Davo-London

The audience always reacted with Jaco. Even then the audience knew he was a bit special. Jaco's solo would always get the biggest shout of the evening.

The finale would be Jaco dropping the bass on the stage - with the ensuing kerang from the bass and then pretending to jump on the bass as the sound was killed and the lights went out. Very theatrical and very Jaco.

Still can't believe he would drop the '61/62 Jazz on the stage!

The whole band were uber tight and truly fantastic musicians.

Cheers
Davo

I saw Jaco in concert 3 times in the late 70's and early 80's.

He really was a phenomenon.

Davo

What do you think the difference is in the positions of the bridge PU. It must be mm. Are you sure you would even be able to tell the difference?

I would be keen to replicate the 60's tone rather than the 70's myself.

Davo

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1264684' date='Jun 11 2011, 10:12 AM']Don't buy any of them until you've tried some vintage Precisions.

Each of the four you mention (if new, as I assume they are) will lose roughly a third of their value as you walk out of the shop, and may be down by 50% by the time you come to sell. I have yet to work out why so many people want new instruments. If it's not a Custom or something really unusual that you just [i][b]have [/b][/i]to own, then let someone else take that initial hit.

Push the boat out a bit, double your budget, and you can buy something that plays & sounds at least as good as any of them, but is a [i][b]jen-you-wine[/b][/i] vintage bass and will either lose you very little or, more probably, make you a profit when it's time to sell.

You can't afford a 60's bass, and late 70's basses often have issues (including, for me, excessive weight) but with a bit of shopping around you might find a decent mid 70's bass you can afford, especially if you sell/trade one or more of your existing herd to help fund it.[/quote]

I'm totally with you Jack. I wish I had a 60's P and that's the only era I would consider if I was to buy a P.

That sounds poncey but the P is the most basic instrument going. Paying £1000+ for a new P just sounds all wrong. Correction, I would also consider an early 80's MIJ P, '82-84 ideally, especially if it was a reissue of a 60's P and had the same neck profile from that era.

Cheers
Davo

I prefer the near bridge PU positions. Indeed on my fretless Jazz I only use the bridge PU. Have a look at some of the Warwick basses as they have some less conventional PU positions.

The Jazz PU position feels pretty optimum for me because I also use it to rest my thumb on when I am doing fast runs and want the minimum of string movement.

Davo

Odd question maybe, but I've been listening to some Budgie recently and wondered what year Burke's Precision is from.

It looks 60's but can anyone know/tell which year?

Cheers
Davo

I generally preferred the East but the recording was much louder and this will give a false impression of sounding better.

Nevertheless, well done and good comparison. I'm an active fan if only so I have all the controls at my fingers.

I prefer that.

Davo

Here's my old 78 P fretless:


Davo

I don't think i have ever seen so much ignorance and jealousy in a single thread.

It's up to the owner whether they keep or sell their custom bass.

It's no-one else's business.

Davo

Yet again Fender do a a replica model and don't get it right!

It makes no sense they have created a frankenstein bass?? Why do they do that?

Fender seriously need to take a good look at themselves.

Davo

I have a 76 and 78. Both were heavy and poorly made. The fretless had a shallow dip in the neck that you couldn't see but it meant the A string buzzed at the C sharp and D. The '76 had a bridge that wasn't centred properly. So I had to take it off move and redrill the holes.

So my experience is that they are not worth tuppence. The 60's Ps are different and worth the investment IMHO. But then I love the different neck profiles and the rosewood necks. For the 80's Ps I would get a MIJ from 82 onwards. The MIJ/CIJ Fenders are beautifully made. I've played lots of MIJs and they are consistently great.

I respect those like myself who own 70's Ps and there some good ones from 70-72 and others I daresay. But in reality CBS started cutting corners in '66 and for a collectable bass you want a pre-65.

Having said all that, the P is so simple an instrument that does any of this matter?

Davo

It's just a P bass.

how is it different from any other P???

To be honest I think it's ridiculous. It's just my view please don't be offended. I'll explain.

A signature instrument should be different, unique and memorable of an era. Pastorius' bass is unique and worth a signature bass although even then Fender couldn't be arsed to epoxy coat the neck. But otherwise the P bass knobs, the replaced frets with wood strip, the removed scratch plate etc makes a unique bass.

This is just a black body P with maple neck and replaced pickups. Not entirely sure about the pickups replacement either.

I just don't get it.

Davo

I have a 76 P. It's awful really but has sentimental value. It feels like a couple of slabs of wood chucked together and made into a bass. The quality in the 70's was poor. But I've played lots of good 60's P and J basses and would recommend them from that era. If I was to buy new it would be CIJ. The quality control has been spot on from day 1 in Japan. So for nearly 30 years they have produced IMHO the best Fenders and better value than MIA by a long stretch.

So yes they deserve their place in the market due to their history. You just have to make wise purchases.

Davo

The vehemence of the "it can't make any difference" camp sounds like denial to me.

I'm happy to remain open minded about it. The luthiers I admire, Cliff Bordwell and Carl Thompson, tend to finish their basses with oil.

Davo

Very amusing.

Paint was surely originally used to cover up the fact that the body is made of from 3 slabs of wood. Having said that my 76 Precision is 3 pieces of wood (Ash) and has a natural finish!! I'm not a fan of the solid coating of plastic that Fender put on their instruments since the 70's. I prefer the 50's/60's nitro finish.

Anyways, the sound is better from unfinished instruments - so that's why you see so many oiled natural basses these days.

Finally, if your luthier can do this with the neck joint:



Why would you cover it with paint???

Cheers
Davo

Ah those were the days. I saw yes in 1978 I think. I went with my big brother!

Yes's early albums are really good. I haven't heard them in ages. I even loved Tales of the Tropographic Oceans. Relayer was the last Yes album that counts in my opinion.

Davo

The P isn't the most colourful sounding bass I agree. But as others have said, it mixes and records well.

I'm not a flats fan but others rave about the flat/P-bass combination.

Davo

Yes Alder and Brazilian Rosewood (fretboard) until CBS put a stop to that in 1965.

Davo

You will see from the responses that there is no agreement about strings amongst bassplayers at all.

I have spent years looking for my personal favourite strings.

My favs are:

Flats: Tomastik Infeld (TI)
Rounds: DR Sunbeams

This is no help to you whatsoever. As to why I like them, well flats to me feel the same and so for tone I think the TIs have the edge. They have nore range than other flats and you can get a very decent upright tone from them on acoustic bass guitars. The DR Sunbeamsare nickel and so they are not as bright as stainless steel. They seem to me to last longer and generally decay in frequency range at a slow rate. I absolutely adore the feel of these strings. Put them on a real cheapo bass and they turn it into a playable bass. I have these strings on a fretted and fretless basses and just adore them.

BUT THAT'S JUST ME. No-one else will agree.

It would be good to break it down into a category that we could help with. If you said you hate string noise, or you like to bend strings or you love tension or you like rounds but don't like them over-bright then we might be able to help. As much info as you can give will help.

Good luck : )
Davo

They're not all overpriced!

I'm with you on a beat up Fender.

Refinished ones are much cheaper and therefore as long as they have been refin with nitro paint a long time ago or aged then they should be good. Precisions are cheaper than Jazzes.

Davo

Or just sell it.

Or stick on flats if you use rounds or vice versa.

Paint it sonic blue.

Turn the body into a coffee table.

Seriously, use it or sell it.

Davo

Or just sell it.

Or stick on flats if you use rounds or vice versa.

Paint it sonic blue.

Turn the body into a coffee table.

Seriously, use it or sell it.

Davo

I agree that sonic blue is a great colour, but a worn and chipped sonic blue is even better. Whether that would work on a Sadowski, I'm not so sure. I would also go the nitro-cellulose route.

Davo

AS for Leo, there's always room for simplicity in bass playing and so the P not only has a market amongst bass players but it does amongst sound engineers and band leaders too.

As for snobbery, there's lots of that about. I recently, for fun, acquired a 1986 MIJ Squier Jazz for $300. This bass demonstrates that unless you are a pro you really don't need to spend much money to get a fantastic bass. I have had a custom bass made for me by Cliff Bordwell. This is partly because a) I can afford it I love basses and c) I'm good enough a player to be able to justify it. But when I play live both basses would work.

Davo

You won't wear your fingers off - don't worry about that. You will get more string noise.

My recommendation is DR Sunbeams. Love 'em.

Davo