The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[ped]

You could get a ‘player’ Mustang and replace the P pickup with a J (in either the front or back split coil position) with minimal routing and a new pickguard.
 

I’m not sure what the spacing would be, or indeed what the spacing is on the Japanese one. To me, that’s really key to a good J sound. Both the above options aren’t that much cheaper than importing one of these Maika basses tbh but you could use whatever pickups you like…

[Chienmortbb]

It may be worth checking with one of the UK based pickup makers but you could try to get a P pickup that has two parts that are both wound the same way and magnetically oriented the same way. This would need no mods to the bass. 
 

The rational for this is that a normal P pickup is two pickups, each one is would in the opposite direction to the other (one wound clockwise. The other any-clockwise. Having the magnets reversed  does make for a mellower sound than a J in the neck position as a traditional J pickup is single coil rather than humbucking or hum cancelling. 

if you could get two halves of s P pickup that are wound the same way and have the same magnetic orientation, it is effectively a single coil pickup like a J. 

Of course there is a slight offset between the two elements but I doubt you would hear the difference. 
 

It would not be. J pickup but it should be quite close and a lot less work than getting a new J pickup and scratch plate. 
 

Rather than buying a boutique set, you could say buy two sets of less expensive P pickup sets like Toneriders and then you would have another set for your next project . I should addd that I have not tried this and both the impedance and inductance of the new pickup may be  different to a J and as such may not be to your liking. This is where working with someone that winds pickups for a living would be a safer but more expensive bet.. 

 

 

[fretmeister]

18 hours ago, RichT said:

The price for the Maika Mustang listed on Fender Japan's website is JP¥104,500, i.e. about £495. Some quick googling tells me that Japanese prices are quoted inclusive of their standard 10% tax, suggesting the base price of the bass is about £450. 

 

Cheapest I can see via ebay is in the region of £720 including shipping. I've never imported instruments from anywhere, so tried both ChatGPT and Google for estimates on total potential cost including duty and tax. They both came up with figures in the region of £900, ChatGPT just below and Google just over. Either way, that's getting on towards double what the basses actually cost. I'd like one, but not that much! 

 

 

 

If you bring something in from outside of the UK then you take the item price, then add the shipping. Then add VAT to all of that, and then add the import duty for the thing. Import varies depending on what class of item it is. But guitars are about 3% ish.

 

Then when it lands there is a load of HMRC paperwork to do - however the UK courier will do that for you and charge you between £8 and £15 for that depending on item value. A lot of people complain about the admin fee but TBH it is a godsend. Before the couriers were able to do it for you, you'd get a notification that your item had arrived in the UK and forms would be sent to you to complete. You'd then send them back in the post and then in about 3 weeks they would be looked at. Then they would send you a bill to pay. You'd pay it, and then in another 2 weeks they'd finally release the item to be delivered to you. The item would sit in a customs sealed warehouse for over a month. These days you get an email, pay it over the internet and it only adds a day or 2 to the process. And you never get the forms being returned because you didn't do them properly - the couriers have people churning them out all day.

 

So whatever item you want, assume that to get it into your hands will cost 25% over the item sale price and you won't be far wrong.

 

Unless it's something you can't buy in the UK the savings are often minimal and of course if something goes wrong with it you are at the mercy of the seller country laws and regulations. Many of them don't offer warranties once an item is exported, or you'll have to pay return shipping and never get that back.

 

That being said, I've had a few things from Ishibashi in Japan and they are superb. Amazing service and excellent packing.

Edited yesterday at 16:17 by fretmeister

[RichT]

56 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

 

If you bring something in from outside of the UK then you take the item price, then add the shipping. Then add VAT to all of that, and then add the import duty for the thing. Import varies depending on what class of item it is. But guitars are about 3% ish.

 

Then when it lands there is a load of HMRC paperwork to do - however the UK courier will do that for you and charge you between £8 and £15 for that depending on item value. A lot of people complain about the admin fee but TBH it is a godsend. Before the couriers were able to do it for you, you'd get a notification that your item had arrived in the UK and forms would be sent to you to complete. You'd then send them back in the post and then in about 3 weeks they would be looked at. Then they would send you a bill to pay. You'd pay it, and then in another 2 weeks they'd finally release the item to be delivered to you. The item would sit in a customs sealed warehouse for over a month. These days you get an email, pay it over the internet and it only adds a day or 2 to the process. And you never get the forms being returned because you didn't do them properly - the couriers have people churning them out all day.

 

So whatever item you want, assume that to get it into your hands will cost 25% over the item sale price and you won't be far wrong.

 

Unless it's something you can't buy in the UK the savings are often minimal and of course if something goes wrong with it you are at the mercy of the sale destination laws and regulations. Many of them don't offer warranties once an item is exported, or you'll have to pay return shipping and never get that back.

 

That being said, I've had a few things from Ishibashi in Japan and they are superb. Amazing service and excellent packing.

 

Thank you, that is all essential, excellent advice. 

[scrumpymike]

1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

Unless it's something you can't buy in the UK the savings are often minimal and of course if something goes wrong with it you are at the mercy of the sale destination laws and regulations. Many of them don't offer warranties once an item is exported, or you'll have to pay return shipping and never get that back.

 

That being said, I've had a few things from Ishibashi in Japan and they are superb. Amazing service and excellent packing.

You're right about the savings on imported goods being minimal. That was my experience when I recently bought an Aguilar pickup set from Sweetwater in the USA - and that was only because I was able to get a really cheap international delivery with a US delivery broker called PirateShip. I ordered and paid for the set online, had it delivered to a friend in California and she dropped it off at her local Post Office. As you say, doing this is really a last-resort way of getting something that's not available in the UK/EU - like the Aguilar pickups and the made-for-Japan Mustang.

 

You're also right about the warranty. Danny at Bass Japan Direct confirms that there would be no warranty, which is why he inspects and sets up all basses before he exports them. The price he quoted includes his £70 service charge.

[ped]

This just arrived! I’m letting it warm up before I do a bit of a setup and clean. I couldn’t resist plugging it in - it’s going to be great fun. The circuit is original and therefore very dark - about like a P bass with the tone at 20%, when the tone on the Musicmaster is at max! Due to this there’s very little rf noise. It’s getting some heavy flats this afternoon!

[ped]

I wonder how common these are with the original two cap electronics because the noise is low and the output is pretty strong. I’m using the same preamp settings as my Mustang and the level is only slightly less, and there’s no weakness in the bass register - quite the opposite. 
 

I wonder if the ‘weedy’ reputation is because most people play them through beginner rigs? Or used to? 

[Obrienp]

Back to DIY modification of a cheap donor bronco or Mustang? A set of Tone Rider the Duke J pickups costs £65, plus a bit of P&P.  If you are handy with a router, you are laughing. Just need a custom pickguard made, or even DIY it. I would be tempted to have a crack, if I didn't have J bass so well covered already.

.

[shoulderpet]

42 minutes ago, ped said:

This just arrived! I’m letting it warm up before I do a bit of a setup and clean. I couldn’t resist plugging it in - it’s going to be great fun. The circuit is original and therefore very dark - about like a P bass with the tone at 20%, when the tone on the Musicmaster is at max! Due to this there’s very little rf noise. It’s getting some heavy flats this afternoon!

I had a black one of these many years ago, I remember mine being a very dark sounding bass, as I was very young with very little electronics knowledge it frustrated me no end, nowadays I would get a solderless harness fitted.

 

I do wish I still had that bass, it wasn't a particularly good bass, it weighed about 15 ibs, the pickguard cracked in 2 places and had a tone that have been right at home only in a dub reggae band but but there is something very cool and quirky about these basses.

Edited yesterday at 13:18 by shoulderpet

[Frank Blank]

Christ, I can't remember if I've posted these or not, apologies if I have, fretless and fretted @Jabba_the_gut builds. The ultimate shorties, even though I've just gone back to long scale thanks to obtaining a Fender Precision Thinline PBAC. The fretted (spalted) bass might be up for sale in the near future.

 

 

Edited yesterday at 13:38 by Frank Blank

[ped]

3 hours ago, Frank Blank said:

Christ, I can't remember if I've posted these or not, apologies if I have, fretless and fretted @Jabba_the_gut builds. The ultimate shorties, even though I've just gone back to long scale thanks to obtaining a Fender Precision Thinline PBAC. The fretted (spalted) bass might be up for sale in the near future.

 

 

Those are super cool basses. You know when you can tell something plays well just by looking at it!

 

Folllowing on with the basses on the carpet theme here’s my herd - I tried to take a picture like yours from above but I couldn’t get high enough!

I’ve got the Musicmaster (fretted) pretty bang on, setup wise, now. Labella flats (.050 - .110) and some truss rod fun and it’s playing really nicely.