funkle

OK, the deeds are done. I replaced the tuners with Gotoh Res-o-Lites - GB350s. There is no lighter tuner that I am aware of. 40g per tuner. I have to say, they feel absolutely lush. And they should, for £90 (from eBay). The ferrules and posts are much smaller than the stock holes, so I had to shim them. I have heard of aluminium tape being used, but I had electrical tape, so I just used that. It worked great, though from the back you can see the slight gap between the tuner and the stock hole. It's perfectly steady, though. And from the front you would have no idea. I don't have wood filler handy, so I just stuck the tuner screws from the original tuners back in the holes. Gives it an industrial look which I enjoy. So. The headstock dive is much better. Not quite perfect - but it no longer needs fighting on the lap, and on the strap, no issues. Just the lightest touch of the forearm on the forearm contour and it sits well. It's still an expensive fix, though, in my view. I may tinker with adding a heavier bridge to the bass to make it perfect - if I can find a suitable one secondhand. As I promised, I also installed the Dimarzio Ultra Jazz 5 Bridge pickup to deal with the single coil hum. It fits the existing pickup rout perfectly with no gaps, has good alignment with the strings, and sounds great. The screw holes line up as well; didn't need to re-do those. It has a big output which keeps up with the stock P pickup, and allows an even blend after I adjusted pickup heights. It matches the look of the existing pickup as well. It's a good choice for this job. £67. So, after another bit of time and money (another £156 in on a £200 bass), I am satisfied that it will suit any situation I wish, and it sounds great. Not bad for £356. I would have paid a bit more for a stock instrument that didn't have any of these issues, but I couldn't find one that ticks all the boxes, so here I am. I may get a new pickguard for it at some point. Probably white. We'll see.

Just bought a lovely MIM Precision from Paul. Great, open, easy communications and pics. Stayed in for the courier I organised, which probably wasn’t easy. You can deal with in great confidence. Thanks again! Pete

Bought John’s Duo strap recently. A pleasure as usual. Thanks mate!

Ok, so I’ve ordered Gotoh Res-O-Lite GB350s and a DiMarzio Ultra Jazz 5er bridge pickup. So I’m in another £160 on a £200 bass (though easily reversible mods if I choose to sell). I’m aware of what I’m doing...but I’m perfectly happy. It’s still overall cheaper than a Sire P7 (which would need new tuners and bridge humbucker to sort hum out IMO) or a Talman TMB505 (same issues). And I’d like to sort the neck dive and the bridge pickup hum. So I’ll report back once I’ve made the mods.

Yes, I feel that...lol... I missed that one too. What a beauty.

Elegantly unhelpful.....but I totally agree 😂 Perhaps people know of useful Japanese sources for these?

Anyone know how to get a hold of the FPM-80 basses? I've always been fascinated by the dual P configuration and have gone so far as to plan a build around it. But the FPM-80 would be just the ticket without the pain and hassle of a self build....

Bought a solderless P bass loom from John, the Bourns pots feel like quality pots and the wiring looks, feels, and sounds great. Another happy customer here! Thanks John. I will be ordering from you again for other projects.

The lowest tension Chromes end up being same tension as their 45-105 round wound XL set. Makes it easy to transition between basses, for me...tension is the same.

I love Chromes. They are pretty bright for a flat, and D’Addario has me sold generally on their strings, especially as they supply detailed information on tension. After a while, they stop being grabby, and they just feel and sound great. Thumpy and warm, but with brightness at the attack. Probably much brighter than most other flats I have experimented with. I had a few goes around with the Thomastik flats, but every time I sold them or moved them on. I just could not get used to them. Great quality string though.