parker_muse Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Recently i bought what i thought was the perfect bass - a lovely fender precision with a tasty maple board. I play Ska/Indie music and i thought the meat and potatoes thump would be ideal for it. However, it isn't really working out and i think we're heading for divorce. The neck doesn't feel right in my hands - i've gone back to playing my vintage stingray copy. I want to get something that plays like the stingray but sounds as good as the P in full throttle. I'm looking at maybe an MTD kingston 5 stringer - i've heard great things about the playability. I flew around the neck on the 4 stringer so who is to say the 5 is any different? Maybe something along the lines of a Sub? I'm looking around the 3-400 mark, ideally trading the P. I play some slap too, and the slap sounds far better on the stingray - so maybe something with a humbucker? Parker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
absolutpepper Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 What about a Sterling by Musicman SB14? It has a great range of tones via the active eq and phantom coil plus its got a thinner profile neck which is more like a Jazz bass. Another great alternative would be the Fender Marcus Miller Jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker_muse Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 I've owned a Squire Vintage Modified jazz before and i quite liked the neck on that truth be told. Not sure i could pick up a MM for 300-400! I was looking at gaf's and i could maybe stretch to it but it would have to be perfect. How much do the 34s go for second hand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colledge Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 hows about a jazz neck transplant on the p? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker_muse Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 I'm not sure the tone is right for the slap, though thats a pretty cool idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 [quote name='parker_muse' post='920994' date='Aug 10 2010, 08:57 PM']I've owned a Squire Vintage Modified jazz before and i quite liked the neck on that truth be told. Not sure i could pick up a MM for 300-400! I was looking at gaf's and i could maybe stretch to it but it would have to be perfect. How much do the 34s go for second hand?[/quote] the problem is finding a 34 second hand. There doesn't seem to be any around! Have you considered modifying your Stingray copy? If you need the P-bass sound, then you need a P-bass... but if you want "ballsier" etc... a new pickup can do wonders. I put a Seymour Duncan SMB-4A in my OLP Stingray copy and it became a lot tighter, stronger, punchier. I then put the STC-3M3 preamp and it's a *beast*. If you really want the p-bass sound... here's another thought: put a P-style pickup on your stingray copy. The humbucker is located towards the bridge and you should be able to place a P-style pickup just around the original location for a P-bass. You can get a nice Seymour Duncan or DiMarzio pickup for around £50. You could keep your pickguard, in case you want to go back, and buy a new one for not that much money. You'll need to route the body for the new pickup and cut the pickguard too... but it's not terribly hard. Or you can take it to someone who'll do it for you for not much money again... All you have to do is, with the pickguard in place, draw the outline of the pickup to make the cut. Then cut the hole. Once the pickguard is done, use that to mark the outline on the top of teh bass... and route it. Changing the wiring is easy after that. It takes a bit of work, but... I don't know. I'd think about it. I bought a router and other tools I needed on ebay for very little. The work is easy, you just have to be patient and take it slow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faceman Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 You can get an excellent slap sound from a P, even with flatwounds mate. Take a look at this video - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5oSGkPUc_0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5oSGkPUc_0[/url] to see what I mean Each time I watch it, it reminds me of how much I want a P. I owned a Classic Vibe Fiesta Red and that was sexy as hell. I did a review ages ago and it sounded awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 [quote name='faceman' post='921022' date='Aug 10 2010, 09:42 PM']You can get an excellent slap sound from a P, even with flatwounds mate. Take a look at this video - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5oSGkPUc_0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5oSGkPUc_0[/url] to see what I mean Each time I watch it, it reminds me of how much I want a P. I owned a Classic Vibe Fiesta Red and that was sexy as hell. I did a review ages ago and it sounded awesome.[/quote] Think it may be a case of which model Precision did you get? Some, such as the Classic 50s, have a hugely wide neck that can feel uncomfortable to start with. If it`s one of these, that may be where the problem lies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker_muse Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 Mine is the classic 50's with the e-ruddy-normous neck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Your problem is that your Vintage copy is much better than you think. Don't underestimate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker_muse Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 (edited) The vintage copy is a complete dream to play. The sound lets it down a bit, the electronics are pretty naff. I'd love a real stingray to get that playability and the tone. Maybe selling the P and tarting up the stingray would be a nice idea? I'm thinking a John East MM 2 band style dropped in with a bart? Edited August 10, 2010 by parker_muse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 [quote name='stevie' post='921070' date='Aug 10 2010, 10:39 PM']Your problem is that your Vintage copy is much better than you think. Don't underestimate it.[/quote] Agree, the Classic 50s is a great instrument. When I got mine, for the first couple of days afterwards, my left hand was aching a bit, due to the larger neck (and all my basses are Precisions, so am used to fairly wide necks) however, I fairly quickly got used to it, and even tho I only play it at home (along with my 2 other home-use P-Basses with thinner necks), it now doesn`t cause me any bother at all. So I`d say stick at it for a while, you may find it to not be a problem after a bit. And if it is, those basses seem to be very well thought of here on Basschat, you could probably sell it quite quickly, and, stumping up another £100 or so, afford an American Precision - the necks are thinner on those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceH Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 I'd say, if you really can't stick with it go for a neck transplant, necks seem to come up on here from time to time. Tone is far harder to get right than playability IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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