MrFingers

And a second pair with maple fretboards. And a fretless one. Maybe cram in a 5-string as well…

Works now?

Some things in life you know are bound to happen somewhere along the road, you just don't know where, or when. Today was that day for me. By sheer luck everything aligned: the instrument itself, locally for sale, within budget, generous tax return which sweetened the already more than fair deal, and a feeling of "If I don't do this, I'm going to regret it massively later". So, since today I became the proud 2nd owner guardian of a September 1966 P-bass. Fully original, including the case, except the missing bridge cover, and some filled holes where someone installed other tuners, but the ginormous Klusons 546's cover those up very nicely. In a very, very good condition (buckle-rash the size of a coin), frets at de-facto factory condition, slightly faded red, but still plenty present,... And that patina, that's something you can't fake (nor the smell). Rather lightweight, very resonant, a bit neckheavy due to those tuners and the very light body, it has that extremely pleasant 60's C-shape (wide, but thin). It has the newest additions that were introduced in 1966: Indian Rosewood fretboard, a 45° bevelled pickguard and the wide frets. Made by the same people that made the early 60's ones, using the same methods, and virtually identical materials... just under a different contract. It has seen some action, but it was also very well babied and cared for. And given it's a '66, it's an absolute growler. There's something about '66/'67 basses that gives them more raunchy punch compared to 1965 or 1968 onwards. And if it's good enough for James Jamerson, it's good enough for me! Going to install an old set of LaBella's tomorrow, see if I can reduce the action a bit. Also: going to thin out the heard a bit. Given I've now got "the original", the "American Original '60s" may leave the premises, my Jazz Bass as well, my 500/1 that hardly saw any use, maybe the EB3, although: that's so quirky I might just keep it. But with this, I kind of arrived at the end of the line.

They used to be worth that, when they were still built by G&G. Nowadays they use Chinese-made copies, which are noticeably less in quality… even for their flagship line, the American Vintage. still, better dan the new American Standard Classic of ~1600£, which comes with a gigbag.

I'm not into Fiesta Red... but damn.

Mwoa… those Vintera II pickups aren’t just “standard MiM” pickups. They’re a whole different beast, and built exactly like a blackbobbin. I even went as far as sourcing such a pickup for my latest P-assembly project, as it punches WELL above its weight. It even sounds better than the PV63 when it’s being used in a slightly overdriven setting.

Dismantle it, that way it can be classifieds of "bass parts", and thus circumvents the rule. In all seriousness, in this case: make an exception, and keep the 'Ray. You don't have to play it, you can lay it above a cupboard,... EDIT: adding to that. I did the same thing with a guitar I got from my (now late) father. Absolutely unremarkable instrument, modified quite a bit, unused for years, but it's still that guitar. So it lives in a thick gigbag on the (dry and insulated) attic. And now, I am glad that I preserved that instrument, eventhough I put it up for sale multiple times, pulling it a few days later.

Given they have the same neckpocket-interface, I tested it via a neck swap. That maple cap makes it way more raunchy, even on the warm PV-pickup.

A while back, I found a hodgepodge with a Fender Roger Waters Precision Bass neck ‘deep in Wallonia’ for a véry good price, and I was already toying with the idea of adding a second P for a while. After some very intense searching, I stumbled on a dusty Italian webshop, where I found an Allparts PBF-CAR body (a colour that has been out of the range for a while). Then I started gathering some parts left & right, with the aim of creating a '64-'66 hybrid without breaking the back. A day with an assortment of screwdrivers, measuring devices and a soldering iron later, this is what came out. It's quite a fierce one. Where my white one with flatwounds sounds very warm and fat, this one sounds diametrically opposite: angry, fierce, raunchy and punchy. I'm happy with it... although I'm still itching for a neck with a veneer rosewood fingerboard, and that neck on a Slab66 body. With flatwounds on this one, and rounds on the '66. - Neck: Fender Roger Waters (44.5mm nut width, maple cap, vintage frets) - Tuners: Gotoh FB-30-LP (the full-size tuners with the large mounting plate) - Body: Allparts PBF-CAR (Alder. CAR with a silver-coloured undercoat) - Pickguard: Fender '62RI (stark white, not mint green) - Pickup: Fender Vintera II '60 (I was very surprised at how good those Vintera '60 P-basses sounded. The intention is to bake in a greybobbin in the future, but this pickup is also extremely good, much better than the Vintera '50) - Covers: Fender ‘Pure Vintage’ (I wouldn't be me if I didn't install measures to restrict playing freedom on my instrument, I just removed them for the photo-opp) - Bridge: Fender ‘Pure Vintage’ - Wiring: Homemade with CTS, clothwire, Orangedrop,...

Yep. Sounds absolutely atrocious via an amp, but has a really nice bark and growl when running through a DI. 😑 Either way, the lollipop tuners have been ordered, so the conversion can slowly start.

That's what really happened. Tuesday in the afternoon, I was suffering greatly from the "post lunch digestive swoon", and the further the meeting (read: monologue from 1 person) progressed, the less I became involved, so I started playing on my phone... Opened the app from the local 2nd hands website, and typed in "Precision Bass" (as I'm still on the lookout for a sunburst/white AVRI 63, hit me up if you want to get rid of you... who am I kidding, no-one does that). And just posted was a Fender P-bass shaped object for de facto Squier money. Trying to hide my excitement (it was to be avoided they might be thinking in the meeting I suddenly became enthusiastic about a legal addendum) I instantly contacted the seller, saying I'm buying it. Got a reply back "I leave on holidays next week... would tonight work, 20h00?". As one does, one says yes first, and then look at the map where it's actually located. The benefit of this napkin of a country is... that its at maximum a 2hrs drive from the capital... where I was located. Luckily it was just a 50 minute drive, so after work I went over there, plugged it in, gave it a whirl and took it home. The seller knew what he had in parts, he just wanted to sell it. So now I have a mongrel of a P-bass. - Roger Waters signature neck & tuners (!!!) - Fender HiMass bridge. - Some sort of nondescript white EMG's - A Japanese body. It's a virtually identical neck to the American Original '60 P-bass, just with a maple fretboard. Big piece of wood, but luckily everything hangs really balanced because the body is so heavy it has developed its own gravitational field and has already caught 2 moons. But plays really nice, no deadspots, sustain for dayzzzzzzzzzzzzz. That EMG pickup sounds exactly as you would expect it to sound: like a 9V battery. The reason why I was so excited is the Roger Waters neck. Not so much for it being Roger Waters, far from it actually. Because it's a maple-cap neck with a 1.75" nut-width and a sixties "thick C" profile. Specs I absolutely adore, and which Fender AFAIK never made outside (non-CS) of this series since the original run ended in 1970. So yeah, it will likely get disassembled, and I'll build a new bass around that neck... Hmm, which famous and very limited edition Fender is famed for using a maple cap neck... and for its uniqueness... 🤔🤔🤔... Or should I go CAR... Either way, it gets full-sized Gotoh lollipops!

There is no bevel visible, and it appears very thin. I think this is a proper anodized guard.

It's because frequency cancellation, a side-effect of two pickups in parallel². The closer the pickups are together, the stronger the effect. When that happens, the midrange gets reduced. Can be solved by not having both pickups at 100%. (² like that glassy sound on a Stratocaster on positions 2 & 4)