Fender Reggie Hamilton Bass Club

[tony moore]

do all production years have 'vintage' size frets?

thanks,

tony

[spanisheyes]

Wish it was available lefty...hate myself for being born that way.

[khutch]

I sometimes wonder what would have happened if guitar makers never had offered "lefty" models and artists like Jimi Hendrix had never played "righty" models upside down. Would everyone, right and left handed, just play the same guitars and be happy with them? Pianists, organists, and woodwind players use the same instruments regardless of handedness. All French Horn players use what appear to be "lefty" instruments. I realize that a lefty who has played lefty basses for years would have as much trouble switching to a righty as I would have switching to a lefty at this point. But I also have a hunch that if back when I started all guitars were "lefty", I would have learned to play "lefty" and would be no worse off for it. It is not really obvious to me that a guitar has a handedness any more than a clarinet does.

But I understand your pain because you are undoubtedly used to what you are used to and changing at this point is impractical. I wish that every bass on the market could be had right handed, left handed, fretless, and five stringed and in any combination of those at the customer's request. Actually I think the manufacturing technology exists to do this at a reasonable cost. The first manufacturer to realize and implement such a build on demand production model might grab a huge chunk of market share....

Ken

PS: Some of the features of the Reggie Hamilton models can be retrofitted onto any bass. Things like the pickup configuration, Hipshot tuner, and preamp with active/passive switch. Really the only feature that I know of which could not be easily replaced is the neck which is heel adjust, slightly thicker, and as I just learned uses vintage sized frets. The neck may (I'm not sure) be similar to MIA necks and if you can find a left handed MIA neck for sale in the TB classifieds you may be able to get a reasonable facsimile of the neck as well. You could potentially turn any Jazz bass into a reasonable Reggie Hamilton replica. I don't own this club so I don't set the rules but if you did a good job perhaps you could even join the club! Since there is no left handed version available I'd like to think that an exception would be made in that case.

[khutch]

Originally Posted by tony moore

do all production years have 'vintage' size frets?

I don't know. In fact I did not know that my bass has vintage sized frets until you pointed it out! If no one else knows you can check the descriptions in the Fender catalogs on the Fender website. I'm not sure if recent catalogs list this information. I know that old catalogs I have looked at (2000 to 2006) do not. Reggie Hamilton undoubtedly knows and he very well may favor you with an answer!

Ken

[spanisheyes]

Appreciate your insight.. what dictates how you start playing is really how it feels, if it feels right...Some lefties are comfortable playing righty (Mark Knopfler!), but for most really it's impossible...Jimi Hendrix played lefty (righty instrument but always strung lefty, and lefty instruments the last year of his life), many lefty bluesman played lefty but never bothered to reverse the strings...Albert King...

In my case, it was never a choice, when young, I had an accident on my left hand which left 2 fingers seriously damaged, which means I would never have been able to fret properly with the left hand. It's OK, I still manage to compose & play (http://youtube.com/tamalocal), just been frustrated lately trying to find a decent 5 string bass lefty...Everytime I need a new instrument, it's a nightmare.

Going back on topic, I really love Reggie Hamilton's playing, tone on Maxwell's Embrya, for me that is the ultimate modern bass tone. His models are really gorgeous, and he's a great musician, an a nice guy...Would have loved to be able to play his model!

[nervous]

Originally Posted by khutch

I don't own this club so I don't set the rules but if you did a good job perhaps you could even join the club! Since there is no left handed version available I'd like to think that an exception would be made in that case.

Bring it on! We could certainly discuss it's eligibility. I would love to see the effort and am sure most others would as well. The question would be what key identifiers make the RH bass unique or "authentic". I'd say final vote would go to the man himself. But, git 'er done and let's see what happens.

[Reggie Hamilton]

"Git 'er done!" That's always been my motto. The original 'Reggie' was my '67 with a P bass routed in the neck position. Just remember it's active and passive for a reason... and that reason is not in case of battery failure. Personally, if it were me, I'd find a lefty Road Worn™, get a 'Reggie' circuit and have a lefty pickguard made. As for the bridge pickup, my friend Carey Nordstrand is an outstanding maker of pickups.

That bass will sound smokin'! If you're not afraid of routing, you will have to do some to accommodate the circuit as well as the pickups. Khutch has a great mod for the passive section and Nervous has the final say since he was nice enough to create the RHAT.

Khutch and Tony Moore, yes the basses (including the CS models) have vintage frets. I did that for sonic reasons as well.

All the best,

RH

[bigntasty]

I'm happy after 4 years to own an '04 Reggie Hamilton Standard Jazz Bass. Ever since I first held one I knew it was the bass for me. P/J pickups, active/passive switch, all in a Jazz Bass body and neck. And I'm sure the drop tuner on the E string will come in handy once I get used to it. And to top it off, 3TSB + tort guard! What more can a guy ask for?? OK, other than a bound and blocked neck...

Here are a couple of pics. I'd love to have a number in this club, please!

[ebannist]

Welcome to the RH Club!!

[nervous]

Originally Posted by bigntasty

I'd love to have a number in this club, please!

Welcome indeed! You are #22 - bigntasty

And here is the list of members of the RHAT pack, past and present:

#1 - Reggie Hamilton
#2 - nervous
#3 - bunkmunk
#4 - frankenp
#5 - Rocksolid
#6 - fishtx
#7 - Fletz
#8 - Byo
#9 - sbassface
#10 - Bass Mule
#11 - rodl2005
#12 - debo 006
#13 - doghousebob
#14 – 3rdBass
#14.5 - tjh
#15 - SIFJiggy
#16 - Turxile
#17 - Pigbobman
#18 - genmed42
#19 - ebannist
#20 - jimiwhite
#21 - khutch
#22 - bigntasty

[TonH]

Originally Posted by khutch

I don't know. In fact I did not know that my bass has vintage sized frets until you pointed it out! If no one else knows you can check the descriptions in the Fender catalogs on the Fender website. I'm not sure if recent catalogs list this information. I know that old catalogs I have looked at (2000 to 2006) do not. Reggie Hamilton undoubtedly knows and he very well may favor you with an answer!

Ken

Hello everybody,

In 2005 I bought a "Reggie Hamilton" and this bass has no vintage sized frets. I think they are jumbo sized.

When I bought it, I was looking for a P-bass but after playing this one, I fell in love with the sound and looks.

I like the sound of the bass passive and active. The body has a beautiful grain/figure.

Here are some pictures.

[chuck norriss]

TonH, see post 287 re: frets. Apparently the person who sold you your RH replaced the original neck w/ a 60th Anniversary J neck--the OG Reggie was his 67 P at most 46 years ago; the math doesn't add up.

Edit: I just noticed the sig on the back of your headstock. Was the RH model issued w/ the 60th neck/badge?

Side note--I'm putting together an homage to the RH model. It's a J with P/J set-up, but I'm making it as lightweight as possible & whited-out. I'll post pics as soon as I'm done albeit I know it won't qualify for the RHAT pack. All in good fun.

[nervous]

Originally Posted by TonH

Hello everybody,

In 2005 I bought a "Reggie Hamilton" and this bass has no vintage sized frets. I think they are jumbo sized.

When I bought it, I was looking for a P-bass but after playing this one, I fell in love with the sound and looks.

I like the sound of the bass passive and active. The body has a beautiful grain/figure.

Welcome:

#23 - TonH

[fishtx]

I've been gigging and recording with my RH CS 5 now for 2 years or so, and love this Bass...great fat well rounded and flexible tone for pretty much any situation or Genre. About a year ago I started putting a piece of foam under the strings to give is a slightly muted sound to help me achieve that old school "p-bass" thing when I want it...

Another thing is this Bass "loves" my Genz Benz SM 9.2 rig...

If I had one thing to complain about (and its a very small complaint), I wish it was slightly lighter (in the 8lb to 8.5lb range)...and that's just because of my bad back...otherwise, I couldn't be happier with my setup right now...

[khutch]

The frets on my Reggie Hamilton Standard Jazz and my Deluxe Active Jazz Bass are both about 0.103in wide. Near as I can tell vintage frets should be about 0.080. The frets on my Standard Jazz V are 0.095 wide. The frets on the RH are a little shorter than on the DAJ. Seems like all three have different fret wire but I don't know if any of them are "vintage" frets.

Ken

[bigntasty]

Originally Posted by chuck norriss

TonH, see post 287 re: frets. Apparently the person who sold you your RH replaced the original neck w/ a 60th Anniversary J neck--the OG Reggie was his 67 P at most 46 years ago; the math doesn't add up.

Edit: I just noticed the sig on the back of your headstock. Was the RH model issued w/ the 60th neck/badge?

Side note--I'm putting together an homage to the RH model. It's a J with P/J set-up, but I'm making it as lightweight as possible & whited-out. I'll post pics as soon as I'm done albeit I know it won't qualify for the RHAT pack. All in good fun.

Chuck Norriss, yes for sure the RH was issued with a 60th Anniversary badge. I'm certain of that because in '08 I had a NOS '06 on layaway at a local music store that also had one. TonH's looks legit. Not a fret expert, though, so can't speak to that.

[bigntasty]

Originally Posted by nervous

Welcome indeed! You are #22 - bigntasty

And here is the list of members of the RHAT pack, past and present:

#1 - Reggie Hamilton
#2 - nervous
#3 - bunkmunk
#4 - frankenp
#5 - Rocksolid
#6 - fishtx
#7 - Fletz
#8 - Byo
#9 - sbassface
#10 - Bass Mule
#11 - rodl2005
#12 - debo 006
#13 - doghousebob
#14 – 3rdBass
#14.5 - tjh
#15 - SIFJiggy
#16 - Turxile
#17 - Pigbobman
#18 - genmed42
#19 - ebannist
#20 - jimiwhite
#21 - khutch
#22 - bigntasty

Thanks, nervous!

[fishtx]

Welcome to the Club Nasty!

[ebannist]

Welcome!!

[chuck norriss]

As I mentioned before, RH inspired p/j bass: