P bass history
- Thread starter eSGEe
- Start date
Col Mustard
Ambassador of Perseverance
Thanks for posting... I really enjoyed that.
I've been playing my P-bass more now, since my old '66 Jazz bass is now
up for sale at Elderly Instruments.
The Fender Precision Bass was one of the most significant musical innovations of the 20th
century... right up there along with the Telecaster, the Strat, the Les Paul, the SG and
the WARBEAST!
I mean really... the 20th century was exciting to live through (even though I only lived through
about half of it)... In the 20th century, we saw the introduction of the Dreadnought guitar,
the Arch Top F-hole Jazz guitar, the electrified Arch Top F-hole Jazz Guitar, The Log, The
Telecaster, The Les Paul, The Stratocaster, the Gibson SG, The Gretsch 6120, The Rickenbacker
electric 12 string... but all those would be nowhere without the Fender Precision bass...
...or maybe the ZOMBIE REVENGE!
Forgive me but it's true. I appreciate my Precision bass more every time I take her out to play.
When the Jazz Bass was invented, it was intended to 'improve' upon the Precision bass design.
It is just as precise, but the two pickups and three control knobs were intended to give bassists more
tonal choices, which a Jazz man would likely appreciate. When the Jazz bass was invented, there were
NO PEDALS available to the bassist. No amp features, other than treble and bass controls.
So the Jazz bass filled a need. At that time, the Precision bass did one thing really well. Provided propulsion
with excellent tone and solid bottom. The Jazz Bass was intended to do more.
But these days, with all of the tonal controls we have in our amps and at our feet, the difference between
the two has become fuzzy. That's my opinion, as a bassist. The good ol' Precision provides an excellent signal
that has never been "improved" upon. From there, we have lots of choices about what we do with that
signal. So the P-bass is not limited by its simple setup. The P-Bass is one of those things that Leo Fender got
right the first time. As you can hear in the above video.
These days, a young bassist can buy him or herself a PB & J Bass, which has all the best features of both
Fender creations. And that's fine, but the more I play my Precision, the more I feel that it's not very
necessary. I use a Roland CB-60 modeling amp, and this has enough tone options that the Precision bass signal
can be shaped in many ways. It also has an XLR out, so when I play on a large outdoor stage, I can give my
signal to the sound guys, and they can mix it in the mains to sound HUGE. I did just that this very day.
On a festival stage, the sound guys usually can make my simple P-bass tone sound perfect for the venue.
And that's priceless. And that's why so many bassists choose the Precision bass, even though the design is
very old now, and ought to be obsolete, like most of the technology from those dark days.
I've been playing my P-bass more now, since my old '66 Jazz bass is now
up for sale at Elderly Instruments.
The Fender Precision Bass was one of the most significant musical innovations of the 20th
century... right up there along with the Telecaster, the Strat, the Les Paul, the SG and
the WARBEAST!
I mean really... the 20th century was exciting to live through (even though I only lived through
about half of it)... In the 20th century, we saw the introduction of the Dreadnought guitar,
the Arch Top F-hole Jazz guitar, the electrified Arch Top F-hole Jazz Guitar, The Log, The
Telecaster, The Les Paul, The Stratocaster, the Gibson SG, The Gretsch 6120, The Rickenbacker
electric 12 string... but all those would be nowhere without the Fender Precision bass...
...or maybe the ZOMBIE REVENGE!
Forgive me but it's true. I appreciate my Precision bass more every time I take her out to play.
When the Jazz Bass was invented, it was intended to 'improve' upon the Precision bass design.
It is just as precise, but the two pickups and three control knobs were intended to give bassists more
tonal choices, which a Jazz man would likely appreciate. When the Jazz bass was invented, there were
NO PEDALS available to the bassist. No amp features, other than treble and bass controls.
So the Jazz bass filled a need. At that time, the Precision bass did one thing really well. Provided propulsion
with excellent tone and solid bottom. The Jazz Bass was intended to do more.
But these days, with all of the tonal controls we have in our amps and at our feet, the difference between
the two has become fuzzy. That's my opinion, as a bassist. The good ol' Precision provides an excellent signal
that has never been "improved" upon. From there, we have lots of choices about what we do with that
signal. So the P-bass is not limited by its simple setup. The P-Bass is one of those things that Leo Fender got
right the first time. As you can hear in the above video.
These days, a young bassist can buy him or herself a PB & J Bass, which has all the best features of both
Fender creations. And that's fine, but the more I play my Precision, the more I feel that it's not very
necessary. I use a Roland CB-60 modeling amp, and this has enough tone options that the Precision bass signal
can be shaped in many ways. It also has an XLR out, so when I play on a large outdoor stage, I can give my
signal to the sound guys, and they can mix it in the mains to sound HUGE. I did just that this very day.
On a festival stage, the sound guys usually can make my simple P-bass tone sound perfect for the venue.
And that's priceless. And that's why so many bassists choose the Precision bass, even though the design is
very old now, and ought to be obsolete, like most of the technology from those dark days.
To me, a bass is a bass. The 'P' bass is not any better, IMHO, than a 'Rick' or a T-bird.
For a year - between 2016/2017 - I played bass in a band for $450/week + 15% of the venue/merchandise. I played this contract assignment on a $60 Craigslist Ibanez bass.
Several times, we had colleagues sit in with very expensive custom basses, and other band members commented on how the $60 bass (and no doubt my ear and EQ) sounded better than custom shop basses.
The old Ibanez was factory shielded and is dead quiet. No hum. No buzz and good tone.
I would put it up against anybody's high-dollar bass rig. Intonation is spot-on. Stays in tune without having to constantly readjust...nothing else matters.
One can play whatever one likes or prefers, but other than subjective things - such as weight, personal body shape preference, neck width and feel - there's no magic...
Sure, Man...to me, a Rickenbacker 4004-LK would be a great bass to have, but would it have earned me more than $450/week retainer???
I doubt it...
For a year - between 2016/2017 - I played bass in a band for $450/week + 15% of the venue/merchandise. I played this contract assignment on a $60 Craigslist Ibanez bass.
Several times, we had colleagues sit in with very expensive custom basses, and other band members commented on how the $60 bass (and no doubt my ear and EQ) sounded better than custom shop basses.
The old Ibanez was factory shielded and is dead quiet. No hum. No buzz and good tone.
I would put it up against anybody's high-dollar bass rig. Intonation is spot-on. Stays in tune without having to constantly readjust...nothing else matters.
One can play whatever one likes or prefers, but other than subjective things - such as weight, personal body shape preference, neck width and feel - there's no magic...
Sure, Man...to me, a Rickenbacker 4004-LK would be a great bass to have, but would it have earned me more than $450/week retainer???
I doubt it...
Totally unnecessary....but still very cool...