Funky Dunky

Thanks guys, I'll do some surfing and check some prices. Now....what else is there to know? Any considerations when it comes to a bridge, or tuners etc? "Ah you don't want one of those because xxxxx" etc. I see a lot of talk about Badass bridges, but are they hard to come by now? What else is good for sustain? Bear in mind this bass will be strung with flats for the rest of its life, if it makes any difference. I'd also considered a Hipshot D-tuner, but this is a Jim Deacon bass, so not sure if they do one which would fit without additional jiggery-pokery.

[quote name='cybertect' timestamp='1471554189' post='3114028'] Omar was behind me in the queue at the till of Currys in Croydon last month. He was buying a vacuum cleaner. Edit: Not seen Stevie Wonder in there yet, though [/quote]

This merits a thread, and I welcome everyone's input. I'll begin with a small anecdote.... On the 12th of September, 2012, my bass journey began. A girl at my work and I were chatting and she mentioned that she used to play bass. I told her that I'd played guitar, but bass was always the instrument I'd felt drawn to - the rhythm/groove aspect really matched my musical style and sensibilities. She offered me the old bass, I gleefully accepted and the next night she brought in a filthy old pink Jim Deacon Precision copy, covered in stickers. It was love at first plunk, fellas. Within half an hour I felt like I'd met the woman of my dreams, as even my earliest fumblings brought me an incredible new kind of joy. I was determined to get good, and quick. Anyway...every year around the 12th of September, on my annibassary, I buy myself a piece of gear as a present. This year money's a little tight, so instead I'm going to begin work on a project, and that project is to turn the old Deacon into a Motown Monster - my very own funk machine. I'm not going to do much to the looks of it - it's pink, and believe it or not, I like it. So what do I want to change? Well..... The tuners are loose The tone knob is loose The bridge is crappy The pickup is surprisingly usable, but I fancy dropping a corker of a vintage P-Style pup in there. I fancy a Fender Custom Shop 62, but I'm open to suggestions. Looking for an authentic vintage P-with-flats sound. Open to any suggestions to help turn this sow's ear into a silk purse....or, polish a turd, if you'd rather. So, what do you all recommend? Anything else? What has worked for you, or what would you do if it was your project? I tried to post pics of the ol' girl but I'm having trouble - I just keep getting an error message

I have an old Jim Deacon Precision copy and the tone knob is loose. There is a tiny wee screw on the side of the pot. Tightening it made no difference. I can't get the pot off to look inside - or at least, I'm afraid to give it a good yoink in case I break or damage anything. The whole job is attached through the pickguard. Can anyone advise so I can repair it myself without having to shell out?

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1471457662' post='3113217'] Crazily enough, the company knows about the issue but says it wouldn`t be cost effective for them to solve it, which I find bizarre [/quote] If it were my company, I would take the hit in order to preserve my reputation as a manufacturer of quality instruments. I can only assume the hit would be massive.

As I've said before, it's completely unacceptable that they know about the issue and still put them out with this problem. It's the type of problem which every owner should have fixed free of charge, company pick up the tab. It's also the type of issue - more the fact that Sterling don't deal with it - that would put me off giving the company another penny of my money. However......I love my Sub Ray4 so much that I want another one, and a Ray5. Laugh at me, but it's the most comfortable neck I've ever played, and yes, I haven't played a lot of basses but I have a USA Fender Jazz and the Ray4 whips it for playability IMO. It's simply perfect for ME.

[quote name='lowhand_mike' timestamp='1471374214' post='3112644'] no one comes round my house anyway [/quote] I would come round your house, old bean.

[quote name='AustinArto' timestamp='1471382690' post='3112739'] Is anyone else finding that Youtube vids aren't embedding properly today? I'm just seeing a narrow black bar. [/quote] Are you using Internet Explorer perchance? I had this same problem with YouTube vids, switched browser to Chrome, problem solved.

Trial and error is expensive

Paul, what did you think of the Dunlops?

I'm looking at Fender 9050s

From what I'm reading, the general consensus is that flatwounds have a higher tension than rounds of the same gauge. If this is true, would flatwound users agree that a set of .45-.105 would be stiffer to play than roundies of the same gauge? If so, would you say marginally stiffer, noticeably stiffer or considerably stiffer to pluck (like....."ouch, my poor tendons")?

I need a cheapish set of strings, preferably nickel-coated, higher tension but still useful for slap. I have DR Lo-Riders and they're great for slap and quite bright for a nickel string but way too low in tension. Any recommendationses? I've tried D'Addario XL and Ernie Ball and wasn't keen.

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1471347325' post='3112303'] The unison part with the horns in Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder normally [/quote] This, plus I Want You Back by The Jackson 5 and Get On The Floor by MJ. Occasionally throw in Billie Jean or Blame It On The Boogie. Always gets somebody singing.

Done

Sausages - how are you liking these 9050s? Have they bedded in yet? Interested to hear your thoughts

I'm about to trial these badboys, but not sure which gauge to choose. I like .45-.105 on rounds, and I like the tension to be toward the higher end of the scale. From what I can gather, flats at that gauge will be higher tension than rounds, so I dunno whether to go lighter to compensate, or the same to see if the slightly higher tension is favourable. Trial and error, I guess, but .45-.105 on these are 9050CL and are actually kinda hard to come by. Fortunately, Amazon does them

Good thread! I was wondering about this myself recently, I have a wee Fender Bronco 40 and it has two or three really nice, workable tones but it can't hook up to an extension cab, so I was looking for a sim pedal which could provide variety of tones and still retain warmth without sounding artificial. Sure, I could upgrade my amp and likely will, but I would miss the variety of very different voices I have at the minute. I'll need to get a go at a Zoom B3 and see if it can do a job, but it means excessive twiddling I would rather avoid. I do like the idea of being able to quickly and easily make big changes to the voice of my instrument, beyond simple tone controls and EQ.

Yeah true. I'm out until NEXT payday anyway though

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1471216700' post='3111373'] I sold mine a few months ago... it was lovely. The neck is big, but I like chunky necks. I think other colours came with slightly different necks, made in different factories, as I bought a maple neck off another and it was a lot thinner (I bought it for my Mike Dirnt, as I wanted a maple neck)... The butterscotch one was a great bass. The first time I used it was with the RHCP tribute band I was playing with at the time. It actually sounded great for that! "Can't stop" was really nice on that bass, I remember. And Aeroplane! [/quote] Chunky neck? Hmmm that is slightly offputting. I don't cope well with chunky neckage

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1471220346' post='3111384'] Well, you said you liked the Squier Mike Dirnt? Guess what? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-squier-precision-Bass-Guitar-P-Bass-Mike-Dirnt-Edition-/282129225669?hash=item41b03657c5:g:IkEAAOSwaB5XpzO4"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-squier-precision-Bass-Guitar-P-Bass-Mike-Dirnt-Edition-/282129225669?hash=item41b03657c5:g:IkEAAOSwaB5XpzO4[/url] not mine, by the way! [/quote] God that is a bargain! Shame it's collection only from Milton Keynes. And a month too early!

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1471216017' post='3111370'] No mention of the Squier Classic Vibe 50s Precision? I would try and find a used example of the now discontinued butterscotch version: These are no longer on the Squier site but there are some white blonde ones knocking about still: https://www.hwaudio.co.uk/Product/Fender-Squier-Classic-Vibe-50s-Precision-Bass-White-Blonde-Pine-p428316 [/quote] Stunning! Love that colour. That would be ideal.

I only know of the Squier Mike Dirnt (I think we should abbreviate this to the Squint bass ) I've fallen in love with the looks of the 51 P but the big boys such as Fender and Lakland - that 44-51 is so sexy btw - are way out of reach for me at the mo. There are multitudes of budget P and J copies all over the market, but the 51 shape seems to have next to no affordable clones, much to my dismay. Anyone know of any other than the Squint (I'll make this stick if it's the last thing I do ) ?

After initially criticising the sing, I now love it. I also love the bass sound Flea is rocking. This is actually one of the most enjoyable Chilis songs in a while, in my opinion.

Wannabe here. I don't wannabe famous, but I do wannabe gigging regularly and making money from playing bass. I want it badly enough but I don't reckon I'm good enough yet. Currently looking for a job with less hours (working 12 hour shifts hurts practice time) so I can dedicate more time to improving.