Beedster

Well I took it along to a rehearsal the other night, this over my left shoulder and my PJB Briefcase in the other hand. First thing I noticed was that walking through town centre was not the usual anxiety-inducing experience as is the case when taking my DB. In fact, a couple of girls came up to me and said that were really glad it's a musical instrument because from a distance it looked like I was carrying a large weapon. Little did they know Anyway, rehearsal, stuck a Wing PUP in the bridge and it sounded lovely, really lovely. Action you could drive a bus under at present, but still very playable, also very solid feel and very very nice board. How does it compare with my old Yamaha SLB-1 I hear you ask.......? Sound wise? Better, no joke, might be a function of the decent wing PUP (something you can't use on the SLB), but even unplugged it has a good solid thump with a nice sustain. Playability? Not quite so good because the skeleton frame on the SLB makes it really easy to engage physically with the instrument. Portability? This wins hands down, nothing to take off after a gig, just swing over my shoulder and off I go, no worries about damage. All in all, quite chuffed

[quote name='philparker' timestamp='1445338086' post='2890616'] And how long before someone disagrees or starts an argument? [/quote] If you ask me they look like furniture

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1445198118' post='2889583'] Gov, Gov, not 'got', bleedin' Gov! Try to post an amusing reply and my phone makes an embarrassment of me, I give up. [/quote] Ha ha, that was quite a classic reply to a thread that doesn't exist!

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1445014931' post='2888224'] Isn't the spacing on a BBOT way off Rickenbacker spacing? I'd be tempted to go with something like a Schaller roller bridge (for the adjustable spacing) with a Geddy-style surround (maybe made from mirror acrylic) so that it looks good from a few feet away and hides the routing. [/quote] Probably yes, think I was trying to emphasis just how bad both the original and aftermarket bridge offerings are for Ric. The original works very well of course, but only as long as Ric have bothered to get the rest of the instrument right - for example alignment of bridge rout with neck and PUPs, height of fretboard over body etc - and as we know, that's not always the case

Hipshot got it badly wrong with the Ric bridge, I'm almost tempted to say it was designed by an infiltrator from Ric. If I get another Ric it's going to be wearing a BBOT

Folks I had a rather sobering experience recently when a DB I had bought in good faith (as had the guy who sold it to me) turned out to be something of a ticking bomb. I took it to two luthiers who both said exactly the same things about the instrument in terms of the quality of previous repairs, and both indicated that what had happened was a direct result of the poor repairs in question. So, in the space of about a month I found out that I actually know very little about the construction of DBs, what can go wrong with them, and the signs that indicate either that it has already happened or that it might be about to. I had a look through this forum and realised that there's not a lot on here either (or that I've missed it) So, please share what you know, and don't be afraid to keep it simple, it's clear that I missed some pretty simple clues with mine I should add that I'm now having to look for a replacement (the old one is being repaired to a point but I'm not quite so confident about it's potential longevity as I was), so I'm sincerely hoping that this thread over time will become a buyer's bible so to speak! Please feel free to add any pics to illustrate any examples Cheers Chris

[quote name='Linus27' timestamp='1444770731' post='2885951'] Cheers everyone. I will just keep looking. The two Jap Fenders I currently have I never ever thought I would own, especially one of them so I am hopeful something will turn up [/quote] 1. Don't hold your breath 2. Don't assume that because it's MIJ it's de facto good. As an owner of many fretless basses over the years the reality is that whilst a lot can be done to improve the performance of a poor fretted instrument, it's a lot more problematic with their fretless counterparts. I've owned two MIJ Fender fretless basses, one was glorious, one was awful, no sustain, no bite, no mwah, nada. Changed bridge, PUPs, strings and setup, still nada! Same is of course true of all fretless basses from the budget end up to, dare I say it, Wal (although I think the range of quality at Wal is probably not as great as it is elsewhere). Point I'm making is that if this is some kind of Holy Grail "must have an MIJ Fretless Precision" quest, you probably have a fair chance of being disappointed given how few there are out there. I'd be playing what's for sale on here, or perhaps even better, building up my own (you'd be surprised just how cheap it can be to put together a decent instrument, and perhaps your best bet is an MIJ Precision loaded body and an aftermarket neck?)

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1444764483' post='2885812'] Why are you sticking so doggedly to an amp that the band hates and even you admit has problems with its tone? Surly you can take a hint? If any part of your sound is bad then that cancels out all the good sounds. At the very least, I'd use the Ampeg until you figure out what you did to cause the bad tone in your DIY amp and do a rebuild. [/quote] Yep, that's the long and short of it. I've played with far too many inexperienced musicians who think that there is something magical about 'their' tone, despite the fact that only they can hear it, and who cause constant issues with other band members, soundguys and audiences because of it. Yes, some old tube amps can produce a gorgeous muted and diffuse bass tone, but the fact that this rarely worked in any mix was why amp manufacturers moved towards gear that accentuated mids and clarity, amps that not only got heard, but didn't swamp everything else doing so

[quote name='Linus27' timestamp='1444680896' post='2885094'] I am a big fan of Fender Japan basses, having a few in my collection but one bass eludes me, a Fender Japan Precision Fretless. Do they actually exist? I've seen lots Fender Japan Jazz Fretless basses for sale but not any Precision Fretless. I'm wondering if my best option is to get a Japanese fretted Precision and get it professionally deforested. [/quote] I'd have thought your best bet is to buy one of the numerous USA Precision FLs on here at the moment, by the time you've paid for an MIJ Precision, and then defretted (and devalued) it, it might be that the USA route will be equally economic.

Generally speaking when I buy a new bass, especially a fretless, I really want to know how resonant it is, because despite what some folks say, I've always found that is the wood doesn't resonate, no amount of high quality electrics will make up for it. In fact a fretless that doesn't sustain well is about as much use as a chocolate teapot for most applications (and to be honest, the applications such a bass actually is OK for can just as well be performed on a fretted bass in my opinion). So, to check resonance I play it unplugged and stick my chin on the top horn. If I get a nice strong resonance in my chin and head, to me it's a very good sign. A little eccentric of course, but it works for me

Nothing to see here

[quote name='machinehead' timestamp='1444595492' post='2884434'] The only brand-new motorcycle I ever bought was a Yamaha. It stopped every time it rained, bits fell off and it wrecked a main bearing before it was two years old and less than 10000 miles. Their customer care was to ignore me. I was 17 at the time. That was in 1974 and I swore I would never, ever buy another Yamaha product again.... and I never have and never will. A pity because their bass guitars are excellent. Frank. [/quote] Ha ha, imagine what mid-70s Fender motorcycles would have been like

Bass on that track is actually very nice

[quote name='colgraff' timestamp='1444578563' post='2884249'] Yamaha basses have been solidly good for as long as I have been playing. Having said that, pretty much everything made by them from instruments to motorbikes and everything in between are spot on. [/quote] Agreed

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1444555915' post='2883967'] There could also, perhaps, be a third category for instruments that have improved virtually beyond recognition for which I would nominate Squier as a shining example, although to be fair the entry level bass market as a whole is massively better than it was when I started playing 25 odd years ago. [/quote] Not sure, are Squiers today as good as those from the early 80's? A huge in quality dip followed be a renaissance is not really a net improvement?