tanuki Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 (edited) For sale is my mostly 70’s Fender Precision bass. I will detail the modifications below but in short this is a wonderful player with a great worn–in feeling neck and an ebony board. (All modifications by John Shuker) The Nordstrand P\J pickups and the vintage Fender high-mass bridge help provide a warm buttery tone with lots of sustain and definition. I have owned this bass for around two years having originally bought it from Beedster who purchased it from Bass Direct. [b]Body[/b] The body is an original ash late 70’s precision with a natural finish in fantastic condition. It has been routed for an additional Jazz pickup in the bridge position and an additional tone control to make up the current VVT configuration. The bass used to contain active EMGs so there is a currently unused single 9v battery box on the rear. All modifications are top notch and if the new owner wanted to install an active system again then everything is already in place. The finish is in great condition for the age with the occasional ding and some buckle rash on the back. I believe the white scratch-plate to be original. [attachment=251458:Bass-Body-Above.jpg] [attachment=251459:Bass-Body-Angled.jpg] [attachment=251460:Bass-Body-Straight.jpg] [attachment=251461:Bass-Bridge-Closeup.jpg] [b]Neck[/b] The neck is an interesting and unique piece, which really sets this bass apart. Originally this was a standard 70’s neck which has had an amazing ebony board fitted by John Shuker. The back of the neck has been sanded slightly to give a more satin feel and feels absolutely incredible. Shuker has really done an excellent job, as you would expect, the result is a neck that feels as comfortable as an old 60’s bass with the improved definition and sustain of the ebony. The neck profile is also extremely comfortable; it’s a B-profile neck (1.625" at the nut) the side dots are on the fret rather than between, this is another part of the John Shuker modifications. I guess the only equivalent neck to this would be the one on the Fender Tony Franklin bass, having played that one I have to say this has a much more comfortable profile and also the worn in feel. [attachment=251462:Bass-Headstock.jpg][attachment=251463:Bass-Tuners.jpg][attachment=251464:Ebony-Board.jpg][attachment=251465:Fingerboard-Closeup.jpg][attachment=251466:Neck-Closeup-Side.jpg][attachment=251467:Neck-Pocket-Closeup.jpg][attachment=251468:Neck-Rear-2.jpg][attachment=251469:Neck-Rear-Full.jpg] [b]Hardware and Pickups.[/b] The tuners and knobs are both 70s with the additional volume knob being slightly newer but well matched. The bridge is an early 80’s fender high mass model, very similar to the early Starz Guitarz bronze bridge that Juan Alderete uses on his main fretless. The pickups are a Nordstrand NPJ4 P/J set bought from Bass Direct. I’ve had a few experiences with mixing the precision and jazz pickups and found the balance is usually a problem but this matched set sounds great. I’m considering a P/J pickup set on another old precision I have and would definitely go for these. [attachment=251470:Bass-Tuners.jpg][attachment=251471:Body-Rear.jpg][attachment=251472:Pickups-Closeup.jpg][attachment=251473:Rear-Neck-Pocket.jpg] [b]Overall[/b] What you get here is a sweet sounding fretless bass made with old parts and with a wonderful broken in feel. The sound is warm and defined with a lot of scope in tones from the P\J pickups. I bought this because I liked the Tony Franklin bass but hated the neck and the lack of freedom in pickup balance. The real unique part is the amazing Shuker modified neck, I’ve owned a lot of fretless basses over the years and this is by far the most comfortable. Moving abroad forces sale or I would be keeping this. [b]Weight - A tad under 10lbs[/b] [b]Price - £1000 Firm, no trades, delivery extra or pickup from Bristol / London[/b] NB. This replaces a previous grouped for sale thread as i wanted to show recent pictures and had previously decided not to sell. Edited August 15, 2017 by tanuki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Great for sale thread; that's exactly how it should be done! Beautiful looking bass too.. 😊 GLWTS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 [quote name='silverfoxnik' timestamp='1492449892' post='3280351'] Great for sale thread; that's exactly how it should be done! Beautiful looking bass too.. GLWTS [/quote] +1 Nik, and yet another one of my ex's, and yet another that I would happily have kept had other things - I'd like to say kids but mostly other music gear - not intervened. This is a wonderful bass that cost me £1350 from Bass Direct before I installed the Nordstrands (it came with EMGs........). The board, the heart of any fretless bass, is stunning. I've played one or two fretless Precisions over the years, and for whatever reason always find myself coming back to maple boards (the only bass in my armoury that could be described as a 'keeper' by any means is my old '70s natural P/J with maple board), but of over 20 or so I've played and 10 or so I've owned, this is probably the most versatile both tonally and functionally. At a grand it's a steal. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Ah, that makes sense Chris.. There's a lot of high quality gear around on this forum that has passed through Beedster Towers at one time or another. I should know as I've owned, and still own, some of it! This is quite a stunner and as you say, is a lot of bass for the money. Hope you're doing well btw 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanuki Posted April 23, 2017 Author Share Posted April 23, 2017 Bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanuki Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 Bump, back from travelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanuki Posted July 13, 2017 Author Share Posted July 13, 2017 Bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
project_c Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Curious why you didn't like the Franklin neck, most people speak highly of it. I have a TF fretted which is great so I keep meaning to look into the fretless, is it the slightly chunky feel you didn't like? (Sorry, off topic question i know) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanuki Posted August 15, 2017 Author Share Posted August 15, 2017 Bump, didn't see this question from earlier in the year but what i didn't like about the Franklin was the slightly chunky neck, this has the in between p bass and jazz profile which is much better to my hands. Still available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanuki Posted August 15, 2017 Author Share Posted August 15, 2017 (edited) Now reposted photos due to photobucket no longer allowing free linking of photos on 3rd party sites... Edited August 15, 2017 by tanuki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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