Another which Bass question

[Scoobs]

Hello Folks, so after some brief and unsuccessful negotiations with Higher Command it seems I am only allowed a second bass when it is going to earn me money, this is unlikely and she has a point. So my plan to keep my Farida jazz and get something precision-ish and stick flats on it is scuppered. Comfort wise I don't really get on with the Farida and prefer the MIM P that I used to play at church, I think the neck on the P is wider and thicker than the Jazz but I am happy to be corrected? Budget is £300 plus whatever I can get for the Farida. So I think my options are just buy a Precision of some sort like the one in the classifieds that warwickhunt is selling or a vintage V4 or a G&L, or some sort of PJ - there's a modded Squier in the classifieds. Other PJs would be a Yamaha BB - two old ones in the classifieds or a BB234. Then there's the Sire p7 that seems very popular on here or something Harley Bentonesque. Is flats on a PJ a thing? 

Final option I can see is a Sterling Sub4.

Anyone have any other ideas or thoughts / experience of any of these?

My limited experience so far is the MIM P, my Jazz and a noodle on a Musicman which was gorgeous but was about £2k. With luck I will be able to play a Sub4 and Squier CV in a shop next week in Bristol but limited other try out options that I can see.

All thoughts and experiences appreciated.

 

[Geek99]

Build one from parts as and when, they come up often on the recycle board. V inexpensive so should appeal to SWMBO

[Lozz196]

The Vintage V4s are very good basses, amazing quality and playability, good Wilkinson hardware on them too.

[stewblack]

I am selling a PJ squier - beware the neck is a Jazz size.  If you like P Bass then these may not be for you. 

The Vintage basses are good, but I would recommend a Bass Collection P Bass from the Bass Centre. 

[Scoobs]

Thanks for the replies folks so in order:

Geek it’s more about space than cash so I have to stick to one bass. If I go for a P

 it may come down to either vintage or bass collection, unless I can find a second hand option. @stewblack The neck on your pj might be a bit skinny but then again you are just down the road (I’ll update my profile) so maybe if it was ok I could have a look?

So what are the pros or cons of a PJ over a P or should I try to find what I’m most comfortable with and worry about pick ups later?

[Sambrook]

G&l Sb-2 Tribute. Jazz width neck, but deeper in depth. Pj, with phenomenal mfd pickups. Great value for money, sounds fantastic with flats

[prowla]

The first iteration of the Farida Jazz was supposed to be pretty good, but then they chased the cash and went to the cheapest supplier in China and the quality suffered end they then got elbowed out of the marked by Squier.

So, if you've got one of the first ones (Indonesian?) then you've got a decent bass to start with.

Now, I've got a MIM Precision and it is battered to hell but plays nice. I've also got one I build from parts which has a MIM neck which is very good indeed. They're not for sale but, based on my experience, you can get a good used MIM Fender well inside your budget.

There was someone selling a Tokai Hard Puncher somewhere; if you can get a vintage one of those, nobody will look down their noses at you.

Other options are: I'm just expecting to complete the sale of a Warwick 5-string Rock Bass and also a Sterling by Music Man 5-string SUB for less than your budget even without selling the Farida.

But overall, I'd be looking at a Fender.

However, beware that the Fender used market is a minefield, with individuals and companies selling counterfeits and "ubranding" their Squiers with waterslide decals.

[Grahambythesea]

If I’m reading your requirements correctly you want a P neck with P/J pickup configuration. Be cautious because many of the P/J ‘s come with J necks, particularly in the Squier brand. G&L like that too! I think there is a view among makers that people like the P body and prefer the narrower J neck ( which personally I do). 
whether this is down to one Donald Duck Dunn who did It once and then Fender and Lakland reproduced it as Signature models or based or more thorough market research, who knows, but there are a lot out there so check the neck before you buy. 

[Scoobs]

Hi folks I think part of the problem is I don't really know what I want! Plus tryout options are quite limited. Is a P/J set up useful or a compromise that doesn't really deliver on either front is one of my questions.

To prowla, sounds like I'd better check where the Farida comes from if that is possible - I'll get digging. I think I saw the Tokai and it did look interesting and I'm not too concerned about the name on the headstock, playing it well is my first priority! However it is a bit outside my budget unless the Farida is worth more than I paid for it!

To Graham good point, I do wonder if I'm looking for a 5 legged cow if I go down the P/J route and look for a chunky neck, as several Precision style basses appear to come with Jazz style necks, eg The Bass collection talk about super slim necks on their P style basses, but I think the Vintage version is a bit more solid from reading a review, however I haven't read much about chunky P style necks on any other style of bass.

It's that 21st century problem of too much choice again.......

 

Edited July 12, 2020 by Scoobs

[Lozz196]

A P/J is good imo - sometimes a straight Precision sound can be a bit bulky, especially if there are 2 humbucking gtrs or guitar/keys in the band. Adding in the J pickup tightens up the sound nicely. I’ve never found on any P/J that I’ve had that the P sounded compromised, it certainly doesn’t on my US Deluxe Precision.

[prowla]

One of the best live sounds I've heard was Phil in Toyah's band playing a Precision at Manchester Poly (I don't remember, but I'm guessing the amp was an Ampeg).

[Grahambythesea]

I think @Lozz196 has a good point. If anything is compromised in a P/J configuration, especially in a more budget version, it’s the J in my experience. A thinner sounding and weaker in signal in the Squier I had 

[Scoobs]

Thanks folks, so I've tried a Squier cv P, a Sterling SUB4 and a G&L tribute Kiloton , and the necks on all of them were more my style than my Jazz so if I am going to change it will definitely be to a chunkier neck. Of the three the one I preferred was the P, so whatever I go for will have a chunky neck and a split pickup, whether it has another pick up as well is still undecided but I think Grahambythesea has a point - I've not seen anything mention a P style neck on a PJ bass I have looked at. Are the Yamaha BBs jazz style necks? I think this probably going to end up with either some flats on the jazz for now and some saving up, or a P bass of some sort.

Edited July 14, 2020 by Scoobs

[Mickyk]

3 hours ago, Scoobs said:

Thanks folks, so I've tried a Squier cv P, a Sterling SUB4 and a G&L tribute Kiloton , and the necks on all of them were more my style than my Jazz so if I am going to change it will definitely be to a chunkier neck. Of the three the one I preferred was the P, so whatever I go for will have a chunky neck and a split pickup, whether it has another pick up as well is still undecided but I think Grahambythesea has a point - I've not seen anything mention a P style neck on a PJ bass I have looked at. Are the Yamaha BBs jazz style necks? I think this probably going to end up with either some flats on the jazz for now and some saving up, or a P bass of some sort.

The Yam BB necks are something in between a Jazz which is 38 mm at the nut to a P which is around 43mm at the nut,My BB424 is 40 mm at the nut HTH.

 

[stewblack]

A BB is the perfect compromise between P & J in my experience. 

Also fabulous pickups. The bridge pickup could blow most P pickups out of the water. 

If I hadn't sold mine I'd still have it. 

 

[LukeFRC]

The Yamaha BB range are fantastic value at whatever price point. And secondhand they tend to be cheaper. Secondhand BB1024 would be nice.  

in terms of farida @AndyTravis is our resident expert

[prowla]

I've never found the Yamaha basses particularly interesting.

[LukeFRC]

Just now, prowla said:

I've never found the Yamaha basses particularly interesting.

Go into a shop and play 30 basses sub £5-600 

yamaha will be the least interesting, but also consistently good sounding and with a high quality for their price point. 

[prowla]

1 hour ago, LukeFRC said:

Go into a shop and play 30 basses sub £5-600 

yamaha will be the least interesting, but also consistently good sounding and with a high quality for their price point. 

I'd walk right past the Yammys and not even notice they're there.

[Scoobs]

That's good to know about the Yamahas, I'd really like to get my hand on one for a try but I can't find a shop with one in anywhere near here. There's a BB1024 for sale just over the bridge tho.

I can't make the quote button work, but if I could put LukeFRC's quote in here I would.

'Least interesting........ high quality for their price point'

well I drive a Skoda so that sounds like just the ticket!

 

 

 

 

[prowla]

2 hours ago, Scoobs said:

That's good to know about the Yamahas, I'd really like to get my hand on one for a try but I can't find a shop with one in anywhere near here. There's a BB1024 for sale just over the bridge tho.

I can't make the quote button work, but if I could put LukeFRC's quote in here I would.

'Least interesting........ high quality for their price point'

well I drive a Skoda so that sounds like just the ticket!

Well, I just plain give up! 🙂

[paul_c2]

5 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

Go into a shop and play 30 basses sub £5-600 

yamaha will be the least interesting, but also consistently good sounding and with a high quality for their price point. 

Ca you go into a shop and try basses these days?

[Scoobs]

Giving up is probably how I ended up with a Skoda!

Oh and not only is it a Skoda it’s a Roomster, no one ever called it a looker.

However as a great tool for the job very hard to beat. Fine in the supermarket car park and with a roof box and bike rack on the takes a family of 4, dog,   bikes and surfboards on a camping holiday for a week. We’ve had it 8 years,  not cost us much either.

Not completely off topic as I’m probably looking for the bass equivalent of the roomster, the Yamaha might be close, but much better looking!

[paul_c2]

Personally I'd just hang on to what you have now, and wait until the shops fully re-open so you can try loads of them out. IMHO there is something not quite right about the PJ configuration which won't replace a (twin pickup, obvs) Jazz. The split coil is effectively a humbucker and the extra single introduces noise when turned up. Maybe the ones I've tried have been unusual, but they never quite "do it" like a P either.

[Scoobs]

Thanks Paul_c2, you do have a point, I could always stick some flats on the Jazz for now, I'm not kidding myself that the bass is holding back my playing at the moment, ability and lack of practice is doing that. The thing is that unless a fellow carrot cruncher can correct me, we are not spoilt for music shops round here, between Bath and Bristol I think there are 3. The only place that apparently stocks Yamaha basses is PMT in Bristol, and they don't appear to carry any BBs.