Paolo85

Right, so that's probably a stupid questiin. I am about to replace some pickups for the first time in my life. I have received today a Wilkinson P and a Tonerider J. In one of the Wilkinson pickups as well as in the J, the pickup cover does not stay on. That was not the case the couple of times when I got some pickups out in the past. Besides, the Wilkinson comes with screws and springs for the screws so I am not sure what would keep everything together. The Tonerider came with foam (although the description said it would come with springs) Is that normal? Thanks

I think this guide is good and the measurements here are always my starting point (except do not bother with the intonation BEFORE setting string height and truss rod, and do not worry about neck shim/micro tilt unless you cannot do a proper set up). What I do with a new bass is getting roughly to that Fender recommended setup, and then adjust further if needed. You may want to try a lower action (I always try, rarely manage). The lower the action the more likely you are to get string buzz. You can lower the action either by straightening the neck with the truss rod or by pushing the saddles at the bridge down. Typically, if you do it with the truss rod you risk fret buzz up to the fifth fret, with the saddles after the fifth. You may want higher action, or be forced to do that by fret buzz. In the latter case the opposite apply. If the buzz is near the neck use the truss rod (add relief), else the saddles. You may find that when you add relief you get a side effect of more fret buzz around the 12th fret or further toward the bridge. If that's the case, often times instead of going down a spiral of more relief and more string height I just compromise and decide that a certain amount of buzz on a couple of positions is fine by me. More expert people would have better advice on that.

I am not familiar with the RB so I cannot help with similar strings. However, it looks to me you can find them for 5 string as well https://rotosound.com/product/rb45-5/ I am not sure, however, whether you can find them the same size

Thanks. I doubt it is the switching per se, more wiping the strings extremely thoroughly with a good cloth. Ibhave good hopes grease will come back!

That's very helpful many thanks! It opens a massive dilemma for me This is a Squier Made in China 2008, with I believe alder body, and it sounds much better than my Squier Affinity PJ of recent construction with stock pickups and with poplar body. I was planning to get the same P pickup on both and see how they compare. But given that the Wilkinson Alnico has a much better reputation and only costs 4 pounds more.. I may just have to go for that. Decisions..

Happy to report that, yes, after just two weeks the strings were starting to even out. Very thumpy sound all over the fretboard as long as I turned the tone down just a little bit. Unfortunately, as I had to remove the strings a second, I gave them a very good wipe because, I thought, surely there is more to breaking in than some grease. But no, strings are back as new, with annoyingly bright D and G

Right, so no sticker. Would you be able to tell me if this is alnico or ceramic? The magnets for the two pickups look quite different.. not sure if it is age? Many thanks

Thanks! I see that right now Wilkinson is selling Alnico V pickups for £23 https://www.northwestguitars.co.uk/wpb-precision-bass-pickups-alnico-v-magnets/ I wonder if they are the same pickups and they have just cut the price..

Hi all, I have bought this Squier P with a Wilkinson pickup which I like a lot and I would like to put on another bass. The pickup has been there for at least over 5 years. The logo does not look like that on the WPB and MWPB pickups on sale now at various shops for £20ish. It looks instead like this pickup out of stock at Andertons described as "Wilkinson P bass humbucker set" and for double the price https://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-dept/bass-guitar-strings-accessories/bass-guitar-pickups-electronics/Wilkinson-Alnico-V-Bass-Pickup-Pair I cannot find those pickups in stock at mainstream shops although some sellers have it on Reverb/eBay, also for £40-50 Do you happen to know what are/were they? Are they actual stacked humbuckers? Thanks!

Unfortunately, unlike you I realy want the Jaco sound, so for that it is very hard to replace the HB J on a budget. With cheap PJs I always fear I'd have to replave the J pickup... If I was you, I would really give rhe HB B450fl a chance. Dealing with Thomann is quite straightforward. You'll have it at your door within a week. If you don't like it, you return it

I play fretless purely for fun. No band, no studio. That seem to be Jonesy's plan as well at the moment. Have owned two unlined and two lined. I find that I enjoy unlined much more. Having the lines pushes me to look more. Not having them pushed me to listen more. Ultimately I have settled on a lined HB JB75fl because for what I am looking for, you cannot beat it in terms of value for money. But sometimes I think about replacing it with an unlined. Which is why I am following this thread closely. But it looks like options are not infinite on a budget.

This. It is certainly fine to spend 2k on your first bass if that budget is fine for you. However, with 2k I am not saying you have the world at your feet but the choice you have is massive. And there is no amount of reading and advice and youtube videos that will tell you if, on a bass, you prefer 38, 40 or 42, 43mm nut width, U, C or V shaped necks, single coils, humbuckers or split, at the neck or the bridge or both or a combination - and alnico or ceramic, or active or passive etc.. On the other hand, I am sure the good people of Basschat will point you to a fine bass you can live with. @itu said it as a joke but honestly I think you'd be much better off buying three very good and very different basses second hand here for 500-600, give yourelf a good anount of time, chose a favourite and sell the others, or sell all and buy an upgraded version of your favourite.

Thanks all! Yes it is the sleeve. Quick and simple solutions. The PTFE in particular looks like a very quick job. Is there a risk that 2mm of softish material (the tape) will affect tuning stability?

Hi all. I have just bought some Hipshot Licensed Ultralite used here. I jumped at them because at the moment I have a bass with cheap tuners that is a bit neck heavy and could do with less weight, and another bass with cheaper tuners and proper neck dive. However, the hesdstock holes do not match the size of the Hipshots for both basses. The main candidate for the tuners now is a Harley Benton JB-75fl, the one with neck dive. It has 18mm headstock holes (tuners are 16mm). It seems Hipshot sells adapters but I have only found them for sale from the US and I cannot spend $50ish postage on a £155 bass. So.. how do I fit them? I obviously would need a solution that does not add weigh to the bass... I read somewhere that I could fill the holes with superglue and baking soda and then drill. Would that be the right thing to do? Would it be heavy?

I have just bought some tuners from John. Communication was great, postage was superquick, tuners were well packaged!

Many thanks!

That's very helpful many thanks!

I am resurrecting this to check if now someone actually owns or has owned one of these HB PJ74. I have returned a Squier Affinity PJ because of a truss rod issue and I am tempted to try the HB instead. The reason is that I like the Roswell pickups in my HB JB75fl more than the squier affinity pickups so maybe this PJ with Roswell is right for me I have however a few concerns 1- neck size. My HB jazz bass has a very chunky neck for a jazz. I am ok with it given the 38mm nut width, but maybe on a precision I would find it more problematic. The affinity neck is extremely comfortable 2-bridge pickup: would that be the same as in the HB jazz? Or woukd they use a weaker one on the PJ? 3-weight. My HB jazz is very heavy and pretty much everyone seems to say that of their HB jazz. I can live with one bass like that, not two. I understand those PJ basses should be lighter but do they tend to be heavier than an average P (whatever that is)? Many thanks

That's probably what you meant with buying a HB for the neck but unlined there's the HB B-450fl. I have never tried it though

I started playing with a cheap P bass (I was playing 80s metal, funny enough) but never tried slapping. Only few months later I switched to an Ibanez Ergodyne so arguably that's the bass where I "learned" how to play. A few of years down the line I decided to learn slapping and for that I automatocally found a wider string spacing more comfortable. In my case it was not even getting my index in between strings. I just preferred the more open position with the right hand. That's one of the reasons why I switched to a Cort GB74. Then I got tendonitis, ended up never learning how to slap but that's another story.. I appreciate however that all this is totally subjective and someone learning on tight string spacing would be ok with it. As for the muting, I agree it is not a massive problem but even with the floating thumb I find it a bit more involved on 5 than on 4. I find 5 less forgiving on slight changes in hand position. Probably because I am not very good. I was recently watching an interview to Marcus Miller (I believe by Thomann) in which he said muting with 5 is much harder. He seemed to mean it is harder for him, not for the beginner. He said when he uses 5-string he has to mute the B with the left hand thumb. I am no expert but I suspect that's because he's a slapper and when you slap you cannot use the floating thumb

I second those saying that cheap does not mean bad. A 200 pound bas can be perfectly playable, giggable and sound very good. At that price range you often may want to change tuners at least in my experience (say 50 pounds additional cost) or else look at slightly more expensive basses but not by much (eg under 400 new) The problem is not so much the quality of cheaper basses, but the risk of quality control issues (eg bad fretwork or stuff like that). While in principle the more you spend the more you can count on QC, that is not really a simple equation. By reputation, and in my limited experience, if you get an Ibanez QC is great at any price. You may not like the pickups or the woods, but it is unlikely to have actual issues. For other brands including Fender you hear more mixed opinions on QC. I have only ever had Squires, funny enough I am returning one because the truss rod does not work. Sire supposedly has an amazing QC, although I was disappointed twice. The best insurance in that sense if you buy new is to buy from a shop with good customer service eg a good online retalier will let you return a bass with say bad fretwork with no questions asked and very little hassle. A good shop where you could try the bass would not let you return the bass based on things that you could have noticed in the shop (eg fretwork), but they certainly would if there are hidden issues. Buying second hand takes a bit more time and work, there is an element of risk, but as many said is the best option. I bought a bass here for 265 in February, we did not bond, I sold it just recently basically at the same price. A few weeks ago I bought a battered Squier Precision from 2008 for 125 (not the one I am returning, another one). It had an upgraded pickup. After changing strings, cleaning it and sanding the gloss a bit on the neck I am now absolutely in love with it. Sounds great, fretwork is better than in more expensive basses I have had, tuners keep in tune, weight is average. That does not mean it is pointless buying more expensive basses, obviously, but still...

Good advice from Woodinblack (although I also would consider a precision). I would add to what I said that chosing a 5 string over a 4 may not be as straightforward as it may seem. For example, if you get the Ibanez 305 he is suggesting, you get a narrow string spacing. This ensures that the neck is not huge and in a way makes it more confortable. But lot of people find it unconfortable for slap (as you need to get your fingers in between strings) and a lot of people just do not like it and prefer the traditional feel of a bass with wider string spacing. If you get a 5 string with wide string spacing, you have a big neck which some people struggle with, and possibly a heavy neck (which would likely need a heavier body to balance). Obviously similar arguments could be made for 4 string, but to a smaller scale. On top of that, muting strings that you are not playing can be an issue (else they just vibrate and there is this "drone" going when you play). This can be/be seen as a problem. And muting on 5 strings is much harder. Mind you, these are not at all big problems. You can find your way around them easily. Just something to keep in mind.

I am not sure if you meant that you play 80s metal or metal in general. To my knowledge nobody in the 80s played 5 string.. I have found that I strangely get less satisfaction from playing music clearly written for 4 strings if I have a fifth string there doing nothing. I have just sold both my 5 strings for that reason. I suggest looking a bit more into whether you actually need the low B. Do the bands in the sort of metal you play actually use it? Do you use a 7-string guitar or detune often?

That's exactly what I was hoping to hear! For now I have raised the pickup for D and G relative to the other one a bit so I get more punch which makes their brightness is less annoying