Thomann P Bass

dean2371

Looking for a cheap bass for a bit of home recording. These seem well thought of; any views? I'm thinking of the Harley Benton ones of course

UnclePsychosis

I've got one of the Harley Benton 50s P basses. It's really good but the neck is proper chunky (as it should be).

5redlights

I tried one of the Squier vintage modified PJ basses the other day. I was shocked at how good it was. Absolutely lovely neck, really playable (it's a jazz profile so not chunky) and lovely tone from the pickups. 

They're around £268 new which isn't cheap, but if you find one second hand it's might be a bit of a bargain. I'g for that if the budget allows. 

Also look at J&D basses at www.dv247.com - their 75 jazz basses have a good rep, and you'll get alder bodies too on all the basses, so not budget basswood (which dings easily and I think doesn't hold some of the highs and lows too well). £119 new with free delivery. 

kodiakblair

I've had a few HB basses and they've all been decent enough and when you consider prices of strings etc they're a steal.

Entry PB-20 is a budget no-frills P-bass,does what it's meant to do and has a poplar body like many of my USA Peavey basses.

I strung it BEAD and a young fella now uses it for bass parts on his symphonic metal tracks. Not bad at all for what was a £60

bass.

PB-50 was my first HB and I find the single coil a nice change from the normal split humbucker on P-basses.Liked the neck so much

I bought another 2,first one is wearing nylon tapes for a good thump,1's still with rounds and the other has a Peavey Super Ferrite so

it sounds more like my Foundation.No huge rout under the scratch plate so you can ditch it if you want.The photo flame finish looks

great as basswood doesn't have a pretty grain.Useless fact about basswood,it's also called linden wood which was the wood Viking warriors used to make their shields with.For £70 it's a damn fine bass,Wilkinson sounds good too.Friend of mine had an SD in his but when he A/B'd it with the Wilkinson there's very little difference,hear for yourself.

Which leaves the PJ HTR at £85. Nice lightweight bass, alder bodied like some Fenders and it's a PJ so a bit more versatile.There's some drop in volume with both controls up full so rolling one back a tad is advised.Nice enough bass and currently sporting Chromes,I really should play it more but I'm lucky and spoiled for choice bass-wise.

For recording any of the 3 will serve you well as they all hold their tune and intonate but for P-bass sound the PB-20 or PJ HTR are

the better bet as though I prefer the PB-50 I'm using nylons for a deeper darker tone.Might not be your thing.

Good luck with your decision and remember you get 30 days returns with Thomann though it may cost you 10 euro postage if the reason is you just don't like it. 

dean2371

Thanks for that @kodiakblair really helpful. Too much choice, may just have to pick one at random. PJ might be the one for versatliity

kodiakblair

@dean2371

Glad to help in any way. The PJ is a good choice and if later you fancy boosting the output £40 odd will

get you a pair of Entwistle Neos pickups. That'd be a killer bass for maybe £120 all in.

speshul91

Ibanez? PJ config and cheap.

dean2371

bought a PB-20 in the end. delivered in 3 days, sounds great and plays well. just what I was looking for

kodiakblair

Excellent Dean. P-basses haven't changed much in 60 years and PB-20 does the job perfectly.

Price is right too.

speshul91

dean2371;953745" said:

bought a PB-20 in the end. delivered in 3 days, sounds great and plays well. just what I was looking for

Pics or it never happened. You knows the rules.