Leaderboard

Pictures say all that needs to be said, it's taken me a while to get here, but I suspect that of all the fretless Precisions I've owned (P, PJ, PP, PM) and all of the board materials I've used with them - rosewood, ebony, maple, graphite - this is by a long way the sweetest. Classic Vibe body, PUP, and circuit (the PUP as I'd been told would be the case, is very very good indeed), paired with a stunning Warmoth neck. First rehearsal tonight

I just took delivery of a Harley benton PB50. I'm doing a 50s Rock'n'Roll show and have used my HB Beatbass up till now. It's fine soundwise, but the 14mm string spacing, while doable is overall a bit meh. Also, while looking at the media stuff running on the screens behind us, I noticed that, when not playing upright, they were all playing (surpise, surprise) 50s p-basses. The clue is in the name, right? Also, I wanted more of the brash 50s youth look (cars with fins n'all that) than vintage p-bass. The irony of the fact that I am in my late 50s and no longer a youth is of no relevance here 🤨 Soooooo, that's how I justified this purchase to myself. I swapped out the delivered roundwounds for HB Flats, did a bit of work on the action and Bob's your aunty's live in lover. It's loads of fun. Can't wait to do the show on Friday

It's a bit like Amazon's recommendation engine: "Ah I see you bought a new TV. I guess that means you like buying TVs, so now I'm only going to recommend you TVs for the next few months"

....and that's the project done (decided I could live with the wonky drawers)! Probably make a nice home for random pedals and leads - I'm actually tempted to take it with me to gigs as a way of storing things coz it looks so cool!

There's been a whole lot of experimentation with Fender-alike bitsas recently, the Bitsa Box is now oversubscribed - two having to slum it in another box at present - and due a clearout. Keep your eyes open on the FS thread folks 👍

I have the thumb rest, in fact I removed it when I got the bass a few weeks ago. I have the bridge and pick up covers as well. I think that one of the earlier posters is spot on about the colour, which has more of a yellow tone to the burst than one of the 60’s basses and therefore the black pickguard seems to match better. I have decided that I will leave the bass as is, it sounded excellent when I played it yesterday. I will just need to have the wiring checked as I think there might be a loose connection somewhere which is causing an earth buzz.

Behold - the finished cab drawers (and the other two cabs are very grateful for the speaker donation):

It's a pickup, innit? Same thing, innit? What are you moaning about?

Sod it. Live once.

Hello from the USA. Like a few others lately I've found Talkbass to be a little heavy handed lately. To many mods to easily offended by nothing. Anyway I'm an old guy, started playing in 1966 and gave up the band business around 1996. I'm a home player now. I enjoy modding and putting together parts basses. Currently my amp/cab setup consists of an old GK800RB, a newer Ampeg PF350 both going though one or two old Cavin RL115's. I play mostly Fender and Fender style parts basses including a 66 jazz bass in purchased in 68 which is my baby. At moment though I've been playing a old OLP MM2 that I modded for the last 3 months or so. It's a good one. Anyway, here I am.

Hello! I've been an on-and-off TB'r for a few years, but the mods have finally left a bad enough taste in my mouth for me to give up on it. On a thread about "Best Pedals for Ultimate Clean Tone," I posted a picture of an empty pedal board as a joke. That was deemed offensive enough to warrant deleting my post on the grounds that I was insinuating bassists shouldn't use effects. The ironic part is that I myself have a large pedal board full of effects. Anyway, rant over. Here I am. Also, the challenge question on sign up felt like a trick question. Mr. Fender's first name was Clarence, not Leo.

If you insist....., I hope I can remember all of it, it's been shall we say 'a number of year'. I bought the bass from a service member on Okinawa in 1968. He was being shipped to Vietnam and couldn't take it with him. I payed $175 dollars for it. I then joined the Merchant Marines and shipped out of White Beach in Okinawa and couldn't take it with me! LOL! So I left it in the care of my family as I departed for all points South Pacific. So she was a orphan for 3 years until I finally returned to Arizona where my Dad was re stationed. When I finally got my hands on the bass again I found the heat and humidity in the south pacific was not kind to the finish or the neck. So the trip to Rainbow guitars happened, and she eventually got sorted out. I played the bass for the next couple of years. Then, my wife had a bass playing girlfriend that was joining a all female band in Las Vegas and was looking for a bass that had a slim neck and didn't weigh a lot (the bass weighs 8 lbs), and she was eyeing my bass. Things being as they were, between the two of them they managed to persuade me to sell her the bass. My wife said she would buy me new bass if I sold it to her. I made her promise to sell it back to me if she ever stopped using it. She was a friend so..... Anyway that didn't happen, I walked into a local music store about 2 years later and there it was sans case hanging on a wall. I knew the owner, he made me a good deal and threw in the old touring case for free. The only other misadventure she had was when I loaned it to the bass player for Black Oak Arkansas. They were booked to play at a local club and something, I know not what, was wrong with their bass players bass. Why he didn't have a backup I don't know. Anyway one of the bouncers I knew that worked there called and asked if I would let their bass player borrow my bass for the night. I was going to see the show anyway so like an idiot I said sure. It was a great show, those guys were smokin! No Jim Dandy though, this was after he had departed the band. The problem was he really, really, like it wanted to buy it, like right now! Well we went round and round and finally he relented and gave it back. I thought for sure I was going to have to call for backup to retrieve it! And that's story more or less of my black 66 Jazz Bass. I really don't play it that much anymore, I like chunkier neck now days. She'll never leave the house again though.

My Bitsa (or Frankenjazz as I prefer to call it) has been a bit more bitsa’d… new scratch plate to accommodate a Catswhisker neck humbucker and a Catswhisker 2+2 Jazz humbucker in the bridge… luvverly!!! Sounds fabulous!

Very true. My local grocery emporium were out of stock of my usual brand name choice, so I took a chance on their own brand. On opening the bottle I missed the woody notes of my favourite Domestos, and whrn decanting I noticed a lack of body. It went down well enough after I'd let it breathe for a while, but the afterburn was shocking.

The Boursin Back In Town - Thin Lizzy

It's pretty much as slick as snot at this point. It was originally LPB, with matching headstock, white/parchment pickguard. I have all the original parts. This bass had a problematic neck till around 75 I took it to Brian Dunn at rainbow guitars in Tucson Az. He had it for about a month as he heat treated the neck and got the Truss Rod to move as it should. Before there was limited adjust ability. I was never a fan of matching headstocks or vintage style frets so I had him refinish the head stock and do a refret with med jumbo wire. The best thing I ever did was to take it to Brian. It became a real player. Then I had the body repainted black. Back in those days they were just basses, no vintage value attached. I could have walked into Rainbow at any time back then and bought 2 or 3 for $200 buck apiece. I've messed with this bass for years and now I've got it where I want it.

And your address and exactly where it is in the house please....Any holiday plans this year? If BassChat stopped humorous posts, there'd be a riot. A couple of threads are very serious and due weight should be given to them as they cover serious matters, many threads are very funny, some are crude, some are funny and crude, there's an awful lot of knowledge on this thread, so if you have a question on the exact slot width of a 67 Jazz pickup screw, somebody will know and will reach out to help. Never be afraid to ask questions, even if you think they are 'stupid' as 9/10 people will go "I didn't know that". That's how I am still learning, and you're never too old to learn. And talking about people not taking things seriously, I can see that @neepheid has posted a reply Rob

I really and truly will ever understand why anyone would buy a (ripoff) bass from AliExpress. There are a gazillion arguments against buying from Ali, Temu, Shein and the works, and only one pro:

Minnesota. Same difference though. I hung out a bit with Ian last year. Nice bloke, knows his s**t, grooves hard and knows his HX Stomp like the back of his hand! He's also huge - I'm 6'1, and he was a good couple of inches bigger than me! He's a big fan of Mike Lull basses, which aren't a million miles away from the Sadowsky template - souped-up Jazzes, basically. I guess it's a case of picking what feels right in your hands. (that's the Minnesota state flag on his hat, by the way...)

Scent and flavour are not the same thing when it comes to bleach

Pfft, the golden age was when it was £1 == $2. I visited the US then (2009?) and chuckled heartily about getting on a bus for 50p ($1).

New plate, screws, pots, jack 'n pup, lift the bridge and slide out the earth wire then no solder has been touched and completely reversable Enjoy!

Don't fret.

I asked Scott and he said they don't like Sadowsky basses because they are shite. Joke...

@SamIAm - a sad loss. She had enough character to leap off of the pages of this forum, and become a real personality - honest, warm, engaging, funny. And not embarrassed to be in a ukulele band.

Local Social Club in Sunderland called Steels on Saturday night, a bass playing mate sent me this pic. Big club but had a full house with a great crowd in 👍🏼

...and as it was a rainy afternoon got the drawers done. Not my best piece of woodwork - I may end up re-doing the drawers as while they do work there are a lot of rough edges. Also ended up riveting the bottom and back sections to the sides as screws were not working in the HDF. Also not happy with the lime green paint so have bought some fluorescent tape instead. Now just waiting for the tape and of course the black light to turn up...

Sounds like you're sorted, but worth mentioning that Harley Benton do a very compact range which are not spendy. Their Iso2 Pro looks like it also matches your spec.

In late 2011, Prince Rogers Nelson walked into Capitol Guitars, a modest music store in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dressed in dark shades and an overcoat, he browsed quietly, barely speaking. The staff recognized him instantly but chose to respect his silence. He pointed at a few guitars, asked about the tonal difference between maple and mahogany, and then paused when the owner mentioned a recent conversation with a local teacher. The teacher had said that students at Anwatin Middle School in Minneapolis were losing access to their music program due to severe budget cuts. Prince nodded slightly and left without purchasing anything. Three days later, a delivery truck arrived at Capitol Guitars. Prince had returned but not to shop. Instead, he gave the owner a handwritten list and a simple instruction: “Everything on this list, pack it and deliver it to Anwatin.” The list included guitars, drum sets, violins, keyboards, amps, microphones, and recording equipment. When the owner asked if the instruments should be marked with a donor name or message, Prince replied, “No names. No credit. Just send love.” The delivery created confusion at the school. Teachers and administrators at Anwatin Middle School had no advance notice, and the delivery slip listed only a phone number that led to a private voicemail. Music teacher Kenneth Simms opened the shipment, stunned by the quality and quantity of the instruments. He assumed it was a mistake. It took several days of asking around and comparing handwriting on the note that came with the shipment before a staff member connected it to Prince, who had visited the store days earlier. When a friend later asked him about it, Prince said, “That’s between me and the kids. Not for headlines.” He declined to make any public statement or appear at the school. According to Minneapolis-based journalist Jon Bream from "Star Tribune", even the school district wasn’t formally notified. They only learned about the donor’s identity after teachers pieced the story together. Those close to Prince knew his silent generosity wasn’t a one-time impulse. During his early years growing up on the north side of Minneapolis, he often spoke about the importance of music education. His mother, Mattie Shaw, was a jazz singer and heavily involved in the local music scene. Prince once said in a 1999 interview with "Ebony", “If I hadn’t had access to a piano when I was seven, I don’t know who I would’ve become. Music wasn’t a hobby, it was a lifeline.” Former bandmate Sheila E. recalled in her 2014 memoir "The Beat of My Own Drum" how Prince frequently funded youth centers and music camps without telling anyone. “He believed in giving kids a chance to create,” she wrote. “He didn’t want applause. He wanted them to play.” At Anwatin, the new instruments transformed the energy of the school. Simms recalled how students began coming to class early just to practice. A hallway that once echoed with silence after the final bell now hummed with guitar riffs, drumbeats, and laughter. “We didn’t just get instruments,” Simms told "MinnPost" in 2012, “we got hope.” Store owner Alan Geller, who kept the receipt from Prince’s bulk order tucked in his office drawer, shared later that the musician didn’t even ask for a discount. “He said, ‘Charge full price. They deserve the best.’” For Prince, who had often used his wealth to quietly support causes tied to youth empowerment, the act wasn’t about visibility. His friend Van Jones later commented during an interview with "CNN", “He believed that if you help a kid find their rhythm, they might avoid chaos. He never needed a stage for that.” The donation never became a national headline. There were no photo ops or ceremonies. But in a city where music had once saved a young boy from the streets, it was returned, quietly, to the next generation. Prince gave them music when theirs had been taken away and never asked for anything in return.

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to respond. It’s great to see the expertise demonstrated by members of this forum. Quite remarkable really. 🙏

I shall try, If it works disregard the grounding strip it's only there because I was trying to clean out the ground wire hole that's been problematic since it was repainted in 1972 lol. It has since been removed.

Oh dear. Tier 1 fail. At least I lasted longer than last year.

I guess that's why they call it the blues - Stilton John

Yeah that would work Paul because in 73 they added the rout for the wires, 72 and earlier you would have to de solder as the wires went through the body

It was about that in 1990/1 as well. I came back with a new wardrobe of jeans and trainers.

I don't see the problem. Nowhere in the description does it say that it's graphite. Those tuners, incidentally, have their pros and cons. Stringing is dead easy, you just put the string through the middle of the knob. Saddle height adjustment is more awkward, you have to screw the actual saddles up and down, like a Warwick Just-A-Nut I. Intonation is also awkward, as the anchor screw is under the string so you have to move the string out of the way to adjust it.

Are you factoring in shipping, vat and duty?

Vintage basses can be quirky. While some have brilliant elements they also have their own characteristics, whether to their age, their life up to this point or the material/build quality of that particular era. So I would say; think closely about what you do like about this bass and what you don’t like. Decide whether those things could be better met by another bass before modding this one to try to achieve that. As others have said, a 78 P does a very good job of being a 78 P. If that’s not the sound/look etc you’re after, then there are other alternatives. FWIW I’ve owned a 1970 sunburst P for the last 30 years. I don’t love everything about how it plays or looks but it does what it does. Personally I wouldn’t dream of swapping stuff on it unless it desperately needed fixing. I have other basses that cover other sonic and aesthetic ground and I leave the old P as it is. But that’s just my two cents worth.

Late night wiring of my “Essentials” board. Saw a nicely priced 3leaf Audio “Youre Doom” in Ebay. Couldn’t let it pass!

I'm lost for words. So sad and a real loss. May I be so bold as to quote the final line of a beautiful post to Sam by @Dad3353 in the depression topic, a line which I think would echo all of our thoughts... "Thank you for your participation on this Forum; we are all the better for it."