NBD: Fretless single coil Precision

[Beedster]

Pictures say all that needs to be said, it's taken me a while to get here, but I suspect that of all the fretless Precisions I've owned (P, PJ, PP, PM) and all of the board materials I've used with them - rosewood, ebony, maple, graphite - this is by a long way the sweetest. Classic Vibe body, PUP, and circuit (the PUP as I'd been told would be the case, is very very good indeed), paired with a stunning Warmoth neck. First rehearsal tonight 

 

 

[police squad]

looks lush mate

[Doctor J]

J neck? Looks nice and narrow at the nut.

[Beedster]

1 minute ago, Doctor J said:

J neck? Looks nice and narrow at the nut.

 

Deceptive, it's a classically chunky baseball bat of a neck with 41mm nut 👍

[ezbass]

I’m sure we’d all like to hear some audio, if it’s at all possible. When I say we, I really mean me, but I’m guessing there might be others too.  

[Beedster]

Well f*** me, that was interesting. That is one HOT pickup, very high output and very grunty indeed, something I'd not really noticed playing it at home but which soon became pretty clear through my Mesa rig at volume last night. It's pretty close to the strings so I'm going to start there but may look to put something a little milder in there.......

[AndyTravis]

Is it a 2 octave neck?!

[Beedster]

21 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Is it a 2 octave neck?!

Yep

[Linus27]

Very nice indeed. This is something I thought about doing and even looked at putting a fretless neck on the yellow Mike Dirnt when I had one. he pickups are awesome and the original Mike Dirnt neck is a baseball bat so it would have made it quite playable with a fretless neck.

[police squad]

1 hour ago, AndyTravis said:

Is it a 2 octave neck?!

I wondered about that. Extended fingerboard then

[Beedster]

4 hours ago, police squad said:

I wondered about that. Extended fingerboard then

Indeed 👍

[Shaggy]

I can actually see Fender releasing this as the "Beedster signature" model..... 

 

Definitely a back to basics after the Buzzard - looks fabulous, Chris! 

[Beedster]

Just now, Shaggy said:

Definitely a back to basics after the Buzzard - looks fabulous, Chris! 

 

Yep, and it feels real good to be there mate! Put a Badass on last night to establish whether it's a responder or not, looks a bit odd but hey.......

[Happy Jack]

My only concern would be where to rest my thumb. I can see myself adding an ashtray to that ...

 

[Beedster]

5 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

My only concern would be where to rest my thumb. I can see myself adding an ashtray to that ...

 

‘51 PUPs are a f***ing nightmare, I think a thumb-rest might be going on at some stage, although I’ve done OK so far I’m worried about knocking the PUP around too much

[Steve Browning]

8 minutes ago, Beedster said:

‘51 PUPs are a f***ing nightmare, I think a thumb-rest might be going on at some stage, although I’ve done OK so far I’m worried about knocking the PUP around too much

Yes. they induce the same thing, in me, as a Stingray - but in reverse. A Stingray has less travel when you pluck a string with your thumb anchored on the pickup, the 53 had too much! I must be a creature of habit!!

[Pea Turgh]

On 26/04/2025 at 09:32, Beedster said:

‘51 PUPs are a f***ing nightmare

 Would a Strat pup cover for, I wonder?  Or maybe someone makes one specially for ‘51s.

[Beedster]

11 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

 Would a Strat pup cover for, I wonder?  Or maybe someone makes one specially for ‘51s.

 

Not sure, I'll take a look around, either way I've never been a huge fan of the ashtray covers on the 51s so that option's out 👍

[Beedster]

.....I'm tempted to lose the pickguard and install a Jazz Bass front PUP cover to be honest, it's protect the PUP and provide a thumb rest 

[FugaziBomb]

That's pretty rad!