uk_lefty

I have Bartolinis in my MIM Jazz and they give loads of clarity and zing with light strings on, not properly experimented through a gig rig but they aren't the punchiest or deepest of pickups though I'm sure some amp tweaking could get them towards that. Got a pair for less than £200 on thomann.

thanks - sent you a PM

An old mate of mine was briefly a pro bassist with a group on a record deal. He played a JHS Vintage active bass and a Behringer amp - didn't even own effects. He sold a Warwick to pay for a few nights out and was a sh!t hot player. I have gigged more with my MusicYo fretless Kramer, as inapproppriate as it looks in a lot of situations, than anything else - it cost me about £275 new but i LOVE everything about it. I had a Warwick Streamer LX with gold plated hardware, and because it was never quite "perfect" for me i sold it for far less than it was worth - it was probably a £1,000+ bass new, it looked amazing to me but to people who don't care about Just-a-Nuts (anyone who doesn't play bass) and so on they complimented the Kramer more because it looked more badass. I've had loads of compliments on my modified Fender Jazz too - nobody knows its modified and most just say "woah! that's shiny!" or "wow, what's that metal thing?" or best of all "nice bass playing, mate!". Nobody has ever said to me: "good playing, but why don't you get a pedulla?" Worst waste of money was buying an amp new - only made that mistake once. I only buy second hand amps and effects, being prepared to drive to pick up amps can get you some great gear amazingly cheap, and if you don't like it you sell it for at least the same as you bought it for - simple. When i'm not in a band i have a practice amp, when i'm in a band who doesn't rent kitted out rehearsal rooms i reluctantly buy a gigging amp second hand. By doing this I've played great amps for the bands and the basses they were needed for: old Peavey TNT and Marshall B150 for the loudest rock band in town, Torque 100w for something practical at Uni, a Vox Escort 50 watt for jazz and acoustic, a massive Carlsboro just because it was dead cheap, Warwick Sweet 15 for 80's ballad band, Hartke kickback for American blue-collar rock, and now a compact Gallien Krueger Backline 110 for living room bass-tickling. Whatever band i join next i have a good idea what power and what flavour of amp to go for - but it will be second hand Crazy thing is at 17-18 i was a far better player with no chance of buying good gear. Now i can afford pretty much anything i want but i chickened out of a new Warwick $$ at £800 in 2006 and am currently chickening out of a new MIJ Fender P just because i don't think i'll use it. Now if i could buy it and give it to 17 year old me...!

Hi! For my 18th i got a 5 string fretless and I've never looked back - I'm a lefty it came up for sale at an affordable price and I'd been listening to Pearl Jam's "Ten" over and over for months. For more than not in the last 12 years its been my only bass for any style of music. I have marks on the fingerboard from roundwounds so about 7yrs ago put flats on and have used flats on it ever since. It is a different sound but it preserves the fingerboard better, and it sounds pretty badass too - plus flatwounds last for ages longer than rounds. I've mostly used Ernie Balls long scale because they're the right price and i like their sound on my bass - i'm pretty sure mine's a 35" scale too. I might venture in to halfs next time it needs re-stringing but i'm in no rush as my string>pickup>amp combination with that bass is sounding just how i want it right now.

Hi i'm moving to St Albans in the very near future and will be looking for a band. Being 30 now i'd like to play something a bit different and not just the typical covers everybody plays (nothing wrong with covers, just not the same old same old), maybe something people can dance to or something with a brass section?! No idea why but i'm really in to 50's rock n roll at the moment, for example! I have played all the typical pub rock stuff before, blues, acoustic stuff, originals, with decent bands and not so great bands but just in it for the fun. I also dabble with rhythm gu*tar and have done backing and lead vocals - but do not in any way claim to be a singer! I consider myself fairly versatile as a bass player and i'm in to a huge range of music so will give most things a go. I have my own transport, basses and amps. I've put some songs from my old band ("White Collar Fraud") up on soundcloud, look for "RR on bass" but feel free to drop me a line here https://soundcloud.com/white-collar-fraud/tracks

I've seen Bach basses on eBay before and i think they're Czech... no idea if they're any good or not but for a while they had a 51 style P bass in lefty.

Andy, loving your work on those basses! Would love to get an exotic wood top on my MIM fender jazz, or anything looking more natural, but I understand that the paint and poly coating is so thick it would destroy the bass to remove it? Anyhow, speak of the devil, I can't seem to attach the photo, but basically its an MIM Fender Jazz, ash tray over the neck pickup, black pickguard on a "midnight wine" body, chrome knobs instead of the plastic stock ones, Badass II bridge, Bartolini pickups, Fender straplocks, schaller lightweight tuners (don't like these, would prefer Fender style ones for the original look), handmade bone nut. It has had a black thumb rest but above the e string but i found this got in the way, might put it back below the g if i get bored enough one day. I'd love a maple neck on it, or even just m.o.p inlay stickers for now. The bartolini's and the badass bridge are the best mods, it has a really clear sound almost as good as on my old Warwick Streamer LX in the highs.

Hi folks, Just trying to find out the differences between these two reissue basses, the 57 and te 62 precision. The 57 has the maple fingerboard... That's the only obvious difference but is there anything like neck shape or pickup nuances to consider? I can't find reliable English language info anywhere. Thank you

Thanks for the reply! Got the neck pickup in no problems, tested and all good... But the ridge pickup is about a mm to wide for the slot, going to need some very careful work to widen the gap. I think I just have an MIM from an era where everything was awkward!

I purchased some bartolini pickups as an upgrade to my MIM fender jazz... Problem is the wiring diagram doesn't really help much. The barts have two wires coming out, one copper coloured with a clear plastic wrap, one just bear silver wire... So the question is, which goes where when soldering on to the pots? The original pickups have one yellow wire going on to the side of the pot (near te capacitor?) and a black wire soldered to the bottom of the pot... I don't want to solder my new barts in the wrong place but could really do with some help! Apologies if this is a dumb question but electronics really aren't my thing

Thanks for the replies! I'll take some measurements before laying any money down for new pickups!

Apologies if this seems like a bit of an amateur question... I have a 90s MIM Fender J Bass. As much as I'd love to have an MIJ or MIA I can't justify the cost, so the MIM has had a few upgrades over the years - BadAss II Bridge, Schaller tuners, copper shielding around the pickups, handmade real bone nut, and for cosmetics a new pickguard and a pickup cover on the neck pickup. I'm now wanting to upgrade the electronics. Being a 90s J Bass both pickups are the same size so most sets of 2x J pickups won't be suitable without routing which I dont want to do... I've found the pickups I want (Fender CS 60s) So the real qestion is can I get away with buying 2x bridge pickups and installing, or will the mis-alignment of the strings and poles at the neck pickup position cause me a problem? Would I better off with a differently desgined pickup such as the Bartolinis? Part II of the question - as the pickups will be going in to a lefty bass will i need to take any other measures? I've heard some lefties needing to extend the wire length but not sure this would always be the case? Thanking you in advance...

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1368777031' post='2081265'] Whats the deal with those pickup covers? what advantage is it supposed to give? I appreciate it looks kinda cool but surley having an enormous piece of metal right over the middle of the strings would make a bass nigh on impossible to play? I'm sure this has been covered elsewhere so apologies if its going over old ground. [/quote] Having one of the neck pickup doesnt stop me at all, i play pretty much always over the bridge pickup.I have it purely for the look, not sure what the original purpose ever was.

Thanks, got to say I really like the tone of the bass and it will look strange with a tiny bridge.... Really really not sure I should drill this to get the fender bridge on, and risk not liking it and putting the badass back... With drilled holes under the bridge and for the F cover. Not sure means don't do it, right?

I have a midnight wine Fender MIM J Bass that I picked up second hand and i absolutely love it. It had been heavily modified by the previous owner - Schaller tuners (unfortunately not Fender style), Badass bridge,new scratchplate in white pearloid and new knobs that were cheap crappy plastic and not Fender style. I've now put on a black scratchplate, neck pickup cover, handmade bone nut, and chrome knobs. I recently bought a Fender Delux bridge on eBay so that I could fit a bridge "ash tray"/ pickup cover to really go for the retro look. But now I'm hesitating. Question is.... what would you do? Keep the Badass bridge on, which looks great...or put the Fender Delux bridge and "F" logo bridge pickup cover? The screw holes do not line up exactly which was a massive disappointment, I'd thought that the Badass was a direct Fender replacement and so swapping that for a Delux would be just an unscrewing job, turns out I was wrong. Before I drill in to the bass to fit this new bridge and the cover, interested to hear some opinions. Whichever bridge is not used on the J will go on to a P Bass project

I played a second hand de-fretted Squier P Special in a music shop years ago. It was very light and felt cheap and plasticy but played very very nicely and had a good tone. If you get the Squier cheap on eBay just whip out the frets yourself, or buy a cheap fretless neck from eBay or a parts website.