mcnach

If the strings became too low after changing strings... the first thing I would have done is tweak the truss rod a bit, just a quarter turn anticlockwise, and see how it goes, leaving the bridge alone: the new strings don't seem to be pulling the neck as hard as the old ones, so the neck does not have enough relief. I would not mess with the bridge until the relief is sorted.

My gf has a Squier P/J, bought used for just under £100. It's light, it sounds very good, and I've been borrowing it for my last couple of gigs I'd buy used. A Sire or a Squier Jazz or PJ would be good and versatile. If new... a Squier Vintage Modofied series Jazz would be £300 or just under... they look great and are really cool basses. Maple fingerboard and white or candy apple red body... yum: https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Squier-Vintage-Modified-70s-Jazz-Bass-Candy-Apple-Red/UBM

Uff... I should unsubscribe. I really really like a new lighter Stingray, an HH, in one of the newer colours and black hardware...

Natural it may not look nice, but a solid finish could be cool. I saw someone over at TalkBass strip his SUB, round the edges adding contours etc, and finishing it in some sparkle orange... the colour is not my type, but it looked like a good idea in another nicer colour, plus it shaved off some weight too. I love how mine sounds but it's pretty heavy.

I think the white and the black ones were the nicest looking ones. The white ones in particular. I even like the textured finish.

I would leave the headstock as is... but it's not my bass

Here Not the best light... but it's all I could do quickly.

Found a couple of pictures of mine... hmm, they make me miss it, it was a great bass The last picture is a bit blurry and saturated on the white of the nut, but you can see it's the compensated type. And since I'm at it, here's my 2003 white SUB next to my trusty 2002 Stingray. It has a white pickguard these days rather than black, but I don't seem to have pictures of that...

I tried an RM500 with matching 410 last week at a new rehearsal studio in town... and I was well impressed. If I wasn't already happy with my Mesa D800+, the RM500 (or maybe the 800?) would likely be at the top of my list, when looking for a nice and compact amplifier.

They were introduced on the SUBs around the same time. I owned one, I see if I can find a picture of it. It was the very late SUB period, so not that many of those around. Same colour as the OP's.

Neither Actually, early ones seemed to have the pickup wired in series rather than parallel. I never understood why and I don't know if it was just a batch or what. But every single early 4-string SUB I have been able to check (2003 and some way into 2004) were series. I personally prefer that, because the extra prominent mids of that configuration work very very well with the 2-band preamp, for my liking. I have kept my 2003 SUB for that reason. I used to own a 2005 wine red one, much like that in the picture but with the compensated nut (and standard parallel wiring), and it was lovely, but I preferred the series SUB (and I owned already a 2002 2EQ Stingray, so the SUB was redundant in a way) I just checked here: http://www.musicmanbass.org/mycustompage0057.htm and it suggests your friend's bass dates from mid 2004.

It has the standard, not the compensated nut... so it won't be a late model. They started with the compensated nuts in 2005 I think and continued well into 2006 until they discontinued the range. I'd say it's a 2004 as the serial number is not particularly low...

That's very true too, and the main reason I took an interest and learnt. Not all techs I went to listened enough to me, or remembered what my preferences were. However, if they can ensure the fretwork and everything else is right... then anybody should be able to tweak to taste with just a little bit of knowledge.

I think this is it. For some a set up covers just a few tweaks here and there and I would not pay any amount for that as I am pretty good at that myself, it's pretty simple. But for many, it'll cover checking frets, nut etc. Touching up a couple of high frets won't take very long for a pro, but it's a little extra time and effort on his part, and you're paying for his knowledge/ability. It does not strike me as expensive to pay an extra £20 for that at all, even of it only takes him 10 minutes. Some may charge more. If the result is good, you will not need to touch your frets in a long time, and minor seasonal adjustments you will do yourself. Start with an instrument that is well set, and it's smooth sailing. Start with an instrument with some small problems, and you may find they only reveal themselves when it gets more humid, or when you try for a lower action, or...

It must have made sense in context, but it's not a general rule: if the neck relief is not adequate, moving the saddles up/down will only get you so far. You need the correct relief (neck curvature), neck angle, and suitable height at the nut and bridge. Once a bass is set up nicely, you won't need to touch all those things and a minor truss rod tweak will do, and/or perhaps just bringing the saddles a touch down/up... but it all has to work together. You need nicely level frets too if you want to get away with lower actions, so a set up that deals with retouching a fret here and there is definitely worth £65 to me. I can do all that myself... but it takes me a while (when dealing with fretwork) and I am not as good as a professional, so I prefer to pay to get it done perfectly. Then routine tweaks, I will just take care of it myself as I will only be dealing with truss rod and bridge. The neck angle often gets overlooked by players, and the effect of a tiny shim can be pretty dramatic. Don't forget that too.

This. Fusion all the way.

I love the Small Stone

It's not an OLP MM2 either. Wrong headstock, nut, body shape, pickguard...

Have a go and you will know. If it feels nice, plays nice, and sounds good enough to you, £230 is not a lot. I doubt it's a real EMG either... so if you buy it, buy it on the strength of what you see, hear and feel, not thinking that you can recoup some money from parts or something. Some of the old OLP MM2 basses were pretty decent once you put a nice pickup in there. This is not an OLP, but the OLPs were worth around £200 or less used and they could be really nice. Who knows? If it tempts you... give it a try and you will know. But no, it is not the real thing.

True, but whatever they cost new years ago means nothing today. Second hand value will be determined by how desirable they are and what the alternatives are. I've owned 3 active SUBs, a 5-string that cost me £350, a 4-string that I paid £375 for, and the one I kept which cost me £415 about 4-5 years ago. When you look at what instruments £450 get you new these days... a SUB looks like a very good proposition to me. With the new Stingrays costing around £1800, it's only natural that the used ones are going to go up in price, and I imagine the SUBs will follow.

Indeed... but if you do that and find it too scooped, it would make sense to try another setting instead of saying "nah, it doesn't work"

It's only 'naturally' scooped if you want it to be. A pickup placed at the Stingray spot (even if wired in parallel) is hardly lacking mids... I love my mids and that's how I arrived to the Stingray, which I use most of the time. Just like those complaining the Jazz is too scooped... that's only true if you use both pickups on full and only with certain combinations of pickup heights setup and strings...

If you don't find it interesting, guys, feel free to move along and leave this for those who do find it interesting. Thanks. It's getting tedious now with some of you.

I only did a brief test. It felt like the low end got a bit 'bigger'... but I like the vertical stacks generally and that's what I go for always. A handful of times I had to stack them horizontally due to unstable 'stages' (some of the places I play... ) and I was happy too, but I can't tell you exactly how the vertical configuration sounded in those cases. Also, those were invariably outdoor gigs, so that means no issue with boomy stages or reflections you get in small rooms... A single cab vertical (port firing downwards) has a noticeable tighter low end, when tested in a room... so I imagine that's what I hear in the vertical vs horizontal stack too.

If it sounds good... I don't care what wood the body is made of. My favourite Jazz bass has a plywood body, as it turns out. Considering that the purpose of the body on an electric instrument is largely structural (you need to mount the bridge and pickups somewhere)... I find it difficult to believe that one material is inherently better or worse than other. We get too precious at times about certain woods being used, when the truth is those woods were traditionally used simply because they were easily obtained and at a reasonable price, nothing else.