more misconceptions shattered......

[woodyng]

for whatever reason,i have never gotten on really well with p basses. i've owned a 3 or 4 of them over the years,and just never seemed to bond with any of them. i went to a band rehearsal/tryout last nite,the person putting the band together plays everything,and he had a nice ampeg 6-10 cab and svt-4 pro amp. i took my favored cii and kept tweaking the gazillion or so controls( ) on the amp,but for the first time since i bought that bass,was not getting a tone i liked. after about 4 or 5 songs, i asked to try out his p-bass sitting on a stand next to the rig. it was a fairly new american standard p bass,rosewood board and it was strung with chrome flats,(which i have also not liked when i've tried them before). well,the bass was lightweight,quite resonant,set up really well, and sounded fantastic. it had a push switch on the volume contol,that gave it a very single coil sort of hollowness.(reminded me of the kind of tone entwhistle was getting on the early who records) . needless to say ,i was very impressed,and more than a little bit stung--next practice (i was asked back!) i will take the 4000 with the maxima flats and see how that compares....

[kiramdear]

Glad you found a p-bass you like, Woody. I'm still looking, myself. (always been mainly a Gibson girl except for the 4001 I had and liked). I have flirted with a j-bass or two but never pulled the trigger). The P-basses I've tried all just felt fat and clunky to me.

[FretlessOnly]

The P-basses I've tried all just felt fat and clunky to me.

11 lbs, baseball bat neck - I love mine!

Of course, if you play double bass for over 15 years and then pick up a P-bass, it feels like a ukelele.

[rickenbrother]

I don't mind P-basses. It's Jazz basses that I could never get comfortable with.

[weemac]

I really really want a "P" bass.
I have tries for so long not to like them, but that sound........ (and most of my earliest bass influences played them)
I will never afford a real one but I have read so many good reviews of the Squire classic vibe 60s bass.

Mike Oldfield has played plenty of basses but always returns to the "P"

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Listen to the dark (but very pretty) growl he gets in the first bit of this performance...

Eden.

[lennon211]

I find that I play my '62 RI Precision almost as much as my Ric and Hofner. It's strung with Chromes and gets a great fat Motown/Stax sound through my '59 Bassman.

[antipodean]

Eden

You can pick up a used MIJ 57 or 62 RI from a reputable Tokyo dealer for around AUD800 including shipping - the top of the line ones with the alder or ash bodies and US pups, not the basswood budget models with the cheap electronics. I know that's more than a Squier but it's not stratospheric...

The P-bass is one of many things that Leo got right. Gotta love it!

[johnallg]

Eden, thank you.

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

from that vid i'd say oldfield and steve hackett roomed together once ! very similar playing styles on guitar.

the p-bass part reminds me of the tone john wetton used to have on the crimson "USA" album or even "RED" or U.K. "danger money"!

loved listening to tubular bells back in '77 especially when he was introducing the individual instruments in the dry, english pompous way ! have not listened to it since then, and after viewing that vid...i think i'll pull out the lp again ! maybe even alan parsons "i robot" ! sounds like a rick on that one.

[ricaddic]

for whatever reason,i have never gotten on really well with p basses. i've owned a 3 or 4 of them over the years,and just never seemed to bond with any of them. i went to a band rehearsal/tryout last nite,the person putting the band together plays everything,and he had a nice ampeg 6-10 cab and svt-4 pro amp. i took my favored cii and kept tweaking the gazillion or so controls( ) on the amp,but for the first time since i bought that bass,was not getting a tone i liked. after about 4 or 5 songs, i asked to try out his p-bass sitting on a stand next to the rig. it was a fairly new american standard p bass,rosewood board and it was strung with chrome flats,(which i have also not liked when i've tried them before). well,the bass was lightweight,quite resonant,set up really well, and sounded fantastic. it had a push switch on the volume contol,that gave it a very single coil sort of hollowness.(reminded me of the kind of tone entwhistle was getting on the early who records) . needless to say ,i was very impressed,and more than a little bit stung--next practice (i was asked back!) i will take the 4000 with the maxima flats and see how that compares....

The Fender Precision you played was not an American Standard, it was an American series, Fender came out with the S-1 switching system in 2006 and continued installing it in 2007, The American Standard came out in 2008 and Fender did away with the S-I switch , if you thought that bass was light, the American standards that came out in 2008 are even lighter, and play like a dream, as far as flats, I feel Fenders were made for Flats, thats all I use on my Fenders 3 of which are precision basses, I use Thomastik flats JF344'A on both my precisions and jazzes.

[ricaddic]

[quote="

The P-bass is one of many things that Leo got right. Gotta love it! [/quote]
I disagree, Leo got alot of other things right too, The Esquire, The Telecaster, The Stratocaster, and lets not forget the great Fender amps Leo came out with too, Watch what you say, it could be taken as Bashing, which are a violation of the rules associated with this forum..

[analogpackrat]

In case you're wondering what the switch does--it puts the coils in parallel rather than series. I have a Hwy-1 P that I've modded to add two small toggles--one switches tone caps (0.1uF old style or 0.05uF new style) and the other series/parallel coils. Parallel coils gives a really clear tone with less low end. It's a neat alternative to have sometimes. I find that I prefer the larger tone cap, too. I play with rounds and the big cap rolls off more highs and helps me approximate the sound of flats. I know--it's not the real thing, but close enough for my cack-handed playing.

Like a Tele, a P-bass is one of those things everyone should have in their collection.

[weemac]

loved listening to tubular bells back in '77 especially when he was introducing the individual instruments in the dry, english pompous way ! .

That would be Viv Stanshall of the "Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band"
The Bonzos were recording at the Manour at the same time that Mike was first getting the Bells together. The master of ceremonies bit was one of those afterthoughts that really worked.

There is also a alternate version of the Sailors Hornpipe at the end of TB that has Viv's comic ramblings as well.

Any here is another of mike (this time about 75) playing the same tune....

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Eden.

[weemac]

I don't mind P-basses. It's Jazz basses that I could never get comfortable with.

Me too. Unless its in the right hands I've always found that a "J" sounds like "P" with the guts kicked out of it.....

Eden.

[weemac]

Eden

You can pick up a used MIJ 57 or 62 RI from a reputable Tokyo dealer for around AUD800 including shipping - the top of the line ones with the alder or ash bodies and US pups, not the basswood budget models with the cheap electronics. I know that's more than a Squier but it's not stratospheric...

The P-bass is one of many things that Leo got right. Gotta love it!

I've looked at those.. H'mmmm

Eden.