Fender Meteora

[Rayman]

Anybody got/tried one? Any opinions?

[BassApprentice]

@telbomber is selling one, so surely has an opinion on them.

[Rayman]

Yeah I saw that, nice, but not my colour unfortunately, I’ve got my eye on a silver burst one.

[telbomber]

Thanks @BassApprentice

 

They are really versatile. I'm only selling cos I have too many to gig with and I only keep basses I use live. My Meteora was bought most recently so she has to go first, plus the fact that she's the only bass I own which is un-modified and therefore sale-able (that's a word right?)

 

With the bridge pickup and a bit of mid-boost I got a very serviceable Flea type sound (we play You oughta Know)

 

With the neck pickup and a bit of bass boost and treble cut, use a pick and can get a decent double-bass type sound. 

 

All in all she's a really nice bass. Setup with flats and the tone is lovely. 

 

Message me. In sure we can do a deal. Terry. 

[Rayman]

Cheers mate, thanks very much for all that. I’ve heard good things, and I think one would make a good addition to the Thunderbirds I use live, and one song in particular would be helped by an active tone.

 

Nice one, appreciate that. 

[neepheid]

My opinion is that Fender's gonna bin them in the next 3-ish years for the crime of not outselling the P bass, like they do with everything they issue forth that isn't their meat and potatoes.

[jd56hawk]

I wonder if whoever buys the 100th one sold will get a certificate...might happen this year!

(Actually, pretty nice bass, even though Fender didn't put much thought into the color choices and the headstock.)

Edited August 1, 2024 by jd56hawk

[Rayman]

So I bought one…..

 

Initial reports are good…. it feels good, but…. two loose pots caused me to open it up and have a look….

 

Christ! What a dogs dinner under there….

 

Scary stuff, but thankfully it was just a couple of loose nuts that needed tightening, all good now.

 

 

 

I like the top hat knobs the previous owner put on it, so I’ll leave those on for now. All re-strung and ready to go, I’ll see how it performs in rehearsal. 

 

[Rayman]

Holy crap what a sound !! This thing is amazing….. very impressed.

 

 

 

[neepheid]

Heh, I like those knobs - very space-age, like 50s style space-age.  I dig.

[Agent 00Soul]

I've gotten used to instruments not being available for lefties and am normally pretty sanguine about it.  But I have to admit, the look of that bass stirred covetous feelings.  I'm not sure I could stay away if they made something that looked so cool left-handed.

[MichaelDean]

Yeah, the knobs give it a Dunable vibe. Very cool.

[Rayman]

So….. developments….. 😒

 

Great bass, very happy, except…. I’ve discovered that the mid cut/boost pot is faulty….. so a new one is on the way from Allparts. Not the end of the world, I’m quite happy replacing parts, but, I suspect that the young man I got this bass from knew full well that there was an issue, and just crossed his flamin fingers that I wouldn’t spot it.

 

Annoying, because I’m a very honest person when it comes to selling my stuff, so it’s a bit of a kick in the stones when someone tries to pull a fast one.

 

Just remember….. never trust anyone when it comes to buying and selling. Always be on full alert and check everything.

 

Anyway….. a great bass, and I’ll have it firing on all cylinders shortly.

[Burns-bass]

1 hour ago, Rayman said:

So….. developments….. 😒

 

Great bass, very happy, except…. I’ve discovered that the mid cut/boost pot is faulty….. so a new one is on the way from Allparts. Not the end of the world, I’m quite happy replacing parts, but, I suspect that the young man I got this bass from knew full well that there was an issue, and just crossed his flamin fingers that I wouldn’t spot it.

 

Annoying, because I’m a very honest person when it comes to selling my stuff, so it’s a bit of a kick in the stones when someone tries to pull a fast one.

 

Just remember….. never trust anyone when it comes to buying and selling. Always be on full alert and check everything.

 

Anyway….. a great bass, and I’ll have it firing on all cylinders shortly.

Sad indictment of the world. “It was working perfectly last time I used it…”

[Guest]

On 31/07/2024 at 19:23, Rayman said:

Anybody got/tried one? Any opinions?

Yes, I own one.

 

I love it.

 

No neck dive issues, great sound, lovely feel. My only slight beef is the pau ferro fretboard looking paler than a pale thing, but there are several easy and cheap ways to sort that next time I cha ge the strings.

 

Mines the red/yellow fade, but the Meteora is one of the few basses I think looks good in sunburst, IMHO.

Edited August 8, 2024 by Bassfinger

[Rayman]

Yep, I echo all of that, and yes, I’m happy to have the maple board, however if I were you, I’d slap a coat of Monty’s aging wax on the pao ferro to darken it. 

[Guest]

Way ahead of you. I have a similar ungent on stand-by.  Soon as it's time to slip on some Ernje Balls I'll be buffing like a 70's DJ at the underwear pages of the Grattan catalogue.

Edited August 8, 2024 by Bassfinger

[Rayman]

Righto….. more fun with Fender….

 

So, I’m not a fan of the Fender hi mass bridge. The pre cut notch on the saddles does not Aline the string over the pickup correctly…..

 

 

And, the E string is noticeably a couple of millimetres further in from the edge of the fretboard than the G, which I don’t like either 
 

 

It’s more obvious in reality than in the pictures.

 

So in addition to a new to pot, a Gotoh Kickass bridge is on its way, with adjustable lateral brass saddles. 
 

Yes. I’m a bit anal, but this one’s a keeper and I want it how I want it, not, how Fender wants it.

 

 

I think the Gotoh is a much better option.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2024 by Rayman

[tauzero]

1 hour ago, Rayman said:

Righto….. more fun with Fender….

 

So, I’m not a fan of the Fender hi mass bridge. The pre cut notch on the saddles does not Aline the string over the pickup correctly…..

 

 

And, the E string is noticeably a couple of millimetres further in from the edge of the fretboard than the G, which I don’t like either 
 

 

It’s more obvious in reality than in the pictures.

 

So in addition to a new to pot, a Gotoh Kickass bridge is on its way, with adjustable lateral brass saddles. 
 

Yes. I’m a bit anal, but this one’s a keeper and I want it how I want it, not, how Fender wants it.

 

 

I think the Gotoh is a much better option.

 

 

 

 

 

Could that be an issue with the neck alignment? ISTR somebody else having a similar problem, rectified by loosening off the strings, slackening the neck screws, and pushing the neck sideways, then retightening.

[Rayman]

56 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

Could that be an issue with the neck alignment? ISTR somebody else having a similar problem, rectified by loosening off the strings, slackening the neck screws, and pushing the neck sideways, then retightening.

The neck seems all good to me to be honest, I did have a look at that, but, the string spacing across all four strings is slightly narrow. 

[neepheid]

FYI - looks like the bass you bought is still a live ad on Facebook.

[uk_lefty]

I think this would look good with those single string bridge thingies, you know the little round individual part-per-string bridges. Anyhow, glad you're enjoying it, looks great.

[Rayman]

Alright, so the new tone pot arrived from Allparts, excellent service. All fitted and everything is now bang on, the sounds from this thing are fantastic. So just the bridge to sort out, hopefully the Gotoh bridge will be here early doors next week.

 

Nothing wrong with the Fender bridge per se, it’s just the nut slots have been pre cut (factory spec) to their narrowest string spacing, which is irritating, because actually they should be cut right down the centre in this case to guide the strings correctly over the pole pieces…… 

 

 

Not enough wiggle room for me to cut new slots unfortunately.

[Guest]

There's no technical benefit in having the strings directly over the poles, only aesthetic.

 

Prompted by this illustrious thread I eyeballed mile yesterday. G is fractionally closer to the edge of the fretboard than the E, but barely enough to be noticeable and certainly not enough to warrant any rectification.  Ditto the strings more or less evenly over the pups.

 

I'm pretty easy going anyway.  U less a string keeps going over the edge while playing such things don't bother me.

[Rayman]

I just figure that if the pickups are designed to have the string go directly over the pole pieces then that’s how I want it. Like you say, there probably won’t be much aural difference, but, I just find it odd, that Fender cut the saddles with the narrowest spacing, when the design of the instrument requires a slightly wider spacing. I just think that’s an oversight, even if it’s only an aesthetic one. I’m anal enough to care.