bloke_zero

I've got a split p running in parallel and it's just the right about of grunt vs clarity for me.

For the OP - I think it's ok to want a modern Fender and sensible to want to find a good example.

Probably still worth a trip down to Denmark Street - there will be enough variety there to at least get a feel for what you would get. I used to go down to Wunjo at lunchtimes (when we still worked in the office) and playing a bunch of basses back to back really gives you a feel for individual basses - they are all different! You can check their stock on line.

They might have bought a few thousand when they were reaching EOL - probably not expensive in bulk. Terrifying! I am glad you're both ok!

Sorry for muddying the waters!

It caught my attention, but I ended buying a different PCB as I understood the Alembic was based on the old Acoustic 360 preamp (went down the rabbit hole on this one trying to find Larry Graham!) so I bought the PCB for one of these: http://www.lynx.net/~jc/pedals360.html But I've never built a single sided board before so it's sat in my todo pile for a long time - other peoples build threads seem pretty hairy compared to a through hole PCB build. I'd be interested to hear any experiences!

This - I found the coating seems to get grabby depending on the humidity - cleaning the coating off should help and playing them in for some time. I think you made the right call though sorting it out to your satisfaction before hand!

That is a big part of the appeal for me. Many many thanks! If you're ever down North London way I owe you a pint!

Can anyone measure the pickup placement for the California VM for me? I have a bass I built with MM and P pickups that I want to get a new body for and I think the VM looks like the perfect placing for what I want. Needs to be from the 12th fret to the middle of the pole piece to be really useful. Thanks!

My ‘74 p bass - was Olympic white.

The extras make it worth it - the charge pump makes a night/day difference when switched in 27V or whatever it is sounds really full and juicy, 9v sounds nasty and starved in comparison - I'd have been quite dissapointed if I'd just run it at 9V. You're right about the build docs though - they are pretty sparse. There is often more info on the forum there though.

Looks great - thanks for the nudge - I'm going to build one! They have a huge range of pcb's - I built their hudson duocast clone with a NOS mullard OC71 that is older than me! It really has an amazing tone.

What is he playing here? tele bass with humbucker at the neck in 1977?

Here is a link to a thread about "Stars Guitars" - apparently they used to make brass guitar hardware and pickups - ex-alembic employees. If I still visited SF on a regular basis I'd go and sleuth! Gear page link

Amen brother! Interesting - thank you!

I assume the Roland is a later addition - that would be mid eighties right? Head hunters is ‘73. So I’m assuming that Hideo put together some kind of multi output pickup? That is what I’m interested in. They were doing that on guitar pretty early on - I remember seeing a paisley tele with pan pots for each string in the early eighties. If I was Marcus I’d be interested in stealing that tone in ‘73 - I’m assuming it’s somewhat tongue in cheek! Not that he literally tried to steal it!

Paul Jackson. Of Head Hunters fame. I was chatting about bass tone again and how Paul Jackson had a great P tone, but it turns out a lot of the early stuff was played in Geraldine: http://www.pauljacksonbass.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/P1010042.jpg Not your standard P! anybody now anything about it in addition to what’s here: http://www.pauljacksonbass.com/geraldine/ Pickup make? Sounds like a multi coil with output per string?

Looks great - are they double bass pickups? Sorry I know nothing, but it looks like quality work.

If you do want to get into the physics then there is a lot to be said for a little bit of tin bent into an L. Especially on an old bass where the wood has aged nicely. If there is any such thing as tone wood then something with such a direct connection to the body feels like a good thing, especially if you're not concerned with sustain. I did just do an A/B with 2 early 70's P basses - one with a baddass II (similar to the kickass) and one with the standard Fender, but the 14 year difference in the string age probably (defintely) outweighs the bridge! Baddass is the 2nd bass - https://www.dropbox.com/s/m7lerfbz466x5iw/PvsP.aif?dl=0

Here it is after a hose down:

Cool - excited to try it out!

There is a P-bass in the studio next door. It's 1973, been refinished sort of bland and has 14 year old strings on it. Dead spots galore - but sounds great. It consistently beats visiting basses except a '65 era bitsa. As a project I tried to build a modern bitsa that replicated the thing - allparts rosewood and maple neck, nitro alder body, badass 2 bridge, roundwounds, pickups miles away from the strings (5 or 6mm), bespoke 70's style handwound pickup. It was not even close - it turned out well, a solid, even strong sounding p-bass, but maybe missing the growl and without the same mid character. So far so dissapointing! So anyway, the other day I was watching Pulp Fiction and drinking beer with my wife and spotted a bass come up for sale here, in bits from the excellent Mr @Turbineclimber (who provided a wealth of detail and hooked me up with some '74 pickups): I asked my wife, as it seemed like a good opportunity, and she, having a fondness for Travolta and maybe also a few beers down was feeling mellow and agreed, after a sigh. A couple of days later I managed to assemble the thing, it was dubbed the Travolta. First thing to do was to try it head to head with the studio bass. I'm still shocked by just how different they sound. I know, the strings (GHS Boomers on the Travolta, 14 year old Rotosound stainless steels on the other), maybe the bridge!? Any way - you be the judge - the travolta comes first and alternates with the p-next-door. Excuse my playing - both played with no foam, finger at the pick-up position, straight in on through a clean pre amp, 1 then the other, cut together and roughly normalised): https://www.dropbox.com/s/m7lerfbz466x5iw/PvsP.aif?dl=0 (Travolta is on the left - yeah I'm changing the cooker knobs!)

All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put jaco together again...

Yeah - my dad was the same when I wanted to buy stonewashed jeans in the 80's - he felt strongly that you should buy a pair of boot cut levi's and wash sparingly over a decade before you got the same effect. Now I'm older I agree with him - not so much at the time. Boot cut? FFS! It was all about the skinny back then.