KiOgon

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1005416' date='Oct 29 2010, 04:35 PM']Primarily these are designed for fretless as you suggest but do indeed work well on a fretted bass. The equivilant are Rotosounds Trubass which aside being made famous by Paul McCartney come in at double the price. Nice review.[/quote] Cheerz buddy, but I beg to differ on the equivalent to TruBass comparison Although I haven't used them for a good few years, IIRC they have a 'smooth' flatwound surface, unlike these which actually feel like a roundwound under cover IMHO the Rotosounds feel a lot bigger & heavier, indeed they are quite huge at 65-115, which does really notice. From memory also the TruBass put quite a pull on the neck, requiring far more trussrod turning & setting up than some people are comfortable with, + probably a new nut or a fair bit of filing to even get them in. The GHS 3060s are more comparable to the Rotosounds, but very very much nicer in many ways my favourites

I have just entered a new review in the Miscellaneous Reviews section & found it 1/2 way down the page! It appears to be listed alphabetically not chronologically, like the 'norm' - is there a way to change it - or how it's displayed - or does it make more sense to have it as is? Cheerz, John

Fender Bass Strings: 9120M Nylon Tapewound (.058, .072, .092, .110) I thought I would offer a short review of these strings as they are new to me. These were supplied to me FOC by Fender after I had moaned about a few things, including - why don't they offer alternative strings on their basses! First impressions: The packaging didn't cost a lot, which is fine by me, flimsy card wrapper & all strings together in one 'Vapour Corrosion Inhibitor' technology bag, on the back is a guide to the string end ball colours. Opening the bag - the strings feel smooth & sort of soft to touch. The silks both ends are all black & nicely wound, all finishing about equal lengths. I always take care un-coiling & handling covered strings to make sure the sharp ends don't scratch the finish. No problem fitting these, on a conventional bridge the silks stop behind the saddles & at the top - 34" scale they are all 1&1/2" past the nut. The G didn't need cutting, left it full length, the others I chopped off approx. 4&1/2", 3", 1&1/2" respectively to give about 3 full turns on each peg. The bass was previously fitted with Fender standard roundwounds & to fit these tapewounds the nut didn't need any filing from standard even though these are larger gauge strings, actual sizes are .058, .072, .092 & .110. Personally I like the bigger gauges, especially the large G string & in this set they feel like a well balanced progression of size without feeling too big. They remind me of the Rotosound Nexus Strings which I tried about a year ago, but these feel flatter, smoother & with a outer wrap not like a coat of paint, hopefully they will last a bit longer too! Brought up to tune, stretched a bit & retuned a couple of times - the action required little adjustment from the old settings & the intonation was still OK. I left them overnight to settle before I checked the need for any truss rod adjustment. Next day, everything had settled & the action remained pretty much as it was, I managed to lower the E & the A slightly but the tension on the neck seems to be similar to the original strings, a .012" business card just slipped between the 8th fret & my 2' steel rule laid along the neck. They feel halfway between round & flatwound, smooth to play & with almost no finger noise but still that slight uneven surface, so not like a groundwound, like a round with a covering on, in fact to me they feel a bit 'plasticky'. After a couple of days use they are definitely rougher on the right hand 'plucking fingers' than normal flats but seem fine on the left hand 'fretting fingers'. They're fine for bending with none of the fret grinding that you get even with flats when they're new sometimes. Sound wise - again halfway between round & flatwound, most of the brightness of the rounds but missing some of the deep down thud & boom of true flats. I use my fingers for plucking mostly in the neck/pup area so I'm always getting that old school tone, these don't disappoint in the lower notes while having a brightness in the higher notes, maybe getting close to the sound of some old well run-in rounds. The output from the pup on mine seemed very comparable to the rounds I replaced & the balance across the poles is good, maybe a bit more from the G as it's quite big by comparison, considerably more mass than your average 40 or 45. Looks; very cool, shiny/glossy black - a bit different - with well wound black silks too, almost sexy! I probably won't buy these again for personal choice but I can see some players benefiting from them if they want the smoothness of flats while retaining most of the zing from rounds. Also it seems the ease of fitting/ lack of change/adjustment, due to the similar tension etc. has advantages. I can't see them ever wearing the frets down, there's a certain 'non-stick' feel to them & I would think play very nicely on a fretless board. On the Fender site I was amazed to see the MSRP of these at $49.99, a quick search shows them at several shops here in Blighty for as little as £16.95, so I'd say they're certainly worth a try at that price if you are at all inquisitive. Other strings I have compared these with currently on Precisions are, La Bella 0760M, 1954 Original Oldie Deep Talkin' Bass Flatwound Strings (52,73,95,110), Fender 9050ML S/S Flatwound (50,65,85,100), Fender 9050L S/S (45,60,80,95), my long time favourites GHS 3060 Bass Black Nylon Tapewound (50,70,92,105) & not forgetting the Fender Super Bass 7250ML NPS Round Wound (45,65,80,100) which were factory fitted on my '57 AV Precision.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1002141' date='Oct 27 2010, 10:34 AM']At least they sorted the guard out [/quote] The guard itself is not a problem, I lifted it & moved the trapped wire but at least I have a nice new sh*te & briney P/G in the event of needing one. The strings were a bonus Cheerz, John

Thanks to the shop - Peter Cook's Guitar World - I received today from Fender a replacement pickguard & a set of black nylon tapewounds, free of charge Sometimes it pays to moan The 9120M strings look & feel very soft & smooth, I'll get them on later Cheerz, John

[quote name='ikay' post='1001499' date='Oct 26 2010, 06:29 PM']Looks pretty good to me. Fender bridges don't allow for fine string spacing adjustments, it's just a case of finding the best spacing you can with the pre-grooved saddles. You've done a good job![/quote] +1

Pictures are worth thousands of words, I'm sure we could give you better guidance if we could see the problem.

Or you could move Downtown with Pedula Clark

Warwick Avenue - with Duffy in Black Nylon Flats, that'll do nicely

[quote name='Delberthot' post='997485' date='Oct 22 2010, 08:09 PM']Just found this - [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LED-LIGHT-BAR-guitar-amp-speaker-cab-rack-gear-/220611839202?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335d7d84e2"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LED-LIGHT-BAR-guitar...=item335d7d84e2[/url] I like this a lot - my only concern would be that it could introduce mains hum into the signal[/quote] Crazy price, I got a couple of them from Hong Kong for a fraction of that! They're great for lighting up pedalboards too - I'll find a pic later. Cheerz, John

More good words & hearty recommendation from one John to another I sent him some Ashdown bits - he sent me some dosh, simples! A pleasure to deal with as always, total gent. Cheerz, John

Fabulous! Congratulations

Yes - BUT - too much going on! It's a mix & match nightmare

These are good - [url="http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/edding_751_Paint_Marker.html"]Edding 751[/url] - very good, probably at your local Art shop. Cheerz, John

[quote name='Clarky' post='993129' date='Oct 19 2010, 08:25 AM']Given my knackered left hand I will be using my Fender Precision for the first couple of gigs in my new band, rather than the DB. Does anyone have any recommendations for strings to make my P-bass sound as DB-ish as possible? I have tried Trubass strings in the past in the past but TBH found them very thick and unwieldy. IIRC, however, there is another set of black strings that are easier to play and sound quite DB-ish - can anyone tell me what they are - or alternatively recommend something else? Obviously I can also stick some foam under the strings by the bridge if needs be (as I did at our rehearsal on Sunday). Thanks gents and ladies[/quote] If you're still looking for sugestions - GHS 3060 Black Nylon Tapewound - my favourites I've got them on my Skjold 35" scale usualy downtuned DGCF, on my '51P & will be on my '57 shortly. They're like the Rotosounds but better made & 'normal sizes', soft feel, just right tension, sound very DBish plucked or thumbed up by the neck. They last too! I'm waiting for some from the states now, can't find them here at a sensible price Cheerz, John

I haven't found a site that deals with serial numbers beginning with V, as in Vintage series I suppose. I asked the shop to ask Fender for date of manufacture + any other info. but haven't heard yet. BTW - If I have the neck off, would you expect a date stamp & anything else maybe on the heel? I'm playing this every day & definitely have no worries at all about it now, even putting up with roundwounds until my GHS get here Cheerz, John

Whatever we think about Fender they've been getting it right for a very long time, by which I mean "money in the bank Frank". Long after Leo & his inspirations have faded away, they're still coining it in day after day from 'us', around most of the world. Sixty plus years on & most musical instrument shops you look in will have something with a Fender logo, with a price ticket on it, if you don't like it - don't buy it, simple. A bit like Sainsbury's or LloydsTSB or BP - etc. etc. etc, a lot of people moan about them, what they do & what they sell/provide, but their tills are still full at the end of the week. There's a lot of musical instrument makers jealous of Fender's track record & very few that will ever achieve anything near it. Yes they're a bit Volkswagen & oh yeah - they're doing alright too! Cheerz, John

Years ago a mate was a steel worker & he did that - pissed on his hands every time - the moral of the story is > > > > > Never shake hands with a steel worker

Those 2 P's look like they could tell a story or three Lovely

[quote name='krispn' post='989950' date='Oct 16 2010, 09:06 AM']Having had a disaster last night when the input jack of my Squire decided that it wasn't feeling like doing anything remotely what it's supposed to I'm gonna go get a soldering iron - a guy I know did a full rewire on this bass recently but didn't change the input jack as I had thought (and asked) - so I'm gonna do it myself and be safe in the knowledge if it screws up I've only myself to blame. Just wanted a heads up on the recommended voltage and a pointer at some decent solder. I know Maplins and Ebay are full of these and I may even construct a varitone box once I get up to speed with the soldering. Thanks in advance folks.[/quote] If you are investing in a tool to do all & do it well + last for years, an investment, if you are going to get the use out of it, then get a Weller temperature controlled iron with interchangeable tips for different jobs. It's what you'll find on practically every pro & hobbyist workbench. Not cheap but you get what you pay for, there's usually some on ebay. Cheerz, John Edit: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Weller-WTCP-50-Soldering-Iron-Station-Set-/280574496585?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item41538b0f49"]A good example[/url]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='989907' date='Oct 16 2010, 02:20 AM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2x-ASS-cabinets-/110596911418?pt=UK_ConElec_SpeakersPASystems_RL&hash=item19c016f13a"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2x-ASS-cabinets-/110...=item19c016f13a[/url][/quote] OMG - "Both drivers not working Need a lick" HAha

I'd say it's like notches on the bedpost - nudge nudge - maybe a lot of good times?

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='987478' date='Oct 13 2010, 10:02 PM']I like the case [/quote] It's the case that's the sunburst - innit? Oh dear

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='987835' date='Oct 14 2010, 11:07 AM']If I'm looking at those neck pocket pics correctly you're all missing the biggest flaw on this bass. The flat top un crowned frets. And I always thought re issues were poly, have they started doing them in nitro?[/quote] Au contraire mon amie. Those frets are some of the finest things Fender do IMHO! The 'Vintage Frets' are about .085" wide & only .025" - .030" above the fingerboard. One of my reasons for wanting this model, along with the one piece Maple, both massive factors in how fabulous the neck feels & plays. They are similar to but even better than my '51 P RI - my previous 'best to play' Both my other P's are MIM with Medium Jumbo frets on Rosewood which seem to be the standard, I certainly don't need such big frets for my playing style I suppose even if I have got BSF (Big Sausage Fingers) The Nitro Cellulose finish on body & neck, as the original '57s were finished, all part of the American Vintage Series. Fender say: "Our American Vintage ’57 Precision Bass pays tribute to this landmark instrument with accurate detailing, including electronics and hardware—from the split single-coil pickups to the vintage tuning machines and nitrocellulose lacquer finish. A true Fender classic." Cheerz, John

[quote name='bh2' post='987207' date='Oct 13 2010, 05:58 PM']Very lovely! [/quote] Cheerz - yes she is More good news - Fender have said they'll send me a set of strings Free Gratis, along with a replacement pickguard, (in case it's buckled). I have to say the shop have been pretty good in helping sort this out, communicating with Fender, very quick replies etc.