Boodang

If string budget it tight, a compelling argument for that Jameson tone... put a set of flats on and never, ever change them!

Fair point!

In fact, to simplify the issue, if you turn the comp control full ccw (so in theory it has no effect) and put the eq controls at 12 o'clock (again in theory the eq should have no affect) then switch between bypass and on, the tone of bass changes. In theory there should be no difference but the pedal seems to have an inherent in-built tonal quality which is not neutral.

With so much choice these days, and as strings are an essential ingredient in your tone and playability, why settle for less than amazing?!

I don't think the Spectracomp settings is the issue as I've loaded the same toneprint on to both; I've using the Captain East on both. When you take the bypass off the spectradrive pedal it kicks in both the comp and eq. The comp seems to be working as I would expect the captain east toneprint to respond but I can't get the eq to sound flat.

Got this recently so I could combine the Spectracomp with a 4 band eq and the fact it has an overdrive toneprint as well is a bonus. However.... When I'm just using the Spectracomp with the eq all set at 12 o'clock it doesn't sound neutral, not the same as just using a Spectracomp pedal on it's own. Is it because the eq controls don't have centre detents? Anyway, swapping between the two it's noticable. So, when my fretless goes through this I just want the comp, but when I switch to the fretted I roll off the treble and a bit of high mid. The eq is good, trouble is it doesn't seem to sound neutral when in theory it shouldn't be doing anything. Just wondered if anybody else felt the same / had the same issue as regards the neutrality, or lack of it. The only solution is to use both the Spectracomp and spectradrive with an a/b switch but it sort of defeats the object of why I bought the spectradrive in the first place!

Oh, and one thing I did notice when you look at the current line up, the specials have an 11" neck radius and the classic is 7.5". So another thing in the mix if neck radius is important to you.

... and have you seen the Darkray? A usa stingray with a darkglass preamp. That has to be interesting.

Interestingly the equivalent cost today that Fender were selling the P bass back in the day is around 2K, so not cheap. Makes you realise how far we've come in terms of quality/price, especially in the last few years. My Squier jazz is one of the best I've ever played in the 40 years of being a bassist and even with the hardware mods I've done still very cheap by comparison.

Worse thing I ever did was to get a custom made bass as a headless! Now I have a great bass but limited string choice... in theory you can clamp any string but in practice a lot of strings don't like this and destroy themselves under this abuse they weren't designed for. My fav strings have a synthetic core and even come with a warning on the packet about being delicate when installing (they're not delicate for playing purposes). If I want to be be 47 quid less well off all I have to do is try and put them on my headless!

Are you actually saying flats inferior to roundwounds or did I miss the satirical element?! Oh, and the large number of spaces between text and emoji??

Maybe a fretless model should be called a Precision (not)

Aha, well some clarification in the 'five watt world' YouTube history of the P bass; the name purportedly comes from a combination of the frets, the precise tone from the scale length, and the precise way in which they were machine made.

Of course, if the name refers to the tone rather than the frets then it's not an oxymoron!

Maybe it comes with exceptional intonation built in!

Talking of the ubiquitous Fender Precision bass in another thread here has reminded me of something I read ages ago but can't find again and thus makes me think I'm making this up.. so any clarification gratefully received! It goes like this; in an interview with Leo he states that the Precision name came less from the frets and more from the fact the scale length was carefully chosen to give a precise tone where unlike an upright the overtones did not overwhelm the fundamental note. So in his experiments they were after the longest scale length where this would be the case and thus ended up at 34" and the precise tone they were after. Plenty of mention in the history books about scale length experiments but not about the reasons for it and the precise tone. Did I dream this!!

Can't comment on edited toneprints but the phone app works a treat now with no issues for me. I've got a Spectracomp, spectradrive, hof2, flashback2 and wiretap and the all work perfectly with the app. The wiretap had sooo many issues with v.1 but with the new firmware updates it's sorted. Love the Spectracomp, have settled on the tri-band captain east toneprint which adds punch to the bass frequencies but doesn't squish the overall sound.

That's the reason for mentioning custom pickups as they're hand wound, scatter wound, and clued up as to materials to use and over/under wiring for different tone capabilities. All my basses have custom replacement pups. The best so far was a set I had made for my fretless jazz after reading an article about the pickups Seymour Duncan designed / made for Jaco... scatter wound single coils, alnico2 bridge, alinico5 neck. Interesting the best sound to my ear is both pups full on played over the neck.... good amount of bass from the alnico5 with a nice blend of mids from the alnico2.

My first bass was fretless so it seemed natural to use fingers. I used lockdown to crack the pick thing but fingers is still my go to technique. Influenced early on by John Paul Jones, so mostly play over the end of the neck which also has a pleasing tone on fretless. And worked on the Gary Willis technique of using the ring finger to make string crossing more fluid... also good for triplets.

I've been looking at these, they seem like a good idea. They're on some Warwicks and Fender customs so probably not just a solution to a problem we didn't know existed, more like a sensible evolution. Do post if you get some although I might pull the trigger myself soon.

Flatwounds aren't going to be as bright as roundwounds but they don't have to be dull. My latest obsession is the Galli Synthesis flatwounds which I've put on my jazz (I've done a thread on them here). They have a synthetic core, and feel and sound great. If you want to have a listen I posted some clips over in the effects review section; the Seamoon funk machine dub clip gives you a good idea, as does the one I just posted of the Aguilar grape phaser. Not cheap but strings are an essential part of your sound, so if you like them, a good investment.

As always from me, a shout out for Creamery pickups. I got the solo P which is designed to cut through a band mix but if you have something special in mind he'll do a custom. And very reasonable prices.

If it's a covers band then it needs to be tight. Sounds like this guitarist needs to be in a different style of band if that's how he want to play.

It's interesting because back when this bass was made, Fender were mass producing down to the cheapest price. I remember reading an interview with Leo about the early production days and they asked him what made his pickups sound special and, to para-phase, he said he didn't know as they were using whatever was around and cheap with no consistency in materials especially the wire used in the pups. I guess that's why there's such a variance from model to model. Today's manufacturing techniques and the use of things like Plek machines must surely be able to produce a far superior bass.

A Marshall stack with only one speaker connected! Mind you, there's been a few guitarists where that's been a tempting option.