Best P bass money can buy?

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='Jigster' post='931645' date='Aug 21 2010, 09:08 AM']ha ha - no it's CAR -

pics on [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/49793253@N07/sets/72157624771886106/show/"]http://www.flickr.com/photos/49793253@N07/...771886106/show/[/url][/quote]


wow that bling!




Best P bass money can buy? lets just say my large fender squier JV P bass is not for sale!

Edited August 21, 2010 by LukeFRC

[Jigster]

yep not sure how it acquired the gold pickguard - came that way, must add to the weight cos it's metal!!

[Beedster]

[quote name='Legion' post='929991' date='Aug 19 2010, 04:27 PM']I think you'll find you'll hit the wall - the one with "law of diminishing returns" written all over it

Essentially a P bass is a very simple (and lovely) thing. What justification can you make for a bass that is really really expensive but still has a volume, tone and split P pickup. Believe me I'm already looking at the wall with my Pino and Sadowsky - plus the Alleva Coppolo I've got on loan.

Personally I think it all comes down to one unfortunate thing - there are good ones and bad ones in all walks of basses. Sure, paying more should put you in a bracket where quality is assured, but there is no guarantee. You just have to play it and see if it feels good and talks to you in a way that you want. Luckily the 2 P basses I've got are also the most awesome examples of the genre that I've managed to play (so far). But that hasnt stopped me thinking there is a better version out there...I think I'm starting to see the wood for the tree's. I think finding a vintage gem is about as good as it gets. A lot of work, but imagine the satisfaction.[/quote]

That sums it up, there's little difference really between a good MIJ and the most expensive Custom Shop Master Build. Beyond Fender, Celinders and Sadowskys are lovely examples of craftsmanship and attention to detail, but do they function as a Precision Bass significantly better than a good Fender? Not in my experience.

My '64 is lovely, but so are some £300 MIJs I've played.

C

[Musicman20]

Cheers guys.

Ill stick with what I have unless a really nice vintage P bass ever comes along.

[ElCapitan]

I've never played a better bass than my Fender '63. That's not to say there aren't better basses out there, but this one has jammed with Stevie Wonder!!

[Bassnut62]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='931831' date='Aug 21 2010, 12:32 PM']Cheers guys.

Ill stick with what I have unless a really nice vintage P bass ever comes along.[/quote]

Smart move. PreCBS Fenders really do have something very special about them that cannot be recreated and cannot be improved on, even by spending £4k with a fancy luthier to make a brand new custom P bass. Only the real thing has that mojo and played-in feel. To me, it's almost like it takes 40+ years for all the different parts to grow into each other.

No doubt you can get a great P-like instrument for £2k+; but it ain't going to be the best P money can buy.

In My Opinion only!

[dr1]

[quote name='ElCapitan' post='931840' date='Aug 21 2010, 12:44 PM']I've never played a better bass than my Fender '63. That's not to say there aren't better basses out there, but this one has jammed with Stevie Wonder!! [/quote]


tell us more!

to the OT - what Precision is better than Precision, you pretty much answered yourself....
(Fender Precision bass)

[bubinga5]

check out a Mike Lull p basses..there awsome

[Bassnut62]

[quote name='bubinga5' post='931887' date='Aug 21 2010, 01:41 PM']check out a Mike Lull p basses..there awsome[/quote]
never heard of those - what do you like about them?

[Vibrating G String]

[quote name='Bassnut62' post='931842' date='Aug 21 2010, 04:50 AM']Smart move. PreCBS Fenders really do have something very special about them that cannot be recreated and cannot be improved on[/quote]Or described specifically, which implies the difference is brought by the player and not the bass. Provenance can change perceptions.[quote]In My Opinion only![/quote]
Mine too

[Vibrating G String]

[quote name='Bassnut62' post='932462' date='Aug 22 2010, 12:14 AM']never heard of those - what do you like about them?[/quote]
If I may jump in, Mike's kind of a west coast Sadowsky. Parts basses in the Fender style with a high level of attention to detail and precision.
[url="http://www.mikelull.com/Instruments/basses.htm"]http://www.mikelull.com/Instruments/basses.htm[/url]
He's been around for quite a while.

I think there are so many choices that offer excellent build and tone that it's futile to search for the absolute best. And then below that are a ton of choices that can be easily modded & tuned to the excellent level. I think we have more leeway to let taste and feel decide our choice than some often allow themselves out of worrying someone somewhere might have a better bass.

[Beedster]

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='933284' date='Aug 23 2010, 01:57 AM']Or described specifically, which implies the difference is brought by the player and not the bass. Provenance can change perceptions.[/quote]

Whilst confident that there is something 'real' about the quality of old Fenders, there's a lot of truth in the above also

C

[OutToPlayJazz]

For a pure Precision, I liked my AV62 best of all. It just had something about it that none of the others seem to possess. In terms of what I like personally as a player, the ultimate Precision has to be the new American Deluxe. The sound is to die for & the oreamp has been improved so much compared to the old one, it's almost unreal. It's a definite must try bass if you get the chance.

[KiOgon]

I have major GAS for a '57 Vintage USA in white blonde, it's almost a second mortgage & they don't seem to come up 2nd hand but would I be satisfied? I've not been able to see/hold/feel/try/play/hear one yet

[Vibrating G String]

[quote name='Beedster' post='933317' date='Aug 23 2010, 12:15 AM']Whilst confident that there is something 'real' about the quality of old Fenders, there's a lot of truth in the above also

C[/quote]
Well I'll happily go on record as saying all the pre CBS Fenders I've played have been substandard and would be considered defective if it was a new bass.

There is definitely something real about connecting with a bass and playing better because you fell better with it. If you have a pet dog I could replace it with one just as good and from the same litter but it wouldn't be the same. You'll also play better onstage when you're dressed nice (choose your own definition of nice) than dressed like crap. Attributing this to some secret added to low budget bottom of the line instruments of the time by a guy who never played or built a guitar seems to need something more concrete to be convincing.

I think we can demonstrate the vintage Fender mojo is almost completely brought in by the player when we note that a refinish or a non stock pickguard will drop the price by thousands. Get rid of the headstock decal and all the value & magic is gone.

IMNSHO

Edited August 24, 2010 by Vibrating G String

[Bassnut62]

true enough comments above from the roaring rabbit
if an instrument doesn't give you the feeling you want, it ain't gonna work for you.

I guess I've been fortunate enough that all four of the preCBS Fenders I've played have felt absolutely incredible to me. I've tried 3 Precisions - a 61, 63 and a crossover 65 and I've tried a 63 Jazz. I now own the 63 P.

Having said all that, on a technical level, the Sandberg California JM4 Supreme I bought last year is probably a much better bass than anything Leo Fender ever made. But it would be the 63 P I would take to a desert island, if i was going to be stranded there for the rest of my life.

Edited August 24, 2010 by Bassnut62

[Vibrating G String]

I see that as fit, it doesn't have to be the best. It should be your favorite, if a 63 P inspires then thats the choice for you. Like an old pair of jeans, they may be crap but they feel nice.

I get ruffled when people try to claim they are better and can't be duplicated or other claims that remind me of religion. Then it makes me want to save the world...

[Beedster]

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='935861' date='Aug 25 2010, 12:43 PM'].....other claims that remind me of religion...[/quote]

Fair point

C