EssentialTension

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1363299226' post='2011379'] I've come across a few with the same problem, it seems some people fix it with glue in the screw thread or by wedging something under the saddle. I just took it off and put a proper bridge on. Honestly in nearly 70 years of making basses couldn't they come up with something better than that? It's not like their instruments are cheap. [/quote] I've never needed anything better, it's always worked for me.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1363273496' post='2010835'] I once put a Badass II on a Jazz but I wasn't chasing magic sustain or desiring adjustability or anything like that. The simple fact of the matter was that my E string saddle kept losing height while I played it, requiring constant adjustment, because the stock Fender bridge is a piece of garbage. [/quote] I had a friend with a Jazz bass with that problem. He just needed a new saddle.

[quote name='onemanband' timestamp='1363120492' post='2008939'] Hi, So, I bought a Tortoiseshell pickguard blank off ebay, and made a new pickguard today. Took most of the afternoon; I used hand tools so as not to risk any mishaps and I'm pretty pleased with the result. As I said, it's a personal thing but I think it looks much better. Now to get on with some playing!! [attachment=129798:IMG_0334.jpg][attachment=129799:IMG_0338.jpg] [/quote] I agree it does look mich better - very nice in fact.

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1363104425' post='2008565'] That would depend on material played and so many other personal preferences that it puts it into the realm of personal taste, which as the Beatles thread (again) showed - having personal taste, unless it agrees with the majority, is barred on this forum & lays the author open to personal attack. [/quote] I thought the Beatles thread (everytime) showed exactly that people could and did say what they wanted to say and the nay-sayers were equally as vociferous and the yea-sayers. I really can't see that anything is barred and if and when there are personal attacks they come from both sides. [quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1363104425' post='2008565'] My own opinion on them FWIW is that it's an old-fashioned design, copied so much as to make it passe, with a very limited variance of tone. As has been said often by others over threads, they're boring. [/quote] Old-fashioned design, yes, and copied so much as to make it passe, probably, although I have always suspected that boredom came from within. I can't agree with very limited variance of tone at all.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1363105563' post='2008591'] You are wrong. There are plenty Fender owners who wouldn't spit on a Gibson if it was on fire and are quite vocal when it comes to voicing that opinion. There's even a Gibson headstock joke in this thread, and the thread isn't even about Gibsons. Don't talk to me about people looking down their noses, you don't know you're born. [/quote] I made the (some) Gibsons headstock joke but I've actually got nothing against Gibsons, have owned Gibsons, and often pop in at the Last Bass Outpost to get the latest news. I was in a studio with a friend's band once. Their bassist was using an EBO. When the engineer saw it he said 'I can't record a Gibson'. Ridiculous.

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1363104121' post='2008552'] Exactly, having a replaceable neck is a stupid idea. What bassists really need is a bolt-on body bass. [/quote] Some Gibsons might benefit from a bolt-on headstock.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1363103651' post='2008541'] You could turn this on its head and I could ask if someone would tell me why my performance would be improved if I were to play a Fender. I'll give you what I believe to be the simple reason - IT DOESN'T MATTER! A bass is a bass and as long as it's of mechanical and electronic integrity then it will make pleasingly rumbly low notes that make people dance and glue the drummer to the rest of the band. You know which "camp" I'm in, but I harbour no hate for any brand. Actually, considering the runaround I've been given recently in my attempts to procure a Grabber 3 70s Tribute bass that is fit for purpose (have given up), I'm not in a terrific mood with Gibson USA at the moment either [/quote] Yes, nobody's any good because of the bass they play.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1363102123' post='2008506'] I'm a little in the dark with this, still. Would a Fender hater care to chip in and let me know in what ways my performance (musical, that is) would be improved if I were to play another brand? Thank you. [/quote] [quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1363102960' post='2008525'] Has anyone anywhere, apart from here, used the word "hate"? One thing that is repeatedly frustrating about this forum is users who introduce a loaded word into a thread as though it's already been used & then the discussion goes off on that tangent based on a false assumption. (see under "Beatles" thread) [/quote] Any dispute over the 'hate' word is irrelevant to the content of the question asked. The question is 'How would WoT (or anyone else) improve his or her performance by using a non-Fender bass?'

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1363103178' post='2008528'] TBH I've never seen any instrument with the neck so badly damaged that it couldn't be fixed that didn't also have significant damage to the body. In fact I recall a video posted on here some time back that showed someone (bassist from Guitar Wolf?) trying to smash his Fender bass at the end of a gig. He broke a piece off the body long before doing anything serious to the neck (if at all). IMO the bolt-on neck as an ease to repair is a solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. [/quote] Yes, the stairs probably wouldn't do much damage anyway.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1363102123' post='2008506'] I'm a little in the dark with this, still. Would a Fender hater care to chip in and let me know in what ways my performance (musical, that is) would be improved if I were to play another brand? Thank you. [/quote] What a good question.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1363101851' post='2008499'] What? I'm failing to see any real benefits apart from maybe an ease of construction by people who aren't trained woodworkers/luthiers, and maybe helps to reduce the overall cost of the instrument. Is that what you want? cheapness before functionality? I'm afraid I can't hear any empirical evidence for differences in sound since all the bolt-on neck basses I have are also different in lots of other ways besides the construction at the point where the neck meets the body. If there are basses out there that are completely identical except for this can someone point me in their direction? [/quote] I'm quite happy with bolt-ons but I'd agree with this. The one other (not very important) advantage of bolt-on is that when you drop it down the stairs it's easy to fit a new neck.

[quote name='Bigjas' timestamp='1363094778' post='2008287'] That is so clever I'm sure it won't be 100% accurate all the time with all songs, but it makes working out songs so much easier. This is a long way from when I used to sit at a tape deck, starting and stopping and rewinding songs to work them out Jas [/quote] Tape deck? You were lucky. Lifting the needle back a few grooves that was the old way.

I'd probably say that the La Bellas are my favoured ones but I've used Pyramids regularly too and also Rotosounds which are quite similar to the GHS ones.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1363091779' post='2008200'] OK I'll see if there's something in the Fender back catalogue that could be subtly adapted to suit what I want. I'm warning you, it'll have 5-strings for a start though... [/quote] Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1363091297' post='2008181'] I [i]do [/i]have my own private jar of Marmite - but I use that for smearing on my nipples. [/quote] Well, be careful with the knife even if it's a clean one.

Grain pattern: Knot:

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1363090965' post='2008173'] I've googled for possible links on warping due to knots in the wood and there seems to be quite a bit of evidence, from experts, to support that over time a weakness can develop at the point of the knot. The OP has also asked for advice from Talkbass and The Fender Forum too and there is some anecdotal stories of similar problems from other bassists and guitarists. I have an open mind about it now. [/quote] Fair enough, but what he has pictures of is not at all a 'knot' according to some of the commentators; it's merely a grain pattern. So there still seems to be some confusion. What he seems to be describing as a 'knot' I have three of on the neck of my Precision and have had on other instruments with no problem.

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1363090775' post='2008166'] Does the fact that by and large these strings are pretty heavy gauge that the tension is correspondingly high or is that just the effect of the wrapping? [/quote] I haven't tried all of them but they certainly do vary. For example the D'Addario black nylons are lighter gauge and lower tension. I've never been too worried or fussed by the gauge differences.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1363090669' post='2008164'] What I really meant was, [i]other people[/i] get bloody butter in the Marmite jar... [/quote] Not if you have your own private jar of Marmite.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1363090418' post='2008158'] [size=4] But then you get butter in the Marmite jar! ... [/quote] Not if you use a clean knife.

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1363090062' post='2008152'] The squeezy thing is wrong, you just need a jar, with marmite in. And a knife, all the rest is just custom shop madness..... [/quote] I hate that squeezy Marmite. What a mess and it's runnier.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1363089652' post='2008146'] ... Of course if Fender came and offered to make me the bass of my dreams for free, even I'd find that hard to resist and would most likely come up with something equally inappropriate. [/quote] So, go on BRX, what could Fender do for you? I'm thinking maybe a custom shop Coronado with a set neck and your own chosen characteristics?

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1363088659' post='2008127'] Which tosh in particular are your disagreeing with? There's several pages of it. [/quote] As usual.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1363085125' post='2008018'] This thread has reinforced what I thought all along - Fender can't win. [/quote] ... but we Fender users know they do win, don't we.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1363082387' post='2007955'] You know........you may be right? I've been reading this and the guy in question took it to two repair guys and both concluded it was the knot that caused the problem [url="http://forums.fender.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=55505&start=15"]http://forums.fender...=55505&start=15[/url] Good old Fender QC. [/quote] But, if you read the whole of that thread you linked to, it's still in dispute as to whether they actually are knots and whether they are the cause of the problem.