mcnach

That Ultimate Drive is pretty sweet. My only 'complaint' is that a slight tweak of the gain/level knobs go a long way, so adjusting levels on the fly has to be done with care, and if you brush against the knob with your big clumsy feet you're likely to effectively turn the thing off or make it extremely loud... masking tape advisable when playing in dark places or by clumsy players Sound-wise, 'though, I love it.

[quote name='Mister RLP' timestamp='1481988721' post='3196807'] Did you have any trouble putting them in? Are they an exact fit? [/quote] Well, the pickup covers have the wider 'ears' than Fender/DiMarzio etc types, so you either file the pickguard a bit or get a set of pickup covers with smaller ears. I just got new pickup covers, which I preferred also as I don't like the big lettering (model number) written on the original pickup covers. It's only about £4. [b]Edit:[/b] these pickups are deeper than most others, but I did not have to remove wood in order to accommodate them. I put the PBXN pickups in my Mike Dirnt Squier too: Again, the routing is the small ear type and I was not going to chip away at the wood, so new covers was the thing to do, white in this case:

[quote name='lowregisterhead' timestamp='1481971943' post='3196637'] Not meaning to hijack the thread, but you did ask... :-) [url="http://s1141.photobucket.com/user/lowwregisterhead/media/IMG_7115_zpsn2rq2cal.jpg.html"][/url] [/quote]

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1481915674' post='3196311'] If the bass is faulty, and it seems like it is if it won't tune up then it needs to go back. He told them he wanted a new, different bridge. Why on earth would a shop do that for free? Does this mean if you buy a cheap bass that's neck heavy you can ask for a set of Hipshot ultralites to fix this ;-) [/quote] I can't say it clearer than I have, so... "ok"

a few years ago I was offered a bass I was after, after putting a 'wanted' ad. Fortunately the bass was just a cheap Squier Jazz so I was only out £95... but it still bothered me a lot. I started suspecting when the communication went quiet and the bass did not arrive when indicated. I googled the bass then and sure enough, I found the pictures he sent me on the first page of hits, only it belonged to someone in Ireland, not the 'seller'. I had paid with Paypal, not gift. I could go to Paypal, but I decided to investigate further. A number of people had checked his profile here. I checked and they all had posted 'wanted' ads. I contacted them and the ones that replied had all bought something from him and were waiting. We all used Paypal, but one guy used Paypal gift. The mods here quickly banned him, but of course that doesn't get us our money back. At that point I decided to bluff, as I sensed the guy was not the brightest. I made up a story about my partner working for the police and that she had friends dealing with internet fraud who I was sure they'd help. At that point I had an idea of his general location, so I took a gamble and told him I knew already his address in XXX city. I tried to be calm, but very firm, stating that I was not going to let it slide especially now that I knew he had done the same to several others. He told me a sorry story, about how his financial situation is bad and he was desperate etc etc... and he seemed genuinely afraid of the consequences of my letting the police pursue this. The more he wrote, the more clueless he appeared. Which is good. For me. So I bluffed a bit more, and described possible scenarios. One, just let the police deal with it. Two... he could refund ALL of us, and I'd let it be (I wasn't going to let it be). Three... I was actually going to visit a friend of mine in his city in 2 weeks, so we could come round and just refund us in person (I made it sound non threatening, I knew that the idea of facing someone in person would be very unappealing) Of course he said he'd refund us... but of course he didn't have enough money yet. He needed time. I said that the only way for me to believe his word would be to at least refund one of us, the guy who paid with Paypal gift. And HE DID!!! As soon as he did, the rest of us opened up a case with Paypal, and we got our money back. Paypal said they were going to investigate further and get the police involved and told us that we may be contacted by the police about the case etc etc. But I never heard anything else. Best of luck to the OP. It really stinks to be in that situation.

[quote name='Mister RLP' timestamp='1481916943' post='3196321'] Would the Entwistle PBXNs sound good in the Matt Freeman P Bass? Would they make the sound even better? [/quote] I did exactly that. Better? That's subjective. But I did like it.

as I said before, I'm not a fan of V type or generally pointy instruments... but this one looks fantastic! I love the green/maple... it kind of tames the 'pointiness' a bit... like "yeah, I'm pointy and I can rip your heart out of your body if I wanted to, but if you don't betray me I'm all mellow and sweet, really"

[quote name='sammybee' timestamp='1481795569' post='3195153'] I recently added/upgraded my 75 RI Jazz to sport a J-Retro, wanting to add a MM type sound to my arsenal. Boy was I disappointed. It just seems too much, like adding nitrous oxide to a moped. It's not my only active bass, I have a stingray and used to own a MM Jazz. Love the stingray sound (wasnt so keen on the Jap MM). Am I the only one who thinks the J-Retro sound is just too OTT? Should I persevere with it? At least it's an easily reversible upgrade. Opinions? [/quote] what's OTT about it? It can sound pretty much like anything you want to. Like with most preamps, a little boost/cut goes a long way.

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1481912853' post='3196275'] In his first post he said he told them he didnt want to send it back in his first contact with Thomanns. He also suggested a different bridge was needed, and they were offering to supply one but at his cost. Sounds reasonable to me considering he didnt want to send it back for replacement. [/quote] erm, yes... like I said: they offered to charge for a fix. The OP said to Thomann that he liked the bass and did not want to send it back [b]because[/b] it's a fixable issue, and therefore just wanted a fix. Only not paid by him, which is not unreasonable if he didn't cause it. Thomann's response smells of them not understanding what the OP meant.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1481911811' post='3196262'] CNC computers don't often make mistakes. [/quote] exactly

Another thing: look at the imprint the bridge ground cable left in the finish. There are TWO marks. To me, that suggests that after being set one way, someone removed the bridge and fitted it again (the cable was not laying in the same position as originally, so it left a second imprint). We can only guess why.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1481905185' post='3196192'] Well, I for one, am trying my best not to buy from them. I'm also trying not to buy from any other seller as I'm trying to kick GAS. This situation is really odd though. Squier turn out 100s of basses. How come this one bass got singled out to have a second set of holes? After all they don't make a fretless by taking a fretted off the line and giving it special treatment. If fretless needed holes in a different position, which I can't see, they would drill the one set in the correct position. This isn't a luthier making a mistake. This is factory workers on a production line. [/quote] It is very odd indeed. I can't imagine that the pilot holes are not drilled by a machine... really strange

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1481907387' post='3196225'] The OP went even further, he refused to let them fix the issue lol. [/quote] they were not offering to fix the issue, they were offering to [u]take money[/u] to fix the issue But it does look like they did not really understand the issue in the first place, or they thought it was caused by the OP.

8lbs for a 5 string is pretty good! I'd love a white light one... and get a new scratchplate and a white MM style pickup on it.

Homebase have some cool foam mats, designed to protect your knees while working kneeling on the floor. They're about 3cm thick and come in various sizes. Cheap too. Those would work well.

[quote name='lowregisterhead' timestamp='1481862766' post='3195791'] +1 for the 55-02, does everything well, and great to play, although they can be a little inconsistent in my experience, so try before you buy. The older Korean ones have more 'heft' tonally, IMHO. Or a 55-94, which has the edge, if your budget can stretch to one... I've got one of each, a DJ5 and a 55-76, but I'm a greedy b*stard... [/quote] a 55-76!!!!! THAT is what I would like... so rare, 'though. A real Stingray 5 alternative, with the right string spacing

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1481848969' post='3195766'] You have answered your own question, the 55-01 hasn't got any humbuckers, they are soapbars. I really like the 55-02, sounds like you need to go and try a few out in a shop? [/quote] The 55-02 is a fantastic bass. If you don't need it to do the Stingray sound... the 55-02 would get my vote. Really well made, well balanced, lovely neck dimensions (personal, I know), versatile without getting into crazy 307 combinations with 17 switches territory... I kind of regret selling mine.

[quote name='scrumpymike' timestamp='1481827664' post='3195538'] What a bummer - surely Adrian's not using cheap Chinese screws?! [/quote] the pickup mounting screws aren't made of the toughest metal either. I snapped one too. I had a lot of fun removing the bit that was stuck in the body... It's usually advisable to be careful, ensure the screwdriver tip is well matched to the screw head, and if it's tough... be extra careful. I'd say be a little more careful than usual with these.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1481825704' post='3195516'] Devils advocate here Jose, ignoring this particular situation as I agree it just needs sending back if it does not do what the OP thought it would but is that fact or opinion reagrding the holes/position of the bridge?, has anyone looked under a Squier bridge on a fretless or measured the bridge position? [/quote] I owned a Squier Jazz VM Fretless and a Fender Precision 70s RI fretless. I know it's not the same instrument discussed here but the position of the bridge was identical to the fretted counterpart in both cases, and the Jazz certainly didn't have extra holes. I did measure the bridge position and many other things as I was in the middle of my messing about with pickup positioning phase... Not a definitive answer but that's what I've got to go by. Why do you think you'd need to move the bridge to intonate a fretless? There's plenty of room for adjustment at its normal position

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1481821949' post='3195475'] Looking at where the saddles are with it in tune there's more than enough travel with the intonation screws to cope with it being used as a fretted/fretless instrument with the bridge positioned using the 'first' set of holes (those nearest the pickup) in my opinion. It looks like a botched job to me. [/quote] exactly. And Thomann will know if this bass was previously sold to somebody else...

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1481809403' post='3195330'] how do you tune the bass to allow for playing behind the lines as the nut wont be installed behind the line which is essentially just another fret so open strings will be out of tune with fretted ones? [/quote] if I understood correctly, he doesn't really "play" behind the lines: he places the finger just behind the lines, so that the string *exits* at the line. That's how everybody plays a fretless, am I wrong? I don't think the OP is trying anything unusual that requires a special setup. It's just that the bridge was put a little too far back by somebody. That is a mystery. Maybe someone tried a very heavy gauge set of strings?

[quote name='GreeneKing' timestamp='1481805969' post='3195286'] I'm not trying to be critical of you here just applying reason. If there are two bridge drillings, one for fretted and one for fretless with the design to fret on the fret line for correct intonation then if you refuse to play the bass as intended it's not really Thomann's fault. Peter [/quote] There are no two bridge drillings in a stock new bass. The bridge is in the same spot fretted or fretless. This is not how the bass was meant to be produced. Thomann sold a bass that someone had tampered with. Who? No idea. But if it wasn't the OP, then he shouldn't have to keep it or pay to fix it.

AS the others said: it seems to me they did not understand that the holes were there already and not made by you. If you can produce pictures (can you post them here too, please?) that clearly show the holes were there before painting, as you indicate, then I'm sure they'll realise it was not your fault and they may let you have it at a discount. Of course, they may simply choose to take it back for full refund, and if you want to keep it that won't do much. Personally, I'd send it back and get another.