Posted by Oteil Burbridge on January 3, 2013 ’63 Fender Precision (P-Bass)

I originally wanted to get a ’64 P-bass to match my ’64 J-bass but a compatriot of mine told me about this one and said he thought I should at least try it. I was knocked out by the feel of it. Although this tone was previously not what I was looking for I had recently gotten into Aston “Family Mon” Barrett and was trying to get that sound. Ironically he used a Jazz bass but it seemed like my hands could get the sound better with a P-bass. I use this bass with Flatwound strings, they have a much more mellow sound. If you love classic Motown then whether you realize it or not, you love the P-bass. James Jamerson made this sound ubiquitous to Motown and American music in general. This bass was named by one of my favorite drummers, Marcus Williams. I told him I needed a name for it and that most of my basses were named after old black church ladies, preferably over 200 pounds. He immediately shouted out the name “Petunia”. Who could argue with that?