo[/quote]

On the other hand, the P could have been holding you back from where you didn't need to go in the first place! I leave the chords and fast articulate playing to the guitards.

[discreet]

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='900380' date='Jul 20 2010, 07:23 PM']I leave the chords and fast articulate playing to the guitards. [/quote]

That's what they're there for!

[Kongo]

[quote name='Davo-London' post='900249' date='Jul 20 2010, 04:44 PM']I'm VERY late to this debate ... but it won't stop me.

I think there may be a link between the simplicity of the P and a demand for straight-forward bass playing. I cannot deny that the P sounds good in the mix. I also cannot deny that my bass playing development has been significantly held back by only owning a P-bass. Chords don't work and I find it impossible to play fast and articulately. If only I had bought a Jazz instead of a Precision 32 years ago I think I would be a different player.

That said, I would happily own a 60's P with a narrower neck. My 70's P feels like a great slab of wood.

So I went from the sublime to the ridiculous and commissioned a Cliff Bordwell Ball Bass as my main fretted bass. They are different instruments, they really are but I'll try and use the P-bass next time I'm in church. I'll need to give it new strings though!

As for Leo getting it right. Well he did alright. I don't think Fender's popularity can be so easily dismissed. There's been plenty of opportunity for other basses to take the No1 spot. But they haven't. And the resale of Fenders is by far the easiest route.


Davo[/quote]

I think chords work awesome on the P-bass as they don't sound so tinny, they sound full and fat. As with playing fast...when I need to I can play my fastest on my P-bass, it's so easy to play and I play better on thick necks as I can get a lot more force down with little effort...thin necks make playing feel to slippery to me.
I play 6-string a lot these days but I write everything on my P-bass first then put it across and expand on it on the 6-string.
If anything, would I be able to play it in my band...why...me and my P-bass would take over the world MWAHAHAHAHA!!!...I guess that's why I can't.

Edited July 20, 2010 by Kongo

[Davo-London]

Sure geetarists are the chordists, but when you spend so much time practicing on your own, playing chords is good for your development as a muso. I have small hands as well which probably means that P bass was a bad choice. It's just funny how things work out.

Davo

[lojo]

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='900380' date='Jul 20 2010, 07:23 PM']I leave the chords and showing off to the guitards. [/quote]

Just had to edit your quote, hope you don't mind

[merello]

Woof!

Another INXS bass!

[Kongo]

Legit wear and tear (extreme buckle rash too lol!), looks like whoever played it frequents from 1st to 7th fret quite a lot judging by the back of the neck...

[The Dark Lord]

[quote name='Ham fisted Bass' post='205768' date='May 24 2008, 11:48 PM']Given that the P-Bass has been around for 50+ years does anyone in the world of BassChat disagree with this sentiment that, whatever your 'vibe' that the P-Bass will deliver...?[/quote]
To me, the Fender Precision is THE bass. Everything else is less. Just make sure you get a USA once, then plug in, turn the volume and tone knobs on the bass to "full bore" and you will sound like you are playing a piano. PERFECT. A USA Jazz is nearly as good.

[Lo.]

Just finished putting the covers and mute on to my CIJ 51 RI. Made a rosewood finger rest, so it's about as near as I can get it to how the good lord Leo intended. PHil Jones told me the pickup cover modifies the magnetic field and therefore the tone of the bass - he has magic ears so you can take that as read. I don't expect everyone to agree but I am [b]loving [/b]the sound of it at the moment.

Here's a playalong to an old soul jam with the finished setup...God bless the P

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QGX1ju24-o"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QGX1ju24-o[/url]

[greenbay]

Can anyone recommend a good shop in London where I can but an old precision? I went to Vintage and Rare in Denmark street and spoke to a fat man in wellington boots who may have been the owner (?) and he just kept telling me you can't get them. Really? can't get them anywhere? so I asked him where he got his from and he just looked sheepish. Wierd. There was one on the wall for £7500. Crazy money! I mean, it was clean but that price is stupid. He didn't seem to know much at all about basses and he put me off. I just think he was a bullsh*tt*r.Ive been there before but ive never seen this twat. Has anyone else been here? Where else is good to go.? All suggestions appreciated!

[dannybuoy]

You're better off buying through this forum or eBay, most shops will try to fleece you for a vintage Fender. How old are you looking for, is this '78 any good to you?

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=91209"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=91209[/url]

if not, post an ad in the wanted forum, there are always a few floating about ready to be sold.

Edited July 26, 2010 by dannybuoy

[G-77]

[quote name='OldGit' post='899824' date='Jul 20 2010, 11:10 AM']Ah yeah sorry. You are right Mike.
That, according to Ed Roman, is a Fender Explorer bass "common in Europe"...

This a Katana. As you can see it's just like a boring ol' P bass. Split pickup, 20 frets...
Fender eh? Never do anything different
[/quote]

Yep i had one of those back in the day, and it was basicly a pointy PBass,

heres my much loved 82 pbass

[G-77]

[quote name='Sibob' post='680392' date='Dec 10 2009, 05:16 PM']Here's the '85 Japanese Precision that I just aquired
Ex Mythste & Bassassin

[url="http://img709.imageshack.us/i/fullfrontz.jpg/"][/url]

Very happy with it so far, needs a setup and some new strings....trying to decide between Round or Flats!
But it's my first proper P (that isn't a parts bass with a Jazz neck haha), so am looking forward to delving into it!

Si[/quote]

i had one of these as well, cost £135 in '85

was the lightest PBass i ever played.

[cameltoe]

[quote name='mercuryl' post='903595' date='Jul 23 2010, 09:44 PM']To me, the Fender Precision is THE bass. Everything else is less. Just make sure you get a USA one.......[/quote]


You've obviously not tried a 90's CIJ or a Roadworn........

[cameltoe]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='899725' date='Jul 20 2010, 09:21 AM']The Precision won't do for me in this band because it doesn't have enough frets and then I find most of them above the 15th too difficult to play comfortably. Also it doesn't have enough strings - for such a supposedly 'traditional' group I find my myself playing more low notes below E than I ever did in any of my more electronic-orientated bands!


[b]My issue with Fender basses is not that they exist, but that without any real development [b]they are still taken seriously as a musical instrument[/b], when IMO they should really be regarded in the same light as any other quirky 50s/60s instrument such as the Hofners. Fine for their time but we've moved on and taken advantages of the improvements that have been made in instrument design and construction since then.

And that hopefully is it from me in this thread. I'll be posting my full opinions of Fender basses in a new topic later in the week when I've go all my thoughts together in a coherent and hopefully eloquent manner and you can all pile in flame me there! ;-)[/quote]


WOW missed this knob!

Good work Grand Wazoo, just what I was thinking

Obviously, mr BigRedX, it's all about opinons, but I've played a few basses and nothing quite fits in the mix like a precision. Nothing has the balls, the punch, the note clarity, the [i]perfect[/i] tone that I have in my head.....

The Jazz fills the gap for the more delicate tunes that require a busier bass line without overpowering.

Yes you may not get on with them, but TBH judging by your photo your technique looks pretty shoddy anyway so it's no wonder you find them hard to play.

You look like you're trying to play the bass like a guitar. No offence.

[Born 2B Mild]

Someone posted a pic of some perspex Precisions, and it reminded me of these...

[AndyTravis]

[quote name='cameltoe' post='906443' date='Jul 26 2010, 10:55 PM']Obviously, mr BigRedX, it's all about opinons, but I've played a few basses and nothing quite fits in the mix like a precision. Nothing has the balls, the punch, the note clarity, the [i]perfect[/i] tone that I have in my head.....[/quote]

BRX's band would suit a Precision absolutely fine. In my opinion, it would take more than a debate about their instruments to make them sound good.

But opinions are like an arsehole, everybody has one. etc.