hooky_lowdown

I know many peeps around here are gear snobs, so this thread is [b]not[/b] for you. I've been looking for a cheap, fun, lightweight set up for small gigs and rehearsals for a (long) while, and now I've got it. After reading lots of good reviews about the Harley Benton PB Shorty bass I pulled the trigger on one. Lowered the action and set intonation, changed the stock pick up (which sounded ok, but was a little hollow for my taste) for a GFS PB Pro Vintage (overwound) pickup I had stashed away for a project like this, and put on some new flatwound strings - D’Addario ECB81S Chromes (Short Scale 45-100). Wow, this thing now sounds full and round, and has tonnes of low end. In fact it sounds as good as my Fender Precision CIJ '62 Vintage Reissue PB62. I know many people don't like short scale basses, but I don't mind them. The HB body is about 20% smaller than standard p bass size, neck is fast and fun to play (42mm at nut), frets came level and crowned pretty well, and best of all the bass only weighs slightly more than a Danelectro bass, so good for my back. I teamed the little HB up with the TC Electronic BG250-115 (weighs 39lbs), I have the amp on its 'Vintage' setting with a bit of drive, and the sound of these two is brilliant. I did some research to find the best prices, and this is what my rig ended up costing... Harley Benton PB Shorty bass cost £66 new (can pick them up on ebay for less than £50) GFS PB Pro Vintage pickup cost £25 new D’Addario ECB81S Chromes (Short Scale 45-100) cost £33 new TC Electronic BG250-115 cost £280 new (can pick them up on ebay for around £160) [b]Total for new gear[/b] £124 for bass and upgrades / £280 for amp = £404 [b]Total for secondhand[/b] £105 for bass and upgrades / £160 for amp = £265 Conclusion, for less than 300 notes secondhand I've got a rig perfect for small gigs and rehearsals (I play indie rock), and for medium gigs I use the amp as a monitor and run DI to PA. With the amp on a hand truck I can cart my gear to gigs and rehearsals without any bother, even on a bus if I need to.

Hi, I'm looking to change pickups in my p bass, I have no soldering experience, nor any kit. But would it be possible to cut the soldered wires on the current pickups, and then cut the new pickup wires, and basically twist the two together to form a connection. Would that work?

I've got an old MIK Squier (92-93) and unfortunately damaged the neck, and now need a replacement. I was wondering if a neck from a new (china) Squier would fit the pocket of my old MIK Squier body?

[quote name='Bassassin' post='495303' date='May 22 2009, 04:08 PM']Morris as in house-brand of [url="http://www.kiwi-us.com/~mmi/"]Moridaira Musical Instruments[/url]. Pretty acoustics & distribution these days, but back in the day Morris/Moridaira gave the world some pretty decent JapCrap, although I don't think the Hurricane brand was their top stuff. This looks like an OK late 70s/early 80s P copy, the guy says it was a project & I'm guessing that involved fitting the Dimarzio pup, which doesn't exactly fit the scratchplate. Plainly the project didn't extend to realigning the bridge. Jon.[/quote] I emailed the guy about the Dimarzio pups, and he said he didn't know anything about them. I got the impression he didn't install them, not too sure what the guy did to the bass as he said it was a restoration project! All seems a bit fishy to me.