Alternatives for Fender P

And there’s a whole potential discussion around how much of that house sound (or any other house sound) comes from exotic woods, body shape, pickup selection,pickup location,electronics,neck construction, hardware, phase of the moon at the time of construction, string choice etc…

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Sire P5. Basically Fender P as it seems.
Passive, different pick up from PJ one. Soundwise as Ive heard seems they nailed it. And you get that fancy roasted neck.

Check out LowEndLobsters latest videos about it. He seems to like it alot.

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This is the real factor in all this.

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Yep yep totally valid point. Especially if you put in an active/passive switch when you swap out the pickups, to take the preamp out of the picture.

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Warwick is known for that growly sound and as an previous owner I can vouch for that. I had one with a passive/active switch and active MEC pups. Pretty sure the eletronics and pups make up 99% of that sound. :blush:

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And the winner is…

The Lakland Skyline 44-64 GZ PJ

I’ve only played it for 5 minutes, but oh man what a bass so far. Tone is awesome, exactly what I was looking for. No noticeable noise on either of the pickups, and no finger noise on the poles. The J neck feels great, not glossy and sticky like the Duff was, and it feels easy to move around. Balance is great as well, no noticeable neck dive. I was initially a bit concerned about the weight, because a lot of reviews mentioned that it’s heavy AF, but it’s only 4.3 kg (with strap), so I’m not sure what everyone was talking about. I’m pretty sure the Fender was heavier, but I forgot to measure that one unfortunately. (For reference, my SR500E is 3.5 kg.)

And the looks… I was initially a bit hesitant about the colour, but it kind of grew on me, and in person it looks even better than on the photos. It definitely has character, that’s for sure.

And most importantly, everything is working so far. crosses fingers

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions in this thread. Hope it’s going to be useful for others as well in the future.

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That is freaking gorgeous!

(Sigh) Now I suppose I have to investigate if they make them left handed.

Side note: one of my favorite bass players, David Hood of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, in a fairly recent interview, had a Lakland in his lap.

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Wow :star_struck:

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That colour is gorgeous as are the fretboard inlays.

That’s an absolute beauty @akos :heart_eyes:

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Congratulations @akos
Although it was a difficult journey to start you’ve certainly ended up with something very nice indeed :sunglasses:

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@LeftyChad Yes, they do! see specs (well, at least the 44-64 (VINTAGE P), although I did not see the transparent purple color offered). Also can get lefty versions of the USA Series 44-94, 44-60 (Vintage J), 44-AJ, Decade 4, and DJ-4 (Darryl Jones Signature), but NOT the Geezer Butler Signature or Series 44-51 models.

That’s all IF you have the :moneybag:!

Congratulations to @akos, anyway! Very nice bass.

edited to add: I was mistaken about the model, so the model above was not right. akos’ provided the link to his Skyline 44-64 GZ PJ model on the Lakland website (I also found it at Sweetwater), but none of the Skyline or Classic Series come in left handed.

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That thing looks fantastic. I would much rather have that than the Duff, myself - what a cool P/J. Love the color.

A bit heavy for me but not out of line for that kind of bass.

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I might be a bit biased because I’m still pissed at Fender for ruining my dream bass, but honestly now that I’ve had both in my hands, I too am leaning towards the Lakland. Plays better, looks better, and sounds about the same. The only thing I miss is the drop tuner, but I can always install that later myself.

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Whoa! Holy epic translucent purple! Congrats.

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That is a beautiful bass. Congrats!

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That is awesome!
well done @akos
enjoy it.
My instructor is a lakland endorsed guy, he said its the only bass he needs.

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They have a really good reputation and are cool and rare. Very nice looking basses.

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It’s in the Skyline 44-64 Vintage P section:

The Skyline 44-64 Custom GZ Features an Ebony Fingerboard, Pearl Block markers with Abalone inlays, Black Anodized Aluminum Pick Guard, and Geezer Butler Signature EMG P&J pickups (passive).

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Ah, okay. I’ll add the link in my earlier post. I don’t see the translucent purple choice, but obviously it is available!

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Hard to go wrong with the Geezer model. Nice

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