xroads

[quote name='JimboJim' timestamp='1474223184' post='3136358'] Anyone else got a 1972 p bass ? Please share your experience with it [/quote] Did you just delete your post over at talkbass? I cannot find it any more.

Whats the problem with the dead PU? Can you give it to a repair guy? Sometimes only a wire gets loose, and with one soldering step, it can be repaired. Otherwise, my choice of PUs would be Lollar or Fralin.

So, I have been on the lookout for a good 60s style P-BAss, and the Fender CS Precisions are on the list. However, one rarely sees a 60s CS P-Bass on the used market (in contrast to CS Jazzes). Are they really that rare? Or are they that good that no one wants to sell?

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1473150944' post='3127307'] I The other basses alluded to in this thread, Maruszczyk for example, show that it is possible. [/quote] Well, Poland is not really a high wage country....

[quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1472757858' post='3124025'] Imagine if Stenback managed to compete at a slightly lower price mark, say Fender prices. From everything I've watched, heard, and touched, Tom's instruments are sublime. [/quote] ...there's no free lunch, as they say.

[quote name='Danuman' timestamp='1472771599' post='3124222'] Hi Mike, do you mean you can't get the action low enough for your liking before rattling becomes an issue? Some others have mentioned neck relief and that really is key. It's easy enough to check for that yourself, so I suppose you could sort that out quickly. If you notice buzzing at some places on the neck more than others, you'll know some work on the frets is needed. In my experience, proper neck relief and nicely leveled frets allow for a whole lot of wiggle room at the bridge before buzzing or rattling starts to become a problem. Hope that helps and I'm not unduly making any obvious suggestions... If you're a particularly heavy player, you can always try to find ways to acknowledge and accept that. Kidding, you'll make it work! [/quote] Agreed - neck relief is, apart from light right hand technique, key. If your neck is bowing too much, then the perceived string tension is quite high, as you need to press down the strings much more with your left hand when fretting. This, at least in my case, leads to left hand fatique. I usually prefer to have a straight neck, with only a little relief, with a little larger string height at the saddles, to a lower string height but more bow in the neck.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1472755955' post='3124000'] Not impressed by Fender for their money so I'd always buy second hand... and even then I think others do it so much better, IME [/quote] I am quite impressed by the recent AVRI models - on the used market the price is fair.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1472747652' post='3123903'] Indeed. Or if you were just underwater, the same as standing 0.6m away! [/quote] I like your thinking...I might replace some cables by water hoses...

Just bear in mind that sound in air travels 0.3m per millisecond; i.e. if your digital pedal introduces 4ms of delay, it would be the same as standing 1.2m farther away from your speakers.

What is your definition of a good Jazz sound? 70s Ash/Maple or 60s Alder/RW? Active/Passive? 4-string/5-string? Graphite rods in the neck or not? For a traditional JB the recent Fender AVRIs are pretty good.

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1471604431' post='3114354'] Rather than go by the recommended measurements, have you tried slowly raising the action (I'm talking fractions of a turn on the saddle screws) until the fret buzz disappears? If the relief is indeed correct for the neck/fretboard radius and you can eliminate fret buzz and the action is still comfortable then it's problem solved. [/quote] That's what I typically do; sometimes it's a matter of half turn of the saddle screws. However, if the action where the buzz disappears is too high, something is wrong, and professional help is needed.

The sound in the video brings out the character of the basses very nicely - how did you record this? Using a mic or direct via DI?

I wonder how these PJs are...anyone played one?

My 4-string Precision is a Squier JV, domestic model from 83. I had to change PUs, as the original ones were weak (maybe due to age?). This is the only JV I ever played, but I would say that in terms of sound, wood resonance, and vibe it is one of the better Precisions I ever played. So yes, you can really find great basses there, but I think the current prices are a bit high. If you compare the JVs to a used Fender US AV, there is not much of a difference, and the Fender AV is a better bass in terms of built quality.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1471430243' post='3112970'] You can't tell tension from gauge alone or flat/round alone. It's mass per unit length of string that matters (plus scale length plus pitch). Hence the internal construction of the string makes a difference because it makes a difference to the mass per unit length. The same internal construction with a larger gauge will mean higher tension (at same scale length and pitch) but if the internal construction changes then there is no straightforward telling of the effect on tension from a different gauge. This is complicated by the fact that tension ought not to be confused with compliance or elasticity which is not the tension of the string at pitch but its feel (or perception) under the fingers. Like tension, compliance is affected by internal string construction - e.g. hexcore/roundcore - but possibly by other factors that have no effect on tension such as break angle at the nut. [url="http://www.liutaiomottola.com/myth/perception.htm"]http://www.liutaiomo.../perception.htm[/url] [/quote] Great info thanks!! I wanted to add to the discussion that strings with higher tension can increase the neck bow, which for your fretting hand means a bit more work to press the strings down to the frets. This adds to the perception that the strings feel stiffer than they actually are. I have removed the preceived stiffness of strings a few times by just adjusting the truss rod....

It sounds like you have a level matching issue. The buffer increases your signal level quite a bit, and when you turn on the comp (which is after the buffer) it cannot handle the high level that the buffer delivers, and acts as a limiter. You have two choices: either you decrease the level (i.e. output volume) of your buffer, so that the compressor can handle it, or you try reversing the order of your chain, i.e. compressor first, then buffer.

Do you have other basses where you don't have problems with your sound, or is this a more general setup issue?

I had thought the same - adding a fretless neck to my bakup bass would be the cheapest way to go fretless. It turned out that a separate neck can be quite pricey, and I stumbled across a used Squier fretless bass which in the end was more inexpensive than a neck....anf the quality of current Squiers is quite good.

[quote name='HazBeen' timestamp='1470677883' post='3107595'] Don't take this the wrong way as I am not intending to judge or attack, but you are clearly playing too hard. Sure a 34" scale will be a little floppier than 35" and above and a higher string gauge .130 or even .135 will be a little less floppy than a .125 B but all pretty marginal differences tension wise. Maybe put a light gauge set on your 4 for a while and when you are used to the lower tension try a 5 again? You just adjust like you would with increased string spacing, action, scale etc on a 4. [/quote] When I started using 5-string basses a few years back I had the same problem - and found that I simply dig in too much. The B-string on any bass felt too loose and floppy, no matter what bass I tried. Again, I ahve since adjusted my right hand technique, and the B-string is now as normal as any string on the bass.