Misdee

Yes, all this with the proviso that we're talking about nuances, not huge changes in tone. But if you put say a Warwick or Alembic bridge on a Fender you would hear a difference in the overall sound of the bass. 🙂 I am a big fan of the Badass on just about any bass, but I don't think it sounds any better than the BBOT, just a bit different in a good way, if you see what I mean. Its' biggest appeal to me is its' stability compared to the untracked saddles on the BBOT.

Numerous big heavy brass bridges that tended to proliferate in the 1980s. The relationship between the saddles and the base plate effect the tone a lot ie have you got brass saddles on a steel base plate , or brass saddles on a steel base plate, for example. The Badass is zinc alloy, not brass, not brass, and that composition is a big part of its' sound . The BBOT is relatively lightweight and all steel, hence its characteristic sound. The Hipshot Kick donkey offers steel or brass saddle options for a different tone .Steel is supposed to be more open sounding with brighter overtones, and I would endorse that opinion. Brass saddles sound more mellow and focused , by comparison. I would be perfectly content with the BBOT if only it had tracked saddles!

Bridges have a big effect on tone, but which is the right bridge for your bass is largely a matter of taste. What I will say is that on a Fender bass the BBOT bridge makes it sound the most" Fenderish", if that makes sense. Big heavy bridges take away from the classic sound of a P or J in some way or other. Some fancy bridges manage to retain the sound of Fender better than others and are just fine, but some are just too hifi sounding, for my taste at least. It's trade off, in the end. The Fender Hi Mass is probably a safe bet, and a Badass or replica is also a very acceptable substitute.

All the P34's I have seen and tried are that kind of weight. It's about the same as most of the old 2024x's used to weigh.

Thanks for that, I will mull it over. I suppose what I was trying to ask is, do they feel a lot slacker than the long scale set? And yes, you can have first refusal should I get it wrong. 🙂 I am a big fan of TI's, but as a company TI are pretty eccentric both in their product range and string gauges. If they still made the old Superalloys and offered Jazz Rounds in conventional gauges they would sell a lot of strings.

The other side of the coin is whether longer than standard scale ( ie 34 inch) basses could ever become a trend. The answer is no, because they are a lot harder to play, but they do offer as different a tonal palette as short scale basses do. Anthony Jackson , for example, favours 36 inch scale for his basses not because it tightens up his low B but because it changes the timbre of the notes, adding more harmonic content to the sound. But longer scales will never be widely adopted because they require a better technique and are likely to make most players sound worse than sound better. Nor is tighter string tension and wider fret spacing as appealing a tactile experience for most folks. By comparison , switching to short scale is more fun and easy. That is the biggest part of their appeal.

May I ask, are the short scale TI's very loose in terms of tension? I noticed that they are the same gauges as the long scale set except for a heavier E string. I use TI's on a 34 inch scale bass and they are very elastic . I would have thought on a 30inch scale they would be way too slack?

If the O.P wants to specifically know why short scale basses are in vogue at the moment , it is mostly because this trend is the latest expression of bass players gravitating towards the retrospective and "vintage" . For the last twenty-or-so years if you are a hip and happening bass player( or like to think you are..) you have to eschew all that is modern and "hifi" in terms of equipment in favour of vintage-inspired choices that mark the owner out as one of the cognoscenti. Short scale is irrevocably associated with ancient times, when bass players sounded mellow and, above all, tasteful. Yes, there were twangy short scale players back in the day -Stanley Clarke and Jack Bruce, for example, but for the most part, a dull, thumpy tone with or without a bit of click thrown in was standard fare. And as a bass player , nowadays it is sinful to draw attention to yourself with a bright strident tone , apparently. The fact that playing a short scale bass after years and years of struggling with 34 inch scale is just about the most fun you can have without taking your clothes off does help too, I must admit. Especially strung with flats or tapewounds . It is an undeniably great sound.

The most growly Fender P depends on who is playing it and with what intent, rather than the bass itself. John Wetton, for example, played an alder/rosewood early 60's P with roundwounds ( probably Rotosound, still the best string ever for that kind of sound) brilliantly and never has there been such a growly and menacing sound. An ash/maple 70's P bass could sound much more mellow, depending on who was playing it and what they were trying to achieve.

Maybe we are all being too cynical. When I was a kid we played at World War 2 with Action Man . Maybe kids nowadays need to play at Motorhead with dolls like this one. An afternoon spent with other children acting out imagined scenarios from the Bomber Tour during the autumn of 1979 could be both therapeutic and educational. They could use Barbie dolls as groupies, and Blue Peter could show you how to make a hotel room out of an old shoe box.

Lovely Mustang! I too love a pale green bass, but different basses look good in certain colours, and I like the Talman in black. They all look good, but the black is my personal favourite for that bass. .

I am thinking that, all things considered, I am going to plump for the Ibanez Talman. It seems like it will be well-made and pretty versatile. The shape is pretty attractive to my taste, too. This whole exercise has been an eye-opener for me, though. I may well end up buying a less expensive bass for my own use in the near future.

I had a look at them on YT , amazing value and great sound, but they are meant to be a bit on the heavy side according to some folks.

I take your point entirely, and yes, Fender will proliferate no matter what. I just mean that there is no real reason why Fender can't make basses like they used to, just better . And Fender players mostly prefer their basses how they used to be at some point in the past. I am perfectly happy to have a new one, but they could incorporate the better things about the old basses with the best things about the new basses. Then I would be even more of a Fender fan.

I will reserve judgement until I have played one, but it seems to me that Fender consistently shoot themselves in the foot by offering a "standard" range of American-made basses that, more often than not, are not particularly appealing both sonically and aesthetically. Part of the problem is that they don't want to compete with their own Custom Shop, part of the problem is that they are not very in touch with what discerning players crave from a Fender. All of this is compounded by their inconsistent quality control. The American Standard range was a lot more appealing than the subsequent American Professional range, IMO. The Am Pro are perfectly ok, but just not very exiting. They should have stuck with CS pickups , for my taste anyway. .

Yes , back in the day ,cheap basses used to be a waste of money. Now it seems you can get something very worthwhile for not a lot of dough. Just another example of where the snowflake generation really don't know how well-off they are .😄

I'm a big fan of Yamaha BB basses, in fact I would say they are just about my favourite. The sub-£200 Yamaha basses are not that attractive to me, but I take your point.

Sounds fixable. Look for a specialist hifi dealer in your area ( if you have one) and ask if they have someone they can recommend who does repairs on audio equipment. As you have already found out, if you have a CD63KI they will understand why you want to get it fixed. There are loads of old machines out there to provide cannibalised parts if Marantz can't provide the.

As far as HB are concerned, I really fancy both the PJ-74 and the Shorty.

I am finding it a bit hard to get my head round the idea that you can get a decent instrument in the sub-£200 range ( let alone sub-£100!). I came up in a time when cheap basses were truly awful. Funnily enough( ironically enough...) , the last bass I bought that cost less than £200 was a Squier JV Series Jazz Bass, which cost me the princely sum of £185 in 1983. Should have kept it, I know, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. 🙁 No one ever suspected at the time that they would become so sought-after. "

I've had a look , but they re a bit on the heavy side, apparently.

Cheers, I'm having a look right now!

Yes, it does seem to tick a lot of the right boxes ie Fender style, decent materials ect. Can basses this kind of price be acceptable quality, that is the question I keep asking myself. I've looked at some YT vids and it seems that yes, they can .

Cheers, very good to know that. It looks like a strong contender.

I want to buy a relatively inexpensive but decent new bass as a gift for someone and I want to make the right choice. I am a bit out of touch with that end of the market nowadays . On my shortlist so far are an Ibanez Talman and a Harley Benton PJ-74. Any other suggestions very gratefully received.