cameltoe

Oli bought my RAT pedal from me. No hassle whatsoever, easy, swift payment and a nice touch to have the funds sent over as a gift. Recommended!

I'm definitely going to pursue the lightweight tuners, and take it from there. Thanks for all the advice so far. If the tuners themselves don't do enough then I'll look into a higher mass bridge and a bridge cover. The roadworn already has the holes drilled for the cover so it's no bother! Can anyone tell me what size tuners I will need? I also noticed Fender do there own lightweight tuners, as fitted to earlier Am St. Precisions, are these not really worth the effort? Just thinking they may fit the orginal holes.

I've only played the one VMJ so can only give my opinions on that. (and I was in the same position as you, choosing between the pair) It was heavy, not as well built as the CV series, looked cheap (the neck blocks and binding appear to be just drawn on in felt tip), but I felt it sounded better than the CV. Of course, these have the Duncan pickups, but I'd say electrics aside the CV was better quality. Depends what you want I guess. I've just chucked a different pickup in my CV. Aren't the standard CV roundwounds D'addario XL's? I'd be suprised if you couldn't get them to sound nice!

Good work, Any idea where I can get these in the UK? or will I have to have them shipped over? Also, what does it mean when they ask 'Bass side' or 'Treble side'? Or does 'Treble side' just apply to basses that have tuners upside down on the bottom of the headstock? Do these fit the standard Fender screw holes? I notice they are standard fitment on the new 2010 American Standard Precisions, so maybe....... *EDIT* Doesn't look like they will, not with only one screw!

I always wanted to try a L2000, and did recently in the gallery. Lovely action and neck profile, so easy to play. But very heavy instrument.

[quote name='Balcro' post='940225' date='Aug 30 2010, 07:11 PM']Without even checking the spec, I'd guess your RW has an ash body. Beautifully resonant, but outweighed by most necks. Mine only suffers slightly in comparison to your dilemma. +1 to what Bassassin said about the strap. The other thing that I do is to flip the tail end of the strap over to the front side of the body. Not only does this pull the angle of the neck up several degrees but it tilts the face of the strings toward you. I know it's only a temporary expedient, but it might be better than disfiguring a bass by drilling holes in it. Balcro.[/quote] I've no idea on earth why this should work, but it does. Tried this at rehersal tonight, and the neck did come up a couple of inches. Why does this work? Of course my lovely, comfy padded strap now cuts into my shoulder, but it's the best I've had the Precision to balance against me. Great advice, cheers. Now if i could just get a strap that has padding on the back bit! [quote name='Bassassin' post='940261' date='Aug 30 2010, 07:43 PM']You'd be surprised how much weight there is in a set of tuners - and in this instance you're basically putting 4 big lumps of steel at the end of a long lever! Out of curiosity I just weighed some bits I have lying around: Ibanez Blazer neck (1 fret longer than a standard P neck) - 770g Ibby Blazer tuners, minus screws (these are a good bit smaller than Fender-type tuners) - 370g Schaller BM full-size lightweight tuners - 190g Considering the weight of the neck is spread along its entire length, I do think light tuners will make a big difference. I doubt you'd need to add weight to the body. J.[/quote] Great, thanks I'm going to try this as well I reckon. A couple of tweaks should be enough hopefully. [quote name='Darkstrike' post='940301' date='Aug 30 2010, 08:13 PM']I'd definatly try light tuners, they make a big difference, IMHO.[/quote] Any ideas on the best brand to go for, or are they all basically the same? What size would I need also? Cheers

[quote name='Balcro' post='940225' date='Aug 30 2010, 07:11 PM']Without even checking the spec, I'd guess your RW has an ash body. Beautifully resonant, but outweighed by most necks. Mine only suffers slightly in comparison to your dilemma. +1 to what Bassassin said about the strap. The other thing that I do is to flip the tail end of the strap over to the front side of the body. Not only does this pull the angle of the neck up several degrees but it tilts the face of the strings toward you. I know it's only a temporary expedient, but it might be better than disfiguring a bass by drilling holes in it. Balcro.[/quote] You mean have the back of the strap on the front of the bass? Hmm, sounds interesting! Hopefully that'll help. I wouldn't worry about disfiguring a Road Worn. It already has a few pointless holes from factory! A bit of mexican spit, some dirt, some rust.....

[quote name='essexbasscat' post='940223' date='Aug 30 2010, 07:10 PM']Interesting post. I've just checked my Roadworn P for balance and found that the neck on mine is ever so slightly heavier than the body as well. I use a 3" stap, which seems to inhibit the neck in it's creeping tendancy towards horizontal. I do agree that the neck does seem inclined towards level, but my strap does hold it in place. I position the height of my bass to be the same in standing as it would be sitting in a chair with both hips and knees bent close to 90 degrees each. I wasn't aware of this issue until now, as I've yet to gig mine, but I do wonder if the neck pull on the strap will lead to shoulder discomfort on a performance of a few hours or more. All that said, they are fantastic basses, there's hardly a day that goes by when I havn't picked mine up several times. The first time is often before I go to work in the morning, which believe me, is something new. They really are impressive Precisions - mine won't be going anywhere without me T[/quote] My teacher actually suggested having the bass sit the same on my body as it would in a chair, so maybe I'll look into that and try new techniques to stop my wrist curling round and causing me discomfort. I have a 3" suede strap, and a big fat wide leather strap, but the inside of that is fairly smooth and slidy. Maybe I need a fat suede strap! Yep they are amazing, and I'm not even thinking of getting rid, just solving this problem. I also pick it up way more than I have any other bass I've owned.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='940215' date='Aug 30 2010, 07:00 PM']Lightweight tuners (Hipshot, Gotoh, Schaller etc all do them) is the first thing that comes to mind - there's not a lot of weight in the average neck so this should make a big difference. Maybe try using a strap with suede or similar high-friction material on the inside. Jon.[/quote] I have a grippy suede strap, so that's out. It does help, but the bass still 'pulls' down, and nearly always still moves a bit before it catches. I had considered lightweight tuners but wasn't sure how much of a difference this would actually have (can anyone confirm?)- with something else on the body side it might be enough do the trick though. The reverse tuners are doing my head in anyway! (ALWAYS turning them the wrong way!) [quote name='mcnach' post='940217' date='Aug 30 2010, 07:02 PM']Try helium balloons attached to the headstock? [/quote] Well, it would work!

Hi there. So I've been a big fan of Fender Precisions since I started out playing only a couple of years ago. They're pretty much the benchmark for me, they do everything I need them to do and they're really comfortable! I recently had a lovely birthday present from my girlfriend in the form of a Road Worn Precision in Fiesta Red. It was amazing, and it feels sooooo good that I had to have it, even though it was more than she'd wanted to spend One of the first things I noticed about it, was how light it was. It was incredible, even back-to-back with the regular Fender Classic '50's series, it felt much, much lighter. Seeing as my bass at the time was a bit of a boat-anchor I didn't figure this would be a problem. However, a few gigs on now, I'm starting to realise that maybe the lightness of the body works against it, in terms of balance. It's great to have something light around your neck for once, but it's just, ever so slightly, weighted towards the neck. This doesn't result in the dreaded neck-dive, but it does mean that the bass's natural hanging position, if you will, is exactly horizontal across my body. Therefore when I'm playing something a bit more technical or busy, I cannot let go of the neck even for a second. For the most part this isn't a problem, but sometimes it does make reaching stuff a bit more awkward when I have to have a certain amount of my left hand action holding the neck upwards at the angle I like it at. At first I got around the problem by having the bass very high on the strap, which meant it could get away with hanging level as it was higher. This was fine, but I started to get pain in my right hand due to having to curl my wrist around the top of the body. It's also not ideal for playing at the very first fret, as it's more of a stretch for the left arm. I also found the top curve of the body became a bit of an obstruction. Currently I'm spending most gigs constantly faffing with my strap, to try and find a perfect place where it's comfortable, and the 'dive' won't bother me. My favorite position is to have the bass hang just above waist height, with the neck tilting upwards around 45 degrees. It's very comfortable for both hands and I can reach everything without a struggle. This was where I had my old MIM Precision, which didn't move from it's spot when I released the neck! It was also fine for the cheap Aria Jazz bass I just sold. But the roadworn just wants to dip it's neck down to be dead horizontal! I'm not going to get rid of the bass, but I would like any advice or suggestions on how to get round this, or even how to ignore it. Even position advice may help. I have wide and grippy straps, but the neck still pulls it's way down. With half my t shirt! A friend suggested either moving the strap pins slightly (but to where?) or adding a bit of mass to the body (how?) Any help would be fantastic. Someone must have had-and solved- this problem before!

Cheers! I'm going to also look at the Allparts neck, and see what I can get one shipped over for.

[quote name='Johnston' post='939037' date='Aug 28 2010, 09:23 PM']Why not pick up a squier Mike Dirnt then flip it on Ebay with the CV neck or in bits? I've never had my hands on a 50's CV yet, but I think the MIM Mike Dirnt neck is a thinner all round. If you want I can measure mine tomorrow. I think the sting or the '51 reissue s necks would be closer in profile.[/quote] Yeah could you measure it? I'd be interested to know what the differences are. Is the finish fairly bare on the Mike Dirnt? [quote name='BurritoBass' post='939046' date='Aug 28 2010, 09:38 PM']The Fender 51RI is very varnished FYI.[/quote] Thanks, I've never seen one in the flesh so wasn't sure. [quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='939108' date='Aug 28 2010, 11:21 PM']Warning! If you remove the lacquer, the neck will become so unstable it will change action at the slightest change of weather / humidity etc. You'll find that a maple neck which is left unlaquered by a manufacturer, such as musicman for example has either been selected out of a stronger lump or treated with some particular preserving method which allows it to keep it's tensile strenght while the timber is bare. I am not making this up but a friend of mine also had a Squier which he didn't like the feel of the lacquer, took it to a a mate with a belt sander and had it fully unlaquered. Within days after restringing it the neck was like a flag on a pole, so bad he had to junk it in the end. Be careful, you have a beautiful bass (I have the very same one) don't ruin it.[/quote] Yeah I was never keen on that idea- and you have a point- my Road Worn precision neck moves about a fair bit. It's a stunning neck, but it does need taking out of it's case at a gig fairly early and leaving to settle before tuning. The Classic Vibe is more stable. I'd like to be able to put the CV neck back on and return it to standard should I so wish, so I'd prefer to find a replacement neck. What are the Allparts necks like? I think I remember hearing good things. I could pick one of those up and see how I get on- will have the original neck to always return it back to how it was then.

I've got a Classic Vibe '50's precision, which is my back-up bass, and having never really modified a bass before I thought this would be the ideal candidate! I can't show you pics at the moment, as it's not currently with me, but it's just the regular lake placid blue with tele headstock model. One of the reasons I've come up with the idea to modify it, is because I don't really like the thick lacquer finish on the neck. I love the bass, but when I go back to playing something with just a polished neck finish I really wish I had that on this bass. So, this is the area I'd like to attack first on this bass if possible. So, hoping I can do something about this. Obviously these Squiers are great value for the money, but I have considered swapping the standard squier neck for a higher quality neck with hopefully less lacquer. I want to retain the tele headstock, so obviously if I want to replace with a used Fender neck I need to be looking for a '51 style neck from the Sting bass, or MIM Mike Dirnt bass. I've no idea how 'finished' these necks are mind you. There is also the option of a new AllParts licenced Fender neck, unfinished, with the tele headstock. How high is the quality on these though? option 3 is to try and remove the finish from this neck, but in doing that, I'll never be able to put it back like it was, should I need to do that for any reason. Thanks for any advice!

My mates band, The Motown Pirates, would probably love this. Yes, they are a Motown covers band who dress as pirates. me neither.

Sold! To the man at the front. Now I need to find one. Someone sell me one!

[quote name='sk8' post='936711' date='Aug 26 2010, 08:04 AM']Could you Di the LB into the PA for a touch more sound reinforcement? Could be an option. I find the LB great for church and practice but take the Hiwatt for any gigs[/quote] Yeah, but the thing is we don't have subs or any of that nonsense. Just 15" passive peavey speakers. If we had a proper rig, then yeah I could DI it whenever. I'm totally self-sufficient, unless we're playing bigger gigs with hired-in PA systems. I DI'ed the other week for a recording and it sounded amazing! Got bad gas for one of these now. Must hold off buying one new! There were a few knocking about for sale a couple months back when I didn't want one.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='936363' date='Aug 25 2010, 08:23 PM']I think some people associate a decent amount of bass with 'boom', eg those who like squeaky clean tight bass guitar tones. The BT is one hugely powerful and awesome amp. I dont own one but I tested it. Fantastic amp, and great dirt if you want it.[/quote] I'm going to print this and give it to my drummer..... he always complains about me being too boomy. If I make it how he likes it to sound, yes, it might be clearer on stage, but once I stand out front it sounds thin and weedy! He can't accept that. He doesn't understand that it sounds different out front. Cheers for the info on the BT, it's sounding like the right call......

[quote name='sk8' post='936123' date='Aug 25 2010, 04:21 PM']High input is for active basses[/quote] Sorry that's exactly what I meant. Don't know why I put passive.