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Anyone have an Urge?

tplyons

tplyons

Apr 6, 2003
18,766
93
39
Madison, NJ
#1
Looking for anyone who's got a Fender Stu Hamm Urge or Urge II. I met Stu a while back and he let me check out his for a quick sec, but I wanted to know who else has one, because I've never seen another in use by any other bassists.

Let's see em.
 
#4
Seems like it would be kinda hard to slap on with those pickups. I'm not a fan of the look either, but the tone is pretty much as versatile as you can get. The only thing better is if they had a MM pickup in the bridge position. Pretty much every single combination of pickups ever!

Not a fan of short scale basses, but I do enjoy Stu's tone.

-Eric.
 
#6
I also have an UrgeI- had it since '92, its a low number serial number as well.
Its one of the better fenders I've played. Theres alot to like in the bass, but it has some limitations. This is definately a players bass; downsized body, 32" scale, ultra fast neck, its setup as a lead bass type instrument- as you'd expect stu to play.
I found the pickups and preamp to be a compromise for this bass. The bass doesn't cop a good J tone, it does P well, and all three is a fat-middy tone. IMO you hear more electronics than woods, I've learned to play w/in its limits and its a totally fun bass to play.
But for booty, bottom, and oomph I''ll take my Dingwall's any day. Infact based on my Urge, I asked Mr Dingwall to create the SuperJ basses, inpart based on the fact that i liked a tons of good stuff on the urge basses, but was somewhat disapointed w/ the electronics portion

if you want to read my review of it feel free
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=171676&highlight=fender+urge
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=155448&highlight=fender+urge
 
#7
:cool: I used to have an Urge-II, sunburst finish. It was probably the absolute best fit and finish Fender I've ever seen, or owned. It had a boat load of tonal versatility.

But, I simply never connected with it. Not the fault of the bass by any means. Simply, no chemistry. Have you ever known that beautiful lady that you knew had to be the greatest woman God ever created. Then you finally got that date with her, and, it was a total bust. Then you know what happened with the Urge.

The guy that bought it after I traded it in on a set of drums for my Son, fell in love with it and his love affair is still blooming. I was really dissappointed that I never connected with that bass. It sure was a beauty.
 
#8
I've owned my Urge II for about three months now, and I play it almost every day. I had stopped playing some 22 years ago, sold all my stuff (a 1976 Ric 4001... stupid!), but I recently decided to get back into the mix. I have to admit I was a bit rusty once I started playing again; however, it's all coming back now... in droves... and the Urge II just seems to make it all that much easier.

I'm slapping and popping this bass as if I was the one that developed the style, and I can't help wondering if the bass itself just makes the whole thing that much easier. Back in the 70's and early 80's I didn't play this style very much, but now I'm doing stuff on this axe I never attempted on my Ric.

I can see why this instrument was built with Stu's input. This guitar is VERY fast. The two Jazz pick-ups and the single Precision pick-up give this bass a huge variety of tonal capability. All pick-ups are extremely quiet.

I bought the black one with the brown shell pick-guard. I think if it had gold-tone tuning keys, and the bridge was gold-tone, too, then this bass would be over the top as far as looks go. Did I say I loved this bass? I'm keeping it, and I've also got my eyes on Fender's Marcus Miller 5-string, but that's another story...
 
#9
I've actually been playing one of the (I guess) Mexican Urges for six or seven years now. 32" scale, replaced the pickups with EMG's when I found out I could sing through them. I actually connected pretty hard with it at first, and I've loved it most of the time I've played it. I kinda grew out of it recently because it has an obviously Mexican tone, but my brother (who's a guitar player who doubles on bass for wedding bands) loves it because of the medium scale. It still plays great, though.I bet if I ran into one of the "premium" models and the newer 34" scale ones, I'd like it. The good ones are really nice.
 
#11
I had an Urge II I owned for a while. While you may think it is hard to slap, it isn't and this thing (for some odd reason, I can't imagine WHY :)) is a slap monster. Great tone for that. The main reason I sold it is I fell in love with warwicks (which have since been replaced by love for Roscoe) and that on this paticular one, I didn't like the feel of the neck. Too much poly on it. Lots of tonal options though. Flip the switch, you have a J-ish. Flip it back you get a P-ish. leave in the middle you get both! I ended up selilng because it was collecting dust and I thought another person would give it the attention it needed.

If you are wondering how an urge (II) you pickup will differ from what Stu will play there are basically two things: he has almost no finish on the neck (just enough to keep the wood safe) and he has the buzz feiten tuning system installed. The rest is the same.
 
#12
I have an Urge and yes, the color as a big factor in buying it since it was the same color featured on his 2nd bass vid. I plan on ordering an Urge II later this year. With the amount of tonal possibilities, I'm really surprised the Urge and Urge II haven't taken off. To me, it's a 2 fer one Fender.

urge02.jpg


I know a lot of people have trouble slapping with this particular bass, but Stu seems pretty good with this particular config.
 
#15
threshar said:
hey, how is the coating on the neck on the urge 1's?

man. it would be crazy switching between an urge 1 and my roscoe (32" vs 35" neck)
Click to expand...

It's not a thick gloss finish, but not quiet a satin finish. It doesn't seem to get sticky.

As for switching between scales, I switch between 35" scale Rob Allens, the 32" scale Urge, and a 30" scale Rob Allen Mouse 30. Really, it's not a big deal when changing between fretted basses. Switching scales lengths on the fretless becomes a bit of a challenge, which simply requires dedicating time on those scale lengths.
 
#18
lamarjones said:
you guys think if the electroincs were better, and maybe passive, this bass would do the job real well of hitting the p sounds and 'near' j sounds? I love my p-j, but actually sometimes the p is TOO much for me. mid presence wise.
Click to expand...

There is a passive setting on the Urge bass, though not the Urge II. Regardless, I don't think the electronics hinder the P pickup, but I wouldn't think changing the pickups would get the exact same precision tone as you'd expect from a vintage Fender.

The neck is a shorter scale, different neck thickness, different fingerboard, significantly smaller body, and the P pickup is placed in a different area on the Urge, even when adjusted for scale. Regardless, it's a nice sound, but not the same exact tone you'd get from a vintage Fender. I'm very happy with mine.
 
#20
spade2you said:
urge02.jpg
Click to expand...

Such a thing of beauty! :cool:

I nearly picked one up once in the light blue colour. It was gorgeous, and being a massive Hamm fan, it seemed like a good idea, but I decided not to in the end!

You might all be interested to know that Fender are planning to release an Anniversary edition of the Urge II. I'm not sure what'll be special about it, in the video I saw where Stu mentioned it he didn't say much, but oh, it's coming....
 

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