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Anyone know how many basses were made like this?

#21
Leftoverchinese said:
Ok, I called and got them to e-mail me the build sheet for the bass. I hope this clears up any confusion.



edit: it must have sat in that shop for a little while. The date I bought it was 12/13/1998 according to my receipt. It was a Christmas present to myself.
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according to that list you have posted what you have is a bass assembled from 1997 parts! I posted that the body looked like a cap as the borders give it away. also the bass having white dots instead of abalone inlays with an N7 serial number means the neck and body was from a 97 stock. The bass states it's an alder with an ash veneer (cap), mine was an ash body. 1998 did away with capped bodies, started using abalone inlays as well as different Fender logo. I believe the headstock also got smaller as some complained about neckdive.
 
#22
Leftoverchinese said:
I don't know that Crimson Transparent is the same as Crimson Burst. The other gent who was selling a 5 string that I posted a link to was a 96, so it wouldn't make sense that it was a color introduced in 1998. Also, being a 'burst' it would make sense that it gets darker towards the edge.
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They are not the same, The burst was used to hide the fact Fender was capping bodies back then. They would have the solid color border around the edges of the bass so you would not see how the grain did not line up due to the cap. They did this on their top of the line basses too! When they changed to the transparent paint there was no border thus nothing to hide! They used premium ash and the grain came through the paint nicely!
 
#23
geeza said:
Nice! Mine was an impulse buy. I was in the shop buying a new amp (my old one had just died). When the salesmen asked me what bass I wanted to use, it was the only one nearby with a maple FB, so I said "that one." I really liked it when I played it... it was used and relatively inexpensive. I said "if I buy the amp (Ampeg SVTIII-Pro), what kinda deal can you make on this bass?" He made me an offer I couldn't pass by (around $500). Now it's my main bass, and it converted me from a confirmed P-bass player.
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I remember the guy that sold me the bass, after I pulled out the cash, which at the time I thought was a lot to spend, told me, "you're getting one hell of a deal, kid. "And that is one nice bass!" I paid $700 for the bass, 742 out the door. Looking back, I can truly understand how good of a deal I got.

pyrohr said:
according to that list you have posted what you have is a bass assembled from 1997 parts! I posted that the body looked like a cap as the borders give it away. also the bass having white dots instead of abalone inlays with an N7 serial number means the neck and body was from a 97 stock. The bass states it's an alder with an ash veneer (cap), mine was an ash body. 1998 did away with capped bodies, started using abalone inlays as well as different Fender logo. I believe the headstock also got smaller as some complained about neckdive.
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So, is there something undesirable about a 1998 built with 97 parts? I suppose you could say I am essentially buying a 1997 built in 98. It seems to play well to me. I do wish it had the abalone dots, as I think they look amazing. Is alder an inferior wood to ash in some way?

I assume by neck dive, you mean that the head stock was so large that it weighed the bass down and so the head would then dive down. Am I correct on that assumption? I honestly can't recall that being a problem for me.
 
#24
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

According to this, it seems that the alder and the ash are two different animals. It seems that the rosewood fingerboard doesn't do well with an ash body. They describe the sound from alder being "rich and full, strong in the lower mid range" and they describe the ash as being bright and sweet and always wanting to vibrate. None of that sounds desirable in a bass to me. So I suppose the inferior alder seems more suited to me. Sounds like the alder would have a more mellow blues sound to it.
 
#25
Leftoverchinese said:
So, is there something undesirable about a 1998 built with 97 parts? I suppose you could say I am essentially buying a 1997 built in 98. It seems to play well to me. I do wish it had the abalone dots, as I think they look amazing. Is alder an inferior wood to ash in some way?

I assume by neck dive, you mean that the head stock was so large that it weighed the bass down and so the head would then dive down. Am I correct on that assumption? I honestly can't recall that being a problem for me.
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There is nothing undesirable about your bass! just informing you on what you have. Your bass is made of alder with an ash cap and will sound a tad different from an all ash bass. The bass is basically a 1997 bass, If you buy a 2009 car in 2010 it's still a 2009! The bass is of the year of the parts. I bought a Custom Shop jazz in 2007 brand new that was made in 1997! Fender just used up the stock they had and your bass is proof, thats why the N7 serial number. You are sorta correct about the neck dive thing, a good strap will stop that anyway!
 
#26
pyrohr said:
There is nothing undesirable about your bass! just informing you on what you have. Your bass is made of alder with an ash cap and will sound a tad different from an all ash bass. The bass is basically a 1997 bass, If you buy a 2009 car in 2010 it's still a 2009! The bass is of the year of the parts. I bought a Custom Shop jazz in 2007 brand new that was made in 1997! Fender just used up the stock they had and your bass is proof, thats why the N7 serial number. You are sorta correct about the neck dive thing, a good strap will stop that anyway!
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So I'm curious then, since you own both, I assume. What is the sound difference between an alder body and an ash body? Am I correct in assuming that the ash has a brighter sound?
 
#27
Leftoverchinese said:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

According to this, it seems that the alder and the ash are two different animals. It seems that the rosewood fingerboard doesn't do well with an ash body. They describe the sound from alder being "rich and full, strong in the lower mid range" and they describe the ash as being bright and sweet and always wanting to vibrate. None of that sounds desirable in a bass to me. So I suppose the inferior alder seems more suited to me. Sounds like the alder would have a more mellow blues sound to it.
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Alder is NOT INFERIOR! I own alder basses just because they are warmer! Ash basses are good for the thump and pop stuff which I do a lot of, and alder while also very good for that technique sounds "mellower". As far as ash not sounding good with rosewood thats B.S.! My CS jazz bass is just that, rosewood and ash! I also own basses that are maple/ash, alder/rosewood, koa mahogany/rosewood, alder/maple and all these different combinations sound different. None sounds better just different! Different tools for different jobs!!!
 
#29
pyrohr said:
Alder is NOT INFERIOR! I own alder basses just because they are warmer! Ash basses are good for the thump and pop stuff which I do a lot of, and alder while also very good for that technique sounds "mellower". As far as ash not sounding good with rosewood thats B.S.! My CS jazz bass is just that, rosewood and ash! I also own basses that are maple/ash, alder/rosewood, koa mahogany/rosewood, alder/maple and all these different combinations sound different. None sounds better just different! Different tools for different jobs!!!
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LOL, calm it down a bit, man. No one is upset here. Thanks for the explanation. So alder does produce a warmer sound. That is exactly what I was looking for, so it worked out well for me. What do they make the Mexican bases out of? I remember it sounding different than the one I purchased and I didn't care for it. I'm curious if you had any insight as to what the difference would have been. I do remember the neck was thicker.
 
#30
Leftoverchinese said:
So I'm curious then, since you own both, I assume. What is the sound difference between an alder body and an ash body? Am I correct in assuming that the ash has a brighter sound?
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Yes the ash has a brighter sound. The ash also looks a lot better with a transparent finish. This is what premium ash looks like.
DSC03798.jpg


DSC03799.jpg
 
#31
Leftoverchinese said:
LOL, calm it down a bit, man. No one is upset here. Thanks for the explanation. So alder does produce a warmer sound. That is exactly what I was looking for, so it worked out well for me. What do they make the Mexican bases out of? I remember it sounding different than the one I purchased and I didn't care for it. I'm curious if you had any insight as to what the difference would have been. I do remember the neck was thicker.
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I believe as of 2002 all MIM basses are made of alder. Before that they were poplar.
 
#32
That's a great looking bass, pyrohr.

Something else you may know. I think I will restring it, what would you recommend for strings? If memory serves, I replaced the factory strings with Elixer strings since I thought the coating felt a bit softer on my fingers being I don't use a pick. I haven't bought strings in years since I haven't played it much in years. I see Ernie Ball has coated ones now. Any suggestions? I'm certain there are more opinions on strings than anything, but maybe you can shed some light on it for me.
 
#33
pyrohr said:
I believe as of 2002 all MIM basses are made of alder. Before that they were poplar.
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I guess that would explain the difference in tone a bit. What are the sound characteristics of poplar? Remember, when I was choosing the guitar, I had just finished 6+ years of playing a stand up bass, so I was looking for something as mellow as possible. I almost bought fretless because I disliked the noise the frets made from time to time.
 
#34
Leftoverchinese said:
That's a great looking bass, pyrohr.

Something else you may know. I think I will restring it, what would you recommend for strings? If memory serves, I replaced the factory strings with Elixer strings since I thought the coating felt a bit softer on my fingers being I don't use a pick. I haven't bought strings in years since I haven't played it much in years. I see Ernie Ball has coated ones now. Any suggestions? I'm certain there are more opinions on strings than anything, but maybe you can shed some light on it for me.
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My favorite strings for that bass if you can find them are fender 82 or 8350's but I'm a funk bassist so that may not work for you. FYI those strings I named are OEM strings for that bass.
 
#35
Leftoverchinese said:
I guess that would explain the difference in tone a bit. What are the sound characteristics of poplar? Remember, when I was choosing the guitar, I had just finished 6+ years of playing a stand up bass, so I was looking for something as mellow as possible. I almost bought fretless because I disliked the noise the frets made from time to time.
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Not much of a difference really as some Music Man basses are also made of poplar.
 

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