Why you SHOULDN'T play a P bass

Let’s get this straight - the Fender Precision is the Holy Grail of bass guitar. All the ‘best’ ones were made in the 50s and 60s, but they’ve barely changed since, and they are still used by heaps of top bass players the world over. In the immortal words of Spinal Tap’s Nigel Tufnel, “This is the top of the heap right here.”

But while some people consider the P Bass to be bass perfection, others might beg to differ. And during the course of today’s video, I’m going to run through my 5 pet peeves about the Fender P.

It's the world's go-to bass, and for good reason. But has the Fender P got enough to win me over?

As always, see you in the shed…

Scott :)

===================================================================

GET MORE BASS TIPS 👇
_________________________________________________________________

ABOUT SCOTT’S BASS LESSONS (SBL)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the largest online bass education platform in the world, with an ever-expanding course library and 40,000+ active members, Scott’s Bass Lessons (SBL) has everything you need to master the bass, all in one place.

Featuring beginner level bass lessons, engaging courses from expert instructors, step-by-step development curricula, direct feedback on your playing, real-time mentorship from A-list bassists and a thriving and incredibly supportive community, SBL is the perfect platform to uplevel your bass playing, whether you’re a total beginner, or an advanced pro-level bassist.

RECOMMENDED BASS PLAYLIST
-------------------------------------------------------------
Catch up with SBL Content you’ve missed:
#bassguitarlessons #bassforbeginners #easybasslines

LINKS
--------------
Tune in to our Weekly Podcast:
Explore our FREE courses:
Try our FREE GrooveTrainer App:

[hamstring]

As a long-standing bass player, one thing I've learned is to never take advice from a bass player.

[vash]

The first thing an experienced engineer will do is make your bass sound like a P bass as it will always sit perfectly in any mix. There's a reason it's been used on 90% of popular music.

[stevenhazlewood]

I never liked the P bass, I didn't like the sound when I played it . I avoided them for 30 years. I finally gave in and picked one up. Still wasn't crazy about the sound. I took it to rehearsal and, WOW! They way that thing sits in the mix is amazing! My ignorance kept me from having an incredible instrument for so many years. So there's 1 reason TO buy a P bass! 🙂

[earthling]

That's one BEAUTIFUL P-bass. And everyone should own at least two p-basses. One with flats, one with rounds.

[piotr]

Scott Devine: "Not as customizable"
Billie Sheehan: "Hold my beer!" :D

[jssuslyakov]

(with practice and time it's actually VERY easy to manually increase your tonal range on a p-bass simply by plucking differently) I think it's worth it to play a p-bass even just for tone control practice - I've played one for about 11 years and it's always been my main bass - and controlling tone with my picking and fretting is second nature, while I watch others rely almost entirely on their electronic controls. The so-called limitations on P-basses will make you a more talented, versatile bassist over time - but it does take practice since many people hardly ever learn how to manually control tone, so they're starting form scratch. To start practicing controlling tone manually experiment with different positions on frets (difference of even a mm) and different pressures, using different parts of the tip of your finger. Same with plucking, experiment with different parts of your fingertip, difference force and difference positions. Using simple technique to increase your tonal range will get easier - your plucking fingers will become quasi-calloused as you "tap-pluck" with them more, much more dense than the other fingertips of that hand, giving you further control simply by plucking differently.

[tonybell]

The best promo for a P Bass is to say “don’t buy one” !!

[andrewt]

I think part of the issue is that most amplified musicians over estimate their need for tonal spectrum width. It's probably very rare that most of us NEED that much and most mix engineers are probably going to narrow your wide spectrum tone into a spot in the mix.

[TSBASSIST]

I love the limitations of a P Bass or single pickups basses in general. For me, that means that most of the tone comes from the hands and technique, and I've used a P Bass for pretty much every style of music. Great discussion

[rholanram]

I recently purchased a P-Bass after owning only a J-Bass & an active P-J Bass for several years, and found what Scott mentioned about the tonal differences of the P-Bass vs my other two Basses to be right on point. I do find myself practicing & playing Bass covers more with the J-Bass, but when creating original music, the P-Bass is nearly always in my hands. Go figure, right?! Each of my Basses holds special places in my musical ear, heart & soul. Thanks for great content and the “Oh Yea?!” insight Scott. Keep, Keeping It Bass!

[caloulmanganou]

I like how this video conviced me to go back to Precision.

[johndiloreto]

For me, the sound of a Precision Bass, with a vintage-style split coil pickup and roundwound strings, is the ultimate perfect tone for the heavy styles of music I play. It's just got that great growly and thunderous tone that sits great in a mix, rumbles like nobody's business, and still has a good amount of clarity and definition even with the tone control almost all the way down. Sure, it's a bit of a one trick pony, but it just so happens to be so good at that one particular trick that there's nothing else I want.

[christhundervolt]

With all that being said, you should own at least one P-Bass.

[HansyPants]

They're a blessing to have around the studio. I've only ever owned a Japanese Geddy for the past 15 years but I know when to put it down if the track needs a P and there's one I can use. Neck p/u with tone on 0 gets close but there's some kind of woodsy character to the lower midrange that you just can't get on a Jazz.

[williamclementsonbass]

The "let me just add a little extra low" impulse has messed up a lot of mixes. Live & Precision, as you mentioned sits so well in the mix, organically....particularly with the drums. As always you sound great!

[ChadwickTheChad]

I love the simplicity of the P bass, just one knob for volume, one for tone, it's up to me as the musician to make a polished sound without the extras.

[mitchfindergeneral]

Worth noting: If you love the P bass sound, but you DO want a bit more versatility, you can always get a PJ or the much less common PMM (a precision pickup with a music man humbucker in the bridge).

[jquill]

After 30 years of playing bass I bought my first one a couple of months ago and it fit like a glove, I just love the simplicity, feel and tone of the instrument .

[wildesage]

A P simply cannot do what other basses do... and other basses cannot do what a P does! Perfect, I'll take one of each, thank you so much.

[pjmuck]

I've always struggled with P basses. Been a J guy most of my life. Always found Ps difficult and uncomfortable to play, dull "meat and potatoes" sound, and sonically just ugly to listen to when you're just sitting around noodling on one. (I equate it to a grunting pig). And something about the P PUP position always brings out a clicky clacky fret noise in my playing that irritates me (not buzz, but the sound of my fretting hand pressing the frets), so I spend more time trying to tame the thing than just relaxing and playing like I do with other basses. (I still prefer a reverse P setup = smoother, more balanced tone). But I knew I needed one in a band I was playing in, so I bought an Fender Am Std P a few years ago. Didn't give it much thought while I was playing it, but when I heard back the recordings from some live shows, I was blown away. Sounded SO great in the overall band mix. Sat exactly where it should. I'm a convert now.