HeadlessBassist

I've used the 30-90 set of Bass Centre Elites for years on my Status basses. I also recently took a part exchange Jack Professional in a fit of 1988 nostalgia (I bought a new Jack Professional when I was 18), which suited the same strings very nicely. On my main Status, I've recently tried a set of GHS Stainless Steel 30-90s. They're a little higher in tension than the Bass Centre strings, but boy are they bright. They sound fantastic. I've tried to gee up Gore (the parent company for Elixir) to make light DBE strings, as I exclusively use Elixir 40-95s on all my other basses, but sadly they don't seem interested. 😩

Hey Steve, now we're getting a little closer to fulfillment of the first batch of orders, could you maybe fill us in a little on the story of this graphite neck production odyssey of yours? What made you undertake this brilliantly ambitious project? (Obviously Status stopping graphite production in '22 has hit some of us quite hard.) Are you doing most of the work yourself, or do you have a China-based factory/maker/partner? Questions, questions... So many questions

I'd hope that most players take a more balanced approach. Professionally, I use mainly Fender Jazz basses - not custom shop fare, but ordinary run of the mill production ones, yet they are instruments that are special to my hands & my ears, and do the job I need them to do over thirty-forty live tribute shows a year. (2018 American Original & 2016 American Elite.) I still have my boutique basses, mainly by Status, because I've been with the brand for 35 years, the instruments fit me like a glove, and I love the peerless quality control that comes from every bass going through the hands of one man, not to mention the snap and howl and how they cut through any mix. They are something I will hopefully always have, and are usually played on highly technical trio gigs where I can really stretch my stuff. They have their place, basically. So I don't think there is any snobbery as such. Just a case of the right tool for the right job. And remember, it's not just a 'hobby' for some of us - It's our livelihood.

That's a very nice bass, Paul. Congrats! The early 50's P isn't my sound, but I'd imagine it must produce [sonically] exactly what you're after. Enjoy! 😎👍🏻

Just needs your MiniNinjaRob logo on the ends of the headstock now! Can you do some sound samples of the finished article, please? (Just the voice memo recorder on your phone would do...)

Plenty of mids for 'the nose' and just knock some treble off. Remember that the listening public and band mates will generally say, "It sounds like a bass."

I have a left field suggestion for you, Mark... Having recently bought one, how about Leo's follow up to the Precision? A Stingray 5 would seem to fit the bill, either in single H or HH form. String spacing [although too narrow for some] on the Stingray 5 is 17.5mm. Makes it feel lithe and fast under the fingers, and definitely has the punch you're after.

Loving the Headstock Logo. Looks very professional

That's about as far as my knowledge goes - probably better to ask a Fender historian. I'm sure there will be quite a few around here Basically, mine is a modern iteration of a 63/64, built period correct, with the cloth wires, etc. Edit: Hopefully the Gemini AI is correct in it's web scraping activities... The primary purpose of the strip was to act as a grounding strap, connecting the brass plate under the bridge pickup to the bridge itself, which is also connected to the strings. This connection formed a critical part of the bass's shielding, creating a Faraday cage to protect the pickups from electrical interference and noise. In the early 1960s, manufacturing techniques and available tools made it difficult to create a precise hole to route a ground wire directly from the control cavity to the area under the bridge. The copper strip was a simpler, more practical solution for implementing the necessary grounding.

It's an earthing copper strip between the pickup cavity and the underside of the bridge. They had it on a lot of the early Jazzes to reduce 60 cycle hum from lighting circuits, etc.

Here's my current 'Jazzy' crop... 2018 American Original in Nitro 3TS, Clay Dots & Vintage Reverse Tuners, etc. 2016 American Elite natural ash. silky999's "Mr.Grey's Custom Shop" build Nitro Daphne Blue with roasted neck (and now with Fender Pure Vintage '66 pickups.) And speaking of our very own @Silky999, there is another Jazz in progress - I've reserved this lovely Walnut Jazz body and have one of Kiwi's first run Graphite necks coming for it. Should be quite the instrument when it's all put together.

I had one of the early Ray34 models back around 2009(?) It was pretty good all in all, but the early pickups only did a 'fair' impression of the MM sound. I sold it on quite quickly when I got a proper natural SR4 with the Piezo bridge, and later a Stingray 5 from Nick Smith. I must say, some of the current ones around £12-1400 look lovely, particularly in the Spalted Maple Blood Orange Burst finish. Haven't tried one in a long time, though.

If it was Lincoln or Newark, I'd bring a pile of gear along. I'm half way between Nottingham and Derby.

Yes, the darker Tort scratch plate is the one, although I really like the anodized gold.

I’ve had three Mustangs this year. I still have the 2023 American Performer in ‘Aubergine’ which I’ve almost sold a couple of times, but secretly I’m glad it’s still around. It’s strung with cut down Elixir 40-95’s (Fender put 40-100 on as standard) and plays & sounds phenomenal. I also had one of the Vintera II’s in “Competition Burgundy” for a while, which was a fine bass, but I didn’t like it as much as the American Performer. It came with Labella Flats which sounded very dull and had far too much tension, so I changed them for a set of Thomastik Jazz Flats I had. Better, but still don’t particularly like flat wound strings. (Don’t shoot me!) = And for about five minutes I had one of the Player series Cherry Burst P&J’s. This was the biggest disappointment. Yes, it sounded huge, but it sounded like any given P&J full sized Precision. Not at all like a Mustang. There was none of that short scale delicacy to the sound.

Now that's a proper band. Not enough bass players, though. Nice to see Tal, too.

Quite correct, Terry. I used to use a 115 B string on my Status S2-Classic 5ers. If the neck is rigid enough and the neck join is solid enough, you'll have a great sounding B string no matter what. Scale length doesn't seem to matter, either. One trick I have found is that cutting the B-string a little shorter than you usually would the other strings makes it transmit and resonate a little better. It does on my KingBass Mk-II 5-string, anyway.

Yes, that is one group of people who might buy boutique instruments, although some of us pro players like to use them too, as well as our more 'meat & potatoes' varieties of basses. I visited the JayDee workshop in Birmingham on Friday. Their order books are full for at least the next four years, so maybe the OP's title is more than a little premature..?

I had a similar issue at a theatre on Saturday. The in-house lighting guy had put one of those automated turning and tilting round LED multi colour lights right next to where I was playing. Every time I moved to the right, my Jazz Elite's preamp started whining & hissing like crazy! I thought it was unusual at the time, as that bass is usually as quiet as a comatose mouse. I've attached a picture here - you can see it through the legs of my Fender Stool.

Mad weekend with the live tribute show, but on Friday I met up with my webcast friends Mike Brooks and Jaymi (the Pink Bassman) who was over from the USA, and had a nice curry evening with Toby from JayDee in Birmingham. Saturday was a looong four hour trip to Gorleston Pavillion Theatre near Gt.Yarmouth for an Everlys & Friends Live Tribute Show gig. Absolutely packed house and a fantastic evening, followed by getting home at 2.30am. Crawled out of bed on Sunday morning after far too few hours of sleep and drove to Leeds to play an afternoon matinee show at Yeadon Town Hall Theatre. I was planning to meet up with Mike and Jaymi again this evening after the Nick Smith Memorial in Peterborough, but unfortunately didn't get out of Yeadon until nearly 5.30 and Mike got a short notice gig. I will sleep well tonight! Gig art: American Performer Mustang under the stage lights behind the side tab curtains.

No Prowla, sadly, yours looks like an early model Mexican Standard. (MX Serial Number on the front of the neck), so the BadAss II is probably an addition by a previous owner. Nicely cracked and aging, though. I wonder how it lost its paint finish on top of the neck block? 🤔 Highway One's had the "Made in USA" on the front of the headstock.

I had a pupil some years ago who had a natural ATK. It was indeed very Stingray-alike in sound. I think we got it for about £399 as well. An utter bargain. There is however, another Stingray Killer that people forget about - the now also discontinued Fender Dimension, in particular the HH model, which was a monster of a bass. I still miss mine, which I had to sacrifice when I bought my KingBass Mk-II.

I know what you mean. Changing to the 40-95 + 125 gauge Elixir set seems to have somewhat cured that. The G does seem VERY close to the edge, which is beautifully rolled, of course. I found the same on a 2nd Generation Sire V7. They sometimes roll the edges a little too much and the G can slip off the board if you're not careful.

You have an exciting weekend ahead, DJ! Congrats