Fender Bass in 2025...... *_*

[The~Kid]

A lot of these Bass look great.


Not a Bass player but I do love a good Bass and a solid Bass player. These new ones from Fender look amazing.

 

[Monkey Man]

That's the Precision but I wonder about the Jazz?

 

[Floyd Eye]

I wouldn't shell out that kind of cash for any Fender bass. I have a pile of old ones and I hate them all. Except one. A 90s American Jazz Deluxe. Well, I have a couple short scale Mustangs or Jaguars or something. They're fun sometimes. So maybe hate is a strong word. I'll bet I've given away 15 P basses. Somehow I kept finding unbelievably good deals on them. So I would buy them, fix them, clean them, set them up and find a kid who couldn't afford one to give it to.

These days you're likely to get a better Fender bass if it's Mexican.

 

[Monkey Man]

I'll bet I've given away 15 P basses.

My first pro bass was a '73 Precision Sunburst.

I hated it 'cause I didn't appreciate what the P-Bass sound was all about and it didn't work for the fusion-inspired pop band I was in. I put EMGs on it in an effort to give it more punch, which worked. It took away some of the tubbiness too, but in the end I caved for an Ibanez and a Maton fretless.

Like an idiot I sold the P-Bass with the original PU's back-on for just a few hundred bucks. I realised years later what I'd done.

 

[Floyd Eye]

My first pro bass was a '73 Precision Sunburst.

I hated it 'cause I didn't appreciate what the P-Bass sound was all about and it didn't work for the fusion-inspired pop band I was in. I put EMGs on it in an effort to give it more punch, which worked. It took away some of the tubbiness too, but in the end I caved for an Ibanez and a Maton fretless.

Like an idiot I sold the P-Bass with the original PU's back-on for just a few hundred bucks. I realised years later what I'd done.

P basses suck. The neck is like a baseball bat sawed in half. The only legitimate use I have ever had for one is stringing it up with flats and using it in a blues band. Which bored me to fucking death.

 

[Monkey Man]

Yeah, it's not for me either bro'.

I'll say this 'though:
Ignoring the Motown era and that use case, Quincy Jones' Roots soundtrack really opened my eyes WRT the Precision.

The woody, mid-rangey sound produced with a pick is absolutely-beautiful on the OST.

It's a narrow use-case, and of course there's the James Jamerson Motown thing with flat-wounds as well, but in modern pop and rock I'm not feeling it. Might work for shoe-gazing indy stuff I s'pose.

 

[TheBiggestJerk]

P basses suck. The neck is like a baseball bat sawed in half. The only legitimate use I have ever had for one is stringing it up with flats and using it in a blues band. Which bored me to fucking death.

They’re bulletproof and make a great club.

 

[The~Kid]

My first pro bass was a '73 Precision Sunburst.

I hated it 'cause I didn't appreciate what the P-Bass sound was all about and it didn't work for the fusion-inspired pop band I was in. I put EMGs on it in an effort to give it more punch, which worked. It took away some of the tubbiness too, but in the end I caved for an Ibanez and a Maton fretless.

Like an idiot I sold the P-Bass with the original PU's back-on for just a few hundred bucks. I realised years later what I'd done.

My friend had a 70s Jazz with bullet truss rod.



Fucker was amazing and BB King asked him to play with him after we won a GC Battle of the Bands BB King was a judge in. Bobby was great and always asked me to play with him too and he was the only guy I would play with on stage too. He only asked me if he could play with me too out of all the other college kids. He as like 70+ years old but still rocked out.


Unfortunately he didn't make it during the Pandemic and Quarantine/Lockdowns. Last time I saw him at least he got to see me and hear me play with my Princeton Reverb. 112 around Feb of 2020 before everything got closed. RIP Bobby, here is to you man. Best player I ever played with or probably ever will.


We both played Fenders too *_*

 

[SgtThump]

That’s the bass version of my limited edition hardtail “Eclipse” Strat. I LOVE it!!!

I bought it around Dec of 2024 and am surprised there are new limited “eclipse” models still available.

 

[NeubyWanKaneuby]

I don't have a pic, but I have a Fender Elite P-bass and it has a compound radius neck which makes it pretty comfortable.
I think I still like the Ibanez basses I used to have more.

 

[blackba]

There is something about a P bass that just works for many genres. Its like the tele of basses.

I do prefer the jazz bass as its a little slimmer in the neck and with a mod you can get 3 great tones. Both pickups in parallel (normal J bass tone), roll off the bridge for a P bass type tone, or pickups in series for a faux Active bass tone.

Still rocking the MIJ Geddy Lee Jazz Bass I got from @SgtThump back in the day. Its too bad the new ones are MIM.

 

[SgtThump]

There is something about a P bass that just works for many genres. Its like the tele of basses.

I do prefer the jazz bass as its a little slimmer in the neck and with a mod you can get 3 great tones. Both pickups in parallel (normal J bass tone), roll off the bridge for a P bass type tone, or pickups in series for a faux Active bass tone.

Still rocking the MIJ Geddy Lee Jazz Bass I got from @SgtThump back in the day. Its too bad the new ones are MIM.

Wow Brian! That was a while back!

Do you still have that burst LP Custom ‘73 I think?)

 

[blackba]

Wow Brian! That was a while back!

Do you still have that burst LP Custom ‘73 I think?)

Yes Chris, I still have the 73 Gibson LP custom, I had it refretted about 10 years back and recently had my buddy refurb it, so it got a new bridge, tuners, and new covers for the T-top pickups which are back in. The original bridge had collapsed and it was giving it a dull tone. Its got its snap back and sounds better than ever.

I also still have the red Fender strat I got from you. I will try to dig up some pictures when I get some time.

 

[BeZo]

I always disliked Fender basses, but that Eclipse finish is kinda tits.

...I wonder if I can get Spector to do that...

 

[SgtThump]

Yes Chris, I still have the 73 Gibson LP custom, I had it refretted about 10 years back and recently had my buddy refurb it, so it got a new bridge, tuners, and new covers for the T-top pickups which are back in. The original bridge had collapsed and it was giving it a dull tone. Its got its snap back and sounds better than ever.

I also still have the red Fender strat I got from you. I will try to dig up some pictures when I get some time.

Dang! I bet that was over 20 years ago! Very cool.

 

[GearGasms]

Yeah, it's not for me either bro'.

I'll say this 'though:
Ignoring the Motown era and that use case, Quincy Jones' Roots soundtrack really opened my eyes WRT the Precision.

The woody, mid-rangey sound produced with a pick is absolutely-beautiful on the OST.

It's a narrow use-case, and of course there's the James Jamerson Motown thing with flat-wounds as well, but in modern pop and rock I'm not feeling it. Might work for shoe-gazing indy stuff I s'pose.

I thought James Jamerson played a Jazz bass? He's the tits. Love his bass playing. I was actually thinking about grabbing a Jazz bass for recording. Right now I have a Hofner Beatle bass which is fun to play but doesn't record well. I've got some flatwounds that I'm going to put on it

 

[Rackman]

I bought an Ultra PJ a few years ago. Nice bass. Probably covers everything I'll ever want to do on the instrument.

 

[rsm]

Never liked Fender basses. Back in the day I used a Ric 4001 (sold in the '90s), Steinberger XL - purchased new in the '80s, sold it last year, and an American custom shop BC Rich Widow (spider) bass I custom ordered because that was the only way to get one then.

 

[fearhk213]

I used to be indifferent about P basses, but I recently acquired a pretty inexpensive Squire 4 string P bass. It has some qc quirks, but I totally dig it. The overall playability and tone of it is impressive. I agree that many have annoying necks but not all do.

I can't speak about them from a live playing scenario - only from messing around recording at home - but I totally get all the cliche "just get P bass" stuff you've probably heard. They sit well in a mix, they're not fussy about other stuff you plug into, and they're pretty flexible genre wise. I probably wouldn't try and tune it down to hang w/some 8 string guitars lol, but you get the idea.

 

[The~Kid]

I don't know what this one is but yeah....... That shit is fly..... That color on a 62 Reissue or something or even a Super Strat or a Charvel..... Wow.