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Cheap project idea for fun - Your thoughts

My main thing is size. Since I play mostly in my little Jeep Renegade on my lunch break, I need something small enough to not have to roll my window down in the heat or cold of Oklahoma. I tried using the purple electric bass in my PFP but it was too long, that's how I know about the window thing :D

I get ya. I've got a 3 year old and a 20 month old.

I'm building a bass to take with me wherever, since I can't justify spending too much money.

If you want to encourage your kids to make music, try the "Cardboard Musical Instrument" book.
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Sean Hurley plays rounds 90% of the time

Now go look at some of the most recent videos he has posted or is in... A lot of those videos have him playing one of his 55-XX model Laklands... Sean is going to play what he feels is needed for the session. But you're not him. You don't have his fingers, his technique, his studio dates, his producers, etc. Don't get too hung up on EXACTLY what he plays or doesn't play.
Sean is a consumate session player, and knows who pays him, and recommends him for more jobs. His prime goal is to be:
1) easy to work with, and
2) make the paying customer happy, and
3) get lots of referrals. That does not happen with his own opinions as his own god.
In almost all the interviews I have seen he always says he takes his basses (P - flats and rounds, others) and ASKS the producer/music director what they want. Or he plays them all and lets them decide. Sean wants the producer to pick if they will. If they do not, he goes with what he thinks serves the song best. Not every session is John Mayer saying he wants a P with flats. And not every Mayer song has a P with flats on it, either in session or on tour.
As it turns out lately, most pick his P with nickle rounds, about 80-90% of the time. Thier call, not his.
Reading many of the comments on talkbass, this seems to be a strange concept to most chatters.
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Lightweight tuners for Stingray?

According to Google's Gemini, the Stingray Special tuners will save more weight than the Hipshot USA Ultralights (Short Key - Mini Clover - 1/2").
The EBMMs will save a total of 10.7 oz (or 305g) on a set of 5 and
Hipshots will save 8.3 oz (235g) over the original stock Schaller BMs.

Both require drilling new holes and filling the old ones, although the Hipshots only require 1 new hole whereas the EBMM's require 2.

I too, just picked up a particularly heavy 1992 Stingray 5 and am investigating the options.
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Winzz EBS714

Just so you all know I went ahead and pulled the trigger and bought the bass. I cannot find a single review from anyone anywhere on the internet that has this bass. I will take lots of pictures and do some recordings and post them on here so people can have an informed opinion.
I'd like to hear your opinions. It reminds me of a Padella neck-through I owned many years ago. How does it sound? How does it feel and play?

The Definitive 2014 Modern Player Jazz Bass V Neck Pickup Swap for BartoliniD752J-B

tl;dr - Swapped the neck pickup for a Bart D752J-B. Works as specified with Fender’s 4-way pickup switching. Detailed documentation on the process below, including:

Documenting the baseline wiring.
Bart pickup wiring.
Validated it works to Fender’s documented settings.
Record measurements.
Noted fitment issues.

I purchased this Modern Player Jazz Bass V new in 2014 and haven’t played it much because of its “dark” tone. And, despite having a significant amount of switching flexibility, the tone went from bass-heavy to “none more bass” heavy. However, I do love the neck. Gloss finish aside, it's every bit as nice as my AM Pro II Jazz Bass V neck.

So this instrument has been sitting unused all this time while I mulled over selling it or swapping out pickups. Feeling empowered after my recent J Bass build, I decided on swapping out a pickup or two and came across Bartolini’s 5-String 2J D7 Double J-Bass – D752J, which Bart states, “These are made to fit 2012-2014 Modern Player basses” (more on that later).

I decided to swap the OG neck pickup for D752J-B and not swap the bridge PU, at least at this time, to reduce things going horribly wrong, and I’m mostly a J-neck PU guy with a little bridge added to taste. Plus, not knowing how the resulting swap would sound, I didn’t want to add more $ to the project.

Back to the fitment. The Bartolini D752J-B is slightly longer than the OEM Fender pickup on my 2014. It wasn’t a physical drop-in replacement. Minor Dremel work was required. I had to lengthen the pickguard opening by approximately 3 mm at each end and enlarge the 4 cutouts for the pickup wings to get things to align. In addition, I had to remove approximately 3 mm from the treble-side wall of the pickup cavity.

Fitment may vary between instruments due to production tolerances, but I have 2 pickguards for this bass, and it was the same fitment issue with both. Having said that, the Bartolini D752J can replace the OEM neck pickup while preserving all four factory rotary switch functions.

Below is the before-and-after wiring. A Fender-to-Bart wiring cross-reference guide. And finally, all 12 of the 4-way switch position ohm readings at the output jack.

How does it sound? I haven’t had that much playing time with it yet, but overall, I’m happy with the result. Position 4 sounds like a beefy J. The Bart single coil carries some low-end but with more high end clarirty then the OEM neck PU could muster. Maybe its a little deeper, as the front coil is slightly closer to the neck than typical. Position 3 could become my favorite. 2 is OK. Position 1, both humbuckers, is way low-end heavy. Not for me.

I hope this helps the community at some level.

MP J bass original wiring.png

MP J Bart wiring.png

MP J wiring cross reference guide.png
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TC Electronic RS212 Cab

Hear that?

No, that's not thunder.
That's hooves.

Elderly, angry hooves.

Elderly, angry hooves coming to trample all over that AI effort.

That High Pass from your AI is nowhere near the 2.5kHz 18dB/octave recommended by Eminence - it's only 6dB/oct at ~1200Hz (at best, i.e. into a straight 8Ohm load - it may be worse into the actual variable impedance of the real driver).
To put that in context, it means that that filter could allow as much as 30dB more signal through to the driver at ~600Hz than the recommended type (before accounting for the variable attenuator, admittedly). That's about one thousand times more power than it should get, at a frequency around 2 octaves below where it should be crossed over, in case that helps.

You might also ask your AI exactly why it has shown the lower 12" completely shorted out in the "Complete Schematic" diagram?
Or why it felt the need to show 2 out of the 3 drivers with 3 terminals in the "Cabinet Wiring Diagram"?
Or why it thinks the HF is a 16Ohm unit, when your own photo clearly shows the positive terminal marked with an "8"?
Or why it has changed the 0.22mH inductor visible in Lug's very helpful photo to 0.72mH?

Sorry to be so blunt, but when I, as a rank amateur, can spot that many errors, I can see why actual pros like AgedHorse get so frustrated.

In short, don't trust the AI, but rather, ask Mr Lug very nicely if he might manage a clearer photo of the XO board so we can trace out the actual circuit. Hopefully, in clear light and photographed square-on, we should be able to see enough of the traces through the board without needing to detach it from the input panel.
Totally agree! Every time AI makes an Edit its different. Hence why ideally I'd like to see the underside of the PCB. Or take a picture square over the top, and perhaps shine a bright torch to the underside
:)

Cutlass vs P, why are they different?

The Cutlass shares some of the characteristics of the Stingray. Acoustically, it's a bright, snappy, but also resonant instrument. Plugged in, lots of lows and highs on tap. It doesn't have quite as much mids as a traditional P bass, but they're not in short supply either. I've owned and gigged a Cutlass as my only Bass from 2016-2026. Rock solid, no issues, wonderful instrument the whole time.

I recently picked up a Lakland USA Classic 44-64 which sounds darker (high output Lakland pickup), and smoother. The Lakland has an incredible voice with LaBella DTFs. D'Addario Round wounds went back on the Cutlass, and I didn't realize how much I missed what the Cutlass brings to the table in this configuration. So much authority but also "cut" from this bass. Again, it sounds like the ideal blend between a Precision and a Stingray to my ears. I continue to love mine.
Now I want one!

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Don't laugh... it's my first attempt!

Dude…. AWESOME work ….for your first try especially !!!

Doubtful anyone here would laugh, we all started somewhere. And most of our “starts” were not nearly as good as yours !

Hang around, read, ask questions, and build some more ! You’ll find that there’s a core group of people here in the Luthiers Corner that are super helpful and encouraging…. And happy to share tips and tricks that in some cases took decades to learn and develop.

Again, really great job , Play it with pride !
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Fender Player II Jazz LE British Racing Green - $638 New

I’ve been wanting one of these because of the way the color looks online, but when I went to my local GC to see it in person it was almost black. Cant decide if it is worth ordering one online to see if the color shade varies at all from bass to bass.

It is a fairly dark shade of BRG. I went with a matte black anodized pickguard for some contrast.


IMG_2565.jpeg

Arthritis / short or medium scale recommendation

Birdsong basses are terrifically made and have excellent ergonomics. 31" scale feels not too short, which is nice. I also have an AC1 and prefer the slightly wider than typical Birdsong neck. If I had to do it again, I would probably get a standard soapbar pickup dimension to open up the world of pick up swaps, but the stock pickup is pretty good even if a unique dimension.

I’m so glad you’re loving your AC-1 ! That makes me super happy !


The neck and string spacing were my primary goals along with the slightly upsized body when I discussed my needs it and was going through it with Jake and Scott. I just wanted it to be comfortable for bigger guys, but also serve as an easier transition for players switching to a short scale bass for the first time - it needed to not feel “small”. I’m super proud of how it came out, and so stoked to have guys like Jake and Scott making it happen.

:)

Happy New Year! Here's to playing wrong notes (with many more to come!) Thanks Richard Bona

Victor Wooten says pretty much the same thing, and demos it. He says the attitude and groove can make "wrong" notes sound right.
He has a backing track, for the sake of describing it, say it's a Cman7 (it's been a long time since I've seen him do it). And he plays some stuff that's all using the C major scale, and it sounds good.
There are 7 notes in the C major scale, which means there are 5 notes in the chromatic scale that aren't "in" C major.
And he starts grooving using those 5 notes, and only those 5 notes, against the Cmaj7, and it sounds effin' great!
It's a very persuasive demonstration :D

And yes, Richard Bona completely blows my mind.

Florida Road Hazards - Alligators

Depending on where you are in Jax, there is plenty of wildlife.
This little guy was in my driveway.View attachment 7551212

Leaving a friend's house, at around 1100 PM, I was taking it nice and slow on my motorcycle, came around the corner and four deer were hanging out in the middle of the road.
He really does look hungry. 😆

Double Bass "This is why we can't have nice things!"

I have used most of these at one time or another. I believe the first one that was especially for bass was the FRAP in the late 60s. It was a contact pickup and preamp that was ridiculously expensive and didn't work very well. When I use the Ehrlund, which I do on occasion, it reminds me of the old FRAP with much better sound. I also recall using the Brush contact mike that I put against the top between the bridge feet. That actually wasn't too bad as I recall.

Musicman Sterling Bass Club, Part 2

Hi all,
Can You advise me what is considering to be a good price in EU for a 1996 natural/rosewood USA Sterling with non original hardcase?

Thanks
About 3 years ago I bought a excellent condition 1994 USA sterling fretless with original case for about [1900 Euro] in Australia

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