rizzo9247 Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 After Moot's Jay Tursor fretless project, the creative juices were stirred up inside and I decided on modding a beater bass. I sold some crap around the house (both musical and non-musical items) on craigslist/ebay and have a nice $270 budget to work with. I was thinking about buying one of them there Squier puppies, but modding costs would be rather high after the bass purchase. So I decided my starting point would be this, from Rondo Music: Ok, that was $115 with shipping (should be here next week). $ 270 -$115 ------- $155 Bridge: Fender P-Bass Vintage Bridge $155 -$35 ----- $120 Pickup: a Fender Original 62 P-Bass Pickup $120 -$75 ------- $45 Tuners: Hipshot HB3 Tuners $ 45 -$88 ------- $43 OK, I'm over budget a bit, but a Stew-Mac Wiring Kit, Fender P-Bass Vintage Bridge Cover, and a sticker might be in order. I am excited! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fingertalkin Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 I bought a bass of Ebay that looks just like that and got it for $10. I had a neck from Rondo that I put on it. It didn't really sound that bad (I admit that I am not a tone freak) and didn't feel bad either. I think I am going to install that Audere pre amp that I have (for sale, still, see sticky classified thread). I gigged with it when I needed a bass that was in non-standard tuning. It was faster to switch basses than to re-tune. Oops...just read where you already bought that one.....sorry How do you sign a computer screen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rizzo9247 Posted April 29, 2009 Author Share Posted April 29, 2009 I bought a bass of Ebay that looks just like that and got it for $10. TEN DOLLARS!?!?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fingertalkin Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Just looked for some...apparently they no longer do business on ebay. I checked me feedback and found the company that I got it from. Sorry How do you sign a computer screen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moot Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 I bought a bass of Ebay that looks just like that and got it for $10. TEN DOLLARS!?!?!? tee-hee-hee . . . Go Rizz!! I hope with your $100 bass you don't get a 2x4 where the neck should be. "He is to music what Stevie Wonder is to photography." getz76 I have nothing nice to say so . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 I dunno. Asking for advice after the Brown Truck has been summoned is going bass ackwards. I'd have lobbied hard for a J-bass or P-J, and for a five string done up with a high C. IMHO, fretless benefits greatly from both. How good are you with a router? Since you likely won't be slapping on a fretless, would a tighter string spacing work for you? I turned a fretless four into a five, and it's been one of my primary basses for more than half a decade. Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rizzo9247 Posted April 29, 2009 Author Share Posted April 29, 2009 I hear what your sayin' PK, a fretless 4 string P-bass is kind of pedestrian, but I wanted a P (and in that particular color) because eventually this fretless neck will be swapped with a fretted maple for that thumpy goodness, and I will always have that fretless neck to throw back on as I see fit. Edit: No Routing for me. I mess up tying my shoelaces 2/7 times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I hope with your $100 bass you don't get a 2x4 where the neck should be. I have played a fretless 2x4 P bass. There is photographic evidence. It was surprisingly good. Peace. --SW spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saxofunk Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 rizzo, you have my moral support if it means anything. I'm jonesin' for a fretless P/J. I have pickups waiting as I hold for some $bucks$ and time to do it my way. - Matt W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moot Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I have played a fretless 2x4 P bass. There is photographic evidence. It was surprisingly good. Peace. --SW You're surprisingly good. Wait . . Huh? "He is to music what Stevie Wonder is to photography." getz76 I have nothing nice to say so . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rizzo9247 Posted April 30, 2009 Author Share Posted April 30, 2009 I keep editing my initial post as I decided on most of the modifications, but I keep going back to the pickup. As with most things, you hate to buy one that you never tried. I did however have SD Quarter Pounders in my Peavey bass a while back and thought they were fantastic. Maybe I'll go that route. Also, after our bridge shootout, is the Badass bridge really worth double of the vintage Fender bridge? Probably not. Tuner's might come down the road, I need to dig out my soldering iron, bass comes manana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I've got a SD Vintage pickup in a P clone and I'm very happy with it. If you want the bass to sound like a classic, don't put the Badass on it. There's nothing wrong with a Fender bridge. Don't change the tuners unless you have a problem with the ones on the bass. The Audere preamp that fingertalkin is selling would be a nice addition to the bass. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juancarlin Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I'd even say don't change the bridge unless, once everything is well put in, you find it necessary to do so. same as with the tuners, and probably with the pickups until you have it modded and sounding, then you' ll be able to assess what changes should go first. Brought to you by Juancarlin. www.juancarlinmusic.com http://www.youtube.com/JuanCarlinMusic www.facebook.com/JuanCarlinMusic Instagram: @JuanCarlinMusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rizzo9247 Posted April 30, 2009 Author Share Posted April 30, 2009 Wise suggestions from both, thanks. The only thing ordered so far is the bass, I'll let it percolate a bit and decide what needs to be improved upon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Don't go changing, to try and please me You never let me down before Don't imagine you're too familiar And I don't see you anymore I wouldn't leave you in times of trouble We never could have come this far I took the good times, I'll take the bad times I'll take you just the way you are Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5 string Mike Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 I hear what your sayin' PK, a fretless 4 string P-bass is kind of pedestrian, .... A fretless P is pedestrian? Then it would work great for walking lines then? "Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind"- George Orwell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicklab Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 I've got a SD Vintage pickup in a P clone and I'm very happy with it. If you want the bass to sound like a classic, don't put the Badass on it. There's nothing wrong with a Fender bridge. I would add one caveat to this statement. I recently got a Mexican Fender 50's P-Bass with the stock Fender bridge. I put some LaBella flat's on it and actually had quite a hard time getting the E string properly intonated. The bridge saddle didn't have enough range to get the E string intonated, so I switched to a Badass II bridge. That at least solved my intonation issues. Obligatory Social Media Link "My concern is, and I have to, uh, check with my accountant, that this might bump me into a higher, uh, tax..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rizzo9247 Posted May 2, 2009 Author Share Posted May 2, 2009 Ok, bass arrived yesterday. I am charging the battery on my digital camera so pics should be here soon enough. Pros: -Beautiful color that lake placid blue, has a slight sparkle to it. -Rosewood board looks very dry, but is straight and no "buzzing" on the fret lines. - Tuners work well. -Came equipped with flats. Since they use D'Addario for their stock instruments, I imagine they are the Chrome Flats (black silk anyone?) -Feels solid and sounds pretty good. Cons: -I stripped all the screws that I touched. Whether it was lowering the pickups or inotating the bridge, a few turns and bam, done. Looks like el cheapo metal. -Electronics. As Chevy Chase would say in Caddy Shack, "You're not good, you stink." Not that it sounds bad, but tone control has no little to no effect on the sound, just increases the electrical hum as the knob is turned. -The nut was glued slightly off the fretboard, but the string slots were cut perfectly for equal distance between the strings and the edge of the board (maybe cut after the nut was installed?) All said and done, for $99, This is a decent entry level fretless. While the Squier VM fretless is definitely more playable "out-of-the-box", I don't think it blows the SX out of the water, especially for 1/3 the price. Looks like I'm going with new pickups, pots, and a bridge as I suspected, but nothing that has to be done immediately to make this a player, she is fine to screw around with in the house without being embarrassed to show your instrument-snob friends Pics soon, I promise... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rizzo9247 Posted May 2, 2009 Author Share Posted May 2, 2009 I hear what your sayin' PK, a fretless 4 string P-bass is kind of pedestrian, .... A fretless P is pedestrian? Then it would work great for walking lines then? Tom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rizzo9247 Posted May 2, 2009 Author Share Posted May 2, 2009 http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs031.snc1/3213_1143340147617_1350894311_364431_7917554_n.jpg http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs031.snc1/3213_1143340187618_1350894311_364432_2654695_n.jpg http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs031.snc1/3213_1143340267620_1350894311_364434_5299765_n.jpg http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs031.snc1/3213_1143341347647_1350894311_364443_1031527_n.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicklab Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 Looks pretty, Rizz. Although I've always thought that a tortoise guard looks sharper on a P-Bass than the white/black/white. Obligatory Social Media Link "My concern is, and I have to, uh, check with my accountant, that this might bump me into a higher, uh, tax..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moot Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 How do it play? How thick is the neck? "He is to music what Stevie Wonder is to photography." getz76 I have nothing nice to say so . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rizzo9247 Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share Posted May 3, 2009 How do it play? It feels solid, plays well, and sounds eh, mostly due to the weak pickup and perhaps flimsy bridge. How thick is the neck? Chunky. I'm used to fivers, so the neck is not so bad, but I will have to get used to the wider string spacing. Interesting note, the width at the nut is wider than a Fender Standard P. SX = 42.8625 mm (1 11/16 inches) Fender = 41.3 mm (1.625 inches) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rizzo9247 Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 Update. SX Fretless - $99 TI Flats - already had a set SD Quarter Pounder's - $64 (not the SD vintage, or Fender '62 pickup as originally planned, long story...) Vintage Fender Bridge - $30 New wiring/pots/knobs from Stew-Mac - $20 Owning a badass fretless fish - Priceless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1111000 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Congrats! Looks like a great fish. After I got my fretless around a year ago my love of music was completely reinvigorated. It's my main fishy now! I hope you don't mind the phenomenon of spending hours that feel like minutes just noodling with it, then looking at the clock to see it's 3 A.M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b5pilot Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Update. SX Fretless - $99 TI Flats - already had a set SD Quarter Pounder's - $64 (not the SD vintage, or Fender '62 pickup as originally planned, long story...) Vintage Fender Bridge - $30 New wiring/pots/knobs from Stew-Mac - $20 Owning a badass fretless fish - Priceless. Congrats on the new modded fish! Not a bad tally pricewise for a fretless. Might I suggest a black laminated pickguard. White is kind of bland and tortoise looks best on sunburst or natural. Lydian mode? The only mode I know has the words "pie ala" in front of it. http://www.myspace.com/theeldoradosband Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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