why is the precision bass called the precision bass?

[pac112]

^ yep, thats the wierd question.

[Brow]

Is it that because of the frets on the neck of the Bass, you can be more 'precise' than you can on a stand up bass?

[Lewguitar]

Is it that because of the frets on the neck of the Bass, you can be more 'precise' than you can on a stand up bass?

Exactly! The P-Bass was one of the first electric basses and frets meant alot of guitar players could double on bass...and play in tune!

[pac112]

cool! thanks brow n lew.

[D-EJ915]

Whoa, I had no idea that's why it was called that...interesting...I was gonna put:

"because it's precisely what you should get!"

[Kamanda~SD]

That;s awsome, good to know.

[Sprinter]

Exactly! The P-Bass was one of the first electric basses and frets meant alot of guitar players could double on bass...and play in tune!

It wasn't one of the first, it was the first! George Fullerton's new book "George & Leo" has some interesting reading about the creation of the the Precision bass. George Fullerton, was Leo Fender's right hand man, from the early days of Fender, all the way up through their G&L days.


Sprinter

[Lewguitar]

It's always safer to say "one of the first" though. Someone's always coming up with something even older than the "first" of most things! I do think of the P Bass as being the first electric bass with frets, too...I was just being careful. Lew

[Gearjoneser]

Nowadays, it's almost ironic, because modern day basses have become serious precision instruments, in comparison to the cruder, simpler P-bass. Even still, it's the simplicity that draws hundreds of thousands of bassists to that basic design......much like a tele.

[saladin]

The PBass is Leo Fender's greatest invention!

[Akrin]

Is it that because of the frets on the neck of the Bass, you can be more 'precise' than you can on a stand up bass?

Makes it kind of funny to see a fretless 'precision' bass

[Kelsey]

Ah, you mean the imprecision bass.

[octavedoctor]

Ah, you mean the imprecision bass.

Yes, 'cos a fretted instrument is, ironically, less precise in strict harmonic terms.

However as modern music is written to take advantage of the virtues of equal temperament, the point is moot as it could equally be argued that natural harmonic intervals are imprecise functions of the octave...