Monday, December 04, 2006
The (first) 5-string
I had been working a little with a band, and feeling like my skills were coming back, and I wanted to experiment and stretch out a little. I shopped around for an affordable 5-string and decided that this one would work. It's a 2000 Made in Mexico (MIM) Fender Jazz.
It's essentially stock, with most of the mods being cosmetic. The colour is called Midnight Wine, a very rich, dark red, which pretty much looks black in anything less than bright light. I got Tony at Pickguardian to make me a custom tortoise shell replacement since I really didn't like the plain stock white one. The bridge cover is an oddity: I think it's a replica of ones that were installed on the old Fender V basses (tuned E-A-D-G-C). It fits nicely and dresses it up. I found that on eBay.
The more functional mods took a little more work. The controls were switched so that there's a "blend" and master volume instead of the usual Volume-Volume-Tone (VVT). It seems to work well and it easy to dial in as much of each pickup as you want. The 'T' tuners were replaced with Hipshot Ultra Lites with the clover keys. This was a little more work than my usual mod, and was the first opportunity to use my new drill press.
It has the biggest neck of the bunch, and although I can't seem to get the action low enough to suit my taste, it plays well. Most times, I'm happy with the sound, although I find the pickups a little weak compared to the other basses. Replacements are not easy to find, so, for now, I'll just turn up the gain.....
(You might notice that the case looks a little odd; it is in fact a "real" Fender hard-shell case but made for left-handed basses. I found it used locally and since it fit the bass well, I kept it.)
[Update]
I recently bought a set of Seymour Duncan Basslines Quarter Pounders and swapped them in. This was as painless a changeover as I have ever done on one of my basses. They were straight "bolt-ins", and all I had to do (besides the soldering) was gently file the pickguard to accommodate the slightly more square corners of the neck pickup. The bass is louder, the notes rounder and more full, with that "old-school" sound I'm partial to. This is an upgrade I should have done long ago, and it makes the bass sound like I wanted it to!!!
It's essentially stock, with most of the mods being cosmetic. The colour is called Midnight Wine, a very rich, dark red, which pretty much looks black in anything less than bright light. I got Tony at Pickguardian to make me a custom tortoise shell replacement since I really didn't like the plain stock white one. The bridge cover is an oddity: I think it's a replica of ones that were installed on the old Fender V basses (tuned E-A-D-G-C). It fits nicely and dresses it up. I found that on eBay.
The more functional mods took a little more work. The controls were switched so that there's a "blend" and master volume instead of the usual Volume-Volume-Tone (VVT). It seems to work well and it easy to dial in as much of each pickup as you want. The 'T' tuners were replaced with Hipshot Ultra Lites with the clover keys. This was a little more work than my usual mod, and was the first opportunity to use my new drill press.
It has the biggest neck of the bunch, and although I can't seem to get the action low enough to suit my taste, it plays well. Most times, I'm happy with the sound, although I find the pickups a little weak compared to the other basses. Replacements are not easy to find, so, for now, I'll just turn up the gain.....
(You might notice that the case looks a little odd; it is in fact a "real" Fender hard-shell case but made for left-handed basses. I found it used locally and since it fit the bass well, I kept it.)
[Update]
I recently bought a set of Seymour Duncan Basslines Quarter Pounders and swapped them in. This was as painless a changeover as I have ever done on one of my basses. They were straight "bolt-ins", and all I had to do (besides the soldering) was gently file the pickguard to accommodate the slightly more square corners of the neck pickup. The bass is louder, the notes rounder and more full, with that "old-school" sound I'm partial to. This is an upgrade I should have done long ago, and it makes the bass sound like I wanted it to!!!
