jezzaboy

I read a interview in bass magazine last year I think, with Glen Matlock who said that the bass he was playing on stage was a mexican p bass that Fender gave him as a freebie as his other p was an oldie and too good to take out on tour. If it`s good enough for him then I say go for it. He did play a ricki at some point as well. Anyway, good luck with the gig, sounds like fun! Jez

Having seen the p bass with the additional humbucker in the "yamaha attitude retro" topic in the bass guitar section of gear, I have had a moment of clarity! I am thinking of adding a soapbar pickup in the bridge position of my Jap p bass. I can get a new Wilkinson one for £12 which should do the job and wont make me cry if it dont work out. Can anyone give me advice regarding wiring the thing up. Can I wire it up to the existing wiring and fit a mini switch to flick between the two pickups? Is this a good or bad idea? Have you a better idea? I can solder and knocking the crap out of the wood wont be a problem but if anyone has done something similar can you give me some pointers/thing to watch out for. Cheers Jez

Get rid of wife as I did (oh alright, she got rid of me!) then you can buy as many as you like! Our parting had nothing to do with the bass collection-9 at that time-but the fact that she said that I was a loud mouthed twat. And she was right! Jez

Here`s a piccy of My Jap 57 re-issue. I got it about 2 years ago from Guitar Emporium, cost £540 if I remember. It`s got an alder body, had a Us pickup fitted, it had the chrome covers but I junked them. They looked good but were a pain in the preverbial. Put on a black Allparts scratch plate instead of the gold one. It looks white in the photo but is actually knid of yellowy/blonde. It has a Status pickup and Status strings fitted for now. This is the bass I took the maple neck off of and stuck on my Mike Drint Squire. I just cant seem to stop messing around with my basses! I have found a pic of how it looked when I bought it and how it is now. For the next day or two anyway! [attachment=20410:SUNP0010.JPG] [attachment=20411:ghsfdhsdd__2_.JPG]

How about the Ibanez ART B100 short scale. It`s got a set neck and looks kind of Les Paulish. Not played one yet but Merchant city music and Guitar guitar have them for £320. Should be well put together as its an Ibby. Jez [attachment=20362:3014_large.jpg]

[quote name='Peter Train' post='401570' date='Feb 5 2009, 10:16 PM']Hi Andy and welcome I only took up bass 2 years ago at 46 after my 9 year old son got one for his birthday and I started to have lessons to encourage him. His bass is sold now but I carried on and I now play with a group of mates who have all been playing for years. We've played in a frieds cafe and at a village hall and we have a third live "gig" (I suppose it counts playing all night in front of 150 people) at another friends party. I'm not that good but I get so much enjoyment out of playing live with others. Even though i prefer different music to them it's still worth findng someone to play with. Like you I keep wishing I'd done it years ago but I intend to keep going now. Pete[/quote] Playing in front of 150 people, I suppose that counts as a gig? My band played last night, in a pub, in a town called Elderslie (birth place of William Wallace dont ya know!) to 12 people! 3 were barmaids, 5 were folk we had dragged along on promise of free beer (ha, ha, we lied!) and 4 were punters. Mind you, the 4 punters said we were bloomin good. Ah well, still got paid and got the promise of more bookings. Get out there my good man and play with anyone you can, even if it`s not your style of music. You`ll improve quicker and have a good laugh along the way if you can find the right bandmates. But gettin the right bandmates is a whole other story..... Jez

[quote name='Linus27' post='401573' date='Feb 5 2009, 10:16 PM']Oh, thats not good news. If I get a squire also, if the neck don't work, then I coudd go back to using the original Mike Dirnt neck and my son can have the Squire 50's Vibe I guess Did you get any piccies with the Jap 57 neck on it. Would love to see some.[/quote] Naw I didnt take any pics but it looked really good. I also fitted a black scratchplate from DW music and it finished the look off. I should also mention that my Mike Dirnt was the Squire model so dont know if the neck pocket is the same shape as the Fender. But if it fits, it would look real smart! Go for it! Jez

[quote name='Linus27' post='400743' date='Feb 5 2009, 10:19 AM']I have a project in mind to build a cool bass out of two basses. Its basically the Mike Dirnt precision but with a maple/ash neck. So I was wondering, if the Squire 50's Vibe neck or Fender 51' precision neck would fit the Mike Dirnt body. Does anyone know if either would fit? Are the Fender/Squire stuff pretty much a straight swap? If not, is there any way of finding out like technical drawings available anywhere? Failing that, how much would it cost for somebody to make a copy of a 51' precision neck? Thanks for any help.[/quote] I swapped my Jap 57, all maple neck onto the Mike Drint. The holes didn`t line up so I drilled new ones, fitted a F stamped neck plate from bass guitar parts direct and Bob`s your funny auntie! It looked great! Until I noticed that at the body end the two necks are a diffirent shape and it left a gap where body meets neck. I lived with it for a while but it ended up doing me head in and I swithched them back. I quite like the neck on the Squire anyway. Mabye with a different neck you wont have this problem but I would check before you star drilling holes- unlike myself! Cheers , Jez

[quote name='dub_junkie' post='386411' date='Jan 20 2009, 05:05 PM']+1 I still miss my trans teal 2EQ Stingray with the Status MM neck. jezzaboy,I bought your Tribute L2K from you and then sold it onto another basschatter in Dundee for the same money. It was a great bass-with G&L a year ago it was ok bringing them in from the States but the exchange rate has put a stop to that. the cherryburst semi hollow Asat that tonyf has FS at the moment is a cracking bass. I owned and gigged it for a while and it had a monstrously big tone. I'd have it back in a heartbeat if I had the readies but I've still got a beauty of a USA SB-2. if you ever want a play on it let me know.[/quote] Dub Man Ah well, glad to hear that you got some pleasure from it and sent it on to a good home. Have bought a black m/n tribute from Hartnolls and it should be here on saturday. Jez

Got a black one meself, and as said already, the build quality is typical Japanese Fender. Bloomin good! Mine is quite heavy and the active bass and treble are basically an off/on switch. Also when playing a gig with a decent size lighting set up, mines buzzes like mad when in active mode. The neck is great and it is very stable over the course of a gig. Regarding the buzzing, if you check Harmony Central there is some advice on how to cure this as Fender dont want to know apparently. Personally, if I was looking for a Fender I would go for the Geddy Lee jazz as I havent heard a bad word about it. Also the guy from The Killers gigs one and Nick Seymour from Crowded House and he rates the Geddy highly. Jez

Thanks folks for all the replies, they are mucho appreciated. Regarding the G&L L2000 tribute, I had one of those, lovely natural finish, paid £250 for it and sold it for the same and regreted it almost right away. And guess what bass I seen in a picture on this site, yep, the bass I sold! The only store that I can find that sells them online is Hartnoll guitars and the price has gone up to £600. Anybody recomend anywhere else? I am going to look at either the mm or the G&L. So, cheers for all your input. Jez

Been playing Fenders of all descriptions for years noo and need a change. I am looking at getting either a stingray or a Status smart bass with mm and p pickups. Never having owned either of these types of basses, can you give me your opinions, especially on the Status as I really fancy one. Also, I have a Ashdown mag 300 combo and am thinking of changing it in the future. Would the Trace elliot 715 be a good bet as I need something portable and not too heavy as I stay in a flat. Cheers

[quote name='JDM' post='362039' date='Dec 23 2008, 02:57 PM']Thanks for the welcome. I shall take your comments on board as I begin to have a sniff around for a suitable tool which shall be after Christmas. I have recently looked at the Squier and shall investigate further. Is the EB-3 exceptionally neck heavy for all users or does the players build and stature come into it regarding being able to compensate for this ? Best Regards, Jon.[/quote] Jon I would stay away from the epi as not only is it neck heavy as mentioned, the sound aint that good unless you are looking for a 60`s type sound, if you get me drift. The tone controls dont do much and are a bit cheap and nasty, so, for slightly more than the cost of the epi, you should try a classic vibe squire, p bass or a jazz, they are both excellent. Having owned an eb03 and a epi thunderbird, they look cool but are mince to live with. Try a cheap Ibanez, a gsr200 or similar. Great build quality, active pickups. Good luck! Jezza

[quote name='martthebass' post='345842' date='Dec 4 2008, 08:33 PM']+1 Let's be sensible, the old bent piece of tin design was perfectly acceptable for a few decades. Would you take it off a '62 Jazz? If you want improved engineering etc buy something else - probably won't sound like a Fender tho.[/quote] Never mind the debate about badass versus standard lads and lassies! In my local dealer, Merchant city music, the price of a h1 p bass has gone from 499 to 599! Likewise, a standard p has gone from 339 to 499! And their prices are usually the best in Glasgow. Thre is no excuse for these kind of prices! Thank god I have bought enough gear the noo and at these sort of prices Mr Fender can stick them where the sun dont shine. Time to invest in another ibanez methinks!

Guys and Gals! At the moment I have 6 basses on the go. In no particular order they are Jap 57 p bass, ibanez sr500, vintage musicman copy, epi thunderbird, Mike Dirnt squire p bass with upgraded pick up and gotoh bridge and highway 2 jazz. At gigs I usually pick up the jazz or jap p as they look good and are dependable but the ibanez is fantastic! Had a few soundgear`s before but as has been mentioned elsewhere, the pick ups were designed for playing metal and sound crap on anything else. The bartolins on the 500 are superb and I would play this all the time if I didn`t have the fenders. As for the thunderbird, I only bought it cause of Pete Way of UFO fame. It`s a dog to play as you need to wear it doon at your knees to make it balance half decent, but its loud for a passive bass. Also, never buy one if you are a shortarse! As for the vintage, it lies around in it`s bag from one gig to another as my back up. Really, I wish I was like Herbie Flowers and just used the one bass but you see something and you just have to have it! Here`s a picture of Fred the fender [attachment=10620:SUNP0055.JPG]