shoulderpet

I have to admit, unless you get a pickup that is radically different like something super hot then most of them are pretty similar, the Seymour Duncan SPB-2 is noticeably different from most P pickups. I also think that the strings you use will bring out the character of the pickup, if you use flats then there is less harmonic content so changing the pickup will affect the tone a lot less than if you are using rounds.

I like light gauge strings (on long scale basses at least), my P bass came fitted with TI Jazz flats and has the dreaded heel access truss rod so just as well, taking the neck off to adjust it? Not bloody likely

Cloth wires make absolutely no difference it is purely an aesthetic, the only wires that matter are the wires that are wrapped around the actual pickup coils, with the wires that are wrapped around the pickup coils there is all sorts of things going on that determine the tone. I suspect the pickups you already have will be fine, if not Toneriders seem to be recommended a lot for this type of tone, Wilkinson (the Alnico ones) are also very good inexpensive pickups

I like the blocks, the only thing that might grate on me a little is that I am used to seeing the 2 dot markers at the 12th fret, I think I would possibly have to get some white dot marker stickers or something for that 12th fret, that being said if the 12th fret is right where the upper horn is like on a lot of basses it might be easy to remember just by that, btw that is one classy looking bass, that would look great in a punk band

The action may not be the whole issue, it is also likely to be active vs passive tone but a high action will kill your slap tone, with slap too high an action stops the notes from popping properly and makes them thud more, you will also find a high action if it is very high will kill your sustain, if I was after a tone more like an upright (double) bass one of the ways I would get that tone would be to raise the action very high. Really you should aim for Fender guideline spec of 2.4mm action at the 17th fret on the E string and 2mm for the G but the ideal for slap would be 2mm at the 17th for the E and a little lower for the G, what I tend to do is start with 2.4mm and then if there is now buzz I lower it to 2.2mm and check for buzz and if there is none then I lower it to 2mm

Good point, a high action will pretty much destroy your slap tone

+1 Even if I could afford a super expensive bass I wouldn't buy one for this reason, you bring a posh bass and people think "this person means business" and expect a lot, for me they would be very disappointed once they heard me play

Thanks, I think I have only had one bass have a fret dressing due to fret wear in all my years of playing so this is reassuring to hear

I am thinking from the posts on this thread that this is the case, on an active bass you can boost frequencies before they even reach the amp which then gives the treble control on the amp more treble to work with which would translate to a more responsive treble control on the amp. I think you have a couple of options here 1) Have a preamp fitted to the Jazz bass, 2)get an eq pedal or preamp pedal, the pedal in this link has a treble and harmonics control (which is basically like a 2nd treble control) Dr J Sparrow pedal You could look at brighter pickups but I would probably advise against going down that rabbit hole

Hi I have a Fender Vintera P bass that has skinny vintage profile frets at the moment I am using flatwounds on it and I actually momentarily switched to rounds but pretty much overnight realised that I preferred the flats however if I get a gig (or gigs) that needs that roundwound tone I may switch to rounds. Was just looking to find out from others who have experience of these type of frets how much fretwear I can expect to see if I did switch to rounds, part of me thinks they may wear faster than jumbo frets but part of me is thinking that ime to see any appreciable wear on jumbo frets usually takes years anyway to maybe these are the same, thanks

Nice, glad you are getting on with them, I use TI Jazz flats as they can do a good flatwound sound but with the eq set the right way they can do a good convincing rock tone too and through my Sansamp clone that I use they sound downright snarling and aggressive

Yes I suspect you may be right, if the Rumble 100 eq is voiced the same as the 500 them the treble is voiced at 10khz so it would make sense that the speaker may struggle to reproduce this, I also remember that my Rumble was quite heavy on the low end which also didn't help

Not exactly, a horn will enable your amp to reproduce the highest frequencies your bass produces, you can still get high frequencies without a horn but the very highest frequencies will not be reproduced. I had a Rumble 500 and i used to get a bright tone from it by turning up the treble and switching on the bright switch but turning the bass down a quarter or so

well, working apart from the bridge pickup but to be fair P basses do fine with just the one pickup

Hi I am putting my Ibanez Mezzo up for grabs, collection from Croydon area, needs a little attention and unfortunately I dont really have the time to deal with myself, I am sure there is someone out there who does have the time to deal with or is happy to just rock it with just the P pickup. The bridge pickup does not work, I have left it in for the sake of aesthetics, the pickguard is a spray paint job, the bass plays pretty well and the P pickup sounds good, wiring is passive with a series/parallel switch for the P pickup

I would agree that the player series is pretty average, if I was buying a p bass and had the £500-600 to spend I would probably look at buying used but some people really like the player series

Wow, wish I have been trying to do the same with the guitarist in my band for ages, he has a habit of boosting the bass on the amp and rolling off the tone control so we have a tonne of low end before I have even played a note

This

I use this https://www.daddario.com/products/accessories/straps/guitar-and-bass-straps/auto-lock/ I tried the Grolsch washer method but I was not a fan as I have had strap pins work themselves loose using that method and I am not a fan of straplocks, the Daddario strap seems to work just as well and no modifications needed

That sucks, I had a similar experience with ordering a Squier CV bass, had 2 both with issues, I could have had a 2nd replacement but I decided not too but from what I have seen when you get a good one they are usually really good

The thing with the Labella is they do sound good but they are a one trick pony, with TI's you can get a tone from them that will work in a rock context as well as the warmer tones you would associate with flats

And it looks like I am a TI jazz flats fan, I got some Labella low tension flats, fitted them and they sounded immediately broken in, like most flats sound like after a few months but I missed the clarity of the TI's, they sound like flats but they sing in the high mids instead of being a dull thump like a lot of flats, the TI's are back on, it was a pricey experiment but if you don't try then you never know

Oh man that sucks, sorry to hear that, Anderson's customer service is really good they will take care of you, I found Squiers are a bit hit and miss in terms of quality control so make sure when you get the replacement that you check everything thoroughly

I agree, the lows on the quarter pound pickups are huge