Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Going off the reservation
I supposed it had to happen at some point: sooner or later, I'd run across a bass that was not a Fender (complete or parts) that I'd find enjoyable or fun to play and I'd fall for it...
I have a friend who worked at a local music store, and I used to spend a couple of hours on rare Saturdays looking at the basses there, and, if it wasn't busy, sometimes jamming with him. I dropped by one such Saturday and was told that a lot of the stuff was now on sale. I looked over what was hanging on the wall, and noticed one particular 5-string that I had played before. I picked it up and plugged it in, intending to take it for a serious test drive.
For the most part, my acquisitions are not ones I would get to play before buying them. That's the way eBay works. If it's a project that I have to build myself, some assembly (and adjustment) is required before taking it for a spin. If it's a complete one, I have to hope that there's nothing wrong with it and that the seller is telling me what problems it might have, so I can make an informed decision. I have to admit, I've been extremely lucky in that regard.
The neck was very nice, not as wide as a lot of 5-strings, and the action was very fast. It sounded nice as well, and the dual pickup wasn't something I hadn't much experience with. I liked that fact that, even though it was a maple neck and maple fretboard, there was no "skunk-stripe" where they had inlaid another piece of wood after routing out a strip to put the truss-rod in. They had cut in from the front, and put the fretboard on as a cap. To me, that says that the manufacturer isn't cutting corners and taking the easy route. (Excuse the pun!) Fit and finish as good as I'd seen on much more expensive basses.
The bass in question is an OLP MM3 model. This is from the "Squieresque" line of Ernie Ball's MusicMan basses, and is (I guess) patterned after the Stringray 5, except that the electronics are passive. I didn't like white pickguard but that was the least of my concerns. (As always, Tony at PickGuardian, made me both a tortoise-shell and a mother-of-pearl replacements.) The initial minor modifications I made was to gang the two halves of the pickup together so that there is now only one volume and one tone control.
The major recent upgrade was the pickup: I've become partial to Seymour Duncan pickups, so I decided to get a Basslines model version as a replacement. It only required a slight reworking of the pick-guard, minimal rewiring, and added so much to the sound. Big bang for small bucks!! It's now a coin-toss as to which fretted 5-string I take to the gigs: it or the MIM 5-string Jazz.
I have a friend who worked at a local music store, and I used to spend a couple of hours on rare Saturdays looking at the basses there, and, if it wasn't busy, sometimes jamming with him. I dropped by one such Saturday and was told that a lot of the stuff was now on sale. I looked over what was hanging on the wall, and noticed one particular 5-string that I had played before. I picked it up and plugged it in, intending to take it for a serious test drive.
For the most part, my acquisitions are not ones I would get to play before buying them. That's the way eBay works. If it's a project that I have to build myself, some assembly (and adjustment) is required before taking it for a spin. If it's a complete one, I have to hope that there's nothing wrong with it and that the seller is telling me what problems it might have, so I can make an informed decision. I have to admit, I've been extremely lucky in that regard.
The neck was very nice, not as wide as a lot of 5-strings, and the action was very fast. It sounded nice as well, and the dual pickup wasn't something I hadn't much experience with. I liked that fact that, even though it was a maple neck and maple fretboard, there was no "skunk-stripe" where they had inlaid another piece of wood after routing out a strip to put the truss-rod in. They had cut in from the front, and put the fretboard on as a cap. To me, that says that the manufacturer isn't cutting corners and taking the easy route. (Excuse the pun!) Fit and finish as good as I'd seen on much more expensive basses.
The bass in question is an OLP MM3 model. This is from the "Squieresque" line of Ernie Ball's MusicMan basses, and is (I guess) patterned after the Stringray 5, except that the electronics are passive. I didn't like white pickguard but that was the least of my concerns. (As always, Tony at PickGuardian, made me both a tortoise-shell and a mother-of-pearl replacements.) The initial minor modifications I made was to gang the two halves of the pickup together so that there is now only one volume and one tone control.
The major recent upgrade was the pickup: I've become partial to Seymour Duncan pickups, so I decided to get a Basslines model version as a replacement. It only required a slight reworking of the pick-guard, minimal rewiring, and added so much to the sound. Big bang for small bucks!! It's now a coin-toss as to which fretted 5-string I take to the gigs: it or the MIM 5-string Jazz.
Friday, August 14, 2009
The Other Two Triplets
Gaudy 70s black-fret-marker Fender Jazz basses. There seemed to be no middle ground: people either loved them or hated them. I regretted not buying one at the same time I bought my first Precision...
Anyway, I wanted to complete the set. These necks came in three variations. I had already put together a maple fretboard/mother-of-pearl markers some time back. Time to find the others. After much scouring of eBay, I managed to score a maple fretboard with black block markers in 2004. It's from a Geddy Lee signature model (and based on the serial number, from around 1999), and is a reissue of his famous, well-known Fender Jazz bass that he's played for years. It has his signature on the back, and I think I managed to get it *with* the tuners.
The profile of the neck mirrors his original (which was thinned front to back) and is the smallest neck of any I own. It's a real delight to play since you feel like you are holding nothing. For such a "frail" neck, you'd think there would be tuning issues; there are none, even when the weather here changes from dry to humid or back.
The hardware is the usual, including a big bridge cover with the stylized Fender 'F' logo on it. The pickups are just standard Fenders, I think maybe a set of Made-in-Japan ones I picked up (where else) off eBay, or they may be the ones that I removed from the white MIJ fretless Jazz when I put in the cream-colored DiMarzio's.
The body is a standard Jazz type made of swamp ash. It has highly-figured grain lines and I decided that I would deepen the color with a rather dark stain. At this point, I have a dark mother-of-pearl pickguard on it, but I'm going to try a tortoise-shell one. (Note: I just put that T/S one on the bass; makes it look very nice! (Sept 17))
The third and last of the three just may be the prettiest of the bunch and perhaps even one of the nicest looking ones I own. This neck (from a MIJ Fender Jazz that dates to 1997 based on the serial number decal) was purchased in 2005, and has a rosewood fretboard and mother-of-pearl markers. If I remember correctly, the tuners were included. (That neck spent some time on the body of the black MIJ fretless Jazz.) There is nothing special or out of the ordinary with the hardware. I did not include the big 'F' bridge cover.
The body is a regular Jazz style from USA Custom Guitars, but this time I had them refinish it in a classic 3-color sunburst. My first bass was a sunburst and I foolishly removed that, and I wanted another. By the way, this one was done at the same time as the other sunburst - the Precision with the maple neck. I now have sunbursts back in the herd!!
It plays very nice, although the tone is nothing special. I may do something about that later. In point of fact, all three block Jazzes play very well. I should take the whole family to a gig some night and play one per set!!!
Anyway, I wanted to complete the set. These necks came in three variations. I had already put together a maple fretboard/mother-of-pearl markers some time back. Time to find the others. After much scouring of eBay, I managed to score a maple fretboard with black block markers in 2004. It's from a Geddy Lee signature model (and based on the serial number, from around 1999), and is a reissue of his famous, well-known Fender Jazz bass that he's played for years. It has his signature on the back, and I think I managed to get it *with* the tuners.
The profile of the neck mirrors his original (which was thinned front to back) and is the smallest neck of any I own. It's a real delight to play since you feel like you are holding nothing. For such a "frail" neck, you'd think there would be tuning issues; there are none, even when the weather here changes from dry to humid or back.
The hardware is the usual, including a big bridge cover with the stylized Fender 'F' logo on it. The pickups are just standard Fenders, I think maybe a set of Made-in-Japan ones I picked up (where else) off eBay, or they may be the ones that I removed from the white MIJ fretless Jazz when I put in the cream-colored DiMarzio's.
The body is a standard Jazz type made of swamp ash. It has highly-figured grain lines and I decided that I would deepen the color with a rather dark stain. At this point, I have a dark mother-of-pearl pickguard on it, but I'm going to try a tortoise-shell one. (Note: I just put that T/S one on the bass; makes it look very nice! (Sept 17))
The third and last of the three just may be the prettiest of the bunch and perhaps even one of the nicest looking ones I own. This neck (from a MIJ Fender Jazz that dates to 1997 based on the serial number decal) was purchased in 2005, and has a rosewood fretboard and mother-of-pearl markers. If I remember correctly, the tuners were included. (That neck spent some time on the body of the black MIJ fretless Jazz.) There is nothing special or out of the ordinary with the hardware. I did not include the big 'F' bridge cover.
The body is a regular Jazz style from USA Custom Guitars, but this time I had them refinish it in a classic 3-color sunburst. My first bass was a sunburst and I foolishly removed that, and I wanted another. By the way, this one was done at the same time as the other sunburst - the Precision with the maple neck. I now have sunbursts back in the herd!!
It plays very nice, although the tone is nothing special. I may do something about that later. In point of fact, all three block Jazzes play very well. I should take the whole family to a gig some night and play one per set!!!
