Beedster

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1441434445' post='2858807'] Now, of course, the big issue is that I want a fretted one to go with it. I wonder if the best bet is to put this back to original (fretted) and source an original unlined fretless.......? [/quote] Ha ha, it had to happen! Here's the mongrel with it's new best friend. Arrival of the newbie means that I can get the mongrel refretted. I doubt there's a better fretted/fretless pair of instruments to be honest, now that I've got to grips with the pre-amp (I simply never took the time to do so in the past), it's pretty clear that there are very few sounds an active twin-PUP Wal can't do. As I've never played a fretted Wal however, I'm extremely excited! [url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/2015-10-24%2011.07.03_zpsbut5afap.jpg.html"][/url]

My two, '83 and '86 [URL=http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/2015-10-24%2011.07.03_zpsbut5afap.jpg.html][IMG]http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j199/Beedster/2015-10-24%2011.07.03_zpsbut5afap.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Just plugged it in for a while. It has that lovely and woody pre-CBS Precision tone, very reminiscent of the intro to 'One of These Nights' by the Eagles (and of course someone will now come on and tell me that the part in question was recorded using a Ric, but either way, this bass has that lovely organic tone). I don't know anything about the woods, but closer inspection suggests it's probably not quite the budget instrument I thought it was, I love the veneer between front and back (no idea why it's there though?). Despite having quite heavy flats it's also effortless to play (I believe the term du jour is 'like butter'). So, for the cost of a Squier I've got a rather lovely vintage Precision in lovely condition. Rather chuffed Might think about a black pickguard though! [url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_5525_zpsrdecczab.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_5533_zpsehspdl9w.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_5540_zpsncvpgptc.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_5536_zpse5xfzdo9.jpg.html"][/url]

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1445603667' post='2892754'] I know nothing about them but I'm a bit disappointed it's a P bass copy. From the name I was expecting something pointy that lights up. [/quote] Ha ha Well let me enlighten you Professor Valdemar, as I decided to buy it! It's a '78. At first sight it is a rather ugly, albeit accurate, Precision copy. Adding to the initial neutral emotions was the fact that it is clearly made of something marginally heavier than kryptonite. It is however glorious. The build quality is Yamaha, say no more. Pocket and heel are within percentages of an mm, everything is just solid. On closer inspection, the body is constructed not of two halves in the frontal plane as per Fenders, but in whatever the plane that's at right angles to that plane is called, so in short, in almost Wal fashion, there's a front and a back. There also appears to be an extremely think layer of wood between front and back. Very strange? The neck is slightly narrower than 70's Precision and slightly deeper, more like a Jazz neck on 'roids really, but is again very solid and 100% true. Tone? I haven't given it the Ampeg treatment, but I'm looking forward to doing so. My suspicion is that it's the precursor to the BB2024, it has that feel of function over style about it. I'll keep y'all posted.

Saw one of these mid-70's MIJ Precision-alikes the other day. Looks rather nice. Anyone owned/played one or know anything about them?

[quote name='fatback' timestamp='1445465412' post='2891760'] Would someone need a side frame thingy at all witha T-shape end pin? Or does the frame bit help in some other way as well? I've never even held an EUB, but i have wondered. [/quote] If you want your EUB to feel like a DB, yes. The SLBs are extremely good in this respect with a substantial lump of nicely shaped wood doing a very god job of standing in for the upper bout. Most EUBs have utterly crap bits of anything from plastic to metal that extend from one of more parts of the instrument in an attempt to provide the player with some great stability. With the exception of the SLB and the Bespoke, Ive yet to come across any that do the job well, so I tend to treat an EUB as a different instrument and play it as per above, if I need to stabilise it in any way the back of the lower body sits against the inside of the top of my left calf.

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1444754326' post='2885652'] The table is well put together. [/quote] Ha ha, only just saw that

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1445416398' post='2891246'] My first ever DB was a Stagg EUB (just a couple of years back) One of the annoying things I found when playing this, particularly at a gig was its' tendency to swivel around on the endpin during playing - esp when you really didn't want it to That may have been due to a not particularly good rubber stop / grip on the endpin Or my incorrect useage of the funny little sideframe pieces on the stagg... It did this swiveling rather less at home, but then when you play a gig, you're on different surfaces, some of which might make it more prone to swivelling I just wondered, is Clarkson prone to this sort of movement? Or is it less likely to do so, maybe due to a greater mass than the Stagg? Do you intend fitting anything like those frame pieces, to mimmick a "body" to rest the bass against yourself? .... or do you just not need this? Are you playing Clarkson while standing, or seated? Oh, that's lots of questions Still, I'm so glad you completed this build, and pleased you're chuffed with the result [/quote] I had a Stagg and a Dean and both were nightmares for spinning around at inopportune moments. This is largely why I moved up to the SLB. Clarkson on the other hand is actually so heavy that it has its own gravitational field, meaning that I have a tendency to spin around it when playing live! All joking aside, I've found that with body-less EUBs I have to play in a very different position, with the centre line of the bass leaning away from me rather than towards me as it does with DB. That is I have the endpin almost at my feet but the scroll a couple of feet away. This works for Bluegrass/root-5th playing that is what I'm mostly doing with it, probably wouldn't work for Jazz where I'd need to get up the dusty end a bit more. As I mentioned above, the SLB was a much easier bass to actually engage with physically, but at 1/10th f the price I'd take Clarkson any day! On this basis I may think about engineering a faux bout as it might be useful in certain situations (and of course would make the whole thing look even more like the giant crossbow the ladies in question above thought it was).

Very nicely done, looks like it was done at the factory

Well I took it along to a rehearsal the other night, this over my left shoulder and my PJB Briefcase in the other hand. First thing I noticed was that walking through town centre was not the usual anxiety-inducing experience as is the case when taking my DB. In fact, a couple of girls came up to me and said that were really glad it's a musical instrument because from a distance it looked like I was carrying a large weapon. Little did they know Anyway, rehearsal, stuck a Wing PUP in the bridge and it sounded lovely, really lovely. Action you could drive a bus under at present, but still very playable, also very solid feel and very very nice board. How does it compare with my old Yamaha SLB-1 I hear you ask.......? Sound wise? Better, no joke, might be a function of the decent wing PUP (something you can't use on the SLB), but even unplugged it has a good solid thump with a nice sustain. Playability? Not quite so good because the skeleton frame on the SLB makes it really easy to engage physically with the instrument. Portability? This wins hands down, nothing to take off after a gig, just swing over my shoulder and off I go, no worries about damage. All in all, quite chuffed

[quote name='philparker' timestamp='1445338086' post='2890616'] And how long before someone disagrees or starts an argument? [/quote] If you ask me they look like furniture

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1445198118' post='2889583'] Gov, Gov, not 'got', bleedin' Gov! Try to post an amusing reply and my phone makes an embarrassment of me, I give up. [/quote] Ha ha, that was quite a classic reply to a thread that doesn't exist!

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1445014931' post='2888224'] Isn't the spacing on a BBOT way off Rickenbacker spacing? I'd be tempted to go with something like a Schaller roller bridge (for the adjustable spacing) with a Geddy-style surround (maybe made from mirror acrylic) so that it looks good from a few feet away and hides the routing. [/quote] Probably yes, think I was trying to emphasis just how bad both the original and aftermarket bridge offerings are for Ric. The original works very well of course, but only as long as Ric have bothered to get the rest of the instrument right - for example alignment of bridge rout with neck and PUPs, height of fretboard over body etc - and as we know, that's not always the case

Hipshot got it badly wrong with the Ric bridge, I'm almost tempted to say it was designed by an infiltrator from Ric. If I get another Ric it's going to be wearing a BBOT

Folks I had a rather sobering experience recently when a DB I had bought in good faith (as had the guy who sold it to me) turned out to be something of a ticking bomb. I took it to two luthiers who both said exactly the same things about the instrument in terms of the quality of previous repairs, and both indicated that what had happened was a direct result of the poor repairs in question. So, in the space of about a month I found out that I actually know very little about the construction of DBs, what can go wrong with them, and the signs that indicate either that it has already happened or that it might be about to. I had a look through this forum and realised that there's not a lot on here either (or that I've missed it) So, please share what you know, and don't be afraid to keep it simple, it's clear that I missed some pretty simple clues with mine I should add that I'm now having to look for a replacement (the old one is being repaired to a point but I'm not quite so confident about it's potential longevity as I was), so I'm sincerely hoping that this thread over time will become a buyer's bible so to speak! Please feel free to add any pics to illustrate any examples Cheers Chris

[quote name='Linus27' timestamp='1444770731' post='2885951'] Cheers everyone. I will just keep looking. The two Jap Fenders I currently have I never ever thought I would own, especially one of them so I am hopeful something will turn up [/quote] 1. Don't hold your breath 2. Don't assume that because it's MIJ it's de facto good. As an owner of many fretless basses over the years the reality is that whilst a lot can be done to improve the performance of a poor fretted instrument, it's a lot more problematic with their fretless counterparts. I've owned two MIJ Fender fretless basses, one was glorious, one was awful, no sustain, no bite, no mwah, nada. Changed bridge, PUPs, strings and setup, still nada! Same is of course true of all fretless basses from the budget end up to, dare I say it, Wal (although I think the range of quality at Wal is probably not as great as it is elsewhere). Point I'm making is that if this is some kind of Holy Grail "must have an MIJ Fretless Precision" quest, you probably have a fair chance of being disappointed given how few there are out there. I'd be playing what's for sale on here, or perhaps even better, building up my own (you'd be surprised just how cheap it can be to put together a decent instrument, and perhaps your best bet is an MIJ Precision loaded body and an aftermarket neck?)

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1444764483' post='2885812'] Why are you sticking so doggedly to an amp that the band hates and even you admit has problems with its tone? Surly you can take a hint? If any part of your sound is bad then that cancels out all the good sounds. At the very least, I'd use the Ampeg until you figure out what you did to cause the bad tone in your DIY amp and do a rebuild. [/quote] Yep, that's the long and short of it. I've played with far too many inexperienced musicians who think that there is something magical about 'their' tone, despite the fact that only they can hear it, and who cause constant issues with other band members, soundguys and audiences because of it. Yes, some old tube amps can produce a gorgeous muted and diffuse bass tone, but the fact that this rarely worked in any mix was why amp manufacturers moved towards gear that accentuated mids and clarity, amps that not only got heard, but didn't swamp everything else doing so