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Gentlemen, Time. If the bridge pickup is in the same place as a Rickenbacker 4001/4003, then the .0047 capacitor works well. But if the bridge pickup is in the vicinity of a Jazz bass bridge pickup, or even closer to the bridge, there is so little string excursion comparatively that the .0047 capacitor is too low in value, and not enough signal will be passed. The value to try is the .01 microfarad. I use this on all of my basses, and even Rickenbacker uses a .01 inline on the bridge pickup of the 4002, since that bass is a 2-humbucker bass with the bridge pickup in the Jazz Bass bridge position. Now, there is no cure-all. This will still drop the level of the bridge pickup slightly. But it leaves the fundamental frequencies intact so they are not affected by either the impedance drop or the comb filtering, and that is the primary goal.

[quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1395765707' post='2405999'] If you want to fit a bridge with different hole centers, you can fill the original holes by drilling out the screw threads and then glueing in hardwood dowels before drilling the new holes. Before you do anything, get your neck sorted - you really need to be able to measure how high above the body surface it will sit, and account for the radius of the fingerboard and height of the frets in order to take meaningful measurements. Take a look at your budget, work out how much you want to spend - you can pick up a vintage repro 5 hole bridge from wilkinson that will get the job done for about a tenner on fleabay anytime, from there it gets more expensive and depends very much on your own skills/free time/budget and how picky you want to be about finish - the more you deviate from the original fender recipe the higher the time/money cost is likely to get. Maybe bargain to be had on this (but doubt that the seller will let it go for a quid) [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-High-Mass-Vintage-HMV-bass-guitar-bridge/121302746433"]http://www.ebay.co.u...ge/121302746433[/url] [/quote] +1. Keep a 5-hold bridge with the same spacing on it. It will hold better for tone and sustain. Almost 40 years ago Guitar Player magazine (before Bass Player magazine was a spin-off) did a bass bridge "shootout" with brass, steel, aluminum, etc. At the end of the day, the clearest tone and best sustain was the old vintage bridge. Nothing new in the world.

If the P pickup is a traditional style and output pickup, then there are several options, all to keep the humbucking advantages in a similar geometry pickup: Fralin split coil, Nordstrand, Bartolini, DiMarzio Ultra Jazz, Aero, maybe a few others. I use a DiMarzio Split Coil. Fralin can wind to match what you have. Also, I put a .01 capacitor in line between the hot lead and where I connects to its volume pot in standard V-V-T wiring. This eliminates the impedance drop when both are full on. Finally, I change the tone cap from .047 to .033 to get more upper mids in the mix to better take advantage of the bridge pickup tonality, and give better definition when rolled off to dub tone.

All coverings will tend to damp resonance. The only question is how much, and depending on the wood and the instrument, the best that can be said is, "it depends."

How does it sound compared to other P-basses? If it is smooth and even-toned, probably the red alder. If it has more of a scooped tone or "pop" to the articulation, it may be ash.

Have you seen Sir Macca lately? His Hofner bridge is also really rotated for proper intonation.

With the low power and transient handling of paper cone speakers of the day, Fender changed from single pole to double pole per string pickups to soften the articulation to be easier on the speakers.

Put a .01 capacitor inline from the bridge pickup hot lead to its volume control. This also will get rid of the impedance/volume drop that happens when both pickups are full on.

Why would you want a bass with less frets? Because it is a [b][i]bass.[/i][/b]

There is one more thing I do on my wiring: I put a .01 capacitor inline from the hot lead of the bridge pickup to its volume pot. This cuts a little bit of low end, which isn't there anyway on a bridge position pickup, and a tad of volume, hence using a "hot" pickup like the DiMarzio Ultra Jazz, and cures the impedance volume drop with both pickups full on.

My first guitar was a mail-order guitar which also had a similar, if not the same bass, in the catalog I ordered it from in 1975. Yes this was basically (pun intended) the last year before everybody went to straight Fender copies. These have a great cult following in the USA, as you can see from this website: [url="http://drowninginguitars.com/"]http://drowninginguitars.com/[/url] Mine is the same as this one, but with black pickup switches: [url="http://drowninginguitars.com/2012/10/21/a-tele-is-a-tele-is-a-tele-1970s-sears-japanese-telecaster-copy/"]http://drowningingui...elecaster-copy/[/url] It plays really well, and sounds great with a coil cord into a Vox Pathfinder amp. Please "restore" it as is. When you get set up properly, you may be pleasantly surprised how good it sounds.

My friend's small church just got one of these: [url="http://www.zzounds.com/item--KORSP280"]http://www.zzounds.com/item--KORSP280[/url] The sounds and touch are excellent, and even though it needs external amplification to support congregational singing, it is less expensive than an acoustic piano, and no tuning needed.

Seriously, most of the tone of an instrument comes from how it is made. For example, in addition to my 4002, (yes, "2," not "1," nor "3") I have a custom half-fanned P-style bass that I narrowed the string spacing at the bridge and used a Rickenbacker humbucking pickup. Does it sound like a Rickenbacker? No, it sound like a P-bass with a touch more growl. Pickups alone aren't going to do it. Save your money and purchase a real deal.

Not lacquer - Jaco epoxied his fingerboard.

Since maple fingerboards are usually lacquered, yes, indeed, masking tape is a must to keep from wearing through.

In the USA, a favourite is original Zymol. That's what I use on my 4002 (yes, "2", not "1" nor "3"), my 320, and my 360-12WB OS FG ckbd. [url="http://www.zymol.com/index.aspx"]http://www.zymol.com/index.aspx[/url] [url="http://www.tbseblog.com/2011/05/06/wax/"]http://www.tbseblog....2011/05/06/wax/[/url] They now have some products especially for music instruments, but I prefer the original. [url="http://zymolmusic.com/equipmentprotect.aspx"]http://zymolmusic.com/equipmentprotect.aspx[/url]

Some of that is normal. Without touching the strings, the only grounding (earthing) is back through the amp. The strings, as well as single coil pickups, are perfect antennae for electrostatic noise, such as off of fluorescent lights, in addition to 50Hz (UK& Euro) or 60Hz (USA - Can) hum. What I would be more concerned about is if the bass did not quiet down when a player did touch the strings. That would indicate an open circuit to ground/earth, which is potentially more dangerous. The usual remedies are humbucking pickups, good shielding, good cabling, and mains conditioning. Also, check the entire signal path to make sure there are no ground/earth loops. Finally, if all else fails, EMG actives are internally grounded/earthed.

It's not just the tone cap. It's the volume pot as well. Usually, the third lug of the volume pot is grounded. So some circuit loading is there as well. If the volume pot is 250k, then you have more loading to ground than if the volume pot is 500k. The OP did not state the values of his pots. Most Fender and Fender-derived or Fender-inspired instruments with passive circuits use 250k pots. If the volume pot is 500k, there is less loading to ground, so therefore not as much treble bleed, and then opening the tone circuit might result in a noticeable difference in top end response.

I have done it in a variety of configurations. I prefer an end-to-end Jazz-style humbucking pickup for the bridge position to eliminate any noise issue when soloing the J, and since the P pickup is just a hair closer to the bridge than the neck position J pickup, I prefer the J bridge pickup in the "70's" bridge position to add that slightest bit more top end when added in to the P. Something like the new Fender S3 noiseless Jazz, DiMarzio Ultra Jazz, Fralin Split Jazz, or similar, is recommended.

EMG makes a 40HZ that I particularly like. [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/EMG-40HZ-Guitars-accessories-pickups/dp/B001P3QHW6"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/EMG-40HZ-Guitars-accessories-pickups/dp/B001P3QHW6[/url]

Another forum to consult is smithbassforums.com . Ken Smith is a double bassist, electric bassist, restorer/rebuilder of basses, and has built his own line of well received electric basses for over a generation. There are many threads on his topics about different basses, different strings, and such. BTW - I agree that the Bel Canto E string lacks projection and definition. I found a good match on my bass using the Spirocore 3885,5W E string (3/4 Weich) with the Bel ADG. It has both heft and good response, as well as balance of feel and tension. Maybe one good E string will do what you need without having to purchase an entire set. My very limited experience with Pirastro is that their E strings in general are lighter, like the Bel E string, to get more immediate response under the bow, at the expense of other characteristics. That is why the particular Spiro E 3885,5W works well: good response and projection without necessarily sacrificing other aspects.

Twenty-five or so years ago I got to play a Precision like the one posted above. Great bass. Find the most flexible 45-105 strings you can for the best tone.

Use 10 at the 1st fret and 12 at the last fret and compound radius the fingerboard. Better feel in the low register, and better faculty in the upper register.

First, the change in tonality will be minimal. With the different densities of the woods, especially if you use a laminate neck, what you may notice more is a difference in where any, if any, "dead" spots or resonances are. Custom necks, especially of exotic woods, are expensive. You might be putting more into the bass than it is worth. Save your money for a real Warwick, or one of their "Rock Basses" instead.

A preamp only amplifies what is fed to it. So if the pickup hums, assuming the wiring has no issues and it is just typical single coil hum, then no, it will not help.