Jonesy

I'm looking forward to your friends NBD thread! 😅 The Bass Japan Direct YT channel is worth a watch when you fancy going down a rabbit hole....... https://youtube.com/@BassJapanDirect He throws in loads of tidbits about Fender Japan and reckons it's not so clear cut on who does what in some cases. I think he mentioned Tokai made the Jazz Bass Specials even though FujiGen had the fender contract at the time, but they couldn't keep up with demand so outsourced to Tokai.

The 57 and 62 reissues are both 42mm. They're fantastic basses, your friend would be happy with their new toy 😊

I was in a similar position a few months ago, my thoughts were....... Vintera - loved it. I'm not usually a fan of wider necks, but it was thin front to back and not too much of a struggle to get around. The pups had a really lovely growl to them. MIJ PB57 - nut width was a little smaller at around 42mm (I think), but was rounder in the hand. Not a baseball bat and still very comfy. I love MIJ basses, especially their reissue range and think they're great basses. Workmanship is 2nd to none. Didn't sound as growly as the Vintera, but had a lovely smooth tone. Both of the above have gloss necks and thin frets which, for me, is why I thought they played so well. I don't find gloss necks sticky, but it's something to bear in mind as some people don't get on with them. They both have a radius of 7.25 ( I think), so have a nice curve to them. Might not be for you if you venture down the dusty end and like like bending.........but who does that on a precision anyway?!? Player - lovely neck, felt thinner than a traditional P, but I thought the pups were a bit hi-fi sounding to me. Also played a US pro 2, but I preferred the Vintera and MIJ. Personally I'd go for a MIJ reissue. Which one really depends on if you have any preference on maple or rosewood for a board. Haven't seen the sienna burst models, but I don't think it's a reissue? BassBros have a lovely Candy Apple Red PB57 US in stock that was very tempting. In the end I went for a limelight and now just have to wait for it to be ready. 20 weeks is killing me!!

Going the Gibson TV yellow route is a great choice. I saw this the other day of FB marketplace but the dude wouldn't post it. I'm now really tempted to do the same to my Jazz...

I have a SB2 and JB, both are from the Tribute series and both are fantastic with no QC issues. They really put the MiM Player series by Fender to the test and I'd much rather have a Tribute. My JB is sunburst on both sides, so hopefully the LB is too!

Personally I reckon it's not quite as black and white as that, there's lots of grey areas to this. You're definitely right about it not being right for people to have their reputation dragged through the mud and lose jobs/careers over allegations that turn out to be untrue, but then there's also going to be times where allegations are made and people wrongly get away with it. That's life (or the result of powerful people with a lot of money having great lawyers and PR teams), but then it's down to an individual to make their own conclusion on how they judge the accused. In this case it's a lot more serious than someone's political views too. There's loads of artists I don't agree with on the political front, or I think they come across as idiots in interviews, but I still listen to them and go see them live because everyone is different and allowed their own views in life. At this point it's easy enough to separate the art from the artist. It's very different to people committing crimes that are as serious as paedophilia.

An SB2 tribute fits most of your requirements, but has a J neck on it. They're cracking basses and those pups are like a P on steroids, so will be pretty different from the 62ri.

Gutted to hear that Lozz and hope you're back isn't giving you too much jip outside of playing. Sounds like you have a good plan lined up though and the JMJ is supposed to be a beast! Do you know what sort of weight you'd be comfortable with? Quite a few Fender Japan models have basswood bodies and are fairly light, so could be an option, although I doubt they'll be below 8.5lbs. On the plus side, there's a whole new world of short scale/light weight P GAS to go through!

It's really odd one to navigate this one - at which point is it OK to separate the art from the artist? There's probably some sort of formula that society subconsciously uses to work it out, where how much their art resonates with you is weighed up against the seriousness of their crime and impact it had on their victims. Jacko tends to 'get away' with lots because his music was so good. If he hadn't had been so popular, maybe just had a one hit wonder and spent 5 years in the limelight, then would people be so forgiving? Probably not. I wouldn't turn an MJ tune off, I really loved his tunes and still like them, but I wouldn't want to cover one in a band. I just don't think I'd be comfortable celebrating his music that way. Having said that, I don't have any issue with other people playing his songs - they're great tunes and if I heard someone else playing them I wouldn't pass any judgement on it.

They're great, aren't they?! I get what you mean about them not strictly being punk and they definitely have grime in their sound - just thought I'd mention them as they're not formulaic, they're an evolutionary offshoot of punk for me. Bobby Vylan takes on some guest vocals on an XL Life tune, they're worth checking out too. Although not straight forward punk themselves, but do have shades of 90s hardcore in their sound. I like The Chats and Amyl and The Sniffers for a more traditional approach to punk, but then it's hard to find a band that have a traditional punk sound without being formulaic I guess?

I think this is more of a problem with the media in general and festivals wanting to have headliners people have heard of and not wanting to risk new talent headlining with the chance they won't shift tickets. Punk had it's hay day in the 70s in terms of media coverage, so bands from that era will have more established names. There's certainly bands out there that aren't formulaic that play punk or have punk influences. They might not be so well known but that's because punk isn't front of mind in society and there's loads of other genres of music to compete with, so they're less well known. It's a shame because Download is pretty similar. A lot of the headliners are bands from 20+ years ago and they would rather get Kiss, Iron Maiden or Slipknot to headline than giving new talent a chance to shine on the big stages. Check out bands like Bob Vylan or XL Life if you want a new band that doesn't have a formulaic approach to punk - great stuff!

There is something really great about an SG in a blues 3 piece, especially if your guitarist is playing a strat. The huge low end really fills a space where the strat is so glassy. I really loved playing mine but then it didn't sit so well when we got keys in, then I found a P just cuts through and works a little better.

Original band playing grungey punky noise - f u c k Slurry Blues band - Bearers of Bad Blues

Ah, brill, I missed that and will give it a watch! My daughter likes to twang the strings of my bass and definitely has her favourite one to play with. She's been wanting to strum her hand across my guitar recently. I'm hoping she'll grow out of it 😂

Great idea for a series Greg! I have a one year old daughter and have been digging around to find some inspiration for her for when she's old enough to pick up a bass. Can't wait to see it!

DC's are lovely little things, nice to get around and they have quite a bright sounding pickup for a Gibson. The neck is a little chunky in the hand, not unmanageable, just rounder and more filling. I had both the DC and a SG for a while and ended up keeping the SG. There wasn't anything wrong with the DC, I just preferred what the SG did and wanted that big humbucker by the neck tone. The one thing I found slightly off putting with the DC was that the body is a slab and doesn't have any contouring. You can change your playing position to get around it and it wasn't a biggie for me, but it's just one thing to keep in mind.

They look like a Ric and Warwick bumped uglies. Not for me, but I've never played one tbh.

Thanks for the help 😃 I assumed the necks had a gloss finish and were then rubbed down or something to make them relic'd, but maybe they just start off as having no finish and are oiled as well as other relic'ing to add mojo. Thanks for that Dunk. I guess a modern Fender relic would feel something like your '59, so trying one out in a shop or even finding another original bass somewhere would be a good place to start. Sounds like I have an excuse to walk into a shop and pick up some very nice basses!

Hello there! I was hoping some of you lovely limelight owners could help me out with a quick question......... I've been chatting to Mark (who has been excellent!) about a potential build and am hoping one of you here could help me out - I think it's mentioned here that his J necks feel like the current J necks in use on the US model Fenders, but I'm trying to get an idea of what the finish on the back of a relic'd neck feels like. Would you say the Limelight necks felt similar to a Fender custom shop relic? Just wondering if there was something comparable out there I could try in a shop to get an idea. Mostly because I prefer glossy necks and have no idea of a glossy relic'd neck would feel like. Thanks in advance!

I used to think a P was pretty boring because everyone had one but, after picking one up and playing it for a while, you realise why everyone has one. They just fit in the mix really well. I've now got 2 and am thinking about picking up a 3rd, which I would have thought was crazy a few years ago. Speaking of Fender releasing new but old but new stuff.......they've added a few new colours to the player series. Candy apple red Jag and jazz, seafoam green and CAR precision and a few more left handed options in the player plus line too. The seafoam green looks pretty cool... https://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-player-precision-bass-sea-foam-green/961833

Ohhhhhhh, this sounds like a reply I'm going to like..... Ah nice! With the 70s profile neck as well this ticks a lot of boxes for me....oh dear.

It'd be cool if there was no routing under the pickguard and you could take it off. A P with just a metal control plate would be sexy af! I really like this though, I wonder if there'll be a Squier version like he did for his Jag? Or if it can be played in passive mode?