The Bass Doc

Punter "Ooh, I see you've got a saxophone in your band. Will you play Baker Street?" Us, "Yes we have and no we won't".

Very poor description - he should state whether or not it's pre-Ernest Testicle.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1235880' date='May 18 2011, 03:48 PM']Your English is well up to forum standard, if not above it. Welcome to Basschat - hope you enjoy it.[/quote] This is indeed a compliment Bartok, from someone who allegedly speaks Esperanto like a native. Enjoy your time here.

I had the priviledge of meeting Leo Fender in 1979. So here's the (rather modest) view from the man himself....... Simply because the Fender was the first mass-produced bass guitar to 'catch on', it became the sound that folks assumed the electric bass should be. In other words, he thought that if Rickenbacker, Gibson (insert any other make) had beaten him to it [i]they[/i] would probably have claimed the prominent position and others would, as likely as not, always be playing catch-up. OK, troll on......

Shouldn't be a problem. Most people find the B string 'floppy' so there's unlikely to be so much extra tension overall. A set-up will be in order as the B usually needs a touch more clearance.

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='1225359' date='May 9 2011, 06:06 PM']Can anyone tell me the measurements to get the screw holes in the correct place when fitting a bridge ashtray to a Fender Precision?[/quote] Assuming the bass has it's original bridge, I find it's right to 'bump' it up to the bridge itself and check it's centred.

Tis OK - It's what some call a Cowpoke - google it.

Go for it. Gigging (with just about any set-up) beats the hell out of staying in the house and hardly ever touching your bass.

I have a pair of Nordstrand NJ4SV which I [i]could[/i] be persuaded to part with. PM if interested.

On a more plain neck the dots don't present a problem because they are between the A and D strings whereas blocks take up more width and will interfere with attempts to obtain a perfectly flat board. A load of epoxy would certainly help but you still have the 'visuals' to contend with and side dots not being in the ideal place.

Not recommended IMPO. The block inlays have a habit of not staying in the same plane as the surrounding wood, giving rise to potential buzzy areas. Also when glancing down at the fingerboard the eye is taken by the 'busy-ness' of the inlays rather than the line you should be hitting. I'm sure some people will have tried this conversion and coped with the results (playing by feel for the intervals) but I thing the best playing surface is a blank face with the side dots in the right place i.e. where the fretted note would be.

Apart from your particular Squier model, I've only other Fender jazzes to have equal sized pickups have been early Mex ones. I reckon all recent Fenders and Squiers will have the USA type sizes where the bridge pickup will be slightly longer.

Hi Barry, Another old Geordie here - you're never too old to "bop 'til yer drop". Enjoy your time on here.

[quote name='LennyP' post='1210186' date='Apr 24 2011, 05:46 PM']What is the origin of the neck? Love P Basses, but the neck profile is a 'make or break' situation for me.[/quote] At present it's a Warmoth Jazz neck but I intend to get a custom-made Precision one with classic pre-CBS profile, nut width 1 3/4" and with a 'rolled' maple fingerboard as opposed to the slab one so that it will be as close as possible to the original.

[quote name='benebass' post='1209511' date='Apr 23 2011, 08:42 PM']Very nice Howard! Always loved the bass sound on T.Rex tunes & recently found out most of it was recorded on one of these. Classic... B.[/quote] Cheers B, I'll give you a demo when you come over next week.

[quote name='Johnston' post='1209475' date='Apr 23 2011, 08:10 PM']Tidy !! What about the fabled different wiring ??[/quote] Having owned the real thing, I can't recall anything different in that department - 250K pots, cloth wiring and a 0.05 cappy. I always reckoned it was the strength of the pickup (about 11.5K and the physics of the neck and body combination that gave it the extra 'clank' which you hear to good effect on that vid by The Move.

Yes, I think the classic blonde/slightly translucent off-white.

[quote name='squire5' post='1209107' date='Apr 23 2011, 12:31 PM']What he said.Even if it was Squier,wouldn't matter.I'd just want it for the way it looked and felt,a seriously nice bass to play.Come to think of it,maybe if I had an uncontoured body blank,black scratchplate........hmmmm.[/quote] Great minds eh? See my thread in Bass Guitars.

Being stooopid enough to sell my ultra rare Slab some years ago (think it's the one Barry Matthews has now), I set about recreating one with similar characteristics. The neck is maple on maple (but Jazz width and an extra fret on a 'shelf'), body in tulip wood, 60's style bridge and tuners, gen Fender pickup, CTS pots, scratchplate made by me plus a full aluminium screening plate under. Sounds? Bloody great. [attachment=78233:101.JPG] [attachment=78234:102.JPG]