MIM P-Bass. Any good?

[Vics]

Played one at my local music store yesterday and man, this thing felt like a BASS! Big old fat maple neck, black body with the gold pickguard....very sexy looking. Played really good up and down the neck with no buzzing or rattles.

Just wondering about the quality of the woods used. Will it last the duration? Are the necks prone to warping or twisting at all?

Been doing a lot of home recording lately and would eventually like to get a simple, decent bass without spending too much money, if possible.

Thanks.

[muzikman7]

The '50s MIM P-basses are very popular right now, I think their the best bang for the buck for a vintage style Fender bass. I wouldn't hesitate buying one.

[FrankJohnson]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......

Precision bass........................
Felt good..................................
Sounded good.................................


Aren't these the "original " electric bass guys>?

Yeah....that should be good! Grab it up and teach it all your bad habits. It should return the favor!

[Vics]

Thanks, guys! Yeah, it sure played nice. I really don't know much at all about the MIM Fenders. Just want to be sure about it's quality before I go buying.

Merry Christmas to all!!

[hippiebob01]

If it is one of the Classic Series basses it should be excellent, and the Deluxe Series basses that I have played were immaculate. What model is it (if you know)?

[Fripperton]

I've had several MIM P-Basses pass through here in the past couple of months and they have all been excellent. I just sold sa gorgeous one in Agave Blue that was a great player as well as looker. I've been to the Fender factory and the wood quality is the same as the more expensive models it's just that the bodies are configured out of more pieces of wood instead of the 2 to 3 pieces used in the USA made models. It's a solid well built instrument suitable for years of work at its intended purpose.

[FrankJohnson]

I'll tell you, If you like playing a P Bass, Put flats on it - You'll love it.

I have D'Addario Chromes on one, but recently started using Webstrings Flats, and gotta tell you. Old School deep thumping bass. Not for your snappy-twang-twang players! Rich, deep tones, and they speak well through a P Bass.

In your quest for feel and sound, don't forget to try these. You will not be disappointed. I really like the Chromes, but these have a different vibe going. I am also using Fender 9120's which are round wound with black nylon wrapping.

I Have tried A LOT of strings - some only staing on for a short time. For now, these are going to work I believe. The chromes are a year old now, the 9120s are two and have been on two different basses.

Lets see how long these others stay on.

[kcwm]

I have a standard P-Bass from 1995 and I dig it. I like Jazz Basses more because they seem more versatile to me, but the P-Bass is very good at what it does.

Then again, I'm not a bass player per se, so I might not be able to coax too many different sounds out of the bass.

[Sarge]

I have a MIM Fender Reggie Hamilton J Bass.
I love it

[rudutch]

I picked up a MIM mark hoppus bass 1-1/2 years back,
I really do like it. I have even begun to like the color.
Go figure.. I do prefer the P neck over the J neck

http://s72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...IMG_0299-1.jpg

[Don]

I bought a new MIM Standard Jazz Bass and it's been an excellent guitar.

It plays and sounds great. The truss rod has required very little tweaking over the years.

I hand chose this bass out of many, ignoring color and aesthetics to choose the best instrument possible.

I'm sure P-Basses are the same.

[dirtdog]

Got myself a 7 year old MIM Jazz (Deluxe Active) a few years back and I love it. Had a new EB/MM Stingray before that and as much as I loved its sound and vibe, its neck was too big and flat for me.

I have nothing bad to say about my MIM Jazz. Great player, great looker. I'd expect the same from a MIM P.

DD

[Vics]

Thanks for all of the extra info! Sounds very encouraging. I plan on going back this weekend to really put it thru the paces. Well, as best as I can so to say! I use to be a full time bass player up until 1996, and that's when I pretty much got into 6 string to try and broaden my horizons. Haven't played much bass at all since then, but as I mentioned I've been doing a lot of writing and home recording with a buddy of mine and a good, simple bass would definatley help.

In the past I've owned 2 Rics (4003 & 4000) , 2 Gibsons (EB-3 & Ripper) a Music Man Stingray and a Fender Jazz Bass. But I've never owned a Precision. It's funny, I tried a few other basses this past weekend, some of which actually played a bit easier due to having slimmer necks....but there was something about that P-bass I mentioned that was just...."oh, YEAH!!" Chunky, fat, FAT maple neck that felt so slamming!! But not "uncomfortable" fat. Know what I mean? Hard to describe the appeal that it had. Can't quite put it into words.

Frank Johnson, you're absolutely right about flatwounds!! I LOVE the old-school bass vibe because that's the sound I grew up with. I'm 54, so the old Jamerson/Motown sounds, the Beatles and just about any bass tone from that era had that wonder, fat, thick "thunk" of a tone that you mentioned. I love the roundwound "brang" sound, but there is something magic about a good set of flats on a bass.

Oh, yeah....I just went to the Fender site and if I'm not mistaken the bass in question is the Classic Series 50's Precision Bass. The list price was $899.00 but the asking price was a little less than half of that.

[Don]

Frank Johnson, you're absolutely right about flatwounds!! I LOVE the old-school bass vibe because that's the sound I grew up with. I'm 54, so the old Jamerson/Motown sounds, the Beatles and just about any bass tone from that era had that wonder, fat, thick "thunk" of a tone that you mentioned. I love the roundwound "brang" sound, but there is something magic about a good set of flats on a bass.

I love flats! It's not a bass to me without them. That smooth tone is everything to me.

I put a set of TI Jazz Flats on my Jazz Bass 6 years ago. They still sound as good (if not better) as the set that I put on a friend's bass last week.

[hippiebob01]

Oh, yeah....I just went to the Fender site and if I'm not mistaken the bass in question is the Classic Series 50's Precision Bass. The list price was $899.00 but the asking price was a little less than half of that.

At that price, it's a steal!

[Sarge]

I WANT FLATS TOO!!!

[chuckocaster]

a p bass is hard thing to mess up, one pup, two knobs, four strings... plug and play really. i say go for it and see what it lies when the dust settles.

[hippiebob01]

Oh, yeah....I just went to the Fender site and if I'm not mistaken the bass in question is the Classic Series 50's Precision Bass. The list price was $899.00 but the asking price was a little less than half of that.

$450 is around the price on most online stores for a Standard MIM P-Bass, so if you can get a Classic 50's P-Bass for the same price, that's a no-brainer.