Fender Standard P-Bass Review

Sitting right in the mid-range of Fenders 'bass line', the P-Bass is probably about the best bang-for-buck you're gonna' get. And some bang it is. 

I've been playing a 2008 model for the past week, trying to acquaint myself with these dopey cable-car cables that bassists call 'strings'. But what a bass to have this experience with.

The body material is alder which, if we're getting 'tone-woodey', should give it a sharp and crisp tone (it does have a sharp and crisp tone... should I reevaluate my stance on tone wood? No). I would prefer a more premium wood but I do appreciate that alder is a little bit lighter than swamp ash, this makes the bass very comfortable to play for extended periods of time. The body is finished with polyester in 'Lake Placid Blue' which, despite it being poly, is really gorgeous. 

The neck and fretboard are all maple (apart from the skunk stripe covering the truss rod which I believe is rosewood), it's a mapley affair. The fretboard is really lovely to play, it's got nice medium-jumbo frets and a 34" scale length. It's got a synthetic bone nut and the finish on the neck is a pretty slick satin urethane. Not slowing down my playing like the Schecter I reviewed.

Considering I am a sub-par bassist AT BEST, this thing made me feel like Bootsy Collins (Parliament era, obviously!). I was slappin' and poppin', bustin' out fills like it was goin' out of fashion. Then I recorded my playing and realised my 'amazing' bass line was pretty sh*t, but what a great time I had recording it! This bass is fun to play. 

The sound is fantastic and saying it's 'versatile' doesn't do the bass justice. The range of tones I was able to pull out of this went from funk to death-metal, it does the lot and it does it well. I had this coupled with an ashdown and they really compliment each other well.

The 'look' of the bass is a classic, and it's a classic for a reason (Leo Fender himself did the original design). This bass just suits everyone, from hair metal bands to ambient indie groups. The styling is sublime, simple and functional. The 'lake placid blue' with the white pickguard is really gorgeous and the photo does it no justice. For a bass that is over 6 years old the finish has held up well, with only one major crack in the finish that I could find.

Should you buy it?

• Are you a beginner looking for a versatile and great-playing bass? Yes, you should buy it.
• Are you an intermediate bass player looking for a step up from your starter instrument? Yes, you should buy it.
• Are you an advanced bassist looking to add to the stable? You've probably already got one. No? Buy it!
• Do you hate having fun and/or big thick strings? No, don't buy it.

I can only recommend this instrument, it's just so balanced. The aesthetic is perfect, so many of the greats have played them so its pretty easy to play pretend (I was flea, Sting, Steve Harris and Mark Hoppus all in one afternoon). It's fundamentally enjoyable to play and has great tonal range, it's just a great bass. 

Final rating: 9/10

Big thanks to Cryptid Clothing for providing the bass for the review. Please check them out for some awesome paranormal clothing! Their website is: www.cryptidclothing.co.uk. 

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A Review Of The Holy Grail!

Well this little stomp-box (pedal? Foot switch? I think I prefer stomp-box, I stomps em' anyway...) is absolutely fantastic. I was honestly gobsmacked by pretty much every aspect of this little unit. 

And a unit it is, the little f****r could probably get through a nuclear blast unscathed. The Electro-Harmonix Nano Holy Grail is a reverb unit that really packs a hell of a punch. Featuring three reverb settings: Spring (much like on older reverb amps, really great for vintage tones), Hall (literally simulating the reverb of a hall, and its a hell of a hall too) and the aptly titled 'flerb' a combination of flange and reverb which is a really fantastic effect. It's also got a little knob to adjust the intensity of the effect. It's a nice small unit too, won't be taking up too much pedal-board real estate (i've honestly seen significantly larger tuners!). 

It sounds fantastic too, the spring reverb is just a dream if you're shootin' for some vintage tones. The 'hall' setting had me skeptical when I read this "how did they fit Notre Dame into such a small package?" on the product page. It genuinely delivers though, big time, the hall reverb is HUGE. The flerb is also an incredible sound, if a little bit too adventurous for me to ever really utilise (as i've previously stated, i'm a boring fart). I've used a lot of pro grade reverb units on recording software that don't compare to this, they do have a wider range of sounds though. This doesn't have a million and one options but what this little box does, it does well.

I'm not usually an advocate of reverb units to be frank. I don't really use them as I prefer natural reverberation, or in a pinch amp reverb. This wee box has changed my perspectives massively, to have this kind of sound on tap and at this price range is phenomenal and for it to take up so little space is a huge plus (especially since you'll probably be slapping this right at the end of a signal chain).

You can get one here. If you were in any way interested in getting a reverb unit, you will not regret it,

9/10

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Fender P-Bass Review Coming Soon!

I'll be doing a review of the Fender Standard P-Bass soon! I really can't wait to play it, classic design and absolutely gorgeous in 'Lake Placid Blue'. It's a shame my bass playing skills won't do it justice! Let me know on here or on Twitter about other stuff you'd like me to try and review and I'll see what I can do. I'm also going to be running a competition on Twitter when the account hits 1000 followers and I'm open to suggestions of prizes, I was thinking of having a goodie-bag of guitar accessories as the prize. If you've got any other suggestions then please let me know!  

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Domire One Handed Use Capo

I've had a Domire Quick Change capo for a while now, before this I had a hand tightened capo that used a screw and I was loath to use it at times because of the inconvenience. The Quick Change capo is great to use as it's a spring loaded mechanism that you can apply to your guitar's fretboard using only one hand if you wanted, snazzy. It's super easy to use and applies even pressure across each string, an issue i've had with previous budget capos. Uneven pressure can cause the tuning to sound a little bit off. It comes in a great range of colours but i'm a boring fart and plumped for black. The only issue I really have with the capo is that the paint job is a little bit sketchy, i've not got any chips yet but it does seem like a few drops on hard flooring would scuff the paint. However for the price its hard to complain, it's a sturdy little capo and it's so convenient that I wonder why I even bothered with those screw in capos. 

Click here if you'd like to buy one.

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