TRBboy Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Does anyone know of the pickups on these are kinda standard sizes, and could be replaced easily? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sykilz Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 7 minutes ago, TRBboy said: Does anyone know of the pickups on these are kinda standard sizes, and could be replaced easily? I did read somewhere that the jazz pup is NOT standard and would need some woodwork ( maybe on talkbass, def not on basschat?) , but I think the P pup is standard. To be fair I only use the P and it sounds fine, I'd have been more than happy with a single pickup passive, in fact if I needed to gig thisbass that's what I'd do and just leave the jazz pup in unconnected as a thumb rest 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sykilz Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Couple of guys doing upgrades here https://www.talkbass.com/threads/ibanez-mezzo-upgrade-path.1390580/page-2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 1 hour ago, sykilz said: I did read somewhere that the jazz pup is NOT standard and would need some woodwork ( maybe on talkbass, def not on basschat?) , but I think the P pup is standard. To be fair I only use the P and it sounds fine, I'd have been more than happy with a single pickup passive, in fact if I needed to gig thisbass that's what I'd do and just leave the jazz pup in unconnected as a thumb rest Interesting you say that, I'm not digging active electronics at all currently, and was figuring IF I do get one of these, I'll probably re-wire it passive, VTVT a la stacked knob jazz. On the pickups, it doesn't sound as if anyone has an issue with the stock ones being lacklustre anyway (albeit with a lot of hum from the J) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 1 hour ago, sykilz said: Couple of guys doing upgrades here https://www.talkbass.com/threads/ibanez-mezzo-upgrade-path.1390580/page-2 Some very interesting reading on there, and some guys seem to be spending twice the value of the bass on doing it up! 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sykilz Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 42 minutes ago, TRBboy said: Some very interesting reading on there, and some guys seem to be spending twice the value of the bass on doing it up! 😂 I know.....I mean maybe I'm just mad but if I wanted to splash another £200+ then I'd possibly have looked at a different bass..? Perhaps that's just me. The jazz buzz seems to me to be made worse by the pre-amp being quite bright, but the P pickup is nice and punchy ( and free of buzz) so I'm quite happy just to use that, if it were a £700 bass I'd be a bit miffed but the thing plays so nicely that for £250 it's a little failing that doesn't bother me. I'm sure you could put a passive loom in for a few quid and that would be a great low cost upgrade. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 44 minutes ago, sykilz said: I know.....I mean maybe I'm just mad but if I wanted to splash another £200+ then I'd possibly have looked at a different bass..? Perhaps that's just me. The jazz buzz seems to me to be made worse by the pre-amp being quite bright, but the P pickup is nice and punchy ( and free of buzz) so I'm quite happy just to use that, if it were a £700 bass I'd be a bit miffed but the thing plays so nicely that for £250 it's a little failing that doesn't bother me. I'm sure you could put a passive loom in for a few quid and that would be a great low cost upgrade. 👍 Yeah definitely, and I guess if it was just that and replacing the jazz pickup wouldn't cost too much. 🤷♂️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sykilz Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 11 hours ago, TRBboy said: Yeah definitely, and I guess if it was just that and replacing the jazz pickup wouldn't cost too much. 🤷♂️ The jazz pickup on its own run passive might not be so buzzy ( certainly no worse than any other single coil) , my hunch is the preamp is exacerbating the buzz. I could be very wrong though. There are, as Im sure you know, single coils that are wired as humbuckers so that'd be the other ( more costly) option I guess. As a comparison the P pup doesn't sound a million miles away from my other bass ( Yamaha BB414) when solo'd on it's P pup. Bit more modern , forward, but still open and big sounding, to me. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 13 hours ago, sykilz said: I know.....I mean maybe I'm just mad but if I wanted to splash another £200+ then I'd possibly have looked at a different bass..? Perhaps that's just me. There really aren’t that many 32” five strings to choose from at this budget level. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sykilz Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 1 hour ago, therealting said: There really aren’t that many 32” five strings to choose from at this budget level. That's true. Indeed the 5 string seems even better value at just £299, and the body work/ neck on my 4 string is fantastic so as a modding platform it makes sense. (Just not for my limited uses.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted July 30, 2020 Author Share Posted July 30, 2020 On 22/07/2020 at 11:33, therealting said: There really aren’t that many 32” five strings to choose from at this budget level. There aren't many 32 inch scale 5 strings at all! I haven't done any mods yet other than put flats on mine. I do find the "flat" eq setting to be a touchy boomy though. I suspect treble and bass are boosted a little even at the mid point of the controls, and the preamp is hot. So my bass control is knocked back just a little at the time and then I adjust the treble one depending on what I'm playing. I haven't measured the pickups yet to see what other brands might fit. I'll leave that for a while as I'm happy. But I have a few other things to sell and I will be getting another one... and that one is going to get properly modded - basically into a 32 scale stingray 5. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 (edited) Just snagged one on eBay for £230. Excited. Edited August 25, 2020 by therealting 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 2 minutes ago, therealting said: Just snagged one on eBay for £230. Excited. Bargain! I've still got the Dunlop flats on it and I'm liking them very much. I've also got some Newtone nickels on the way to try. With the flats.... (Yes it's not the original arrangement!!). It's a little quiet as I have no idea what I'm doing with video. It was a longer clip but the postman rang the bell so I had to cut it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 £70 off because of this one chip, otherwise brand new. This bass is ASTONISHINGLY good. Wow. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted August 28, 2020 Author Share Posted August 28, 2020 Welcome to the club! I'm definitely getting a 2nd one so I can have 1 with flats and the other with rounds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMaartian Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 1 hour ago, fretmeister said: Welcome to the club! I'm definitely getting a 2nd one so I can have 1 with flats and the other with rounds. Just read your sig. It's fantastic! I can just picture Lee cleaning the spit off his beard. 😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbandit599 Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Lock down boredom and funds sitting on my Paypal account from gear sales have weakened my resolve.... Ordered a 5 string in Sea Foam Green from Bax for £258... Free returns (though I suspect it will stay) so why not? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 Nice! That's the best price I've seen so far! I'm thinking about the green for my second one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted September 4, 2020 Author Share Posted September 4, 2020 I am so weak. Sea Foam Green one incoming. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 I’ve started locating gold hardware to do mine up... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted September 4, 2020 Author Share Posted September 4, 2020 Ooo! Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbandit599 Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 It's a thunderous little beast! Very impressed. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Anyone replaced the hissy pre yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 I've got 2 now and I was about to say - I'm not finding them hissy - but then I remembered I've mostly been playing through my Helix and that has an amazing noise gate so I might not be noticing. I think I'm going to go passive with one of them - probably an Aguilar PJ set. The 1960s winding version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbandit599 Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 (edited) 45 minutes ago, fretmeister said: I've got 2 now and I was about to say - I'm not finding them hissy - but then I remembered I've mostly been playing through my Helix and that has an amazing noise gate so I might not be noticing. I think I'm going to go passive with one of them - probably an Aguilar PJ set. The 1960s winding version. Yep, mine doesn't seem too bad either - certainly not anything to cause an issue live. Similarly the J pup isn't massively noisy either, currently I'll keep it stock. Edited September 10, 2020 by redbandit599 grammar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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