meterman

10 hours ago, AngelDeVille said:

Neck was the most expensive part of my 51.

body off eBay , I spent about $3 for the paint job.

 

Love it!

10 hours ago, Jus Lukin said:

I love a Tele II bass. My Squier has been bastardised into a hippyish jack-of-all-trades so can be many things, but I'm still a huge fan of that whopping great neck pickup! (Photo to follow, as I'm on my laptop and any snaps I have are on my phone!)

@meterman, I'm pretty sure the Squier Precision TB was just Sunburst, although I share your love of that colour- Butterscotch Blonde, maybe?! I dunno, all those colour names seem to belong to the world of audiophiles and wine snobs, but yeah... that one. It feels like the archetypal Tele II bass colour.

I always think of it as a sort of Dijon mustard / Colonel Mustard colour if that makes sense?

Both your basses there look awesome by the way. 👍 The Squier is probably what I'll get if I can find one used.

Old shot from the Jazz Caff where I'm wearing a Can t-shirt and playing a Wurlitzer 200, and a recent shot from lockdown where I'm wearing a different Can t-shirt and having a brew:

14 hours ago, Tone Deaf said:

Hey Lee. Just joined myself mate. looks like a great site. I've had some useful support already. Here's one for you. Not too sure about the colour but I hear America are very keen to do a free trade deal with the UK. Can't get cheaper than free. 😉 https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/173951607338?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=173951607338&targetid=879842586457&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9046426&poi=&campaignid=9445986154&mkgroupid=95782681917&rlsatarget=aud-629407027105:pla-879842586457&abcId=578896&merchantid=6995734&gclid=Cj0KCQjwn7j2BRDrARIsAHJkxmwPiDSvCUuFTXu646rV-AJEGu5EycNAvef1KBCdo2ji687wtMjKDbsaAtYjEALw_wcB

Cheers TD! 👍

Yeah I'm looking at old Fender and Squier Bullets in the States all the time, the shipping costs edge it over my meagre budget sadly. Shame 'cause the necks on them are lovely

Loved that, thank you!

4 hours ago, Marc S said:

Hello Lee / @meterman 

Shwmae from South Wales.
I know Brighton quite well. My sister lives in Saltdean.
Really like the area - but if I lived anywhere around there....I'd be spending too much time in GAK! lol

Lockdown isn't driving me too crazy - partly because I was halfway there already...
And I'm not going stir crazy, because I've been in work the whole time anyway
Just missing family, and missing jamming with pals + gigging, of course

The colour on that old Bullet of yours looks fab. Shame you had to sell it
Now you can use lockdown to search for another one

Welcome to BC

Hiya Marc, thanks for the welcome mate 👍

Yeah it's probably a good thing GAK isn't open again yet! I'm fairly new to Brighton and still finding my way around, I'm from the North East originally (County Durham) and lockdown has taken the edge off my exploring the place. 

And yes, the old Bullet was lovely, I really was gutted to sell it. If I ever find one in my budget again I'll be on it like hair on a gorilla. They're pretty hard to find though, so it might be a long search... 

Cheers - Lee :)

11 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

Good evening, Lee, and ...

Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Good morning Dad / Douglas and thanks for the welcome, much appreciated :) 🙌

1 hour ago, pete.young said:

If that kids bass has 'Tanglewood' written on the headstock, you did OK for £5 - normally I'd expect them to fetch £40-£50 or more.

Well spotted, yes it's a tiny little Tanglewood EB-18 bass.

When I bought it, it only had 3 strings and the control cover on the back was missing so it had wires poking out of it. Wasn't sure it would work but took a chance on it because I liked the colour and it was £5. It has La Bella flats on it now, they cost more than the bass is worth 😄

@kodiakblair

🙌 Thanks for the encouragement!

Is that blonde 51-style in your pic a Harley Benton? You've got skills man :)

1 minute ago, kodiakblair said:

@meterman

 

If you want a Telebass I'm afraid you either buy one or build one.

 

The PB-50 is a great bass,owned about 6 of them. It's not a Telebass.  Buying one to mod as Telebass is quite a task,even if you can find the wide humbucker.
You need a much bigger pickguard to hide the single coil hole,or you fill it and do a re-finish.

 

Some folks think the Artec Mudbucker might work. String spacings are totally different. Here it is in two positions.

 

The DiMarzio Willpower or The One are no good as they are the opposite of a Mudbucker,they are wound to be clean and bright. Another fella makes a version called the UnMudbucker.

 

See, this is great advice, exactly the kind of stuff I have no idea about.

Modding is not really an option for me anyway as I've no tools, skills or space to work in. Good to know what's possible and what isn't. 

 🙏 Thank you!

2 hours ago, RichardH said:

For some more £££ than the HB, I think Fender are doing a Squier 51 Classic Vibe bass again now in white blonde...

That's a handsome looking bass. I wouldn't have to attempt any DIY headstock reshaping if I bought one of those, or the slab / humbucker version either. Thank you!

- Lee

2 hours ago, yorks5stringer said:

This may be beyond your budget( and a lot of money for what it is. I've just sold a genuine Fender Blueflower for what they are asking)? : https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FENDER-MODERN-PLAYER-TELECASTER-BASS-BUTTERSCOTCH-BLONDE-2011/193453252688?hash=item2d0ab66050:g:qzoAAOSw1XNesqFu

However I'd support the suggestion of a HB from Thomann, although not available in blonde. There's plenty of upgrade pickups in the classifieds here too.

I'm a fan of the Telecaster bass, here's a gratuitous  pic of mine which is very similar to one of your photos. Oh and you occasionally see other Basses for sale which are a similar copy to the Squier, but with the authentic headstock. I thought called 'Freeway' but not!

Thanks for the heads up on the Modern Player, yes it is above my budget sadly.

Your Telecaster bass is a beauty! That's a dream instrument for me :)

Cheers - Lee

3 hours ago, simon88wilson said:

With a tight budget in mind and the first thing that springs to mind is the Harley Benton PB50. great original Tele/precision look although it doesnt have the fat humbucker but it sounds great. Price wise it punches well above its weight and might just be the ticket.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pb_50_fr_vintage_series.htm

 

and if you feel you need to it its quite easy to trim the headstock to the tele shape.

 

i did a refinish and headstock change on one a while ago.

 

 

 

Man, you did a great job with that! Nice playing too 😎

I've got no tools, no DIY skills and nowhere to work otherwise I'd be tempted to try and do something similar. £98 though, that's a Kwik Save price for a bass!

2 hours ago, Teebs said:

Hiya Lee

Hiya Teebs, thanks for the welcome!

Ah, I forgot pics! 

My old Fender Bullet bass / the toy bass I currently own / the style of bass I'd be looking for:

Hiya folks, my name's Lee I'm new here, can I pick your collective brains for a min?

I need a bit of advice about which bass to buy. Unfortunately I haven't got megabucks to spend and there's no option to try basses out in stores, at least not for a while.

I'm currently bassless. Well almost, I've got a kid's mini bass that I found in a charity shop for a fiver but it's not much use for recording and I can't really take it out live. I used to have a brilliant USA Fender Bullet Deluxe bass (you know, with the Mustang pickups and Tele bass neck) it was my absolute favourite to play but I had to sell it and pretty much everything else I had to raise funds to get a flat. Which is absolutely fair enough, everybody has to make sacrifices. So I've got a roof over my head but no proper bass of my own I can use. I'm currently borrowing basses in the two bands I play with, and that's no good really. And the lockdown has taken away my earnings, same as everyone else probably, and my budget is 'Tesco Value' rather than 'Tesco Finest'.

When I got my Fender Bullet Deluxe it was a real bargain, nobody seemed to want them or know much about them but that's changed now. I'll certainly never find one in my 'Tesco Value' budget! Unless I find a stripped or modded one but the chances of that happening are pretty slim I'd guess. I know there's the MIJ Squier versions but I never see them anywhere, they seem to be rarer than the USA Fender models. 

I've been thinking about getting a Squier Telecaster Bass, the big slab bodied one with the fat humbucker, but I'm only finding them in sunburst. Did Squier do one in that 50's mustard-y buttery colour (don't know the exact name of it) or were they all 3 tone sunburst? 

Or is there a Tele bass by another company I'm not aware of that would be a good bet that isn't Fender USA money? Or should I just get a Squier Precision and get on with it?

I really appreciate any help or advice you can give me on this! 🙏

Cheers - Lee

Hiscox Liteflite has always served me well. I used to use an old red label Fender case until it got totally smashed in. It looked like someone had just taken lumps out of it with a hammer. Maybe they had? Since then it's been a Hiscox, and I don't take any 'irreplaceable' instruments if I have to fly. 

19 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

Welcome Lee.

19 hours ago, baldwinbass said:

Hi Lee, good luck with your bass search! 

Thank you, I appreciate the welcome!

Hello everybody, I'm Lee from Brighton.

I discovered this forum while researching online about which bass to buy. LOT of great information here and it's invaluable when it's impossible to go into shops at the moment. I play in a couple of bands but I'm only borrowing a bass which is no good really. I used to have a great Fender Bullet USA bass (hope the pic attaches) but I had to sell it a couple of years ago when m**** got too tight to mention. I would have another one straight away but they seem to be pretty hard to find now. 

Anyhow, hope everyone is well and the lockdown isn't driving you all too crazy. Looking forward to spending some time here

Cheers - Lee