Do I reeeally need a Precision..?

[Reggaebass]

Nothing sounds like a P bass apart from a P bass, my jazzes can get close but not the same 

[Stub Mandrel]

The Thunder 1 on the right sounds more like a P-bass than my Precisions do.

 

[Mrbigstuff]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

and never for any recording.

Probably because it wasn’t a proper P bass 😉

[Geek99]

On 30/10/2025 at 12:19, tauzero said:

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

Youre not listening to the right people 👍

[Stub Mandrel]

If you don't need a P you haven't experienced a grumpy prostate. 

[BigRedX]

12 hours ago, Mrbigstuff said:

Probably because it wasn’t a proper P bass 😉

 

I know that's said in jest, but the main reason I never recorded with it was because it wasn't as effortless to play as this:

or this:

 

Neither of which are remotely like a P-bass in looks feel or sound.

 

(and for a lot of the songs I was playing it didn't have enough strings)

[LukeFRC]

Bingo!

 

“Bigredx mentioning Gus in a completely unrelated thread” was the last thing I needed for the Basschat bingo game.

[BigRedX]

Glad to be of assistance. Now where's my share of the prize money?

[RichT]

17 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

Bingo!

 

“Bigredx mentioning Gus in a completely unrelated thread” was the last thing I needed for the Basschat bingo game.

Damn, I was still waiting for "Leo got it right first time". 

[police squad]

simples

YES

 

the very fact you're asking, means you want one

I have 4

My wife has 2

 

It's the law

[Jonesy]

Even Jaco needed a P......

[BlueMoon]

7 minutes ago, Jonesy said:

Even Jaco needed a P......

And I bet he could make it sing!

[deepbass5]

I started on a 77 P Bass, never regretted selling it apart from the price i got £325 in 1993.  Then five years ago I thought i needed one again so bought the best i could find a CS 62 relic. Five years on I decided i didn't again, for the same reasons i parted with the first - There are better made basses out there with wider tone flexibility. So I traded it for a Sadowsky NYC with chambered body, quarter sawn flamed maple neck. Best sounding bass i have owned.

[chris_b]

6 hours ago, RichT said:

Damn, I was still waiting for "Leo got it right first time". 

 

He didn't, but he got the proof of concept right, and pretty much nailed it the 2nd time.

[Jonesy]

47 minutes ago, BlueMoon said:

And I bet he could make it sing!

 

Nah, I bet he overplayed a mush of too many notes on it 😜

[tauzero]

One of the bassists at Tuesday's open mic was playing a P (the rest were playing Js apart from me with a Pedulla series 2 fretless 6). After hearing that, I never ever want to have a P. Absolutely awful sound.

[PaulThePlug]

SR Toner Rider Wearing P

[LukeFRC]

13 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

SR Toner Rider Wearing P

One of those invisible mods

[Mrbigstuff]

[itu]

I don't care about the clothing CBS offered in 1977, but there seems to be one of the first headless basses. How many were sold? 

 

(And the coat...) 

[dave_bass5]

I 'need' a P bass because it works for me. Tone wise ive never been in a situation where someone else has asked me to use anything, or ive been in a situation where one bass doesnt work over another tone wise. What I find with a P is it's more plug and play. For me even a Jazz bass give's me more tone options to think about, and get distracted with. I do like Jazz basses, but I just find a P works in every situation, no fuss messing about with onboard EQ, and sits well in any mix. Tone wide open and thats it as far as that end of the signal chain goes. 

I was put off for a while with the P bass chunky necks, but having found P basses with slimmer im happy to stick with it. 

Edited 20 hours ago by dave_bass5

[Stub Mandrel]

Took my Thunder 1 to a jam this week and it turned heads with the sound. I described it as 'more like a precision than a precision'. Roto 66s past the 'out of the packet' stage but sounding great. 

[HeadlessBassist]

On 14/11/2025 at 08:27, itu said:

I don't care about the clothing CBS offered in 1977, but there seems to be one of the first headless basses. How many were sold? 

 

(And the coat...) 

 

Oddly enough, Fender did build a headless prototype bass in 1975. It was the result of Gene Fields (of Fender's R&D Department) research into eliminating dead spots on basses. Gene’s research led to his designing a completely new instrument, the first Fender prototype headless bass. The instrument consisted of a maple neck-through body with mahogany wings. The neck had a 32″ scale with 23 frets and black position markers. The body was cut to a stylized Jazzmaster shape with a carved top similar to the LTD jazz guitar. The body-mounted tuner was a simple right-angle pull design with tuning knobs in the tailpiece. Individually adjustable bridge sections were used, as well as individually-adjustable mutes. The neck pickup was humbucking, while the bridge pickup was a P-Bass with a special cover. Two switches provided pickup control and phase reversal.