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Fender Urge?

#41
funkydario said:
Hi everybody
Just score an URGE MIM medium scale.2 J's.
Bass isn't hier yet....postal services are taking care of him right now.
I do have a question for those who have the 3 pups version and my question is :
The P pup isn't at the classic P spot but closer to the bridge....so how will you describe the P sound compared to a classic P position ? What are the differences in terms of sound ?
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I would say it is a caricature of a P bass. If you think that a P bass is a little mid-heavy and a tiny bit light on low end, the P of the Urge is more of that. To me, adding the P pickup (solo or with the others) makes the bass extremely mid-focused and punchy. Overall, I think it is naturally a little timid in the low end. Of course, with the one active setting, you can boost the lows to balance out the midrange, and in the other active setting you get a mid scoop.

I don't use the passive setting. I'm a passive-bass guy, but that isn't what the Urge I is really about. On this bass, for me, passive is the "dead battery emergency" setting.
 
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#42
Les Fret said:
To me it sounds very different from a real P bass. But I like the P pickup soloed on the Urge 1 bass. It has it's own sound. I don't like the neck pickup too much though because it doesn't have an outspoken character like the bridge and the P pickups have.

I don't get the MIM Urge basses. Never played one but for me it is not the real Urge bass in concept. But the medium scale is nice.
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I like the neck pickup soloed, for the very reason that you don't. It can give a nice, round, smooth tone that not every bass will do.

I've never been wowed by the MIM Urge I, but I think I understand why it exists. The Urge was Fender's first artist signature bass, and it was unique in looks and configuration. It was also priced higher than the American Standards of the time. I think Fender really wanted this line, and the concept of an artist signature bass, to succeed. So, they made some changes to the design - probably both to lower the price point and to make it a little more mainstream - so they released MIM Urge as a lower-priced, jazz bass variant.
 
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#47
If I'm not mistaken, on the MIA Urge I, the rear cavity contains a mid-boost preset that can be set for either "Maximum Mid Boost" or "No Boost." I believe it only affects Active Mode, which is enabled when you rotate the four-way rotary switch one position away from fully clockwise. Why you would want "No Boost" as a rear-cavity setting I can't really figure out, because the next position over (on the four-way rotary switch) is supposedly No Boost already.
 
#48
selowitch said:
If I'm not mistaken, on the MIA Urge I, the rear cavity contains a mid-boost preset that can be set for either "Maximum Mid Boost" or "No Boost." I believe it only affects Active Mode, which is enabled when you rotate the four-way rotary switch one position away from fully clockwise. Why you would want "No Boost" as a rear-cavity setting I can't really figure out, because the next position over (on the four-way rotary switch) is supposedly No Boost already.
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IME, the "no boost" on the rotary switch is pretty scooped. The mid boost affects the first active position and lets you fine tune the "base" tone of the preamp - from there you can tweak with the bass and treble controls. When I use my Urge I, it is really the pickup selection that dominates the tone control.
 
#49
wvbass said:
IME, the "no boost" on the rotary switch is pretty scooped. The mid boost affects the first active position and lets you fine tune the "base" tone of the preamp - from there you can tweak with the bass and treble controls. When I use my Urge I, it is really the pickup selection that dominates the tone control.
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That doesn't explain the role or utility of the rear cavity mid-boost adjustment.
 
#50
selowitch said:
That doesn't explain the role or utility of the rear cavity mid-boost adjustment.
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I think I covered the role and utility of the mid-boost, but didn't get to why it is in the rear cavity in the first place. My best guess is that Stu Hamm wanted the control layout to match his Kubicki basses. Those have two-band EQ's. The mid control is a nice feature to establish what "flat" is for the preamp, but the intent was to remain a two-band EQ. Putting it in the control cavity helped keep the layout of the front controls like the Kubicki, with only the addition of a switch to control the extra pickup.
 
#51
wvbass said:
I think I covered the role and utility of the mid-boost, but didn't get to why it is in the rear cavity in the first place. My best guess is that Stu Hamm wanted the control layout to match his Kubicki basses. Those have two-band EQ's. The mid control is a nice feature to establish what "flat" is for the preamp, but the intent was to remain a two-band EQ. Putting it in the control cavity helped keep the layout of the front controls like the Kubicki, with only the addition of a switch to control the extra pickup.
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I'm just not sure why there is the rear cavity setting at all, Maximum Boost or No Boost. It seems to me that position 2 (active with mid-boost) and position 3 (active without boost) on the rotary switch on the front of the bass would cover that. It just strikes me as a little awkward and inefficient.
 
#52
It is just there to have more control over the mid boost. If you think the mid boost is too much you can set it to 50% or whatever you like. To be able to dial it in according to your taste.

I have never adjusted it on my Urge 1 though. I like it on full. I always use that position of the switch. I never use it in passive mode because the volume is too low. Active is two times louder or so. I wish there was not so much difference in output between passive and active.
 
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#54
selowitch said:
I agree. It can be mitigated a bit by adjusting the heights of the pickups, but not entirely.
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Changing the pickup height doesn't affect the volume difference between active and passive. Not much that you can do about that. But I just use it in active mode mid boost so that's not a problem for me. But you can never change from active to passive in the middle of a song or gig.
 

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