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Fender Aerodyne Club!

#2,121
I own a Bello - nice hybrid bass. Jazz body, standard contoured alder body (no Aerodyne curved top), huge P width neck. BA bridge and Schaller Lite tuners.
The pickups in my opinion are a bad match. Never much been a fan of 1\4 Pounders, and the P overpowers the J. I swapped the pickups out and now have a nice PJ bass.
It's quite a different bass than the Aerodyne, it merely shares some aesthetics.
 
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#2,123
jcburn said:
I own a Bello - nice hybrid bass. Jazz body, standard contoured alder body (no Aerodyne curved top), huge P width neck. BA bridge and Schaller Lite tuners.
The pickups in my opinion are a bad match. Never much been a fan of 1\4 Pounders, and the P overpowers the J. I swapped the pickups out and now have a nice PJ bass.
It's quite a different bass than the Aerodyne, it merely shares some aesthetics.
Click to expand...
Ha! Simultaneous posting!! :roflmao: Well, that answered my question…like, super-quick!
 
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#2,124
Malak the Mad said:
If I remember right, the Bello Jazz has a Precision-spec'd neck, yes?
Click to expand...

Yup, it’s 1 & 5/8” at the nut a one of the deepest necks front to back I’ve ever played. Nice, big pearl inlays and string-through body. Mine is a very, very heavy bass. I’ll give a plus-one to the badly matched pickups comment. That bass was definitely meant to have one sound, and it nails the pissed off P bass sound, but doesn’t really do anything else. The SPB-3 when it’s in phase with the stacked coil scoops it out even more than normal... Which sounds great for some things, but it’s probably awful for playing the bass stand alone.
 
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#2,125
Catbuster said:
Yup, it’s 1 & 5/8” at the nut a one of the deepest necks front to back I’ve ever played. Nice, big pearl inlays and string-through body. Mine is a very, very heavy bass. I’ll give a plus-one to the badly matched pickups comment. That bass was definitely meant to have one sound, and it nails the pissed off P bass sound, but doesn’t really do anything else. The SPB-3 when it’s in phase with the stacked coil scoops it out even more than normal... Which sounds great for some things, but it’s probably awful for playing the bass stand alone.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%. Stock pickups are all boom and mid scoop.
Sorry for the slight derail! But to sum up.... If it is a Fender Bello, then an Aerodyne J it ain't.
 
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#2,126
Catbuster said:
The SPB-3 when it’s in phase with the stacked coil scoops it out even more than normal... Which sounds great for some things, but it’s probably awful for playing the bass stand alone.
Click to expand...
jcburn said:
I agree 100%. Stock pickups are all boom and mid scoop.
Click to expand...
I can get behind that. Based upon a lot of rave reviews here on TalkBass, I tried pairing a Quarter Pounder P-pup with a Fender Super 55 Jazz pickup. Despite the Super 55's being very beefy, the Pounder completely drowned out the bridge pickup. Suffice it to say, that pairing did not last long. :rollno:

u1y1bK0.jpg
 
#2,130
jmon said:
What kind of bass is that? Love that trans blue finish!
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It was manufactured by Mighty Mite under license from Fender. Sadly, either they let their license expire or Fender decided not to renew it. Whatever the reason, Mighty Mite no longer produces Fender-style bass bodies. The funny thing is, they stopped making them around the same time Fender started to sell their own unloaded bodies. Hmmm… :eyebrow:

And, to keep things relevant to this thread, around the same time I swapped out the pickups, I also installed an Aerodyne neck. :thumbsup: The "inlays" are actually removable vinyl decals.

rYK1guO.jpg

B2Nq1bH.jpg
 
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#2,131
Malak the Mad said:
It was manufactured by Mighty Mite under license from Fender. Sadly, either they let their license expire or Fender decided not to renew it. Whatever the reason, Mighty Mite no longer produces Fender-style bass bodies. The funny thing is, they stopped making them around the same time Fender started to sell their own unloaded bodies. Hmmm… :eyebrow:



And, to keep things relevant to this thread, around the same time I swapped out the pickups, I also installed an Aerodyne neck. :thumbsup: The "inlays" are actually removable vinyl decals.

View attachment 3639416
View attachment 3639417
Click to expand...

Thanks! Very cool. I had a Jazz Bass Special Edition that had a very similar finish. Looks sharp with Dyne neck on it.
 
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#2,135
bunky1998 said:
Jazz knobs won’t retrofit the Aerodyne pots. I also prefer the Jazz knobs & found out when I went to do the swap.
Click to expand...

Won’t fit or aren’t intended for split-shaft pots? I put standard jazz knobs on my non-export without issue, just carefully aligned the set screw with the split of the shaft. Don’t over tighten and you should be good.

Reference post: Fender Aerodyne Club!
 
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#2,137
bunky1998 said:
The shafts on my 2017 Aerodyne pots are solid...wish they were knurled & split so the traditional Jazz knobs would’ve easily fit. (that rhyme was unintentional)
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Interesting, guess there's some variation in parts from 2003 to 2017, unless my pots were swapped at some point (I bought mine used about two years ago).

Are solid shaft pots on recent-year Japanese basses a different width than USA? Would these not fit? Invalid Link Removed
 
#2,138
Hate to revisit this question but...

I’m finally ready to make mods to my 2017 Non-Export Aerodyne. And I’ve got some questions, hoping you good folks can help.

For this model, bridge would work best?
  • Bada$$ II
  • Gotoh 201B-4
  • Hipshot’s “custom made” bridge for the Aerodyne?
Figure someone else has been in my position and would have a good idea what to do here. Thanks!
 
#2,139
bunky1998 said:
Hate to revisit this question but...

I’m finally ready to make mods to my 2017 Non-Export Aerodyne. And I’ve got some questions, hoping you good folks can help.

For this model, bridge would work best?
  • Bada$$ II
  • Gotoh 201B-4
  • Hipshot’s “custom made” bridge for the Aerodyne?
Figure someone else has been in my position and would have a good idea what to do here. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have no experience with those bridges! I put a fender style bent plate bridge on my Aero P when I blacked it out, and it fit in the gap just fine for me. Good luck with the search!
 

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