i played a paisley '54RI p-bass last weekend.

[rumpelstiltskin.]

man was that a fun bass. when i tried a sting signature, for some reason it just wasn't there, but when i picked up this '54RI paisley p-bass, i loved it.

 

the tone was very thick, but it that p-bass way where you feel like every note and every nuance is articulated very nicely. i could imagine this thing sitting in any mix very nicely.

 

the feel of it was quite nice, too. i'm a fan of the fatter necks, and this one was "the baseball bat", like a cross between a modern p-bass and a warwick. it was so fat and comfy. i only played it sitting on a stool, so who knows about balance, but i'm sure the tele-style headstock is small enough to prevent issues. i love that headstock.

 

i played through a bassman400 210 combo -- bassman400 head with a 2x10 + tweeter cabinet. the EQ didn't seem too worthwhile, but the tone was really nice with everything flat.

 

the experience makes me want one. i think i'd be very happy for a very long time with that tone and feel. and for around $600, that's a really good thing.

 

robb.

[Tom Capasso]

I haven't played one yet. And with Robb's "baseball bat" assessment, I don't have to

 

I think Fender messed up big time with the color scheme. A pink bass? Most guys aren't drawn to that color (lot's of women aren't drawn to it either). With all of the wild color schemes that came from the "flower power" era, they could have done better. The blue flower model isn't much better...

 

Tom

Wish I still had my 4'x2' Uncola Butterfly poster

[Dave Martin]

The strangest thing to me is how different the various old P Bass re-issues feel and sound; The paisley ones can feel and sound very different from the Sting versions, and there's another blonde version that feels a bit different than the others (This was based on playing the 5 different ones at my local Sam Ash store); Play as many as you can and get the one that feels best; I remember playing 3 of the Sting models - one was great, one sucked, and the third sounded and played OK.

[dcr]

Very cool. Gotta go with Tom on the finish; and sadly, for that reason they're just out of the running for me. (But I'd respect another guy who'd play one!)

 

I've played that butterscotch blonde 51 reissue--NICE. (I posted on it a while back.) VERY nice. It too had that best-of-both-worlds thing: a very deep, big voice, but also very articulate (combo of ash body, maple board, & esp. single-coil pickup has a lot to do with it, I'd guess). Extremely cool looking too--blond over ash, black amoeba pickguard, tele headstock...high-class retro. And just under $600. (God, I love Fender Japan!)

 

Aarggh! Makes me want one...but I don't need another bass, I need a digital recorder! Just keep telling myself that. But of course a recorder has no feel in your hands...

[Dave Martin]

Originally posted by Tom Capasso:

I think Fender messed up big time with the color scheme. A pink bass? Most guys aren't drawn to that color (lot's of women aren't drawn to it either). With all of the wild color schemes that came from the "flower power" era, they could have done better. The blue flower model isn't much better...

My big complaints about the color scheme are in the realm of authenticity; the paisley pattern was used in the early/mid 70's on Telecaster basses and guitars, not in the 50's; besides that, the pattern was a lot cooler than the one that fender is using now. Of course. the 70s paisley finish cracked and came off fairly easily (It happened to at least one new one while it was still in the store I frequented), but is was cool at the time.

[Cowbell]

I went up to GC on Monday to check out they're sale. I really enjoyed going there,its been a long time.

 

So, my brother is a show off. All the salesmen would give him PRS McCarty's ad other guitars, laughing it up when he'd play along with "Sweet Home Alabama" or other songs. They gave him free pics cause they really enjoyed listening to him play. 14 year old freak.

 

So, while he was doing that, I stopped by to check out the basses. They had a really nice Sting bass, as well as the '51 reissue. Someone was messing with the '52, so I picked up the Sting for the first time.

 

Wow. I absolutely loved it. I loved the feel of the neck, very chunky and smooth. My dad didn't really like the finish on the neck,but I really didn't have a problem with it, I'm not picky about it.

 

The sound was huge. I couldn't believe that single pickup made so much sound. I really enjoyed it...it felt like the bass for me. I could care less about the signature on the 12th fret, it looked stylish actually. The grain on the front was ok, and on the back it looked very nice.

 

It was on sale for $400. I went to another GC soon after and saw another Sting bass, but the finish wasn't too great,and the action wasn't very good. Still, $400. I made friedns with a salesman there, and he said if I came back and still wanted it a few months later, he'd sell it to me for the same price.

 

I like the Blue Paisley, not the pink finish though. Also, don't these have basswood body? I'd much rather have swamp ash with a blonde/sunburst finish '51 reissue.