HeadlessBassist

Okay, so I picked the bass up this afternoon. First jobs already done. Flats gone. Elixir 40-95s added. Black Scratch Guard added (and former single coil rout inspected). Mute kit turned the correct way around and general setup completed. So what we have here is a really light weight Natural Velvet 1995 Stingray 2EQ with an OBP-2 Preamp, but the HS Aguilar pickups have been replaced with the original MM humbucker. Sounds huge and plays wonderfully, barring some small extra adjustments. Oddly enough, the second control, which I presume was the blender still has an effect, despite the Single Coil pickup having been removed. It gives three distinct sounds between the centre detent and the two extremes of travel in the rotary control. It's almost as if the 'blender' is splitting between the two banks of the humbucker, and the central point makes them cancel each other out very slightly. Is this possible?! (I didn't do the rewiring. It was done by my mate's tech who previously owned the bass.) Anyway, the obligatory pictures now it's home...

The only stock FMIC Precision Bass with a thin neck I can think of is the Nate Mendel Road Worn signature model like mine, but you're not going to get one of those for less than about £8-900. Nut width on these is 1.615", which is not a million miles away from the Jazz's 1.5". Most modern C-neck Precisions are very close at 1.625". The Sire P5 (and P7) are a little wider at 1.653", but there's not a lot in it. What really matters is the thumb-fingers thickness. Go to a store and try a few to see what fits your hand... My other suggestion would be to buy a genuine Fender neck. The roasted Jazz neck is usually around £3-400 new. Which Precision do you have, btw?

Congrats George! Looks lovely Does your preamp have a weak bass boost? I find I have to boost the bass on mine nearly all the way, while treble is merely a smidge over the centre detent.

More peace, love and harmony. Maaaaan. It does look great, though!

The mute kit is on it's way from Bass Direct as we speak...

Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you! I noticed that too - the mute springs appear to have been put on back to front. One of the first jobs I'll be sorting, as well as the new black scratch guard which has now arrived.

As far as I know, yes. It's the satin finish - Natural Velvet finish. I'll be able to tell you if it's ever been refinished when I pick it up tomorrow...

Sorry to hear you're out of love with the band, Andy. I guess I'm in a lucky position where I get to work with lots of people, but I can't afford to play for nothing with people I don't want to be with. I feel for you and hope you'll find some great, like minded folks to make some great music with soon.

The issue you're going to have with tablature is that it doesn't usually give you a clue of the rhythm. Can you follow the chord symbols and improvise the parts? Also, are the songs printed in classical notation?

Oddly enough, I was chatting with Lee Sklar on Brooke's Bass Corner live chat the other week. That's an interesting bit of lateral thinking

Those Player II's are getting some lovely figured wood, especially on your headstock. Hope you enjoy your lovely bass!

Hey SSG's (sweet, sweet guys!), I'm in the middle of doing a deal for a rather nice 1995 Stingray (which I think a couple of BC members have previously owned.) Only thing is, it's been modded/monkied with and I want to get it as close to stock as I can. It's had an Aguilar OBP 2-band preamp added, a blend control (is it's now four knob, as opposed to three on the control plate), a side jack socket added, and it's previously had Aguilar pickups added, including a rout for an "HS" configuration. The current owner has removed the single coil pickup and replaced the Aguilar humbucker with the proper MM one which was kindly sent by the original 'modder', so it looks fine now (or will do) with a new black scratch plate (on order as we speak), but it has four controls, one of which doesn't work, being as the single coil has been excised. Here's what I'm thinking - add a new jack socket to the four-hole control plate and maybe turn the side jack into an XLR? Or maybe leave it as is and just have a fourth control that does nothing. Any other options you can think of? With mods... (photo credit SweenyRod) ... and currently

Congratulations on scoring a lovely bass! Y'know, sometimes one certain bass just fits you like a glove. Enjoy!

Interesting point, Joltax. I tend to think in terms of there are two sounds with various basses. One is the one you want to hear - the combination of the pickups, strings and the tonal qualities of the body wood/percussiveness of the fingerboard. The other is too much preamp! Some preamps just boost quietly in the background, and others just seem to swamp and overboost everything out of all proportion. Of course, it's all down to the frequencies chosen by the preamp designer and the quality of the components, but it is fascinating.

Quite a lot of the EMG pickup sets are active, but without the 2/3 band EQ. Same as the Bass Centre Guy Pratt 'Betsy' signature - there's just an extra rout for a 9v battery under the scratch plate usually.

Does it come in a JJ as well, Mep..?

This is interesting, and reasonably priced too...

Agreed! 😎👍

Odd choice of words - A C E is an A Minor Chord.

By a Neapolitan Second Chord, I assume you mean a Neopolitan 6th (flattened chord II.) I think we're talking semantics here if we're honest. It sounds like I'm talking from the classical training world and you're talking from the popular/jazz training world. Basically, 'Music Theory' is an academic subject which we teachers teach instrumental students in order to fill in the gaps when they're learning to play.

No, I am talking about the 'academic' Music Theory examinations held by the ABRSM. You're talking about what people just happen to know. Two completely different things. Oh, and A - C# - E is an A Major Chord in Root Position.

Au contraire. The Music Theory should work along with the Sight Reading. If you don't know how key signatures, time signatures, rhythms and chord progressions work, all you'd be able to read would be seven basic notes. Yes, the ABRSM Grade 5 theory is vastly more useful than an 'O'Level (or GCSE) in Music, but any teacher worth their salt will teach some theory as you go along with lessons, otherwise you'll be left with large gaps in your knowledge. If you had no reading ability whatsoever, music theory would be utterly meaningless.

Listing all your past basses is an interesting exercise. We really do run in trends - I've owned 19 Fender basses over the years.

Year started playing: 1977 Number of basses: 9 (currently) - Just listed all basses over time. I'm reckoning 74. Maybe missed one or two! Music Theory: 10 - Music degree & two teaching diplomas. Technique: 10 Groove: 9