EssentialTension

I had a 2006 American Deluxe Precision and in doing about a hundred gigs with it never had any problems at all. I was totally unaware that there were supposed to be any shielding issues.

I can't see the point of a powerball or anything similar. I'd say, the best thing to do to build strength in wrist, arms, or hands for playing bass is to play bass.

It's just the American Dream - the freedom to join any club you like. It comes straight after buying the T-shirt.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1387034903' post='2307645'] ... I always find locating the proper position for the first and second fret a problem on an unlined bass. From the third fret to the twelfth I am relatively O.K , and then things get a bit tricky... [/quote] The Tony Franklin has a side dot at the first fret. Above the twelfth fret is more like playing a violin. Don't go there.

[quote name='eude' timestamp='1386670383' post='2302753'] I did cringe a little when I saw whats been done to that bass, but at the end of the day, they're for playing, not looking at, so whatever works for you is the right thing. If I was you, I would go for a pickguard to hide the wood insert, with the best intentions, wood stain wood help, but it'll never be a perfect match. Some of the old Wal pickguards are big enough to hide a multitude of sins, and I'm sure Bass Doc could design up something sympathetic of the original Wal style pickguard that is adapted to hide the grizzly bits... Something like this example below, with similar pickup locations wouldn't be too far off the mark and could be made with black plastic Anyway, best of luck with it, I look forward to seeing how it all turns out! Eude [/quote] Nice colour.

Sold Martin a set of tuners. Easy deal, excellent communication.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1386862920' post='2305600'] ... No one who had any interest in music during the 70s can possible have forgotten Machine Head. [/quote] I forgot it - not that I can actually remember ever hearing it because I was never interested in that heavy metal rock stuff at all.

[quote name='still-young' timestamp='1386709987' post='2303558'] Ill most likely play with a pick so kinda in the middle/towards the neck [/quote] ... in the middle towards the neck I think your wrist is possibly going to be sitting on the vol/tone controls or worse on the four switches. You need to go in a shop that has one and see how it feels when you flip it.

I didn't realise Gregg's did vouchers.

My assessment, as a right hander turning it over just to see where things go, is that the tremolo arm would be no problem - it's removable anyway - but depending on whether you are going to play with fingers or a pick, the volume and tone controls and, more so, the pickup on/off switches amd the strangle switch are going to be uncomfortable. Where is your left wrist and left hand going to be when you play?

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1386609549' post='2302135'] I can't accurately recall what I did last week, never mind 55 years ago... [/quote] So, you think it might have been 1958?

I don't think it would be impossible but I don't think it would be very comfortable.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1386537712' post='2301279'] Ah but they're not equal! ... [/quote] True, that's why I had to imagine they were.

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1386536531' post='2301255'] As above. It works because it sounds right to our ears. At this point we get into the debate - did we make music theory to fit what we hear or was the theory in place and we found it. That is not my take by the way, it is the debate of Popper, Kuhn, Dewey et al in Science. [/quote] That invented versus discovery debate is ancient and goes back to the likes of Pythagoras and Plato.

All other things being equal, I'd buy the Musicmaster.

[quote name='BurritoBass' timestamp='1386519431' post='2300947'] Well I bought one to use as a back up bass and it now appears to be replacing my main Fender. Yeah, bassy sounding but I wanted that old school tone. Killer neck, well balanced, a good player. I was planning to upgrade the pickup but this was before I heard it - and it doesn't need any mods. As you can see I added the ashtrays, flipped the thumbrest and pickguard but all purely cosmetic changes. Just a really cool bass. [url="http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Tim_73/media/Squier2_zps383a17ce.jpg.html"][/url] [/quote] Very nice, including the case.

[quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1386498416' post='2300616'] It stems from the voice... 'blue' notes are actually between semitones, so bending on the guitar is a natural way to achieve them. On tempered instruments like piano and to a certain extent bass (as we tend to bend less) we play both major and minor third in quick succession to give the illusion of the note in between. Try it, play C then Eb slide to E... then C again Most blues will take major, dominant or minor sounds. The dominant chords over which many blues sequences are played will handle a variety of notes that don't belong to the parent scale because they are in their nature less settled than major and some minor chords, they are traveling chords, there is a tension suggesting movement created by the relationship between the 3rd and the 7th wanting to resolve (up and down respectively), which is why you can play dominant chords ad infinitum; they will always lead you to another one or back to the one from which you came... [/quote] I'm guessing this is an explanation of why, in my experience, when I play fretless or upright, hitting the 'correct' intonation seems to to be much more important on some notes than others, e.g. the octave needs to be correct, and the fifth, but the third can be out and just sound spicy.

In my experience, on average, expect a Precision bass to be 9lbs and a Jazz bass to be nearer to 10lbs - YWMV.