kodiakblair

I'd say sadly no there's no magic formula. Bunch of SE lads got together a few years back and for a bit of fun did a double blind P-bass shoot-out, results saw an Encore and a Gear 4 Music model preferred over both a 57 and a 66 Fender. Pickups are simple things, most reports of cheap crap pickups are from folk who never bothered to adjust the heights 😃 Going with a brand is often an exercise in name dropping, you'll see plenty of "I swapped the pickups for 'X' and it sounds great" ; rarely will you hear what was wrong with the stock pickups or what steps were taken to try and improve performance before chucking them. I'm afraid finding the right bass is really just down to playing them. A wee tip you might find helpful, try and recreate a familiar situation. I would often play through a portable headphone amp, I'd also use the headphone amp when trying basses in shops.

Not to me they don't. The Seymour Duncan SJB-1 has quite a low output, it'll struggle against the Split-P. Nothing striking about a Player series split-P either. It will however sound like a P-bass 🙂 There's something seriously wrong with the low action claim. In one photo it looks like a string is being held down while the others hover above the board. Also if you look at the bridge saddles, they well above the base plate, I'd expect to see them lower. Not a fan of D'Addario chromes so I'll keep my biased opinion to myself 😃 Have to wonder though why a bass strung with flats needed a fret dress and polish after just 6 year. £220, it's not deadly; it's about the going rate round that way.

Naw, that's a badge of honour 🙂

Sounds like the nut slot was cut too low. Might have been a wee bit shim in there which got lost during the string change, sliver from a pill blister is normally enough. Before messing with the TR check the nut. Fret E string 3rd fret then see what you have between underside of string and 1st fret. If it's touching or almost touching, build up the slot ; try a wee bit of thin plastic (pill blister). Tune the bass and see if you solved the problem 🙂 Should the problem be fixed, make the fix permanent with drop of super glue and baking powder. Easier to explain on YT. One thing about the truss rod. It's purpose is neck relief ; string action is set by nut slots, bridge saddles and sometimes a neck pocket shim. You say buzz is on 1 string and just 1 fret, to me that says your neck relief is fine and dandy. Leave the TR alone, adjust the nut instead 👍

Everything can be improved, folk send £3k basses off to be PLEK'd. If I read the OP's other thread correctly the goal is not the pinnacle of excellence ; it's to bolt together a bass and say "I did that 🙂"

@SumOne I understand the disclaimer, it's got little to do with QC. It's to guard against eejits 🙂 You have a machine prepares a blank within tight tolerances, a fretboard (also machined to tight tolerances) gets glued on. Fret slots are cut (machine), deeper than the tang, then pre-bent fretwire is stamped into the slots using a 1000 or 2000 lbs arbor press. Only way you'll get uneven frets is with a poorly machined fretboard, those should be picked up by QC checks every X units. If fails do get flagged, the batch gets pulled and the machines re-calibrated. Perfectly good necks get sent out in to a world where 99% will work right of the bat. Sadly that world is plagued by myths,half truths and blatant stupidity ; relevant one here is use of the TR. Misinformation about the TR and it's purpose is rife, there's a widespread belief you just crank the TR to get a lower action 😮 The TR deals with neck relief. Those carefully machined necks will have no issues if the end user follows the guidelines and keeps neck relief/action roughly in harmony 🙂 Trouble is eejits don't follow guidelines, they follow half truths overheard mumbled in a crowded bar one drunken night 20 years ago 😃 They don't set a bass up to within it's capabilities, they crank TRs to the limit, bottom out saddles, recut nuts, shim pockets; then they complain about fret buzz. Of course the neck is to blame not their hamfisted ineptitude. The disclaimer is to ward against those folks and they are many 😞

I'm not defending them. Mighty Mite necks carry the same advisory, as do AllParts , WD Music and Hosco; it's a standard industry clause. In all honesty the chances of you having to do a fret level are pretty slim, machines work to pretty tight tolerances.

No, it's for good reason ; covers their derrières. Fender necks, like everyone else's, are primarily a machine product. Shaped/sanded, slots cut, frets stamped in etc. All geared to work within Fender's set up guidelines and tolerances. If there's a slightly high fret then likely it'll pass this stage unnoticed. With 350 units going out in a 10 hr shift time is of the essence. It's a controlled environment with FMIC setting the controls 😀 They have no control outside the factory. While most folk stick roughly with the guidelines, many don't and uneven/high frets come to light. Instead of entering into a RIC-style "you didn't follow the rules/your warranty is void", FMIC just add 'fret work' to the list of advisories.

Genuine Fender necks carry the same same alert though it goes a bit further and also mentions the heel/pocket.

'Decoration only- unplayable' Instead of returning batches of QC fails Thomann would sell the instruments as ornaments 🙂 They went for pennies, I bought a 4 string acoustic bass for £30; it's QC fail was the label saying " 5 string fretless" 😀 It was common to see deco listed on eBay as 'new' for full price, a small "D" stamped into the body and neck put paid to that deception. The deco fad lasted for a wee while then the factories tightened up standards, the few that get through now wind up in Thomann's summer flea market day.

Thomann still sell B-stock but I haven't saw any decos in about 3 year.

Avoid buying anything made in the USA 🙂 Short scale 40 - 100 flats are £22 inc delivery from Status Graphite, their tapes were great strings so chances are the same applies to their flats. http://www.status-graphite.com/status/frames/index_home.html

That's the truth. Owned a few basses with them fitted. Firmly of the opinion they are mainly used by folks who think it'll buy them status among the brand name-dropping mod crew 😀

Both my Wishbass Lobes have thick necks , think they're almost 1 1/2". Not quite DB thick but comfortable all the same.

@Piers_Williamson Great tune, pretty sure Doctor Doctor was one of the 1st songs I learned 🙂

Close to a very thin 'Tele-phone' Line ?

I've one of those on the 'to do' list , need to shake myself out of idleness first 😃 Plan call for piezo only, if that turns out sounding crap I've plenty of single coils that'll (hopefully) save the day 👍

@Paul S I've still to try the Tone Rider but I'd think it impossible to compare them due to differences in output. PBXN are without doubt the loudest pickups I've heard , to give both a fair hearing either one needs to turned down or the other jacked up.

Swapped many a pickup and can honestly say I've never felt they've been worth £100. The Tone Rider Precision Plus will do the same as the 63 Vintage yet costs just £35.

I'd say real binding judging by the thickness either side of the pocket.

As usual I'm crap at taking photos 😀

Fender Precision. Works for all types of rock and soul, plenty of jazz players use the P-bass. It's great for finger style Funk. As for slap ?

Pretty sure I know a boy down south has one. He was making noises about selling it a few year back. No idea if he did sell, could have a wee word in his ear if you want 👍

I'm always on the lookout for gigbags and Gerry had a top notch Thomann bag listed. Being the thoughtful fella he is Berkeley 2 was his suggestion as the meeting place. Being just off the motorway that works great for me coming from Falkirk 🙂 No idea what our next bit of business will entail but I know it'll be a breeze 👍 Cheers Davie

As some may know I had quite a thing for Peaveys. That started to change after buying a Harley Benton PB-50, wasn't long before single coil P-basses became the new invasive species in my place 😃