Do I reeeally need a Precision..?

[jonno1981]

I’d say no, but having any bass with a P pickup is really, really useful! 

[Misdee]

5 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

 

Now you're setting off my OCD about people calling it a bloody guitar! 🤣

 

It is a guitar, a bass guitar.

[HeadlessBassist]

11 minutes ago, Misdee said:

It is a guitar, a bass guitar.

 

Aarrggh! 🫣

[Misdee]

7 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

Okay, so I've owned quite a few Precisions over the years, from 2008 American Standard to AVRI to Nate Mendel & early Classic Vibe to Mexican Standard. Latterly, the only one I ever kept and used for about 5 years was the first generation American Professional (the white/mint one that was used in several Andertons videos - yes, that very bass), due to its lovely clear top end from the excellent V-Mod pickup. Sadly, after I left a named 60s band continuation to join another live show, it sat for two years unplayed, so I moved it on as per the rules of basses not earning me money.

 

Oddly, I've never been specifically asked to play a Precision for a session, gig or show of any kind, but it's sort of received opinion that you should have one. Playing wise and sound wise, I've always been more on the Jazz bass side, both for it's relative delicacy and adaptability.

 

What's feeding this line of thought? I played a £5000 Olinto Precision at Andy Baxter's the other day. Obviously I'm not going to pour that kind of money into one, but maybe another 1st/2nd gen American Professional may be on the cards..?

 

Whadda-ya'll reckon?

 

Discuss...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whether you need a Precision might be the wrong question.

 

Maybe you should ask yourself if you enjoy a Precision. If no one has asked you to provide one in a professional context then in an immediate sense, no you don't need one. Whether you would you get some  extra joy from playing one would seem to be the more pertinent question. If you would then it could be a good purchase if you can easily afford it.

 

My go-to bass for well over a decade has been a USA Lakland PJ with a Jazz neck and roundwounds that I use mainly as a P Bass. I've had it a long time and it serves me very well for just about everything. It's boringly reliable and I seldom find it can't sound appropriate for whatever style of music I'm massacring at any given time. Most of the time though just the Precision pickup sounds right for the music, whatever the genre. 

Edited 21 hours ago by Misdee

[Misdee]

2 minutes ago, HeadlessBassist said:

 

Aarrggh! 🫣

OCD - controlled exposure and response. It's the only way. 

[LowB_FTW]

Betteridge's law of headlines, applied to forum thread titles …

 

6 hours ago, BigRedX said:

No.

 

Mark

[asingardenof]

Need doesn't enter into it 😎

[Rosie C]

7 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

I've always been more on the Jazz bass side, both for it's relative delicacy and adaptability.

 

 

You answer your own question, you have a jazz, that's all you need!       

 

[Chiliwailer]

Never thought I’d be happy without a P, but have since proved myself wrong. 
Still feels odd typing that - but my playing situation has a lot to do with it too, so it’s no real issue. 
 

[Geek99]

1 hour ago, Misdee said:

It is a guitar, a bass guitar.

Where did I put that kindling? 
stake ? Check

matches ? Check 

howling mob? Check 

[roger]

8 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

Okay, so I've owned quite a few Precisions over the years, from 2008 American Standard to AVRI to Nate Mendel & early Classic Vibe to Mexican Standard. Latterly, the only one I ever kept and used for about 5 years was the first generation American Professional (the white/mint one that was used in several Andertons videos - yes, that very bass), due to its lovely clear top end from the excellent V-Mod pickup. Sadly, after I left a named 60s band continuation to join another live show, it sat for two years unplayed, so I moved it on as per the rules of basses not earning me money.

 

Oddly, I've never been specifically asked to play a Precision for a session, gig or show of any kind, but it's sort of received opinion that you should have one. Playing wise and sound wise, I've always been more on the Jazz bass side, both for it's relative delicacy and adaptability.

 

What's feeding this line of thought? I played a £5000 Olinto Precision at Andy Baxter's the other day. Obviously I'm not going to pour that kind of money into one, but maybe another 1st/2nd gen American Professional may be on the cards..?

 

Whadda-ya'll reckon?

 

Discuss...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Olinta £5000! 🤣 Seriously? The world’s gone mad🤦 how in the world can that ever be better than a 2nd hand US standard or Pro at 900-1000 quid

[Terry M.]

8 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

Oddly, I've never been specifically asked to play a Precision for a session, gig or show of any kind, but it's sort of received opinion that you should have one.

 

This is because the answer to your question is no. I think swapping "received " for "perceived" is more to the point. The instrument does what we tell it to. Of all the gigs I've been to I've never had an issue with the bassist's weapon of choice.If I have any issues other than sound engineering it's usually the player to "blame" 1964 all-original P-bass with flats or not. 

[Belka]

19 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

Oddly, I've never been specifically asked to play a Precision for a session, gig or show of any kind, but it's sort of received opinion that you should have one.

I think there are probably some gigs/sessions where a player will be told to use/bring a P bass (Motown revues, certain bandleaders/producers that request it - I've heard this from more than one pro player), but I'd guess it happens a lot less than the SBL and other Youtubers' 'The TRUTH about why the P bass SLAYS everything else' content suggests.

 

It's funny, but some of the P bass sounds I really like were in situations when it was no longer a particularly fashionable bass - Steve Harris, Andy Rourke and Freddie Washington in the '80s, Pino when he brought it back into fashion around 2000 - I don't think any of them were using one because they felt they needed to or that the producer had demanded it. 

 

 

[neepheid]

The last person to tell me that I should be playing a P bass got greeted with a Tokai Thunderbird at the next session, which I bought specifically just to shut him up.

 

It worked.  He shut up about it and no, I didn't get fired.

Edited 8 hours ago by neepheid

[Wolverinebass]

1 hour ago, neepheid said:

The last person to tell me that I should be playing a P bass got greeted with a Tokai Thunderbird at the next session, which I bought specifically just to shut him up.

 

It worked.  He shut up about it and no, I didn't get fired.

The last person who did that to me asked why I was playing "such a crap bass and not a precision." I was playing an Alembic. That was about 15 years ago.

 

It didn't end well as I lamped him. Not for that comment, but for some others which were much more offensive.

[tauzero]

Nobody has ever told me I should play a P. Am I doing something wrong?

[Terry M.]

2 minutes ago, tauzero said:

Nobody has ever told me I should play a P. Am I doing something wrong?

Yes you're not spending enough time around P bass obsessed individuals. Can you sort that out? 😄

[Lozz196]

I don’t think that most of the people I’ve been in bands with would even know what a Precision was, let alone tell me I should be using one. 

[chris_b]

Many years ago I was asked to leave my bass at home. I turned up to play in a soul band with a Gibson EB0. They were absolutely right, it sounded terrible. The singer lent me his Danelectro. Sometimes other people's opinions can be valid.

 

That was the first and last time, maybe because I bought a Precision right after that experience.

[neepheid]

7 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Many years ago I was asked to leave my bass at home. I turned up to play in a soul band with a Gibson EB0. They were absolutely right, it sounded terrible. The singer lent me his Danelectro. Sometimes other people's opinions can be valid.

 

That was the first and last time, maybe because I bought a Precision right after that experience.

 

EB-0?  Bit of an extreme example, no?

[Terry M.]

I'm wondering how many bassists get to tell the other musicians which instrument to bring along?

[Terry M.]

3 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

EB-0?  Bit of an extreme example, no?

I literally had to Google it 😁

[chris_b]

7 minutes ago, Terry M. said:

I'm wondering how many bassists get to tell the other musicians which instrument to bring along?

 

I regularly tell a drummer I play with that he would sound better using a 26" bass drum. He just laughs!!!

 

And I've told drummers I don't like the sound of piccolo snares!

Edited 5 hours ago by chris_b

[Terry M.]

1 hour ago, chris_b said:

And I've told drummers I don't like the sound of piccolo snares!

I've literally never heard of a piccolo snare until now. Every day's a school-day 🙂

[snorkie635]

3 hours ago, Wolverinebass said:

The last person who did that to me asked why I was playing "such a crap bass and not a precision." I was playing an Alembic. That was about 15 years ago.

 

It didn't end well as I lamped him. Not for that comment, but for some others which were much more offensive.

Mentioned before on BC, that after playing in a pub in Glasgow, a guy beckoned me over to where he was at the bar. "Good band mate," said he, " but if you can ever afford one, you need to try a Fender bass. They're brilliant!"

I had been playing an Overwater, hand-built Jazz 5. Ooooooooooh, it really makes me wonder ...