Fat Rich

[quote name='Samashton12' timestamp='1372853797' post='2130688']
I dont sing, ever yeah, i just have difficulty translating that onto a fretboard :/
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Lessons are good, in the meantime try playing the melody of a tune a day. Don't spend much time on it, it doesn't have to be perfect or in the right key. But play a new tune every day and pretty soon your fingers will be finding the notes you hear in your head quickly on the bass. Play them for a few minutes then move onto practising other things. Start simple and work up to more complicated stuff, it'll break you out of the familiar patterns and shapes you usually end up playing, and you'll soon find working out basslines from records much easier too.

For example pick something like TV theme tunes, they're usually pretty catchy for example: Fawlty Towers, The Sweeney, Minder..... or maybe Beatles songs or your favourite band, anyhing you like and is in your head.

It'll also give you an appreciation of good songwriting versus aimless riffing over some chords that so many artists are guilty of these days.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1372893389' post='2131467']
As far as I know ( and I am no expert on old Fenders , by any means ) , the A, B and C width necks were primarily an option for Precision Basses , rather than Jazz Basses that tended to have a uniform 1.5 inch nut width .
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I think the width stayed pretty constant for the Jazz bass (A width), although I think the bindings tended to bring the strings a little closer together as the nut has to be a little narrower than on an unbound neck.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1372861130' post='2130831']
I'm sorry this just isn't a very scientific point of view. We really need the control data and to have a time machine to send Nige back to have lessons from Jake years ago and [i]then [/i]check to see if he wouldn't have just ended up talking bollocks anyway.
[/quote]

Somehow I don't think we need to bother, I think we all know the answer!

Music theory is fantastic for stretching your ears and finding new things to play in any given situation, but the fact remains that playing the same old bluesy patterns, roots, octaves and fifths sounds great for most songs if played with some feeling and panache.

Some bass players seem to think learning theory will make them lose their identity and sound like a clone, but you don't have to apply all your music theory all the time. There's a lot to be said for keeping it simple, but it's all a bit crap if you've no choice but to keep it simple cos you know nowt.

I can't tell you exactly when they went chunkier, from my limited experience the Jazzes with bindings around the fingerboard seem chunkier like my 72 and my 74.

The ones I've played without binding feel more like the slimmer pre-CBS, but as I say that's only from my limited experience. Seems logical that the change in construction method resulted in a chunkier neck but the world of old Fenders is rarely that simple.

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1372786943' post='2130018']
I assume not many non-Warwick basses have an adjustable nut, then? Why? (Genuine question - I'm surprised that such a clever thing is not very common.)
[/quote]

Pretty much just Warwick as far as I know. Getting the nut height right isn't something that needs to be adjusted by the player, the builder should get it right when the bass is built. Some purists may feel that because the threaded bits of the Warwick adjustable nut aren't permanently fixed to the neck you lose some sustain / tone, but it's probably negligible.

I expect Warwick have trademarked the design and they're known for going after anyone who infringes anything of theirs very aggressively.

[quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1372793245' post='2130140']
Or you could take off the nut and sand down the flat bottom of it to the depth required. Saves fannying around getting the nut slots right.
[/quote]

True for nuts that fit over the end of a fingerboard, but any that are slotted into the board will probably damage the lacquer getting them out.

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1372720230' post='2129235']
If you do do a defret, remember to change the nut
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[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1372776741' post='2129813']
Why is that?
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The frets were approx 1 or 2 mm high, once they're gone the strings will feel too high in the nut. So you need to open out the slots a bit to get the strings closer to the finger board.

All Fenders are pretty ugly at first glance, but they grow on you after a few decades.

Oasis, didn't suit the band at all.

The only advantage a designed to be fretless bass might have over a de-fretted bass is the luthier may have chosen a harder or nicer sounding piece of wood for the fingerboard. Not going to make a huge difference in most cases.

[quote name='headofire' timestamp='1372664904' post='2128169']
Guys, if you can't say anything nice... don't be haters life's too short. Just change the channel. They have done well, and they are top fellas.
[/quote]

Fair enough, so:

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1372664943' post='2128170']
In case this is news to anyone...

[media]http://youtu.be/as4O2ZorKP8[/media]
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Great video!

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1372621306' post='2127824']
thanks Rich - it is the earlier one with the sharp pointy corners instead of the rounded off ones but i did notice the screws on the side
[/quote]

The red and the blue basses are the second batch of headed prototypes that went out to the press in early '92, I'd be surprised if yours is older

I don't think any of the bridges had springs, you can find catalogues in the resources section of statii.com if you want to check.

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1372590236' post='2127430']
i........
incidentally can anybody with an early style bridge point me at a detail pic or say whether the bridge had springs on the long screws through the saddles?
[/quote]

Nope, no springs. It's all locked down with the allen grub screws in the side of the bridge:

[URL=http://s751.photobucket.com/user/richardmatthews_photos/media/forum%20stuff/Front.jpg.html][IMG]http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx159/richardmatthews_photos/forum%20stuff/Front.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1372572013' post='2127222']
I've been searching online for a checker and can't find one. Rich, can you please post the link?

The Warwick checker is great, it gives you a full description of the bass. All I've found from Fender is the first few letters telling you the factory and the next number tells you the year.
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[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1372573212' post='2127227']
Here's a very useful site for Fender serials & others; [url="http://guitardaterproject.org/"]http://guitardaterproject.org/[/url]
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That's the one I use.

[quote name='iceonaboy' timestamp='1372530369' post='2126939']
Its a minefield out there especially with vintage guitars. I was lucky. I bought my Jazz from ebay and its genuine, but there are so many fakes. I always think, you should never spend on ebay anymore than you could afford to lose. That way, if it all goes tits up, its not gonna sting too much. In short, dont buy expensive guitars, if you are not totally sure
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And don't expect some of the guitar shops to know much about them either, even some of the friendly ones with good reputations. Although they're more likely to sort things out if you find the bass isn't what they said it was.

Always run the neck plate through the Fender serial number checker thingy before buying, you'll be surprised how often they're not what they're supposed to be.

[quote name='yepmop' timestamp='1372423293' post='2125577']
yeah, there aint arf been some clever b*stards
[/quote]

Probably had some help from their mum.

I was convinced my wooden necked Status was 35" scale like my graphite ones, turns out when I measured it after 20 years it ain't.

I'd be surprised if it causes you any problems.

[quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1372416267' post='2125456']
Re the gitch:
Do you have access to your music via their "cloud" service?
I don't do itunes, I buy music via Amazon mp3 and although any download can be susceptible to glitches I've found listening to my music via the Amazon cloud to be glitch-free (and slightly better quality than the download. I have no idea why this would be either! )

Great thread this. My next buy will be NWR's solo album. Thanks for alerting me to it's existence!
[/quote]

I think the glitch is an error in the encoding of the track, basically the first 48 seconds of track two is actually the last 48 seconds of track one again... but with a couple of nasty clonks and a bit of silence. I've set iTunes to start track two from 48 seconds in and it hides the problem on my PC and iPod.

[quote name='Booooooom' timestamp='1372322696' post='2124184']
He's got a [url="http://getreadytorock.me.uk/blog/2013/06/album-review-norman-watt-roy-faith-grace/"]solo album[/url] out:
[/quote]

Thanks for the heads up! Downloading it now on iTunes.

Edit: quite jazzy, very funky, some great drumming and some great bass. Recommended (although my track 2 is glitched, dunno if it's a download issue or a problem with the original track)

[quote name='gsgbass' timestamp='1371946757' post='2120041']
It's nice that a 21st fret is there. Not a biggie for me. I can get into enough trouble with 20.
[/quote]

Same here.

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1371973911' post='2120114']
Tony Levin is no slouch either!. I love Eddie's rhythm playing too - much more than just power chords.
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Exactly, his soloing tended to be "Key Change, some tricks, widdle, widdle" with little regard for the tune. Astonishing when I first heard it but it got a bit samey.

But his rhythm playing has always been great, and a bit different to what everyone else would do.

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1371920823' post='2119650']
I know that it is wholly subjective - but I always feel that heavier basses sound/resonate better. I had a killer Lakland that weighed 12 lbs....seriously wore me down over a 3 hr gig, but the bass just felt & sounded so right.
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Yup, wholly subjective. Based on the 6 Jazzes I've got here at the moment I've come to the opposite conclusion Ah well.

[quote name='TorVic' timestamp='1371893900' post='2119193']
............

5 Money - Pink Floyd (Roger Waters)

............
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Dave Gilmour will be pleased

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1371400765' post='2113386']
Ouch...it was all good until the weight was revealed - that is way too heavy for me.

Beautiful looking bass though. Glad Mex Fender are now producing high quality instruments with good QC.
[/quote]

In my experience a heavier swamp ash body seems to sound more "Marcus" than a lightweight one if that's what you're after. It gives a bit more of that mid honk that's then compensated by scooping with the preamp bass and treble boosted.

Not so good if you've got a bad back though.

Very nice, mother of pearl inlays on rosewood look great!

Although the extra fret would probably confuse me

Spinal Tap "They were still booing him when we came on"