SumOne

Nice one, yeah a few more things to consider than I had originally anticipated. Looks like it worked out well though. I guess if I were to go for new Northwest Guitars Neck (£130) then it doesn't have pre-drilled holes so that solves the plug/re-drill thing, and potentially also a new Body from them (£175) means there aren't mis-aligned scratchplate or bridge screw holes (as it doesn't have any pre-drilled). The price soon starts creeping up though! But I suppose getting those two key parts new makes things easier, then I can gradually add all the other parts second hand. That'd be £305 neck and body + approx. £200 for everything else so about £500......somewhere between the cost of a new Squier and new Fender MIM Player series.

MusicMan Basses look ugly to me, the Bongo looks like a toilet seat and the Stingray control plate looks jarringly out of place the way it dosn't align with the pickguard. Saying that though, some Stingrays have a larger pickguard instead of separate control planel and there is a Sterling Stingray that does that along with my favorite finish (dark purple sparkle!) https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/220112379376008--music-man-sterling-stringray-ray35-purple-sparkle-rosewood-fing?gclid=CjwKCAjws--ZBhAXEiwAv-RNL1cJJH_b7EJrF3-Y3DXYqSyO68DGNJestZUApk-xB1y6Ovl1AjqNGxoCn0gQAvD_BwE on looks alone I'm quite keen to get it. So I guess it's a bit of a love/hate thing. I quite like the classic style of a Sunburst + Tort Precision Bass, there is something warm and comforting and conservative about it. It seems the equivilant to an old tatty Chesterfield in a smokey dark corner of a 70s snooker club with sticky floor and a stale beer and whisky smell to it.....not sure that's always such a good thing though, sometimes sparkly purple funk seems more fun!

Nice one! That's encouraging, it looks like it worked out great. Some useful things I hadn't considered like Truss rod access, or the thread on the bolts. I'll get into insomniac skip rat mode!

I'm interested in putting together a Precision Bass ('building' would probably be too grand a term!). Basically getting second hand body, neck (complete with truss rod and frets and nut) and other bits and putting them together. I'm assuming that a passive P Bass is the simplest in terms of complexity of the actual Bass and ease of getting parts. I'm also assuming it is relatively easy as I'm basically just screwing parts together and not doing anything like shaping wood or adding frets/fret levelling or dealing with multiple pickups and active preamp.....but is there anything in particular I need to look out for? These are my assumptions: Body £90 (sold, but as an example). Depending on the body, I would perhaps paint it white - knowing that it'd be quite a shoddy sand then rattle can job (I quite like scruffy looking basses anyway). Neck £40 (also sold), this one being a Jazz neck, which I might do - assuming all J and P heel/neck pockets are the same so it's just a case of screwing it on with a neckplate. P bass pickups and loom £75, seems a faily simple process as they fit the P bass body cavities. Tuners £50 (they'd need to match the width of the headstock and ideally match any pre-drilled holes) Bridge £30 (ideally with the screw holes in the same standard P bass positions) Pickguard £20 Additional things like strings, neckplate, knobs, strap buttons, string tree, etc. £50 Total: £355 .......then some fairly easy going jobs of screwing pieces toghether and perhaps a small bit of soldering and Bob's your unkle, a one-off custom Bass! I'm not expecting it to be cheaper (or better!) than just getting an equivilant cost second hand bass but it will hopefully be fun or at least rewarding and I will be able to personalise it possibly cheaper than getting another Bass and then changing lots of parts (Ideally I want: lightweight white P bass body, J Bass neck, black pickguard, white pickups, Black lightweight hardware - including drop tuner).

I thought the Vox was quite shoddy - hissy, crackly wheels, poor construction (jack snapped off). The Nux in comparison is good sounding, not noisy, well built, rechargeable, Bluetooth for streaming music to play along to, 6x Preset settings for different effects like Modulation and distortion and eq (adjustable via the app). Something the Vox wins on is being able to adjust the Bass volume & tone and on-board click & beats as a stand alone unit. The Nux needs Bluetooth connection to the app to access those things.

Yeah, I had the Vox and now have the Nux. The Nux is much better. Or if you want to spend £££ then the Boss Waza Air Bass are great.

RIP:

Unlimited Touch, Searching to find the one:

Alternatively, could've seen 2 piece drums/Bass bands like Royal Blood, Death From Above 1979, Om and concluded it's a worrying time to be a Guitarist. Perhaps some music can do without Bass, not stuff I want to hear though!

A Google search for 'Bernard Edwards Bass sound' led me here so it must be one of the go-to places for information - but it has been over 5 years since anyone posted so I thought it was about time to resurrect the thread, not really to add any information but to continue the appreciation! I think this is a great assessment of his playing style: "Edwards is a master of taste. A player with great technical ability, he exercises restraint and control in the most musical way—creating a part and letting it guide the song. His lines are simple enough that you can sing along to them, yet they seem fresh over and over again due to the subtle tension they create. In many ways, he defined what we consider a “bass groove”—a hook that doesn’t need elaboration to be interesting, and in fact, is more effective when executed correctly over and over again." https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2018/06/14/bass-players-to-know-bernard-edwards/ He is probably best known for playing a Stingray but his white Precison with black pickguard and white pickups (as seen in the picture posted earlier in this thread and in the Le Freak video) is pretty much my dream bass, it looks 'Chic' and funky while also being similar to the quintessential Punk look of Dee Dee Ramone's White/Black P Bass. I can't remember where I read it but aparently he used a Precision a lot in recording for the earlier stuff and used other basses for photos/videos....not that it probably matters what Bass he was playing as he seems to be a great example of someone that sounded like himself no matter what Bass he played.

They have an impressive list of users https://www.audiokitchen.co.uk/users/?product=the-big-trees

One of the less played BMW tunes. I particularly like the bassline - I prefer it when Aston Barrett keeps the basslines simple and repetative/meditative and dubby like this (which he seemed to do a bit more on the later albums).

Or perhaps John Entwistle's P Bass: https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2022/09/08/rare-1966-fender-p-bass-owned-by-john-entwistle-hits-the-market/

I'm not sure what's happened there, they were working but have now gone. Basically there isn't much in it: Both black MIJ P bass with white pickguard, one is 1980s with rosewood the other is 1990s with maple (that one is slightly cheaper, lighter, more scrapes).

That is possibly a good call, it's all too easy to get carried away with thinking more ££ = better. Although, old ones seem to cost a lot. Bass Bros have a 1984 Squier P Bass for £1,249 I spent a couple of hours in the Bass Gallery a couple of weeks ago going through a lot of their P Basses and it was a relatively cheap (£699) brand new MIM Player series one that I liked the best. That probably goes to show that me starting this thread was a waste of everyone's time and I really should just try before I buy as there isn't any accounting for taste!

Yeah, if a big majority of people on here said 'definitely go for X' because that is a great deal and is technically a much better year/pickups etc and the other one looks like a fake then it would've swayed me but with the votes exactly 50/50 so it sort of confirms my indecision! I'll do the sensible thing and will wait a while to see if my current Bass sells on here, if it doesn't then I'll make the journey to Bass Bros at some point to take them up on their part-exchange offer and will try out both Basses in-person (or perhaps others will be better). So thanks everyone, (for nothing! 😀)

That's good to know, thanks. It does seem to be the general concensus that Rosewood sounds warmer - which is the tone I'm after. I once spent ages in Bass Direct trying out three or four almost identical Dingwall Combustions - all brand new with the same strings, pickups, electronics etc. the only noticable difference being maple vs rosewood fingerboards. I couldn't notice a difference in tone (perhaps there was but by the time I unplugged and put the next Bass on it wasn't enough to notice) but I prefered the feel of the Rosewood ones as they didn't seem to stick to the strings so much, although perhaps the stickyness of the Maple lacquer gradually wears off. Rosewood also psychologically feels like it'd be a warmer sound and perhaps players and audiences listen with their eyes a bit.

Some good Basschat knowledge going on. A dead heat so far though - that makes me feel better about being indecisive!

The 57 vs 62 thing confuses me as I thought there were a few differences to the originals whereby the 57 has a thicker neck profile, raised poles for the A string, different paint colours and ocasionally a metallic pickguard. I might well be wrong but as far as I can tell there isn't really any difference on MIJ re-issues other than the fingerboard 57 = Maple, 62 = Rosewood.

Yeah, you might be right - I get an idea in my head and then rush in. My current Bass is 3.3kg which I've got used to so perhaps my best choice is 'none of the above'. Edit: One thing that put me off unusually light P Basses is the risk of neck dive as I assume the weight saving is in the body and they are still using pretty much the same neck/headstock/tuners as the heavier ones. Did you notice that happening with that 8lb (3.6kg) one?

On looks alone I'd probably sway towards the Rosewood....lower cost and weight then sways be back to Maple though. First world problems!

I've been offered part-exchange from Bass Bros and have narrowed down my new Bass to these two: 1993 Fender Japan PB-57 Precision Bass Reissue MIJ. https://bassbros.co.uk/product/1993-fender-japan-pb-57-precision-bass-reissue-mij/ 3.9kg £799 + Lighter, cheaper - More scrapes, including a chunk out of the back of the headstock. 1985 Fender PB-62 Precision Bass Reissue MIJ. https://bassbros.co.uk/product/1985-fender-pb-62-precision-bass-reissue-mij/ 4.2kg £875 + Older (I guess in some ways that's a good thing, not necesserily though), fewer scrapes, Rosewood which I think I prefer the look of and if it is to be believed about it being a bit less bright sounding than Maple then that suits me better. - more expensive, heavier. Although they are a 57 vs 62 aparrently there isn't actually difference in nut width and neck profile etc on these two MIJs, they sound and feel similar and according to Bass Bros it is pretty much down to the look of maple vs rosewood. Any evidence a mid 80s MIJ being better than and early 90s? Otherwise it's a bit 'spot the difference' from the photos and I can't decide, perhaps adding some peer pressure can help persuade me one way or the other?!* I don't think it's an issue for either of them but I plan on adding a Hipshot drop D tuner. *I know the stock/sensible answer is to try them out, but it's nearly a 4hr round trip and I'd need to go in a weekday and book a day of holiday, and the petrol will be significantly more than the £20 delivery cost so postage is much more convenient. Bass Bros are trustworthy and tell me both are fine as far as frets/electronics/truss rod etc. and surely can't go too far wrong with a MIJ P Bass?