Fazley basses?

[TRBboy]

Hey folks!

 

I'm looking at this Sunset Series Pirhana P5 to use as a modding platform. They seem very similar to some of the Harley Benton instruments.... I just wondered in general if anyone here has any experience of these Fazley basses?

 

From what I can glean online, the very basic models are not great, but these 'higher end' models (if you can call them that), seem to get more favourable reviews. 

 

The main thing for me is the neck I guess, the rest of it is fairly inconsequential (aside from overall weight).

 

Anyway, if you have any feedback on them, let me know! 😊👌

 

Thanks,

 

Oli

[meterman]

They look alright online, and the prices are very enticing but a mate bought one of their 4-string P knockoffs and it took him a lot of work to turn it into something that isn’t even reliable enough to use as his backup bass for really dodgy pub gigs.

 

Sharp fret ends on almost every fret, dead spots on the neck, crappy electrics, useless tuners... 

 

He salvaged the body, pickguard and neck but replaced or did serious work on everything else. However, he did only buy it because it was bright yellow and less than £100. Harley Benton could have saved him a lot of time for not much more money.

 

Having said all that, I know someone else who has one of their super cheap violin basses, you know - the Chinese copies of the McCartney job - and that is surprisingly good. Thumps like a Hofner at a fraction of the price.

 

You might get a good one, or you might get a stinker?

[PaulThePlug]

Wonder what the weight is? Harley B Jazz i think are often on the heavy side.

 

I love the simple look of the Hot Rod P...

https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/right-handed-bass-guitar/fazley-hot-rod-bass-fmh182sg-surf-green-electric-bass-guitar

[kodiakblair]

27 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

Wonder what the weight is? Harley B Jazz i think are often on the heavy side.

 

I love the simple look of the Hot Rod P...

https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/right-handed-bass-guitar/fazley-hot-rod-bass-fmh182sg-surf-green-electric-bass-guitar

 

Just weighed the surf green Fazley guitar I converted to a short scale bass, with a 30.25" all maple neck and chunky bridge it's 9lb.

Based on that I'd guess 9.5lb to 10lb.

[TRBboy]

1 hour ago, kodiakblair said:

 

Just weighed the surf green Fazley guitar I converted to a short scale bass, with a 30.25" all maple neck and chunky bridge it's 9lb.

Based on that I'd guess 9.5lb to 10lb.

Thanks for that, is it a basswood body like the Pirhana too?

 

A guy on FB said his J5 in the same series is mega light 😅 I guess that's part of the gamble with super cheapo instruments 🤷

[kodiakblair]

14 hours ago, TRBboy said:

guy on FB said his J5 in the same series is mega light 😅

Compared to a Northern Ash jazz bass it probably is mega light. 

 

That said I doubt the Fazley is 'Basswood', it's just a blanket term for several lookalike timbers. Most East Asian basswood is Lime/Linden since it's plentiful over there, about 20 varieties. Limes are generally heavier and harder than American Basswood. 

[neepheid]

Hehe, whoops, finger slipped.  Got about 15 weeks to cancel, I guess...

[Ed_S]

I've just mostly finished a light modification job on a Fazley Sunset Series Piranha 5 in olympic white. Bought it as I was enjoying playing a Harley Benton Deluxe Series PJ-5 in hot-rod trans red that I did-up during lockdown, but I fancied something that was a pure P instead of a PJ simply for aesthetic reasons. Having done the same set of mods to each I'd say they're both great basses for their meagre asking price and as long as you're comfortable with some basic fret work (ends and polishing rather than levelling and crowning), shielding, and a bit of drill-and-dowel action where holes don't line up, they're fun to meddle with and result in a very playable instrument that you won't mind taking anywhere.

 

 

The initial plan was to get a 3-ply parchment guard made, but the stock pickup (and hence the hole in the guard) is bigger than anything I can find on the market, so I need to decide whether I'm changing the pickup before I have a new guard made.

[Ed_S]

Just in case anyone was fussed, this is how it turned out with the catchily-named Delano PC 5 AL/M2-AS and a guard that isn't made of resin-bound corned beef.

 

[neepheid]

Hee hee, 10 weeks to go...

[RnRDave]

On 09/07/2024 at 18:07, kodiakblair said:

 

Just weighed the surf green Fazley guitar I converted to a short scale bass, with a 30.25" all maple neck and chunky bridge it's 9lb.

Based on that I'd guess 9.5lb to 10lb.

 

Sorry to dig up an old thread but really curious about your mods on this. Any pics? What neck did you use? Did it just slot in without any other mods?

 

Considering pulling the trigger on one of these for the sake of £80!

[kodiakblair]

2 minutes ago, RnRDave said:

Sorry to dig up an old thread but really curious about your mods on this.

Morning Dave.

 

Just nipping out for hour or so, will PM you with details when I get back 👍

[neepheid]

I'm still waiting for my bass - now projected to arrive week 6 2025.  Just as well I'm a stubborn so-and-so.

[PaulThePlug]

@neepheid what did you order?

[neepheid]

15 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

@neepheid what did you order?

 

The surf green reverse P volume only job:

 

 

If it ever arrives, it will be the basis for a "giggable bass for £150" project/challenge.  Parts all bought, just waiting on them to pull their finger out and get a new batch made.

Edited December 26, 2024 by neepheid

[PaulThePlug]

Nice... love the simples.

You planning on Tele-ing the headstock?

 

Edited December 26, 2024 by PaulThePlug

[neepheid]

22 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

Nice... love the simples.

You planning on Tele-ing the headstock?

 

 

Nah - not a fan of those on anything except an actual Tele bass.  Also, much like I dislike when people debadge cars (usually in an attempt to hide humble underpinnings), I'm not a fan of disguising what a bass is.  I like my "rat" basses to wear their origins on their sleeves.  I want people to write them off, then change their minds when they hear/play them.

[Raslee]

What's the weight of those 5 string precisions like?

[Ed_S]

10 minutes ago, Raslee said:

What's the weight of those 5 string precisions like?

 

I ended up with two being sent to me in error, and there was a full half kilo difference between them - one was 3.8kg, the other 4.3kg. Having removed all the factory hardware and replaced it with bits I prefer, the lighter one which I kept now weighs 3.6kg (or pretty much 8lb exactly) which I find very comfortable indeed.

[Raslee]

31 minutes ago, Ed_S said:

 

I ended up with two being sent to me in error, and there was a full half kilo difference between them - one was 3.8kg, the other 4.3kg. Having removed all the factory hardware and replaced it with bits I prefer, the lighter one which I kept now weighs 3.6kg (or pretty much 8lb exactly) which I find very comfortable indeed.

That's really helpful, thanks for that

[Ed_S]

16 minutes ago, Raslee said:

That's really helpful, thanks for that

 

No probs at all!

 

If it's any further use to you (or anyone else) I just found the spoils bag that's got all the removed stuff in it - tuners, string tree, bridge, neck plate, knobs, strap buttons, all related screws and bushings, as well as the wiring loom and pickup. Everything that's not the wood or the pickguard comes to 950g, so you can maybe get a feel for how much weight you might be able to shave off if you were fitting your own bits and pieces.

 

Only other thing of note; I found the pickup to be... the thing that most reflects the price point, let's say, and I couldn't find anything commercially available that was the same size to avoid replacing the guard as well.

[Delberthot]

On 26/12/2024 at 12:56, neepheid said:

 

The surf green reverse P volume only job:

 

 

If it ever arrives, it will be the basis for a "giggable bass for £150" project/challenge.  Parts all bought, just waiting on them to pull their finger out and get a new batch made.

 

Looks like someone has had the same idea as you

 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1815903949182283

 

 

 

 

[neepheid]

7 minutes ago, Delberthot said:

 

Looks like someone has had the same idea as you

 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1815903949182283

 

Aye, I saw that one.  Nice to see one out in the wild instead of stock photos - looks pretty good.  Pickup route is a bit rough but I will disguise that by painting the inside of it black, like I did with my G4M rat bass where the pickup route was a bit wider than standard, and the Lace Aluma-P doesn't hide much!