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Fender La Cabronita Precision Bass

#482
Fair enough Scotch. Not sure what you mean by "no authentic" design. TV jones created the pickup so it would strike me that one is the authentic tone. If you mean that the pickup in a bass design is a newish creation, then I am kinda with you.

If Fender thought so highly of their own design, I would think they would have included in the custom shop version. The inclusion of the Fidelitron has to be a cost consideration - as in including a $130 pickup in a $600 bass stock seems like a stretch. But for me, it seems like the natural upgrade.

As I mentioned though like you I will practice and gig with it for a bit before upgrading. When I finally do it, I will try to post some clips.
 
#483
Yeah, that was my angle!

I'd welcome clips of a TV Jones! I just thought it was going to be a 'necessary' upgrade, but it turned out that the Fidelitron kicks butt!

I'm sure it's a slight cost savings to Fender, but given the amount of TV Jones pickups they get for their Gretsch line- I imagine they get them at rock bottom wholesale prices. I would've thought tooling up to make their own would cost too much... *unless* the Fender Fidelitron is manufactured by TV Jones (which wouldn't surprise me in the least!). ?


Edit: looks like Fender actually owns TV Jones. Still doesn't mean the pickups are the same or built by the same folks, but I wonder...

A guitar site did a comparison of the guitar versions. No clips & on different guitars though. :-/ http://www.andertons.co.uk/blog/guitars/what-are-fidelitron-pickups-fender-fidelitron-vs-gretsch-filtertron
 
#484
Your points are well taken. All around. I have to agree that you would think that it would cost more to make your own than buy an established version. Unless you are going to crank out so much volume that it makes sense. And now that Fender has MIM and Squier versions up the wazoo it probably makes sense to make your own.

My only comparison is having a custom shop 2 pickup 2009 Cabronita Tele and a band mate has the MIM 2 pickup version. The biggest difference is that the MIM doesn't have the s-1 circuit that I seem to use all the time when I play it. Without it, the TV jones has more grunt and grit and seems more prone to awesome overdrive. The Fender version seems more neutral with definitely more air. Neither Tele has a tone control but I would see keeping it much higher on the Tv jones if they did. The fender seems to have maybe less character but it is maybe more versatile?
 
#487
Fender owns Gretsch, the originator of the Filtertron.

TV Jones is [Invalid or Expired Link Removed], an independent pickup builder, not unlike Seymour Duncan or Jason Lollar.

Gretsch and Fender use TV Jones' pickups in their custom shop instruments because they are perceived to be an upgrade over factory stock by the guitar buying community.
 
#489
My guitarshop have been having one Squier version hanging in the window but i havent been able to get the time to test it due to my work-times and there open hours
Yeserday i finally got free-time to be able to test it ou for atleas 20-30 min
and im in love with that thing, its look like a type of bass Dusty Hill would play (flip the headstock)

Thankfully i was short on Dough and due just bought a new room

I play in poprock band (think Blink182 type of style)
anyone got any experience how it works in that context?
 
#490
+1 I believe you.

A few years back, I bought one of those Grestch Electromatic 2202 short-scale bass. I think Gretsch messed up on that one. It was a $250 bass with one of the best sounding mini-humbucker pickup ever. The pickup was said to be "derived" from a TV Jones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5APF6YegoSU

I should have kept it.

Lowbrow said:
I'm going to take a wild guess that the pickups are identical except for the name engraving.
Click to expand...
 
#498
I played the stock strings for about a day, maybe, then tried some balanced nickel rounds, then light gauge Chromes. Tried a pressurewounds and groundwounds, then back to the Chromes. Thought about tapes, but I seem to get the best play and tonal range with the Chromes.
I'm glad I did all that string-swapping, tho, because now I know that I really do like them better.
 
#499
I am putting together a 32" scale version of the Cabronita using Warmoth's 32" scale neck and short-scale P body with a TV Jones Thunder'tron pickup.

I will need to have a custom pickguard slightly smaller than the full-size pickguard made. Would someone be willing to send me a tracing of their pickuguard that I can use as a starting point?

PM me and I'll provide my email address. Thanks!
 
#500
I've been changing the pickup in the first days I got the bass so I can't really compare side by side Thunderblade and Fideltron.
What I'm sure is that the difference is not night and day : you'll stay in the same 'sound philosophy'

But here you can hear how it sound :bassist:

(the sound of the bass in the video is straight from the U5 DI)

MIM Cabronita with TV Jones Thunderblade, Thomastick Superalloy strings and a 0.1µF paper-oil capacitor...
...and a french "dirty-jamaïcan-Rock n' Roll" band.

Greetings from Paris !
 
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