Ander87

yep! But when we’re talking 4/5k the planning for the wallet will need to be there. I had a similar feeling for my charcoal limelight P (jazz neck) and even my technician told me it’s a peach worth keeping, so glad I pulled the overdraft there lol I know eh? If I was to put the dough out on a 4/5k£ bass it’d be like a special situation, my studio bass or heirloom bass. From that angle, I’d not risk it and go for a classic like Fender CS. Overpriced or not, it’d always hold out value and attend to the classic roots of bass that are more atemporal than a cool headless active with fan frets (as cool as those could be…!)

Thanks for the encouragement ha! Tbh I doubt I can find this same bass in some years when I'm ready to gift myself something of this level, BUT I may have to ask a fender authorised dealer about a CS catalog and start to play around / plan that idea....

Oooh! I love these Tiers @Bridgehouse - I'll try that with my wife next mind you she's very supportive and a musician herself so 'she gets it'... but to me the golden rule is making sure that anything else that is not bass/gear is taken care of. Admittedly more than once (still dragging some overdraft) I've made sacrifices on my normal day to day to go for a particular bass..... ... speaking of Tier 1 - would love to have this at some point, never owned a CS and a P bass with a jazz neck is the thing for me... I don't think I could get away with it for my 35th coming but maybe my 40th birthday... http://www.fendercustomshop.com/basses/jazz-bass/limited-edition-p-j-bass-journeyman-relic-rosewood-fingerboard-aged-lake-placid-blue/ The Candy Apple Red is lovely too! PS: Can't paste most pics as they exceed 57.something KB... Most pictures would? Is there an update I'm missing out on or just me?

Hmmmmm....! I considered it TBH but I don't see anything in Nordstrand's offering as double J - I guess there is the soapbar option too...? The good thing is that nordstrand has a tendency to roll down their technologies across all formats (blades, angle polepieces etc) I'm very happy with the Nordy P blade and wanted to have something that'd be a match to it (ie. blades!)

Hm...! I have 3 - I could have more, but whenever I've had more than 3 instruments at home (and even 3) I end up playing just 2... Now that I'm in 2 bands I do use all 3. 1. Bass for punk rock band with priority to dirty sound 2. Bass for neosoul band with priority to clean and punchy sound 3. Vintage motown bass with flats that can jump as backup to either if emergency after some tweaking I used to have basses completely different depending on the project, but that only damages my bank cause I would still feel like I need a backup to each of those for every project (ie a Stingray 5 and another 5 'just in case', plus the 4 string for punk with a backup to it etc). Now that I have all 3 P basses, with hipshot detuners for #1 and #2, any of my three basses can effectively do a gig on either band. I guess the ration is 1.5 (my case) or 2 basses per band (main and backup) makes sense. But ultimately, whatever that rocks your boat that you can afford without struggling to pay bills or enjoy everything else life has to offer...!

Agree here - the closer to the bridge the less vibration and more treble it would be.... I am tempted to have all those tones but I know the MM split into a J won't be the same as a 'real J tone'. Jesus that's a monster.... I'm trying to simplify my options and now I have 3 pure P's with KiOgon electronics for Cap selection, does the job fine, but I do feel I miss a bit of the zing I had with my stingray or with a previous PJ - cutting out a bit of the 'boominess' of the P, especially for cleans and adding a bit more definition - PJ in series sounds like could be the answer... .... and aware that routing is irreversible, a PJ conversion seems sensible and still in line with the general aesthetics of a P body bass - a P+MM may be overkill, sonically and visually.... after all it's a purple metallic bass, what I'm saying here is that it doesnt need to be a classic classic 'keep the vintage looks' bass.... but neither needs to be an aberration! I'm very tempted to go for the J blade, warm and woolly - respects the tone match with the P blade but adds more zing and mids/definition. These do stand out to me but I feel safest in matching the Nordy P blade I do still love...!

Hmmm....! Thanks everyone for the answers!! So, I have the right amount of basses, 3 is where it's at for my budget and space - and they're all the quality that I want (all limelights). On one end, I want to keep them as it is and not mess around with what @ezbass coined as a P Carbuncle , but, on the other end, all three are working basses, two of them not modded and fairly true vintage style with covers and all even... So for a working bass, from @uk_lefty perspective I wouldn't mind adding a MM or a J, if there is a gain to it. Now the thing is a J is more classic... Think Rob Grange, bassist for Ted Nugent had a J added in the 70's before production came on PJ's from Japan... The MM would defo have a J switch and will give me yet more options, but yeah aesthetically it is a bit of a challenge... @TheGreek that SIMS looks very juicy but at £200 I'm only adding the P in the bridge compared to the Big Blademan (MM+J) for near half the price... In summary, if I go for the mod it'll be on my purple P, and with a Nordy J-Blade or Big Blademan - the question is whether I go for it or wether I could regret it. The potential patient... Best, Ander.

Hmmm my first limelight (faded fiesta red, I miss you sometimes) was a PJ, BUT I couldn't stand the hum noise and weight was at my limit, 4kg. I do miss it sometimes and now know that some shielding and hum-cancelling pickups (it had vintage ones) would have sorted it.... Whilst for most tones I was using 'just P', the J was a nice addition to have for some variety... And since I've upgraded all the pickups and etc etc...

sounds snobby but this is saving me from it lol

lol I gotta admit I've never felt comfortable with a P/P option...! me being picky aesthetically but also J's are for that zing and clarity at the bridge...

.... And also considering 'just' a J pickup to keep the more traditional looks and hence 'just' a PJ bass. I do get where Reggaebass comes from, an MM would be a very unorthodox thing there....! I would 'only' have 12 tones in that case (more than plenty lol I'll probs stick to less than 5/6)

oh nice! this was some £40 from the US on eBay - I did look out for the bass mutes but heard they were difficult to get these days etc. The ability to choose the level of muting is great though.... and well, I'm hoping to get a proper muted effect with the jaguar mute (a stronger on/off mute), whilst the white one has a fainter, more in-between mute with sponge under the bridge cover...

Hey @PaulThePlug! Cheers buddy, but I'm not looking to add more basses, three is all I need and have space/budget for...! Aaaand @Reggaebass, thanks! I was only considering the purple P since it's more outlandish and less traditional... the white one stays with the covers and the charcoal will 'only' have the jaguar mute ala Sean Hurley so that still respects the trad vibe with a tweak... ... the purple one was my custom build from Mark, I was thinking if one can have an extra flair it'd be that one - not worried much about value as that'd be a bass I wouldn't get rid of ever as my custom! ... Having said that, whilst the white one is great and the lightest the charcoal is just something else, the best all rounder with that NP4A. Just thought the Power Blade would get along great with a Big Blademan and the circuit I suggested would defo get me MM and J tones added too....! Ander.

Hey Gang, Through my time playing bass I've gone from simple active basses to pedals and more complicated basses, but at heart I've always liked a 'plug and play' directly to a good amp. For my 2 bands I have 3 Limelight Precision basses with Jazz necks - each with different pickups, NP4V, NP4A, P-Blades to cover the spectrum of Motown, Soul/Neosoul/Pop, Punk/Punk rock of my two bands, plugged directly to a Darkglass Microtubes v2 with inbuilt compressor. Whilst I love the tones I'm thinking of adding a pickup to one of them just for variety's sake - this would be for the bass with the P-Blade (the other two have a jaguar mute or vintage covers with foam so not entertaining cavities there). I've let my mind run wild and think a Big Blademan could be a juicy addition - respecting the control cavities more or less: 1. Toneswitch with kill switch / bypass / 22pf / 47pf and 2. Toneswitch for bridge pickup / neck and bridge parallel / neck and bridge series / neck pickup 3. Mini switch to split the MM to a J pickup If my maths are right this gives me a ridiculous 18 tone combinations - I like that there's plenty there but not complicated and still passive; more punch? put more MM; more definition? put more J; more grind? more P... Is there any other circuit I should consider? like I said at the beginning I want it simple and have enough with my amp EQ, so no need for active circuits... and no more than 2 knobs and a mini switch or similar, I'd like to not end up with a load of knobs... PS: I guess my only concern is whether I'm violating the purity of a P bass, but having two 'Pure P' basses already....

Ah cheers @Lw.! Glad to see this finished with the right pickup and covers etc. Now it's all about just playing it... Having said that, I may well send the neck over to Mark to paint the headstock matching with the body.... ... and it started to tickle me adding a J pickup to the purple bass! When I ordered the bass it was gonna be my only P and wanted to keep it as a 'pure p' but now that I've two more basses it may add to the variety of tones.... Not a thing I desperately need, but could happen - with a 4 way tone switch for J/ PJ parallel / PJ series / P it could be very interesting! I'd keep it to two pots and not drill the side for the jack, keep the original lay out.

I know eh? I can be a super gassed up person, but I genuinely think P basses is where my heart is - at least it has been for the last 7 months, quite a stable thing considering...! The problem is I had been playing guitar for a while and I was used to the fine stuff lol. Having said that, 1k£ a bass is a justified budget considering I gig them all three and I'm in 2 bands etc...

I am that person that loves p basses with jazz neck. Add to it the problem that I need them to be 4kg max I scouted around for options (the most notable being the Fender Boxer PJ for that 1k£ budget) but I returned it as I didnt love the tone, a bit waffled. I am now settled with the limelights on jazz necks! With different Nordstrand pickups and ranging from 3.6 to 3.75kg. I'd post a picture but I've been plugging it all along everywhere already ha!

I've tried a lot of everything in my 3 years as a bassist. Musicman Stingray Specials, Alpher customs, Sadowsky metros, Merlos, Sei Bass, Sandberg, Lakland, Fender Boxer japan, headless Ibby 5's, Dingwall D-Roc.... After all that, my 3 basses now are all p basses with jazz necks...! passive electronics all of them with sweet spots via tone switch (killswitch, bypass, 22pf, 47pf) and different pickups across them - NP4V, NP4A and P Blade by Nordstrand. I think tones depend a lot with the type of music you do, but I'm glad to see that a P bass will have your back for most of music produced - for what I do (motown/soul/neosoul/pop/rock/punk) these cover me plenty. I can say this is the happiest I've been after roaming so many different basses... I would not say no to a PJ Alpher though, but price/tone ratio is solid with these Limelights:

Ooooooooft!!! Just received my Nordy NP4V, along with the La Bella flats I had on the latest acquisition (charcoal frost). I'm sure this is old news for many of you, but... LUSH. The Nordy has more of a BKP '58 character wrapped up in velvet, still punchier than the CS '62. Perfect for motown bits but, definitely great for punk and the like with rounds and covers off. The mojo of these covers is undeniable...!

Hey! Yes indeed - I tried to get it some months ago but it resurfaced and did not miss the chance!

Welcome to the club @vincbt, that is a lovely looking bass! Here's my 3 Limelight P's with J necks: The purple goes on a Nordy P blade for dirty stuff, the White on an NP4V for the vintage tones, and charcoal grey on an NP4A for bright and punchy. Yours reminds me of one....