hooky_lowdown

All your basses are 1.5mm at the last fret? You must like fret buzz, or have an exceptional light touch.

Simple, either of these.

Dates don't mean a whole lot with fender, they have a history of using necks, bodies, parts etc to make guitars and basses years apart. Heck, there's a rumour fender Japan guitar/bass necks and bodies which didn't make quality control where shipped to India in the late 80s and then sold as Sunn, Squier II and Encore basses. So a fender Japan bass with 89 serial number, actually assembled in 90 seems reasonable to me. The 89 part on the neck would be the year the neck was made, probably left on a shelf of necks, and finally assembled in 90, hence the 90 on neck heel and neck pocket.

Brought some pickups from Nigel, very helpful. Smooth transaction and fast delivery. Excellent communication. 👍

Westone's are one of the most underrated bass and guitars. Most have ash or alder bodies, all Gotoh hardware and dimarzio or hardpuncher pickups. Plus they were mostly made at the Matsumoku factory during the golden period of Japanese production during late 70s - early 80s. Good quality, well made basses at low prices if you look around.

Thunder maybe a little heavy, but Concord are around 7.5-8lbs. Gotoh japan tuners also.

Westone Thunder or Concord, 2+2 headstock with lightweight tuners, and great pickups.

Well, imagine my disappointment when I clicked on here expecting to see a new vid by 00's boy band Blue 😅

Purchased some pickups from Dave. Smooth transaction, fast delivery. Excellent. 👍

In that case check that no part of the live wire from the pickup is touching the volume pot, it should only touch the lug. Or check the ground wire solder/connection from the pickup, see if it's connected properly, or if theres something not right with the solder joint.

Is your bridge black in colour, or anything other than chrome or nickel? If so, the bridge is painted and thus not conducting. Solution is to scrap off some paint from where the ground wire touches the bridge with a craft knife or similar, so bare metal is exposed.

Take the covers off, pop a bit of cut up business card or similar at either end of the pickup, pop the covers back on. The business card will raise the pickup cover so the poles are no longer exposed, so no strings hitting the poles themselves. Simple.

The FL's are nice strings. If you don't get on with them try DR Legends, often overlooked but are great flats.

Lovely. So which one is the best?

I have an 80s Japanese PJ with a 3-way toggle switch. I somehow lost the little knob for the switch. After looking online I can only find ones with a 3.5mm or 4mm screw thread. I got one with a 3.5mm inner thread and it's too big, so have came to the conclusion I require a toggle switch knob with a 2.5mm thread. However, I can't find any with a 2.5mm thread. Does anyone know where I can get a 3-way toggle switch with a 2.5mm inner thread, doesn't matter about colour?

I've recently got an 80s Aria Pro ii with PJ pickups, has a volume, tone and 3-way pickup toggle. Bizarrely, when the 3-way toggle is in middle, and on the jazz pickup there's no noise. However, when I select the P pickup I get noise (60 cycle hum). I checked and it's definitely the P pickup making the noise, and the jazz soloed is pretty much noiseless. Goes beyond logic. Anyone know why I'm getting noise only from the P pickup?

Get a Sire P5, you'll thank me later. Roasted neck with rolled edges. Classic P tone.

This. However I've now found its #6 25mm (1 inch). #6 = 3.5mm

Does anyone know what size screws are needed for a Fender hi mass bridge? To screws the bridge down, not saddle grub screws. 🤔

Thanks, but I believe these are fairly new strings. Not old stock.

Anyone know what strings these are, roundwounds with brown silks?

When was the last time you tried Roto flats? I ask as I had the same opinion, the Roto flats from years ago were bloody stiff, however I was given a set just before covid, and had another since, and they are no longer as high tension. The last couple of sets I've had were really nice, well balanced, very musical - very different from sets 5+ years ago.