therealting

Fanned frets are potentially more ergonomic - I have two Dingwalls with this system so they aren’t the issue, I just have issues with super slim necks (I do have hand problems). The Dingwall necks work great for me even for long gigs, as do chunky P necks.

I owned the SRFF806 for a while which is similar. I’m very used to fanned frets (I own a Dingwalls Super P5 and Super J5), liked the scale and overall thought it was an excellent bass for the money, but the neck was too thin for me and I kept getting hand cramps when I played it so it had to go. I would love one with a slightly thicker neck.

I have a Jazz neck on one of my Precisions. Some might argue that it changes the tone, but I’d say it has more of an impact on the way I play... which then changes the tone.

I have a Bareknuckle 58 in my 61 Precision and it sounds great. The Nordstrand NP4v in my 64 Precision is also fantastic, slightly more modern sounding wide open but easily dialled back. I have an Aguilar sitting around somewhere too...

I went to try that bass, I ultimately went with a Bravewood my friend was selling, but it was very nice.

There’s a 55 Precision project on here which is pretty nice.

The new MIJs are very good. The JVs were only made in 1983-84 though.

My general feeling is that they are very good basses, that were astounding value up until relatively recently when they became fairly priced... some of the ones I see advertised are, IMO, a little overpriced for what they are. The subsequent MIJ Fenders are, IMO, probably better value at this point. £900 or more for a JV Squier is getting up into AVRI or non-export MIJ territory.

I’d love a sunburst Fender Japan model with a tort guard...

Do you know if they made them in sunburst or white? I’ve only seen them in black.

@Rumple, I’m really digging your MIJ medium scale Jazz and am actually toying with putting a J-Retro Deluxe in to really push it over the top. What are recommendations for medium scale Ps to try?

Check out Kaikurosawa on Instagram. Incredibly musical on some very unlikely-looking instruments.

I have a Revelation fretless P which is truly astonishingly good for the money. They were about £160 new.

Looks similar to the Sadowsky body shape.

What I mean is... if you’re interested in trying this, why not buy a cheap fretless and fret that instead?

A good bass with good pickups and a good pre will cover a multitude of sins. Outside your budget, but personally I find my Sadowsky MV4 to be the most versatile bass I own - if it had a P/J setup I think it would be unbeatable. Planning to put a Sadowsky pre in my Dingwall Super J5 to have a five-string versatile tone monster too.

Why not start with a fretless and go from there?