Help me choose between these two PLEASE

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='Johnston' post='812246' date='Apr 20 2010, 09:26 AM']when you think of the extra work to do the contoured body. Is it back and front??

Cost of the better bag 100 dabs isn't too bad.

If it only didn't come with the 12th fret inlay.

If you do a signature bass whats wrong with just the sig on the back of the headstock like the steve harris!

And I've just noticed something, look at the grain in the two pics above!!!![/quote]

Yes Fender have photoshopped the same body (slab body I should add) to a different neck, one pic show the sting inlay the other don't, in effects they must have just photoshopped the sting inlay over the standard instrument.

[splat1969]

The Butter Scotch will match your Mark Bass rig!!!!

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='splat1969' post='812425' date='Apr 20 2010, 12:10 PM']The Butter Scotch will match your Mark Bass rig!!!![/quote]

Yeah it would have but... the shop that sold them for £499 only have the sunburst left, and I am not paying £699 just for the colour priviledge, it's the same bass at the end of the day, but a lot cheaper

[Clarky]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='812460' date='Apr 20 2010, 12:41 PM']Yeah it would have but... the shop that sold them for £499 only have the sunburst left, and I am not paying £699 just for the colour priviledge, it's the same bass at the end of the day, but a lot cheaper [/quote]
Popped into Denmark St last night and wandered past Bass Cellar (which appreared to be functioning as normal, by the way - with [get this] helpful people behind the desk!) They have a 51 in sunburst at £799!!!!! Hope that makes you feel good Grand Wazoo

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='Clarky' post='814583' date='Apr 22 2010, 07:54 AM']Popped into Denmark St last night and wandered past Bass Cellar (which appreared to be functioning as normal, by the way - with [get this] helpful people behind the desk!) They have a 51 in sunburst at £799!!!!! Hope that makes you feel good Grand Wazoo [/quote]

[size=4][b]It doesn't just makes me feel good, It gives me a hard-on mate!! yahahayahaha (Sidney James laughs)[/b][/size]



[size=4][b]Look what I just got [/b][/size]

[url="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/CaptMoto/FenderBass?feat=email#slideshow"]Check this out!![/url]

Edited April 22, 2010 by Grand Wazoo

[bh2]

The burst actually looks great with a pearl guard...

[Tait]

[quote name='Johnston' post='812246' date='Apr 20 2010, 09:26 AM']And I've just noticed something, look at the grain in the two pics above!!!![/quote]

i was gonna say that! it looks like fender have photoshopped the sting inlay onto the '51, how bizzare! i don't understand why they would, rather than just take a photo of a sting one?

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='Johnston' post='815370' date='Apr 22 2010, 07:39 PM']As a man who also owns 3 CV's how do the two '50s compare.

I can't decide weather to stay budget or break with tradition save some dib dabs and get something a bit more upmarket for the first time.


Oh and by the way your pics make the burst look much better than on the fender site!!![/quote]

Unfortunately the bass is still in my cabin where those pics were taken, it was delivered at my work at 5:00pm before we sailed, I am presently on a ship sailing the english channel, won't be able to compare with the Squier 51 til I get home tomorrow, all I can say is: strings need changing, they must have been on that bass for ages, the neck needs minor adjustment, it's just sligthly over concave i.e. too much relief and the saddles are at the lowest point. Nothing I can't fix when i get indoors but it does have a very decent resonance played unplugged. One more thing, it weights more than my Squier 51 reissue, that ash body is well hefty, but that's all good.

Until tomorrow.... bon voyage!

Edited April 22, 2010 by Grand Wazoo

[Grand Wazoo]

My fav pics are:

[Clarky]

Beautiful plumage

[Grand Wazoo]

This morning I went to work on setting up the bass, I have to say, a new set of strings and a whole set up made this bass extremely playable, the neck is awfully nice, and also I am very impressed with the pickup!!

Many many years ago I took a workshop and learnt how to maintain, set up and fix my own basses and guitars, I am surprised how well the 2 saddles bridge is designed, so much so that while still being arcaic compared to modern bridges, the intonation can be set 99.9% accurately hence I don't really see the need to replace it with a badass III or other. The pickup is very good too, I've compared it against the Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound on the Squier and they are very much in the same spectrum, which pleases me no end as I won't need to replace it with an after market one. So no Lollar, Fralin or Duncan Antiquty will be necessary, the way this p/up sounds, I believe a "boutique" pickup won't really make a lot of difference, all the bass and mids are there aplenty, and the only thing I will replace on this bass is the wiring: under the hood we have the same cheap flimsy little wires as found on the Squier series, the pots are not CTS or similar decent quality, so max 14 quid will see that right.

I now need to leave again and go to work, so no much time to play, but I am looking forward to take it to rehearsal on the weekend and see how it fairs in action. As I've mentioned earlier, this is one hefty lump of a bass just shy of 10lbs, it weights 9.9lbs!!! I guess I have to get fit, but I am sure the exta weight in a bass like this means more mass and warmer punchy sound.

In conclusion: well it's early days yet but judging by how well it responded after a nice set up and new strings, with no hidden surprises, I can confidently reassure myself that this is yet another keeper and so I welcome No. 10 to my collection with open arms.

Some pics...

Edited April 23, 2010 by Grand Wazoo

[Grand Wazoo]

[size=2][b]Additional review notes:

The Slab Body thing:- seen as the bass is a slab body, and it's the only slab body guitar I have ever owned, it makes very little if no difference at all in terms of comfort, actually I've found that with the top body edge being more or less square cut, it helps steadying your right arm position where you would normally rest it on a slippery contour, this makes you play more anchored to the instrument than it would if it was contoured, so... for me at least I don't see it as an hinderance but rather an aid.

"Like a Slap Machine":- having set the action with the correct neck curvature it allows plenty room between the strings and the scratchplate hence it provides a very comfy landing space for your popping fingers on the D & G strings, which means low and behold this bass is a very handy slap machine, now I am not a slapper (lol) by trade, especially after my half thumb mutilation accident but with whatever stump I got left I have managed to have a good hour of fun this morning practicing Dune Tune (Level 42) and Teen Town a la Marcus Miller on it.

The neck profile:- Guess what? chunky is good and thin is for wussies, this is a fast neck, despite being well chunky once you run up to the upper frets, fingering those high notes is a breeze. The neck template from which this was carved must be a work of art, I don't know the technical reasons for this but somehow the chunkier the neck the faster the fretting up top register, someone please explain that to me. We are always led to believe that a slimmer neck makes for faster playing. But then I think there is a lot to do with the fact that this neck sports some very slim and shallow "vintage" fretwire which my only worry is that with these being so thin, how long are they going to last with roundwounds strings?

Reverse tuners:- Ut-oh! this is different. I had a JV Series Squier in 82 with reverse tuners which was nicked off me in a house move, never had one like that again until this RI 51 and it takes a little getting used to, specially when your other 9 basses are all conventional grooved, but there is one thing about these tuners they are stiff as **** I hope they'll losen up a bit with time as it's hard work to turn them, perhaps one of these weekends I will get them off, strip 'em up and service them with a few drops of gun stock oil in the bushes and in the winders slots. [i]A little dab'll do ya[/i], as they say. On the plus side they keep the string well in tune and they are extremely accurate even with fresh strings in the bedding-in stages.

The tone control:- A very clever tone control I should add. On most conventional basses the tone control dims the highs and progressively reduce power as you scoop it off. This one instead, it rolls off the hights ok but it doesn't make you loose power or volume, on the contrary it puts its foot down on the lower register with a much more defined presence and tonal magnitude. Fact is unless you are playing rock tunes, it's safe to say that it's better to have it almost off at 1 or 2 max than to have it wide open. I have only recently established that flatwounds are not for me so if I want the deep dark tone this is the best way to achieve it for me while maintaining the option of a brighter sound should I need to, whereas flatwound strings don't allow me that option.


Add on bits:- Ashtrays? No thanks Iam giving them up! Yes they look bling and in tune with the period thing but they are a right nuisance for playing up the bridge or bang over the pickup so I won't get any, I prefer it this way, the only thing I will add for my own personal preference is a nice thumb rest but over the E string and not under the G as in the vintage ones.

While it is understood that these models have been discontinued, there are still a few available out there, specially in the 2nd hand market, ebay, craiglist and gumtree.

If you consider that despite 4 strings, one pickup, a volume and a tone control only this is a very versatile instruments for many music styles: it's great for jazz, blues, funk, rock and even a bit of reginald. (reggae) So if you are considering pulling the trigger on one, don't hesitate, I doubt you will regret it and even if you do, this will sell on fast while keeping their value sealed for years to come, until Fender decides once again to re-reissue them for the mass.

Ok that is it for now. I can't wait to disembark off this cargo ship and fly back home for a weekend of fun, rehersals and general immersion in my music fetish. Oh yeah in all that, I'll have to make time to see the gf at some stage, 30 minutes should do it, I reckon, then back to my basses. HAHA!

Tara![/b][/size]

[Clarky]

But do you like it?



Glad you are loving it, looks beautiful and I agree the chunky neck is nice

[OutToPlayJazz]

Glad you're loving your new bass, GW Looks a real nice one. I'm still salivating for the butterscotch one, even though I'd never gig it on the stuff I do.

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='Clarky' post='816558' date='Apr 23 2010, 06:59 PM']But do you like it?



Glad you are loving it, looks beautiful and I agree the chunky neck is nice[/quote]


Yes... Clarky, I'm lovin' it! 'Tis a good'n, heavy though. is yours nearly 10lbs too? can you check pls?

[Clarky]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='816797' date='Apr 23 2010, 10:47 PM']Yes... Clarky, I'm lovin' it! 'Tis a good'n, heavy though. is yours nearly 10lbs too? can you check pls?[/quote]
According to my bathroom scales, my one is about 9lbs (it actually says less but I don't believe it and I always round upwards)

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='Clarky' post='816815' date='Apr 23 2010, 11:12 PM']According to my bathroom scales, my one is about 9lbs (it actually says less but I don't believe it and I always round upwards)[/quote]

Yeah I've also used one of those scales, not sure how accurate they are, really. I'll have to find a different way to weight mine, I know it's heavy but I am not sure if it can really be 9.9lbs

[Clarky]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='816822' date='Apr 23 2010, 11:28 PM']Yeah I've also used one of those scales, not sure how accurate they are, really. I'll have to find a different way to weight mine, I know it's heavy but I am not sure if it can really be 9.9lbs[/quote]
I think my 72 Precision is between 8-9 lbs and this is slightly heavier, so I reckon 9lbs is about right I reckon

[Grand Wazoo]

later that week...


One week later into the life of this bass chez moi, I must really sing praises for it, aside being a gorgeous instrument, I am loving the fact that a concept so simple works so well, it's so meaty, so very well built, I play it through a Little Mark Tube combo, and the sound just oozes hair raising warmth. Think: 1 x single coil, 1 x volume and 1 x tone!! That's all you bloody need!

Last weekend I took this and my usual workhorse (Bongo 5 HH) to practice, and I never take my amp, I play them directly into the PA with a D.I. Box, usually with the 4 bands on board preamp on the Bongo that is really all I need to make my sound come true with definition, and I never use any effects except for a compressor, when I got there it suddenly hit me that the 51 reisse was a passive bass, so I got worried that it might come across weak in the mix with the singer going through the same PA, surely in comparison the Bongo shells out 18V of power more than this bass but when you set the D.I. and the compressor levels as high as you can before it clips, this bass is just as good, and as powerful as I need it to be. I am really impressed, I am finding it difficult to put down. Gee I am thinking on looking for another one of these to have it made fretless, as I am imagining it to be the blx as a fretless instrument.

Happy days!