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Boner Bass Club

Congratulations! I have a 92 Precision Plus (bought new) and a 93 Jazz Plus. Never had an issue with the necks or truss rods. The P is in fact ridiculously stable. In nearly 30 years I've only had to make truss adjustments a couple of times.
Thanks guys. How do the micro tuner things work? I am actually missing one. I don't care and probably wouldn't use them anyway but can you just tune the bass normally with the tuning keys?
 
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Thanks guys. How do the micro tuner things work? I am actually missing one. I don't care and probably wouldn't use them anyway but can you just tune the bass normally with the tuning keys?
You can indeed tune accurately without the fine tuners. I actually removed mine as it's my main gigging bass and I didn't like the way my right hand occasionally rubbed against it. I believe the way they work is by applying or releasing small amounts of pressure on the string, thus 'micro-tuning' the string. The machine heads on these basses are quite high quality and mine have never let me down on a gigging situation. I'm not sure how others will feel about this but that's my experience.
 
You can indeed tune accurately without the fine tuners. I actually removed mine as it's my main gigging bass and I didn't like the way my right hand occasionally rubbed against it. I believe the way they work is by applying or releasing small amounts of pressure on the string, thus 'micro-tuning' the string. The machine heads on these basses are quite high quality and mine have never let me down on a gigging situation. I'm not sure how others will feel about this but that's my experience.
Maybe if if was a Floyd Rose for bass, the fine tuners would be a good idea :D
 
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You can indeed tune accurately without the fine tuners. I actually removed mine as it's my main gigging bass and I didn't like the way my right hand occasionally rubbed against it. I believe the way they work is by applying or releasing small amounts of pressure on the string, thus 'micro-tuning' the string. The machine heads on these basses are quite high quality and mine have never let me down on a gigging situation. I'm not sure how others will feel about this but that's my experience.

A lot of times they are missing on that bridge, probably for the same reason you removed them. They are like pu/bridge covers on vintage Fenders - more times than not they were removed for the same reason and go missing over the years.
 
A lot of times they are missing on that bridge, probably for the same reason you removed them. They are like pu/bridge covers on vintage Fenders - more times than not they were removed for the same reason and go missing over the years.
Exactly the reason I've never taken mine off. The micro tuners really do work nicely and are a neat feature, but the headstock tuners work just as well. So I pretty much just use the headstock tuners. I've thought about removing the micros but every time a see a plus bass for sale without them I'm reminded why I just leave them in place.
 
Exactly the reason I've never taken mine off. The micro tuners really do work nicely and are a neat feature, but the headstock tuners work just as well. So I pretty much just use the headstock tuners. I've thought about removing the micros but every time a see a plus bass for sale without them I'm reminded why I just leave them in place.
Agreed. Though I removed mine I would want to see them on any future Plus purchases. I keep mine tucked away in a little baggy in my parts drawer.
 
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Do any of you guys know if a standard Jazz or Pbass neck will fit into a Precision Plus neck pocket? I know the plus has 22 frets (not important to me) but would it shorten the scale even if a standard did fit in the P Plus neck pocket?
I'm not sure if a standard neck will fit in a Plus pocket. Good question, I'm interested to know as well. I believe they are the same scale length.
Keep in mind the precision/jazz hybrid profile on the P Plus is one of the reasons most of us enjoy these basses.
 
Maybe if if was a Floyd Rose for bass, the fine tuners would be a good idea :D
Fender did a great job when they designed the Plus. A lot of thought went into these basses and however functional as the micro tuners are, IMO I think Fender was a wee bit guilty of over-engineering on that aspect. On the other hand the micro tuners certainly don't detract from the instrument.
 
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I'm not sure if a standard neck will fit in a Plus pocket. Good question, I'm interested to know as well. I believe they are the same scale length.
Keep in mind the precision/jazz hybrid profile on the P Plus is one of the reasons most of us enjoy these basses.

Understand but it would be good to know if the neck was a total w/o you could at least save the guitar. As for scale length not sure because maybe on the plus its a smaller body with a longer neck, as scale length measured from bridge to nut
 
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Fender did a great job when they designed the Plus. A lot of thought went into these basses and however functional as the micro tuners are, IMO I think Fender was a wee bit guilty of over-engineering on that aspect. On the other hand the micro tuners certainly don't detract from the instrument.
I always thought the micro tuners were not worth the trouble, left them in the bass for years (never used them for tuning) until I lost one. Recovered it at the bottom of the gig bag hiding under some foam and they went into a baggie since then. Original replacements are impossible to find and when people sell the bridges the tuners are often missing. You can get some aftermarket replacements with the same thread size and rounded tip (that contacts the strings to adjust tuning). They aren't a perfect replacement but get the job done if you insist on micro tuning.
 
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Do any of you guys know if a standard Jazz or Pbass neck will fit into a Precision Plus neck pocket? I know the plus has 22 frets (not important to me) but would it shorten the scale even if a standard did fit in the P Plus neck pocket?

Yes, it may fit the pocket but not the scale. The 'long horn' 22 fret bass necks are full length with no ramp as on later '90s models. That is why the bodies were redesigned. I posted this early in this thread - it shows a standard J outline (black), an early '90s Jazz+ (blue) and an early '90s American Standard J 'longhorn' (red). It doesn't show the bridge placement or 12th fret position but does show how different each is from the top of the neck pocket.

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Anyone here used Flat wounds on their boner? I am in Thailand and only have La Bellas available to me. I know they have a low tension pack but they are out of stock indefinitely so used the 105's standard flats. Man I know they are high tension but my boner neck didn't like them at all, even with one full turn to a turn and a half turns of the truss rod the neck still had too much relief, for me anyway Even the machine heads were groaning and creaking under the strain and they are pretty smooth units. Took the strings off again and was at least 1/8 to 1/4" back bow without tension so the truss rod is doing its job. I put the round wound 105's back on and all is good again. I mean I could get it to a comfortable enough action to play with the flats and it probably would have been ok but man I wouldn't sleep at night knowing the neck was under that amount of stress.

It is my feeling these boner necks are a lot finer than the average bass and longer to boot so maybe they just don't have the mass to cope with these high tension strings. I don't know technically how much extra tension they have but felt like at least 50%. My particular neck is wide, particularly at the bridge end, but very shallow, like as shallow in depth as an electric guitar. I thought my Jazz bass profile was shallow but this is even more so. It is beautiful to play for sure, love the feel of the neck but like I said I don't think they have the strength of a normal precision neck. I will just wait until the shop here gets new stock of the low tension La Bellas.
Anyone else had the same experience or thoughts?
 
Anyone here used Flat wounds on their boner? I am in Thailand and only have La Bellas available to me. I know they have a low tension pack but they are out of stock indefinitely so used the 105's standard flats. Man I know they are high tension but my boner neck didn't like them at all, even with one full turn to a turn and a half turns of the truss rod the neck still had too much relief, for me anyway Even the machine heads were groaning and creaking under the strain and they are pretty smooth units. Took the strings off again and was at least 1/8 to 1/4" back bow without tension so the truss rod is doing its job. I put the round wound 105's back on and all is good again. I mean I could get it to a comfortable enough action to play with the flats and it probably would have been ok but man I wouldn't sleep at night knowing the neck was under that amount of stress.

It is my feeling these boner necks are a lot finer than the average bass and longer to boot so maybe they just don't have the mass to cope with these high tension strings. I don't know technically how much extra tension they have but felt like at least 50%. My particular neck is wide, particularly at the bridge end, but very shallow, like as shallow in depth as an electric guitar. I thought my Jazz bass profile was shallow but this is even more so. It is beautiful to play for sure, love the feel of the neck but like I said I don't think they have the strength of a normal precision neck. I will just wait until the shop here gets new stock of the low tension La Bellas.
Anyone else had the same experience or thoughts?
Nah, it'll be fine.
 
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Anyone here used Flat wounds on their boner? I am in Thailand and only have La Bellas available to me. I know they have a low tension pack but they are out of stock indefinitely so used the 105's standard flats. Man I know they are high tension but my boner neck didn't like them at all, even with one full turn to a turn and a half turns of the truss rod the neck still had too much relief, for me anyway Even the machine heads were groaning and creaking under the strain and they are pretty smooth units. Took the strings off again and was at least 1/8 to 1/4" back bow without tension so the truss rod is doing its job. I put the round wound 105's back on and all is good again. I mean I could get it to a comfortable enough action to play with the flats and it probably would have been ok but man I wouldn't sleep at night knowing the neck was under that amount of stress.

It is my feeling these boner necks are a lot finer than the average bass and longer to boot so maybe they just don't have the mass to cope with these high tension strings. I don't know technically how much extra tension they have but felt like at least 50%. My particular neck is wide, particularly at the bridge end, but very shallow, like as shallow in depth as an electric guitar. I thought my Jazz bass profile was shallow but this is even more so. It is beautiful to play for sure, love the feel of the neck but like I said I don't think they have the strength of a normal precision neck. I will just wait until the shop here gets new stock of the low tension La Bellas.
Anyone else had the same experience or thoughts?
Have used chrome flats on mine for Blues with no problems.
 
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They have really settled in nicely
A bit of Diamond BCP1 to the Sadowsky PreAmp
Very pleased indeed
This Bass has a new lease of life

As it should - the raw materials add up to an exceptional instrument. I love my '92-'93 AS-J. (heavily modded)

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