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Why do Pros use a P Bass...


TheGreek

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As a P bass fan I think there are many reasons to use a P bass on a studio gig, all good ones.

But the main reason to hire a bass player is how he plays, not what he sounds like.

Hobby players are all about the gear that gets them "their sound". Pro's can sound good on anything and "their sound" is the way they put together the bass lines.

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2 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Spot on. 

Begs the question why studio engineers uniformly seem to suffer from erectile dysfunction.

I don't think you can generalise. There have been, and probably still are, many great engineers. IMO they are getting a lot of unnecessary blame in this thread.

These guys are dealing with many things at once. Never mind the equipment, the "baggage" that comes with certain musicians and producers, record company execs and or artists who may or may not be helping! I've seen some who were so stressed they could have murdered someone. That is irrelevant to whoever is paying the bill. The tracks are listened to a week later and they have to be "right" or the guys on the session might not get booked again!

IMO, studio engineers, certainly the ones I've met, are all unsung heroes.

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So what are my key takeaways after #205 posts on the subject?

1. the perfect anagram of Fender Precision (it was very good!)

2. session musicians are better bass players than us hobbyists and can sound good on anything (ok that's not news 😀)

3. some (but not all) studio engineers insist on reinforced-P basses due to suffering some form of dysfunction - which is likely to be from playing with knobs all day

 

Have a great NYE everyone and here's to a wonderful 2019 for us all!!

Edited by Al Krow
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Guest bassman7755

No big mystery, P has a midrange boosted sound that is due to its somewhat unique pickup configuration (a single mid position).

Default sound of most basses tends to be mid scooped with boosted lows and highs due to a two out of phase pickup arrangement, P is the opposite of that and thus has a nice frequency range to work with that can be EQed into anything you want pretty much, I'd be tempted to use one if they didnt look like stinky poo (as do all fender basses IMO).

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11 hours ago, bassman7755 said:

Default sound of most basses tends to be mid scooped with boosted lows and highs due to a two out of phase pickup arrangement, 

 

That's just one of many sounds of a 2-pickup bass, 'though. I would not call it the default. I certainly never go for a "all knobs maxed" configuration on a twin pickup bass, but tweak by ear to find the sound that I like/fits... and it's almost never an "all knobs maxed" config.

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Very interesting. The first time through I listened with my eyes closed and to be honest the change in tone from one bass to another wasn't that great, and in the context of a band mix with the a bit of post-production EQ any one of them would have done the job perfectly adequately in any of the playing styles. 

IMO the P-Bass performed adequately on all the playing styles, but was never the best of the 6. Based on that video I'd be buying a Rickenbacker or a Thunderbird. The most disappointing was the Stingray closely followed by the Warwick. Both sounded weedy with no real body to the sound in any of the playing styles, not at all what I was expecting.

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If that were the only sound samples I had... I don't think I'd have been ever interested in a Stingray. The Precision was also far from what I consider a great Precision sound. Yet, those are my favourite basses, ahead of any Jazz, Thunderbird etc etc...

It's the problem with these comparisons, it would take too long to expand on the tonal palette of each. Still... very cool video.

The Thunderbird wasn't bad at all. I've recently heard some clips of a Thunderbird on mostly the neck pickup and I was surprised at how good it could sound. I say surprised, because I'm more used to hearing one with both pickups on and it just gets lost in the mix too easily: all low end rumble and no definition. But the neck pickup... can be very sweet. Cool looking bass too.

What surprised me more was the Rick. Judging by how far the Precision and the Stingray were from the sounds I make with those basses... I think that I would probably enjoy a Rickenbacker like that one, soundwise (not so much in other ways).

Edited by mcnach
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I listened - it was a good comparison - but admittedly being a Fender Jazz owner, I was biased towards the Jazz and that video confirmed (for me) its all-round versatile.

There's something about a Precision though......I've been thinking of buying one, just to see/hear for myself......

 

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