Misdee

A bass has a split P pickup in the P position isn't necessarily a Precision Bass, but chances are it will sound fairly Precision-like. The peculiar thing about P Basses is that nowadays there are all kinds of exotic custom-made versions modelled after the original Fender designs to a greater or lesser degree. But, paradoxically, the fashionably retro sounds a lot of players are trying to emulate are probably better served by more lo-fi examples. You can buy a P Bass from Argos or from Fodera. I would venture that if I was playing a session for someone who wants a typical traditional Precision Bass tone then the cheap bass would probably sound more authentic. It's the inconsistencies and shortcomings that give P Basses their undeniable charm.

This kind of thing is why Brexit has to mean Brexit...

Thanks 👍. What I was told by Fender is that for folks who wanted something along the lines of what the AVRI was, it could obviate the need to pay more for a CS bass. They deliberately made the American Original series that followed more generic and less period-correct.

I don't have it to hand, but it's identical to this one : I have it on good authority that Fender discontinued this range of basses because they were talking business away from the custom shop. The metal covers were punched out on the same machine Fender used back in the day for the originals, and the fingerboard is the same round laminated one that Fender used back in those days.If you can get on with the neck profile they are a lovely bass.( Why Fender made them so chunky I have no idea! Some Jazz necks were a bit chunkier in that era, but I have never encountered one quite as big as these)

My favourite in-your-face P Bass pickup is the Lakland NeoPunch. I also have a bass with the EMG Geezer Butler pickup in it and that sounds great too. However, the DiMarzio is a pretty rowdy sounding choice, and an old favourite of mine. If you want genuine 1970s punch that would be the one to go for in my opinion. Edit: just realized you already got the Bruce Thomas pickup. Funnily enough I was just watching a YT clip featuring that bass and thinking how good it sounds! Hope it works out well for you.

Why not try a fretless Jazz Bass of some description?

I've got a 74 AVRI Jazz Bass and it's a great bass, I really enjoy it whenever I play it. Mine has got a rosewood fingerboard and I put TI flats on it. I use it primarily as my reggae/ vintage tones kind of a bass and it nails the vibe perfectly. However, something to be aware of is that they have a very chunky front-to-back neck profile for a Jazz Bass. That and the fact that they are slightly narrower at the nut than a typical Jazz Bass. I find mine very comfortable to play nevertheless, and I can play just as fast as on any other bass, and I say that as someone who can't get on with big chunky P Bass neck profiles. The neck is laquered, which I personally like but lots of folks seem to take exception to nowadays. Feels good to me, anyway. The 74 Jazz pickups that Fender came up with for that bass are really, really good. I would never change them. As with most Jazz Basses, you have to hunt a bit to find a lightweight example, but I bided my time and found one well under 9 pounds. Definitely a keeper.

Back in the 1970s Chris Squire was such a high profile bass player. Just like in the early 1990s there was an epidemic of Flea- wannabes, both amature and professional, so in the 70s there were pound shop Chris Squire imitators everywhere you looked. I can still remember the plethora of Rickenbacker copies, most of which were finished in a not-very- prog pinky Fireglo, to the chagrin of many a would-be Squire. String it up with Rotos, plug it into the Bright input of your Carlsboro amp and you had the perfect formula for an ear-grating cacophony that was your own personalized version of the Chris Squire sound.

That is a pretty lousy album, from what I remember. One of my friends bought it when I was a kid. I can still remember his triple album gatefold sleeve levels of disappointment. Yesshows was much better and CS is way up in the mix.

To me, JE is an iconic figure. He played with such aggression and assertiveness. It was an artistic statement, albeit a very, very loud one. And all that equipment. Way too much equipment. Most poignantly, I think back to the first set of strings I ever bought as a lad, Rotosound Swing Bass with John Entwistle pictured on the back of the packet. I feel quite emotional! To me, JE is one of those players who is kind of beyond criticism; he did what he did in a unique way and people could take it or leave it, and I don't think he could care less. Such was his self-belief.

Great project, by the way. I like your taste. 🙂.

Very much roundwounds. Lee uses GHS Super Steels, the 40/58/80/102 set. They are great-sounding strings, very bright.

When I played Ibanez basses back in the 1980s that is what I would have imagined Ibanez basses to have looked like in the year 2022 if I'd had a sufficiently visionary imagination ! The future has arrived.

My Yamaha BB2025 weighs about 9 1/4 pounds and is a fantastic bass. Well worth investigating if you can find a used one. The X version is significantly heavier because of the additional scratchplate, metal knobs, control plate ect. That's why I got the non-X version. Very similar nut width to an EBMM Stingray V but wider 18mm spacing at the bridge. And the strings don't keep coming of the edge of the fingerboard! Also, the USA-made Lakland basses tend to be lighter than the Skyline counterparts. I have seen plenty of 55-94 that were under 9 pounds in weight. A used one could come up at a reasonable price. Otherwise, considering you like graphite, have you thought about a Status Stealth 5 string? All- graphite , lightweight and very comfortable to play.

Exactly this. It is now progressive rock because it has got progressively worse.

Do you think the laquered board makes a big difference to the overall tone on a Rick? I have always presumed it does, mostly on the basis that I find a very significant difference between laquered and unlaquered maple fingerboards on other basses. The recieved wisdom that maple is brighter is more a result of the laquer than the wood when I compare laquered and unlaquered maple boards. I wouldn't want to buy a bass with a diminished "bite" , considering the sound that Rickenbacker are famous for.

I would say that American bands like The Vanilla Fudge were a big influence on British prog rock. And Hendrix, despite being primarily a blues player. And Miles Davis and John Coltrane. British musicians of that era were hugely influenced by American music, no doubt about that. There could be no prog without improvisational jazz, and that was a uniquely American invention. You are quite right that Chris Squire was inspired by JE, but I suppose like all the best musicians he took that influence and made something of his own with it. Both wonderful players with distinct musical personalities. I can't think of any current bass players with such unique voices on the instrument. I like your taste!🙂

You are quite welcome, my friend. Thank you for inventing the all-you-can-eat buffet and personal computers. There was a long time in the UK when admitting to liking prog rock was akin to confessing to sex crimes but that has changed slightly in recent years. It still carries a stigma, that cannot be denied, but attitudes are slowly changing. Prog fans are now seen by most people as victims rather than criminals. I am old enough to remember prog rock back in the 1970s and it was a very strange time to be alive, both in a good way and a bad way. (Good way- King Crimson, bad way- too many to list!).

Five string bass was a rare and specialist instrument back in the early 1980s. It really took off when most pop music became keyboard-orientated and bass players needed to play in keys and registers that were more accessible to the left hand of keyboard players. Even then, it was the domain of pretty advanced players, on the whole. Just like "savvy" bass players nowadays gravitate towards a P Bass strung with crusty old clothes line played through a vintage valve driven radiogram, so in those days the same demographic would aspire to a five string fretless with a graphite neck played through NASA's mainframe computer via a graphic equaliser of some kind. With lots of compression and a chorus pedal on it.

As Kiwi points out, the broadneck version was only offered for a short while and is pretty rare. The BB5000 was Yamaha's attempt to capture the fledgling 5 string market in the mid-80s. It's basically a four string BB3000 with five strings on, from what I remember. Lots of early 5 strings had very tight spacing, and it put a lot of folks off getting into playing a five, myself included. 18/19mm spacing was the prerogative of high-end custom builders like Tobias and Ken Smith. Nevertheless, a lot of top pros like Nathan East, David Hungate and Larry Klein adopted the BB5000. In fact , I seem to remember that Larry Klein used his BB5000 fretless on Boys of Summer by Don Henley, where it is featured fairly prominently. And Nathan East plays his BB5000 to great effect on Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves by Eurythmics.

In my experience the pre-EB Stingrays have a very shallow profile akin in shape to a shallow capital D. It's a while since I played a Sterling, but it is Jazz width at the nut, but not really a typical Fender Jazz profile as such. Regardless of the nut width, more recent EBMM basses tend to be a bit more chunky front to back than the vintage basses. I think they make them that way to aid stability. The Lakland 44-94 / 44-02 basses nail the vintage MM Stingray neck profile very accurately in my estimation. If you can get your hands on one to try that should give you some idea if it would suit you better.

Thanks, I'll have a look. I hadn't realised that one version had a laquered board and the other didn't .

It doesn't matter what basses I have got or what basses I have had, I still feel unfulfilled because I have never had a Rickenbacker. The problem is, every time I play one it reaffirms my conviction that I could never adjust to playing one. As someone who cut his teeth playing Fenders, a Rickenbacker is a whole host of practical problems getting in the way of my usual technique. I never got to try a 4004, mores the pity, and now they don't make them anymore. I still periodically get the idea in my head that I should get a Rickenbacker 4003, despite all good sense to the contrary. Or at least until recently. What's worse is that, if I understand correctly, they are now no longer lacquering the fingerboard on 4000 Series basses! That will change the tone significantly I would think, and for the worse. That me out, I'm afraid. It now looks like me and Rickenbacker will never consummate our relationship. So near but so far. ☹️

It would be interesting to find out if these Stealth models actually are more effective at penetrating air defence systems and evading conventional radar.

I saw Primus opening for Rush about thirty years ago. I suppose doing a Rush tribute show is a new way for them to parade their offbeat approach to life, for better or worse.