That’s not a bad habit at all! Just another way to do it. In fact I think Josh teaches pivoting as well, though more for horizontal reach.
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Wow! @florian - that’s the exact bass and model and color scheme that I went with a few years ago, and that bass is my GO TO instrument for all gigs, sessions work, country, funk, rock, (just played a funk gig on Friday, Rock/Blues today,) and Church tomorrow.
I LOVE my Road Worn!
The only drawback - having to explain to seasoned and veteran gear heads when they ask “cool P-bass -what year is that?” and watching their faces fall (and your stock in their eyes) when you explain it’s a 2018 that someone took a belt sander to!!
Congrats, and glad to have a bass twin on the forum!
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Im going to SERIOUSLY date myself here… but seeing the road worn “NEW” bass reminds me of the crap my dad used to give me about wanting to wear NEW PURCHASED acid washed blue jeans with holes in them. He would always say “why do you want new pants that you paid good money for to look like they are one step away from the garbage pail”.
My reply was always “Because its COOL MAN”. LOL…
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We had almosty exactly this discussion in another thread a couple months ago - you’re not alone!
I think the look is cool and they probably feel better than new - but I am super bemused by people paying Fender to do it when (for example) I am more than capable of degrading my own gear 
I should start a relicing service.
There are a few epic threads around the internet of bad relicing jobs. I found one case where Fender had sanded the neck down to look worn, and then applied gloss varnish over that 
@Gio - just tell them the previous owner did it and you rescued it!
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I think you should 
Perhaps this would especially fly in Tokyo… you could make use of the fact that you are from “America”… make up some cool background story about your time as roadie for <…> and your dad was a famous luthier having worked with Leo…
I am sure you’d get lots of customers 
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Hmm, dunno - here in Tokyo people tend to like things that look and feel new. Like, used houses just aren’t really a thing - they are almost always torn down when someone buys them, with a new house built in its place. So I am not sure if the roadworn thing would be a hit here or not.
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Thanks for the replies and the kind words. The bass does feel awesome. I think I am starting to get why people get so obsessed with a particular sound. Played the higher and higher lick last night (tone rolled off and had a blast); moved on to the Journey lesson (tone half way and could not stop grinning). This course is giving me so much. Anyhow, getting carried away here: Played a couple of P Basses in the shop. This one sounded to my untrained ears the best. Best might be the wrong word tho - I just liked the sound the most. And I think the finish has a lot to do with that. Even the non road worn Fender lacquer finishes seem to have a thicker coating and did not “hum” as the fake relic ones did.
Happy to post a a couple of more (better) pics when I have a minute. Now I need to buy one of those mini ampeg SVTs. Tried them as well in the shop - they are awesome.
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That is really all that counts when it comes down to it
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Here’s the thread @howard was talking about, @faamecanic . . . 
Your dad and I are in agreement . . . 
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Hell yes.
The Man will never understand us hip musician cats.
And… as someone who teaches at a music store and finds excuses to go into every music store he can find… I’ve only liked 2 P basses as much as the MIM Road Worn - one was a Japanese Fernandez tele-body copy with P-J set up*, the other was an actual 1965 Fender P Bass at a shop in Telluride Colorado.
I am bummed every day that I don’t own both of those basses.
But, then I can afford to go buy groceries, and I don’t regret it so much.
*except this bass was under $600 at some shop in Cambridge, NH, and I was on tour, and I should have bought it and this one still bugs me. And will. Forever.
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if it works, it works …
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I love your p bass Josh.
I am learning on a p bass. But, I don’t see many people using them. Seems like everyone is using a variation of the jazz bass (two single coils or two humbuckers). In the beginner gear videos that you have on the site, all of the basses reviewed seem to be either jazz-style or PJ-style. Is there any reason for this? I know that there is an ongoing debate over p bass vs. jazz bass but it just seems like the p bass is less popular. At this point in my development, I have trouble hearing the difference between the two.
Would love to see a video of you playing your p bass sometime!
Chris
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I did a lot of research on this before I got my last bass. From what I can gather, most people think a J bass sounds better on its own. Most people think a P bass sounds better in a mix. A PJ bass is a good compromise as it’s basically a P bass with an additional pickup to use if you want. This is an over simplification though. It also depends on music style. For example, slapping sounds best on a J bass to most people, a PJ second, and a P bass last.
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also the neck shapes are very different on a Precision and on a Jazz. the Jazz neck is often much easier to play (thinner) but the big Precision neck has its supporters (and I am one of them 
)
sound-wise it’s also different, the interresting thing for a beginner is that a Jazz has much more tonal options.
a Precision with an additional J pickup (P/J) is a great compromise if you like the P neck.
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First of all, hi.
Second: I did play bass earlier in the '70’s and early '80’s. In the seventies, two of my bass heroes were Percy Jones (Brand X) and Mick Karn (Japan and a couple other ventures). That should explain the black 5 string fretless. I used to have a fretless Ibanez, and when I decided to pick up the bass again, I was (and still am) determined to master that dark art again.
Hence the black 5 string fretless bass on the right. It’s a Harley-Benton, made by Samick, and sold by a company in Germany called Thomann. At a price of €149, you’d expect it to be of firewood quality, but it isn’t – it is much better than it deserves to be at that price, generally compared to the likes of Squier. Out of the box, the electronics do require some TLC, but nothing drastic. Pickups, pots and active electronics are on par with instruments twice as expensive, but it does pay to add some shielding, and playability is excellent. People who are mre familiar with what is sold today wonder how this is at all possible at this price point.
The middle instrument is also made by Samick – it’s a Gregg Bennet Design Fairlane jazz bass. You can recognise them by the headstock, which looks non-Fendery, and makes them a lot less prone to neck dive. I bought this secondhand for next to nothing (a two-figure amount including the Peavey practice amplifier you see in the pic too). This one is fretted – I got it when I realised that, after three and a half decade of not playing, I needed to re-learn from the ground up… and also because I always wanted a jazz bass (I started life with a Fender P-bass and never got to grips with it, switching to a Rick 4001 when I joined a guitar band).
Feel free to ignore the Telecaster clone on the left. It operates in the wrong register. We shall not speak of this again.
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I picked this up from a second hand shop here in Bangkok about 2 weeks ago. I’ve been playing with my RockSmith 2014 (has a bass option), but now I feel like I need some lessons. I’m so glad I found this site. Looks like a lot of fun and some great people.
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Welcome. This is certainly a great community. There are some other large bass communities, but I find them quite elitist. This one is very chill, friendly, and helpful.
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