Dingus

Why is it that Fender consistantly fail to come up with an appealing mass-market PJ bass? It would seem like the most obvious thing in the World to make a priority , but decades go by and still it eludes them . As we have discussed on these pages before , a twin Precision configuration would potentially be a winner , too. That Jazz Bass with a Precision pickup looks very wrong, too. Not quite as wrong as a Precision with two Jazz Bass pickups , but still wrong .

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1381186529' post='2235686'] Not Scotland - Aberdeen - people are allowed to speak ill of their hometown in a jokey way, no? [/quote] Of course, my friend , just don't let Alex Salmond catch you or he will have the Secret Police round your house looking for revenge after Independance .

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1381159703' post='2235152'] Still no sign of them in the grey fortress of doom [/quote] Surely Scotland's not [i]that[/i] bad ?

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1381164263' post='2235229'] As Pete said and we both agree, no matter what other differences there are, wood also makes a difference, which is the answer to the original post. [/quote] Yes, absolutely agree .

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1381163138' post='2235204'] I spoke to Pete Stephens several times about Wal basses and he had very firm ideas about wood combinations and their sound. He would recommend certain combinations, particularly for fretless, but as most of his basses were custom made he'd always give the final word to the customer. I had a Wal with olive ash caps and it was brighter and snappier than the warm sounding Wal I bought later with American walnut caps, which is how Pete said they would sound. The problem with this thread, and the others of a similar ilk, is that by insisting that x or y is the case and z can never happen, people's experience are being dismissed. If people are going to be dogmatic then it would be better if they posted from the benefit of their experience and not how they imagine things to be. [/quote] I too spoke to Pete at lenght about wood combinations , and he told me how different combinations would affect the tone , but all within the proviso that the final result would still sound like a Wal . As I'm sure you would agree , he knew exactly what he was talking about in all matters , and there is no doubt that the wood makes a difference within certain parameters , but in essence the Wal sound is more derived from the electronics . My American walnut bass sounded warmer than my wenge-topped one , but stick a set of generic aftermarket pickups in a Wal and it will sound like a lot of other basses , but with the original pickups in it , it sounds unique .

Despite the fact that I can think of umpteen reasons why these basses are not my "thing ", I am beginning to think that I really want one. Thanks for that ,Gareth . Especially because they are short scale , I think one of these could be a lot of fun for using on the sofa in front of the T.V whilst I entertain Mrs Dingus by playing along with the theme music to all her favorite shows . She loves that . These look great in a retro, indie band kind of a fashion and I can imagine myself growing a beard to complete the look ( and becoming even more irresistable to women in the process) . I think Fender will sell truckloads of these , given the current trend in basses towards vintage sounds and styling , and good luck to them .

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1381153811' post='2235016'] Lakland say just that. Their figured tops are for show and don't affect the sound. Other manufacturers say different. They are all building basses to different criteria and I don't see any point in challenging their opinions and reasons for their choices without some facts to back me up. Just putting their opinions down to "sales tricks" is a view backed up by little knowledge. [/quote] Roger Sadowsky also says his figured tops don't affect the sound of the bass , and I believe him . I think fingerboard wood will affect the final sound more on some designs of bass than on others . Despite their close association with using various tonewoods , I would venture that Wal basses, for example, are relatively impervious in many cases to what combination of woods they use in terms of final sound because the dominant characteristic of those basses is the pickups and electronics . Bay contrast , a Fender -style bass is probably a bit more susceptible to sounding noticably different if you start changing things like the body wood and fingerboard material .

I am amazed no one has mentioned Andy Frazer and Free yet . Just about any Free record is packed with amazingly inventive and effective blues rock basslines courtesy of Mr Frazer. He is a master of the genre and well worth checking out .

[quote name='John Cellario' timestamp='1381083558' post='2234194'] 'He manages to make it work but personally I think it's a pretty horrible sound.......as bass sounds go.' Can't agree with this...I love Andy Frasers sound and have spent the last thirty years trying to get somewhere near it! [/quote] [quote name='Conan' timestamp='1381131669' post='2234580'] You are Neil Murray and I claim my five pounds. [/quote] [quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1381144794' post='2234832'] I'd be happy to sound like Neil Murray. [/quote] I've spent the last thirty-odd years trying to emulate Neil Murray ( among others) . What a fantastic and underrated bass player he is . Both Neil Murray and Andy Frazer ( who doubtless influenced Neil) are players whohave a very distinct , rubberry sound that cuts through the mix, regardless of what bass they play . Both use a very pronounced and agressive right hand plucking technique that goes a long way to creating that sound . Especially back before bass amps and cabs were as hi-fi as they are nowadays , but still to a great extent , if you play rock music on the bass without a pick then you need to create your own attack on the strings to get some cut .

[quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1381087652' post='2234270'] [/quote] I was merely making the point in a cryptic manner that Blitzkrieg would have failed as a tactic had the Gerrmans relied on neepheid's rickety old MK2 Fiesta and typical British workmanship. The upshot of all this is that I am going to buy a Warwick , but preferably an old one made in West Germany before the Wall came down . Make of that what you will. .

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1381084406' post='2234214'] I suppose people will always try to relate unmeasurable things like timbre back to familiar things. Reminds me of the Volkswagen advert a while back where the car salesman shuts the car door with a thunk and says "Just like a Golf". [/quote] I remember that advert . I always thought it would have been better if he had said " Just like a Panzer." , but maybe that's just me being cynical.

I personally think that neck woofer pickup looks great on that bass. I suppose it would be a bit of a drawback if you were a slap player , but otherwise I can totally see the reasoning behind the whole design . Contrary to quite common miscoception , a regular Precision -style bass doesn't actually have a particulaly bottom-heavy tone ( unkess you go out of your way to E.Q it that way). Mixing in some deep bass with the midrange growl of the P pickup sounds like a pretty exciting idea to me. Combining a bridge position Jazz pickup with a Precison pickup can be quite problematic , I agree , due the the difficulty matching the perceived output volume of the respective types of pickup , and the amount of phase cancellation you usually get when both are on full. The neck pickup on your Yamaha expands the tonal optiond on a P-style bass whilst avoiding all those typical PJ pitfalls , so kudos to Yamaha and Billy Sheehan for that.

How can you think about music when Susanna Reid is cavorting for your viewing pleasure? Some things are more important than bass , and Susanna is one of those things .

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1380990526' post='2233185'] I picked up a Yamaha BB714bs a few months ago for a steal and it is my go to bass. I echo the sentiments of the OP - it's not exactly lightweight but balances perfectly and the neck is just right. It also sits in the mix in a band situation like a dream (the neck woofer pup too!). I will never sell it as they are like hens teeth these days.. [/quote] I think Yamaha make some of the best basses out there at every price point. That 714BS looks like an intriguing design , and very useful for all sorts of musical situations , whilst being something a bit different and unusual at the same time .

Actually , received wisdom is that maple is a bit brighter and so often considered better for slap , wheras rosewood is a bit warmer . In reality, though, the differences are often minimal and you should just go with whichever you like the look and the feel of the best . If the maple board is laquered rather than satin or oil and wax finished then that usually makes the sound noticably brighter, but a matt-finished maple board usually sounds warmer amd much closer to rosewood than you might think .

I don't know if this still qualifies as a budget bass , but back in the 1980's I bought a used JV Series Squier 62 - style Precision for £30 and it was an excellent bass , easily as good as a Fender , and , truth be told, probably shockingly close to a real pre -CBS example . Looking back , those JV Squiers were maybe the best budget basses ( because that's what they were) ever . I had a Jazz and then later the Precision , and with hindsight, they were both excellent. I wish I still had them now.

I am not at all surprised that your brand new Fender was knackered ( to use the technical term ) . I had to buy five USA-made Fender basses to eventually find one that wasn't faulty ( actually , only three were faulty but the fourth one weighed a ton ) . As for the setup , I think it's unrealistic to expect a factory-made guitar to have a perfect setrup out iof the box , and everyone likes a different setup anyway , so expecting it to suit you perfectly straight out of the box is a bit like expecting a blind date to be the woman ( or man !) of your dreams i.e it could happen but it's quite unlikely . If the bass has structural faults then that is another matter entirely . The thing about USA Fenders is that if you can persevere and find a good one then you have got a bass that you could use and enjoy for the rest of your days, so I think it's still worth looking.

Bear in mind , despite what I have said already, that the circumstances of peoples lives dictate what is a "budget" bass to them . I have never had any children, so that immidiately means that I have never had those kind of overwhelming financial responsibilities to other people, thus enabling me to continue in this state of retarded adolescence indefinitely . For people with families to look after , the price of a so-called budget bass can be a lot of money to find for what is a non-essential item . Another side of the coin is , despite my penchant for quality basses, spending a lot of money is no guarantee of satisfaction . I have played basses that cost thousands of quid that I thought were rubbish , and I have played some Squiers that were perfectly good instruments that you could easily do gigs with and use while you improved as a player.

I want to believe in budget basses , and I can enjoy playing on other people, but when it comes to choosing a bass for myself I have always gravitated towards the top end of the market , I am afraid.( When I left school I had two major ambitions, the first one being to save up enough money to buy a Wal bass , and the other one was to do with a girl who worked in the local delicatessen . At least I ended up getting my hands on the Wal , anyway. This set a pattern that has been repeated throughout my life. ) . To my sensibilities , you can get a brand new bass that is can offer many years of playing satisfaction starting at just over a grand ( and a lot less than that for the same bass secondhand ) , and in light of that , it always seems to me that spending around £500 on a budget instrument that is often a compromise and ultimately second rate in performance and construction is a bit of a waste of £500 that could be put to better use saving for something better.

If it's in original condition and good working order then it's potentially a superb bass. This era of Yamaha's and similar Japanese makers like Ibanez was a golden age of Far Eastern high quality instruments. If the bass is for sale at a good price , I would be very interested if I were in your position .

I am more miserable than any of you , and I was miserable first , before it became fashionable , but all I got for it was abuse. Now everyone else is jumping on the bandwagon .

The cheapest way to ship from the U.S.A to the U.K is by the Express Mail International service offered by the U.S Postal Service . It usually takes about ten to twelve days door to door and is delivered via Parcel Force in the U.K .