I’ve had a cheapie J for years now (originally built in the £100 challenge in days past). It’s nice enough for 100 quid but hardly inspiring.
In my ever approaching middle age I’m really fancying a proper P bass and happy to spend a bit to get something decent. I’m not looking to emulate Billy Sheehan - more Motown, classic rock, alt/indie type of thing.
I’m a big fan of nitro finishes and rosewood fretboards but otherwise not super bothered on other specs mainly because I don’t know what I want other than single pickup passive and ideally not super-vintage frets. The Nate Mendel sig appeals but I’m not a massive fan of the colour.
I’m potentially up for anything sub-custom shop level, but wondering if better to grab a Squier CV to get used to the “P thing” then upgrade in a year or so. And then there’s the other bit of me that thinks “fuck it, buy a Rick”...
Suggestions please!
Comments
Cheaper than a full blown American Standard, with a much less clubby neck and tend to be lighter in weight too. Mine was 8lb dead, and I swapped the tuners for Hipshot Ultralights and now it is just under 7 3/4 lb. And as the weight reduction is all at the headstock the balance is much nicer. Precisions can be a bit neck heavy.
Only slight downside is the "Greasebucket" tone control which is shit. But 30 mins with a soldering iron and a new capacitor and you get a proper tone control again.
There is a run of them every few years. I've had 2. A sunburst (sold) and a white (still here) with rosewood boards.
Pickup is very good and with some flats it does the Motown / Blues Brothers / Soul thing etc perfectly.
Tend to be in the region of £600 but if you are patient you might get it cheaper.
https://speakerimpedance.co.uk/?act=two_parallel&page=calculator
The neck is much closer to a J, it's light weight and brilliantly built.
I'm a huge fan of Sandbergs. I've had several and only moved them on when I had medical issues meaning I needed to go super light weight.
Now got my 'berg Superlight TT4 as my main bass, but I'm saving for the 5 string version.
https://speakerimpedance.co.uk/?act=two_parallel&page=calculator
Both are excellent VFM, especially if you can find on 2nd hand. I believe the US ones have multiple different neck options, so might be able to find one with a width closer to a Jazzer?
It is a bit beat up, but plays OK.
If you really want a P, then the plain Mexican Fender Standard one my friend has is the best modern P I've played. I have no idea why, it just resonates really well and sounds superb.
Here's the rub... the one he briefly had before it, and luckily was able to return - same model, even the same colour - was one of the worst.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
This is where being in Abu Dhabi makes things a bit tricky. We’re shit for guitar shops and even worse for basses, so I don’t have a chance to try anything at all beyond *possibly* a Squier in the local Virgin Megastore (they didn’t go bust here!)
Modern ones are smaller, somewhere between that and a Jazz.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I can only get on with 1-3/4" for 12-string guitars, and even then it's pushing it - I prefer 1-5/8" really, for both guitar and bass - but I wouldn't play a 12 for a whole set anyway.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Personally, I love the early 60's wide neck. Others (like @ICBM) don't.
My 64 Precision has the super wide nut width - 45mm, but the depth on the neck is actually quite shallow. It's wide, but not chunky or thick. In fact, the early 60's P traditionally isn't thick - it's not "clubby" at all - and it's a very different experience to the Nocaster style of "thick".
What I've found is it makes you play a little differently. Most bass connoisseurs would argue that to play bass properly you need thumb behind the neck and plenty of reach with the fingers - the trad P bass neck encourages this a lot.
The other factor is string spacing. The spacing on my P is wide. Very wide. And it's good for some styles and not for others. At the bridge end the spacing is huge - it's fabulous for finger style but if you prefer a pick it might cause issues.
Horses for courses. You'll either love or hate the P style wide flat neck from the early 60's. When I first played one it made total sense to me and suited my style. Others will hate it.
I guess it explains why the neck on my Shuker fretless suits me so much. It's wide (43mm) but really thin front to back...
I do know I generally don’t like extremes of fat or thin or narrow or wide on guitars (or thick/thin drumsticks for that matter) so assume I’ll be the same on bass.
I’m in the UK next week so I’ll try and get to a guitar shop even briefly to see if there’s anything I particularly do or don’t like.
My first bass was a Japanese Fender reissue of an early 60's P of some type (maybe a 62?). I didn't know any better, but the nut width on that was too much for me - as I have very short fingers. I think it was about 43mm. I sold that and bought a Jazz bass with a 38mm nut, which was a lot better, but the Jazz doesn't have the P sound.
I've now got a mid eighties Japanese Squier P bass with a 32" scale. The shorter scale helps a lot. I'm not sure of the width. It might be a bit wider than the Jazz, but with the shorter scale, it's a lot easier to play.
The purists will frown on a 32" scale, but it still seems to have a lot of the punch that a short scale (30") bass like a Mustang doesn't seem to have, while still being a lot easier to play. They are hard to find though.
This may be an heretical view, but I really like the early 70's P-bass neck profiles over the wide 60's necks (and I have quite large hands). I find the early 60's profiles too wide and shallow for me.
The mid 50s P-bass are nice too.
Can't stand lacquered boards tho