cameltoe

Oh, it'll be crap, for that price. Question is, is it playable? Some budget basses can be a nightmare to play, and others can play reasonably well. If you're ordering online it's impossible to tell without trying it out. Given that it's cheap, the QC will vary hugely, so you could get lumbered with one that's actually not too bad, or one that's a total plank. Nice looking for the money though! Black blocks got to be worth the ££ on their own. As far as mods go, it's usually best to stick to Fender/squier budget guitars, as you then can interchange parts easily. For instance, say you were given a Jazz Neck from a vintage Fender, it probably wouldn't fit this guitar properly as it would a budget Squier.

So to cut a long story short, he lives in the area, he's involved in a couple of other projects, and after seeing and hearing about us he's been recording a few of our tracks at his basement studio in his house. A very well equipped basement! If you don't know John, there's a lot of stuff in Wikipedia etc that covers his career, but basically he's been the main man at the Sawmills studio in Cornwall for many years, had a big hand in the whole britpop scene of the 90's, and has produced and engineered Muse, Supergrass, Razorlight, Robert Plant, Stone Roses (Fools Gold-recorded at Sawmills!), and most impressively, also worked on Oasis's Definitely Maybe (which ended up being engineered and produced by a bunch of different studios)- the platinum disc is impressive and intimidating all in one! Obviously very exciting times for us! He's a great guy, and we currently have 4 songs recorded, but not yet mixed. Just the raw sound he's managed to get so far is very encouraging. Can't wait to hear the finished versions. I will be posting them up! We don't have a record company or any other backing, so we're currently funding it ourselves, one day at a time!

How nice could I get a bitsa like this to play? To the inexperienced man (myself) these guitars are so simple, that it seems if you buy quality parts, especially the neck, there's no reason why it shouldn't play really well, providing it has a decent set up. the low action is important to me, and I'm willing to pay out for a decent fret job to help achieve this, but I'd hope, hope that I could get it playing as nice as an MIJ/ Am Standard. If I could get it to feel as good as my Road Worn P, I'd be over the moon.

Great advice, cheers. The Stratosphere does have some nice stuff, but I've figured out why they chose that name- that's where their prices are. Does any body have any experience of this Musikraft company? I've read a few good things on google, and they'll make a neck to any spec you want really. I think I'll enjoy any stripping and painting, so looking forward to that. I'm gonna base it roughly on a '57, and see how I get on. Hopefully someone will come forward with a body soon, I'm hoping for at least MIM quality so at least I know I'm getting solid wood (as opposed to moulded particle board) although I remember my last MIM P not being overly light. No boat anchor, but not exactly ash.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom for me? I'm gagging to build my own P bass. I've already figured that the most important thing to me is feel, so I'm thinking of spending the most money on the neck. Body-wise, I'd like something not too heavy, but not crazy light either. Solid wood, maybe MIM level quality. I'm going to then strip the body (if neccessary) and paint it up in a colour I choose from [url="http://www.tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/Lacquers-and-Paint/Aerosol-Lacquer-and-Paint/View-all-products.html?TreeId=5"][u]here[/u][/url] I'm hoping to find a maple MIJ or American neck, but if not I've been looking at [url="https://www.musikraft.com/index.php?CZSESSID=41inn3qdh11mq8bhr02hback83"][u]these guys[/u][/url], and with them I could have it built to my specs, for a great price. Chunky, maple, 7.5 radius, rolled fingerboard edges. If I can't find a body, I may order that from there as well. I'll keep it simple electrically- no preamps or crazy pickups, probably just a Fender Vintage p'up, or a vintage Wizard. A medium amount of bashing up after the paint-up, just to get that worn-in comfy feeling. I really want this bass to feel amazing, and play really nice with a low action. I think the neck is the most important part in doing so, but I may be wrong and I'd love to hear your comments, especially if you can advise of other suppliers. Thanks!

Probably, but if I was buying I wouldn't be buying as an investment, I'd be buying to play it every week, and hopefully get an amazing feeling bass. I've never tried a real '57 Precision, but I know someone who has, and he considered it to be an unbelievable feeling instrument. I'd love to be able to say that myself, and I'd snap it up in a heartbeat. I've been looking at my next guitar after my current Road Worn P, I love it to bits, especially the played-in feel. Nash, Custom Shop, or this?

[quote name='chris_b' post='1149128' date='Mar 4 2011, 12:39 AM']This is not a good buy! It's cheap for its age because it's not collectable (too many mods), and it’s too expensive to be a gigging Precision at £3000![/quote] Ah yes, but if a genuine vintage Fender appeals to you (as it does me) isn't this a great opportunity to own one without spending 10k? Plus you can use it, knowing you won't lose money if it gets damaged in any way. Only custom shop money after all!

Ok so refin (a good one mind) and some schallers, even so isn't this way too cheap? If someone wants to buy a kidney.... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1958-Fender-Precision-Bass-Two-Tone-Original-Parts-/270711596627?pt=Guitar&hash=item3f07ab2653"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1958-Fender-Precisio...=item3f07ab2653[/url]

I play mostly with two fingers, sometimes three, but one thing I've always noticed is that the rest of my fingers tend to curl up into the plam of my hand. I've noticed that other more experienced bassists kind of spread their non-active fingers across the strings. I often try and learn some finger funk lines to improve my touch, and have spent a long time perfecting muting (as well as learning to play ghost notes etc) to make the lines pop along a bit and bring them to life, but recently I've been experimenting with drawing my fingers back across the strings when playing, (with a flatter hand, rear of palm closer to E string) so the strings 'pop back' as opposed to flicking or tickling the strings as I normally do. I find that 'pop' of a funk line tends to come out much easier this way, however it does feel a bit unnatural. Much easier for muting, but I find the technique slower and a bit awkward. However, now my dormant fingers are spread out on the strings like some of the better players I've seen. I remember reading when I first researched right hand technique a few years back the the right fingers should do this to some extent, and I'm wondering if it's worth pursung this new right hand technique. I normally play rock music and rely on speed, so whether this technique is suitable for that I'm not sure. It could be that I've naturally stumbled across the correct right hand technique in my own time. Or it could be that i need to work on it but it will only work for finger funk etc.

Was he predominantly a pick player? I normally use fingers, but I'm fairly competent with them. Great posts btw. I think he's a great player, I'd like to take some of his style into my playing.

Where do I start? My dad had me listening to Fireball yesterday, and although I experienced a bit of Purple as I was growing up, it's only in the last 3 years I've morphed into a bass player. Listening to this yesterday with bass players ears on suddenly made me realise how lazy my playing can be! He chucks some great lines into some songs where it would be very easy to get away with keeping it simple, but in my mind it never sounds like he's overplaying (which I hate). So where do I start?

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280634778029&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT[/url] "I've no idea if it's a real Fender or not" normally sets alarm bells off, but the neck and logo look geniune '70's to my admittedly untrained eye. Either that or ir's a great decal that someone fitted a long time ago. Can someone with more credentials examine this please?!