mcnach

That sounds like a great idea

velcro! Is it light?

If you feel like doing another challenge, how about addressing the whole P vs PJ vs Jazz deal? There are clear differences, but in the large scheme of things, they aren't HUGE differences, yet sometimes you see some heated exchanges (mostly at TalkBass , a bit more belligerent over there) about how a PJ can never sound like a P, and how a PJ with both pickups on sounds NOTHING like a Jazz with both pickups on, etc... How about... (and this is only a suggestion, please, don't take it like I am 'ordering' you to do anything ) recording multiple clips of a few combinations, and see what people think? You can even create a poll (it's one of the options when you start a new topic) so that people can vote and the results will be there in graphic form for all to see until the end of days I would do, say... three clips (all play the same riff, but three different tone control positions) of: 1) Precision alone (your Westbury?) 2) PJ with the P only. 3) PJ wit both pickups on full 4) Jazz with both pickups on full 5) Jazz with only neck on The Jazz neck vs Precision should be easy, especially with that Model P which is pretty distinct and meaty. The PJ vs Jazz with both pickups on should be interesting. They both have the same kind of character. The sound depends a lot, in my experience, on the actual pickups and how their relative heights are set etc... but yours seem good examples in that they are similar enough but there's still that little "no-se-que" [1] that differentiates them. The PJ vs Model P will not be the best comparison as they're quite different pickups, but they both will sound like a Precision of some kind, so it'd be good to see the spread in votes too. [2] [1] I don't know how to spell it in French, so I'll use Spanish instead [2] My girlfriend has one of those PJ special basses. Really good! I actually bought it for her, but she chose it. She plays bass a little (that's how we met [3]) but she's very shy to play in front of others. One day she told me during one of her walks at lunch time she saw this bass at a local second hand store, and went in, and asked to try it... and she loved it, it was light, comfortable, the neck was perfect, it sounded great... and she was thinking of buying it after payday (two weeks away). I really wanted her to have a bass she liked, because she was using the first one she got and as it's often the case, once you become a bit more experienced and you know what you like, you realise your first bass was not the best choice. I looked at the picture she took, nodded, and feigned disinterest... but she was really in love with that bass, next morning she kept talking about it. I nodded politely, yes it's a beautiful bass and you should get it if you like it so much. Of course, what I did was go explore the area near her work place until I found it, and I bought it. I hid it for a month (waiting for her birthday), during that time she was kicking herself for not having bought it while she had the chance... I loved it too. I actually borrowed it a few times to play gigs with it when she was in the audience (she likes to tell people "that's MY bass" ). Completely stock. Very nice. [3] She was a fan of my main band and I had seen her coming to a lot of our local shows for several months. We had talked a bit, but just hello and little else. One night during the break she comes to me to ask me about something I was playing. It turns out she had our first album and was learning to play one of the songs but when she sees me play it it didn't seem right. I told her that's because I changed the bassline compared to the recording Anyway, we got talking and... 5 years later we're still talking about basses, only now we live together so we don't need to wait for gig nights

Ah! I thought you had a more difficult trick up your sleeve. I'm glad my ears still work

I don't have a lot of experience with clip-on tuners, but I found them very sensitive to anything that would reduce the neck vibrations. The first time I tried one I thought it was broken... because I had the habit of holding onto the tuning peg, and that was enough to make it not work very well at all. I have one, as a backup, and I was going to test it right now... but instead of the tuner I found a webcam in the drawer (???) I swear I was not using a webcam to try to tune my bass before, THAT was not the issue

I get it. I didn't get it years ago when I would put preamps even on my socks if I had the chance. But for a while now I've been changing my mind about the on-board controls on a bass. I like active basses' ability to sound the same whatever the volume is set to, and in general how its response is not altered much (any?) by the cable I am using, but I don't like the coloration many preamps impart. My ideal bass would have a transparent buffer (the active part), with a semiparametric mids module (like the John East), and a low pass filter (a passive tone control works just fine for me, maybe something like a Tonestyler if I want to be a little more sophisticated, an active LPF would work too, if I'm already using batteries). Then, I would probably go to my all passive Precision and decide that all that was unnecessary to start with

Every bass should have a passive tone control, and then whatever you want, in my opinion. My Stingray was a 2EQ originally. I had one specific sound I tended to prefer and use most of the time. No idea how different from 'flat' it was. Then I put in a John East 3-band, which is essentially the classic 2EQ plus a semiparametric mids module. I asked for a bypass switch too. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the sound I liked best was pretty much the same as bypassing the preamp I do use the on-board EQ, especially the mids module, but always just little adjustments. I'd probably get a lot more mileage out of a passive tone control

But I get why you ask... I never really fully understood why you can place a pickup in a certain position and sound so distinctive (Precision, Stingray, whatever) for any note you play, whether it's top or bottom of the neck. You'd imagine that you probably get the same harmonics if you move the pickup closer to the bridge and fret around the 3rd fret as you would leaving the pickup where it is and playing open strings... I don't know (shrug). I know what it sounds like because I've tried all these things, but I can't explain it.

To some extent, yes, but a graphic EQ does not have the LPF quality. If you want to blanket drop all frequencies above a certain point, graphic EQs are better than nothing but they're going to change the tone beyond simply taking off the high end, as it's a collection of frequency bands that you can boost/cut but do not provide a uniform field. The larger the number of bands, the better it can work, of course but your typical 6-7 bander doesn't cut it. I wish!

Not really. You definitely get bassier/thumpier or thinner/sharper attack, and it's something I use to achieve different sounds live, but the effect is not the same as moving the pickup.

I'll play! #1... I had it as a Jazz at first but after listening to all, I'd say it's the Squier PJ #2 Westbury with Model P #3 that one sounds very dark... I wasn't sure what it was, so after listening to the rest, I say it's the Harley Benton. Why so dark? #4 Stingray, no question #5 Jazz I'd only bet money on #2 and #4. Basses #1 and 5 could easily be the other way around, although I think I get the PJ vibe on #1.

I have a 2002 Stingray, so probably the same box as yours. What problem do you have? Mine has had an intermittent bad connection for years. The metal tabs at the bottom of the box that are meant to press against the battery terminals end up being bent flatter and not pressing hard enough. With a little screwdriver and a bit of care, I bend them upwards to improve the connection. That works for many months, sometimes a year or two. Not the greatest design, I admit. I've thought of replacing it with one that has a clip-on type of connector, but...

why not reinstall a passive tone control then? I personally always need some kind of low pass filter to eliminate the highest frequencies.

Are you sure? You'll be dampening the vibrations, so no (accurate) reading anymore.

I was having the same issue but I never found where my cables were going. It stopped when I bought pink cables. Ok, I lie, no, I bought red and orange cables. I do have a pink one 'though, it came with something I bought one day, I use it at home all the time with my pink tartan strap 😛

Not sure if this would work, but you may ask in the forum for anyone local to you who is proficient and likes doing this kind of work. It's pretty easy, if you know what you're doing... who knows, maybe you find someone who would love a chance to look away from Netflix for a bit and help you in the process if you are able to drop the bass with them. Of course it's a bit more complicated now with the distancing etc, but doable if you're sensible. Just an idea.

I was looking for a thread I participated in not long ago, where someone was asking for advice about making their Stingray style bass passive. Some people were claiming that the Stingray pickup needed a preamp as it's otherwise low output. There's also the question about the preamp, and some claim you need the preamp to sound like a Stingray. I have experimented with this quite a bit years ago when I cannibalised an old OLP expanding the cavity under the pickguard and trying different pickups at different spots etc, so I know that passive MM pickups are more than just fine on their own, and that the single most important factor for THAT sound is the position of the pickup (which is why every other bass with a MM at the bridge that pushes the pickup towards the bridge, compared to a Stingray, sounds great but not have that Stingray type of sound, just liek you don't get a Precision sound unless you put that pickup where it should). Here's an example I found on another forum. The guy put a cheap MM pickup on a Harley Benton Jazz, passive, but he put it exactly where it goes on a Stingray. Of course, it sounds like a Stingray. He just does not have the ability to get the wider range of sounds that the active onboard EQ would give him... but the sound is unmistakeably Stingray. See post #871 here: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/music-man-sound-and-pickups.739218/page-44#post-23825611

+1 It sums my feeling/experience about them too

+1 on the angled jacks.

Glad to hear you're well Stay healthy!

actually, the switch is just a bypass but the preamp stays engaged as long as there is a cable plugged in (regardless whether the switch is set to active or passive)... so @pepsi-abi, remember to unplug the cable when not in use!

!!!! oops. And yes, you're right, he doesn't seem to be working anymore

Oh 😥 I hope it's just because he prefers to do something else now, and that he is ok. I only dealt with him a couple of times, but he was a great guy and very accommodating.

what he says. Many good options out there, at similar or better prices than what you can get in a store 'branded'. Better quality too, which is why I get them. Places I've got great cables from: 1) our own basschat resident @obbm, of course. 2) designacable - search for it on eBay or amazon 3) cleartone - they have their own website All those use good quality components and they build cables that last a long long long time. I would try OBMM first.

exciting times!!! I hope you get it in your hands soon, have fun!