Compliment on a no name bass

[badboy1984]

Did a gig last on saturday using my P/J bass with no name on the headstock and I'm getting compliment on the good tone of the bass. They came up and asked me "what bass is this?" I said is a part build bass that I put together lol.

The bass is consist the following: std MIM fender precision body with std bridge, Seymour Duncan SP3 split coil pickup on the p position and a Seymour Duncan SJ3 single coil on the bridge position, control unit is all passive and wired with vol/vol/tone. The neck on the bass is glossy maple jazz neck.

I love how the bass feel and sound.

[Adrenochrome]

Decent pups and you're most of the way towards a good sound.

[badboy1984]

The problem with that bass is the hum you get, but I can only hear the hum when playing through headphone so I'm not too fuss. Also the output balance of the pickup is pretty hard to adjust because the P split coil is more powerful then the jazz pickup, but then again i don't solo the jazz pickup, the jazz pickup is their to add abit of clarity of the tone to the P pickup. So overall I like the tone very much, nice deep low with clarity on the highs.

[chaypup]

[quote name='Adrenochrome' timestamp='1384771044' post='2280386']
Decent [s]pups[/s] fingers and you're most of the way towards a good sound.
[/quote]

[badboy1984]

At the moment the bass control unit is vol/vol/tone. Was wondering shall I change it to vol/vol/tone/tone. Both using stack pots so no extra drilling needed.

[Twigman]

I've had the same with my Warmoth - some clever dick asked me if it was a Sadowsky......er no

[Toddy]

[quote name='chaypup' timestamp='1384779021' post='2280545']

[/quote]
Amen.

[Biaeothanata-Bassist]

If you're having output balancing issues, you could change to a vol/blend/tone config. Personally, that's how I'd run it. That way you can bias towards which pick up you want more from or find that sweet spot that matches the 2.

As for the buzzing, sounds like a grounding issue. Check all your ground wires are connected up properly or it could be down to the jazz pick up. Being a single coil, it will buzz quite a lot which is why I'd prefer to use the STK-J2b pick up in a P/J bass as it's hum-cancelling.

Again, those are just my personal preferences Sounds like a gorgeous bass though. You should post a picture up

[hamfist]

The very best cure to both hum and pickup balancing in a PJ setup is to get a high output hum-cancelling J pickup. The Dimarzio Ultra Jazz is perfect.

[Kiwi]

Or get a buffer preamp installed with separate buffers for each pickup.

[risingson]

A lot of people who think they know about instruments often hear with their eyes. I've had a lot of compliments about a 90's MIJ Squier P that I own that I've taken abroad with me to gig for fear of taking one of my more expensive instruments, even though I value its sound just the same.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1385075928' post='2284332']
A lot of people who think they know about instruments often hear with their eyes. I've had a lot of compliments about a 90's MIJ Squier P that I own that I've taken abroad with me to gig for fear of taking one of my more expensive instruments, even though I value its sound just the same.
[/quote] it's quite odd the questions about your instrument you'll get asked after playing.
In response to the OP - the fender bass is a relatively simple design. Sound wise as long as you've half decent pups and bolt it together competently there's not much more mojo added by having it bolted together by some fender employees

[badboy1984]

Seriously with my eyes blind and I can't tell between a stock fender and my bass. In fact my bass sounded better with more clarity in my opinion because of the Seymour Duncan P and J on the bass.

I gotta love the slim fast jazz neck on my P bass