Muzz

And as an addendum to this, got home tonight and the Supertone bridge was waiting for me. Fitted it, and I was initially taken aback by the change in the bass - helps the balance that bit more, comfier on the heel of the hand, but the increase in sustain was startling. The whole bass resonates now - OK, it's not mahogany like a Gibson, but it's really, really good, and feels alive. The FrankenP's off the go-to top spot, and my plan to make a Warmoth super-P is now on hold. Now if I can only find some chrome covers for the pickups...

You're not the only one...although now I've got the Hipshot Ultralights and the Supertone on my Fenderbird, it's keeping the £3k+ GAS away...

...and they're great. Originally fitted (inc the Ultralight Xtender) to cure the neck dive on my Fenderbird, and they do this admirably. They're a little shorter in the shaft* than the originals, so the keys sit lower on the head, but that's more to do with the fact that they're in a much-used and abused MM P-Bass neck rather than something designed for them. A bonus is the great feel to the neck now, I really like the lightness of the head: if you move the neck around a bit when playing (as I occasionally do), it feels much more like an extension of your hand than before. I'm tempted to fit them to all my basses now. * Oooer missus, etc, etc, write your own punchline here...

Welcome Dunc - I think we have a contender for Strongest Back On The Forum!

This ^ All of it. Your choice of pickups and EQ circuit will have the most profound effect on the sound of the bass. I have an ash bodied, maple neck and board, corian nut and Schaller bridged bass, and another with a maple body, wenge neck and board, brass nut and two piece bridge. They have the same pickups and circuit in in pretty much the same position. Amplified, it's very very hard to tell them apart. Once the band starts up, it's pretty much impossible. They feel, look and play differently, though a lot of that is down to their shapes, size, neck profile, etc. The wood 'tone' is probably the least significant factor between them. I like Padauk.

I've put Wizards in my FrankenP, and then sold my US Precisions because it sounded and played better. I also put some in a Warwick Fortress, and that worked a treat, too. I'd have some in my Fenderbird, but they don't make 'em to fit.

How far away is that? Seriously, he does look a bit of a tool playing that...just doesn't work, somehow...

That's just horrible. Horrible.

Oh my giddy aunt...my YOB Precision. That's lovely...wish I was in as good nick... Edit: just read a couple of posts up - wise men think alike...

I thought the output from the pickups was quite 'polite' compared to a lot of basses I've played. I love the neck, but I'd decided if I ever went for one, changing the pups was job no 1 on the list. Given the current list price, 425 for a nice one is a great price to pay. I'd certainly go for that.

Going down the same route here (not with the second Mrs (yet) tho... ) on the Fenderbird - Hipshot Xtender and tuners fitted, Supertone ordered, next it'll be the Seymour Duncans and a CTS rewire. Then it'll be finished. Probably. This modding lark's more GAS-inducing than buying em whole. At least it's cheaper...

I thought the Rumour build quality was very very good, but then so was the build quality of the Shuker and the Overwater I had. Not another level between them though. Couldn't fault any of them, so it'd be doing someone an injustice to claim one was better than another, much less vastly better. Once build standards and attention to detail reach the heights of most (haven't owned em all, so I can't say all) top-end luthiers, the differences become very very small indeed. Maybe you've had a substandard Sei, or an under-par Overwater, or a dodgy Dingwall, I don't know.

Not for me - I had a Rumour a fair while ago, and it was a very well made instrument (not sure about 'another level') but that's just Huggy Bear's bass.

I like even more Tubetone in my sound - between 12 and 2 o'clock on the dial, but I think this is one of the strengths of the RH450 (certainly compared to the LM Rocker or Tube) - that tube saturation (as well as being very natural sounding) is also very gradual from a hint to full fuzz. I preferred it to lots of heads with yer actual valves in the preamps. Oh, and I have a pretty compressed sound, too, so them there transients are all squished out before I start...

Yep, that was my first 34" scale bass, too - second bass overall, first was a short-scale - Satellite, too. It was OK at the time - certainly better than I was in 1978...

This has been round the EBay block fairly recently - I was watching it then. Can't remember what it went for.

Anyone care to point out the difference between this and the Spyder 550? I'm presuming it's the same power stage, tho the Spyder has (I think) the Drophead pre. Is there much difference? I loved the sound, but it didn't beat my RH450 as an overall package (size and weight had a lot to do with it) so it went. Gotta say I quite like the styling (if they did it right - those labels are cack for an amp on the north side of £700), tho the 'bastard' thing got old very quickly some time ago, and is embarassing now.

Nice wood, but it's yet another version of the most-versioned bass shape in the world. If basses were cars, people would still be making Model Ts out of carbon fibre and composites. The Dingwall's much nicer.

Very nice, unfortunately that stonking great switch on the upper horn ruins it...

Easy Freebird is easy, but there's a YouTube isolated bass track which made me raise an eyebrow - there's a lot more in it than I'd suspected in the 30+years I've been listening to it. Break a leg at the audition, mate...

Sacrilege! Whatever next? Non-red ferraris? Jaco J's in purple flake? Actually, he did use a mythical greenburst P (I think there's a pic on here somewhere), but IMO it's a particularly bilious combination. It's your dosh, though, so you're paying the piper on this one... just don't do it pink.

Yep, there's a jumper, (helpfully marked 110/240) on the board. Well, you can on a LMIII, anyway - I've done it on that one. Takes about 5 mins, and most of that is getting the cover on and off. Don't forget to change the fuse, too. It's a bum-clenching moment switching it on for the first time, tho...