Chiliwailer

Hello mate, I presume one of the reasons this thread is bare with responses is that, as you likely know, even similar/same model basses are so variable, including vintage and CS. The great Clive Brown once told me he felt “some neck and bodies just aren’t meant to be together, it’s like the tone is vibrating in conflicting directions”. Having owned and played a ton of 60s and CS basses, my feel is they all differ widely, and knowing which variable is the reason why is often guesswork… wood? Pick up winding amount especially on a vintage one? Amount it’s been played? Psychological? Etc. Strings are a factor too, but often the basses natural tone can vary widely beyond that. For example, at one point I had 3 X 1966 P Basses in my living room and all were very different, even when strung the same. Similar again when I bought a 64 P and compared it to 5 or 6 other similar aged basses in the shop. Also had same experiences with CS basses in shops and when comparing friends ones… Played 2 Pinos I can remember, sounded like I’d expect a vintage vibed bass would sound, I liked them. I now have a CS 64 Jazz which is great. It feels so similar to a real 64 Jazz I used to own, and not all CS basses do feel similar to a vintage one in my experience. I even prefer it to my old Bravewood, so it must be good. Tonally it sounds like what I’d expect a good vintage J to sound like - perhaps just missing years of vibrations through the wood if it’s a player, and you believe that’s a factor, which some respected folk do. Anyway, that ramble is why I wouldn’t feel comfortable directly giving my thought/answer to the question 😊 Edit - forgot to say that for these reasons, I’ve always been open minded when comparing a CS to a vintage.

Pretty sure the ball end colours are different, even if just on one or two strings? I agree there are similarities, but quite different characteristics IMO. Possibly a different type of D’Addario at best.

Wow, never knew about the 43-106., curious as to what that gauge is like then… though think I’m too settled with the 43-100 to change, absolutely love them. Aha, must be the short scale gauge for a shorty SG?

I’m not a fan of high tension either, and do prefer the cleaner tone of a light Flatwound. I like 40-95, which you can get with EB Group IV and Chromes, both similar-ish to Fender flats, personal preference but I prefer Group IV. GHS Precision flats come in 45-95 if you want a more old school sound. And of course Thomastik and LaBella do low tension, but won’t sound anything like the Fender flats. Just highlighting strings I know well and use.

Slim, but I think someone posted on here in the summer that heat had melted the pickup connections, IIRC. You could wire them to the jack directly to check out if they are ok or not.

Alex sold me a pedal after I posted a wanted advert. Super smooth sale, friendly, great coms, and fast/safe shipping. Cheers Alex

Your Jack socket needs an earth and a live connected to it, looks like it’s not got an earth. If you type ‘Jazz bass wiring’ into Google and do an image search then you’ll find a wiring diagram (can be a few ways to wire it) - or wait a while and no doubt a BC’er with more time will give you a more in depth answer!

It’s got the serial number under the Fender logo, so 76 onwards. Could be 76 if it starts with a 6, or 76 onwards if starts with a S. Hard to see.

Just sold an item to @Noisyjonand met in person. Top fella, and reckon we could have stayed on the pavement chatting bass all day.

A mate showed me these earlier, looks like they only just came out officially, maybe even today. I guess you mean the 54 PB? First I’ve seen in a US reissue, looks great to me. Nice to a see a slab board 60 PB.

If only we could them all, that 55 would have stayed for sure. Yeah, I’m addicted to Fralin these days!

Remember that 55 black over sunburst you got from me? That was an incredible example of a CS bass, brilliant. I totally agree, there are some pretty average CS basses out there too, but the stand out ones do stand out. Currently I’ve got a CS 64 Jazz and a great example of a Mexican 50s Precision with a Fralin pickup. The Mex is wonderful, and easily keeps up with the CS, and doesn’t make me want to get a CS P Bass (well, just yet anyway 😂). I bought the CS Jazz on a 0% card, and will see how I go before committing - it’s an excellent bass, can’t fault it, and feels reminiscent of an original 64 I used to own, though I can’t say it’s ‘worth’ the extra £ spent on a decent Mex 60s Jazz. But it’s fun to own right now, so there! 😝

Good score Chris 👍 I have a tiny bit of history with this bass - I remember when one of the big stores had it new (GAK or Coda, or was it actually BD maybe? Can’t recall). It had a Pearl plate that made it look hideous so they couldn’t sell it and the price went down to an absolute steal, I was very tempted. I saw it sell again after and kept interested, then a very good mate bought it. He came over on Sunday, and I was keenly waiting to finally play it, but he reluctantly p/x’d it earlier in the week when he saw a bass he couldn’t refused. So I still haven’t bloody played it after stalking it for years! He says it’s lovely - enjoy pal 😊

Just sold another item to Brian, friendly and easy sale as always and a pleasure to hear from. Cheers @briansbrew

Nice one pal, should get me a few quid in the classifieds then 😂

Hi folks, I’ve got some flats with a bass recently and have no idea what they are. The silks at the tuner end are a burgundy type red, no silks on the bridge end. It’s a very smooth string, but I’ve not heard them on the bass as it came with my preferred TI’s. Any ideas? Cheers