Fender P-Bass with Maple Body and Maple Neck - a good idea!?

It would be heavy

 

Rickenbacker 4001 & 4003 basses have solid maple bodies and they are not excessively heavy, although possibly a little thinner than a Fender P body. (EDIT - Ric body is def. thinner than a P body, at least my 4001 is)

Fender made several models with maple veneers. I think there was one with a solid maple body made a few years back.

Here's a couple of mine -

1996 Fender 50th Anniversary Precision with bookmatched maple front & back





2000 Fender Special Edition Jazz with Figured maple front & back

 

Very heavy.
Les Paul originally envisioned his namesake guitar to be made with a maple body. Although it had great sustain it was found to be unreasonably heavy. Gibson settled on making the majority of the body out of mahogany and capped it with a carved maple top. Proved to be fairly popular. Still a heavy plank though.

 

Squier Makes one now.... It's a "soft" maple body

http://www.squierguitars.com/basses...ified-precision-bass-maple-fingerboard-amber/

 

On a certified scale, only about 1 lb heavier than an alder bodied.
I personally think they sound a little brighter, a little more growl, but not as warm.

 

I was GASing really hard for one of those a few months ago, but they are difficult to find. I am not sure why. I am wondering if people snatch those bad boys up and hold onto 'em.

 

You are correct TC 2069 but they are discontinued...and hard to find. (so I am told)

 

That was true at least several months ago when I was looking to acquire one. I couldn't find one anywhere. Are they really discontinued?

A quick search shows none of the major online retailers have them available currently. Ebay might be an option though.

 

I was lucky enough to pick up (new) this last week...I was told that it was the last one available Nation Wide (Canada)

 

I remember seeing one on Amazon a while back.... I just used it as a reference to an all Maple Bass.

 

That sucks for me. I've been GASing so hard for one of those.

 

Yeah,,, I have a VM Jazz and I kept thinking that "some day" I will pick up it's Cousin. Well I read just over a week ago that the VMP (Amber) was no more,,,so the search was on.

 

You have some absolutely beautiful basses.

 

I have an early SB1 that's all maple. Love the sound (the pick up is closer to a traditional split). Not that heavy IMO

 

If you leave it as a natural finish, it'll look kind of like a Mapleglo Ric, or one of those VM Precisions.

If you paint it, no one will know what sort of wood it is underneath.

If you build it with a P pickup in the P location, it'll sound like a P bass.

Simple as that.

 

Squier VM 70's and VM '77 jazz's are both maple bodied, sweetwater has two right now weighing in at 9lb14oz and 9lb2oz. P's being on average lighter because of the body shape would lead me to believe it wouldn't be too bad, although one batch of wood can be of very different density than the next...only one way to find out

link: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JBass70OWT

 

The Squiers are made from soft maple that is much more like pine. Totally different from a hard maple like a Ric.

 

They don't make these anymore right? I played one in a GC and didn't buy it. It was one of the best sounding and playing precisions I've ever played, regardless of price. I regret not buying it.

 

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