• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

I'm flabbergasted by my new bass!

#41
shadven said:
I've never had any issues with a single coil. I mostly play a 1968 Fender telecaster bass with its original SC pickup, and my backup is a '68 Telecaster bass. The only time I ever hear a hum is if I am cranked up standing very close to the front of my amp, and that is only on rare occasions. The pickup are bright and punchy as hell. I think they sound best with flats, but I have used round wounds too.
Bar none, the single coil records better than any bass in my arsenal. I did a session recently and I brought a 1965 P, 1964 Hofner 500/1 and my 1969 Telecaster Bass. The engineer insisted I recorded all tracks with the 1969 Tele. It just sounded so good and easy to get a great sound out of a pick and fingers.
Click to expand...
Sure. I make good use of my neck pickup on my J's, but ONLY take the humbucking versions out on gigs, because I have run into issues with the single coils. However, you are correct that a lot of the great bass tones are had from that pickup position.
 
  • Like
Reactions: shadven and Wisebass
#42
bucephylus said:
So, Q's for all you pre 57 P aficionados: what is up with gigging that one single coil pickup? I presume they sound more or less like the neck pickup on a J solo'd? I get the part about the bigger neck etc etc. I have played a lot of P's in my day. Also, since they just have the one single coil pickup, they must be pretty noisy with some stage lighting situations. I am curious how many of you replace that original pickup with a humbucking version; or do most of you just live with the issues?

I've always thought the basses looked cool; but, mainly figured they weren't very practical.
Click to expand...

i've got a refinned '57: single coil pup with the contoured body, tele style headstock, two saddle bridge, string-through. bought it as a box of parts without the pickup in the middle '70s, so it wears a DiMarzio Tele bass replacement from that time. the pup looks just like the original. sounds something like the neck pup on a J, but there's a P's girth in it. and it'll catch noise, yup.

i hang onto it as a keepsake, but i don't gig it. my modern basses feel and sound better--to _me_.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bucephylus and shadven
#43
bucephylus said:
lot of the great bass tones are had from that pickup position.
Click to expand...

and they work fine (light today is mainly LED that's cool, but please don' t use vintage cables;):D:D)

stillsold.jpg


you still get radio on your amp ;) :roflmao:

may.....

Wise(b)ass
 
  • Like
Reactions: bucephylus and shadven
#44
shadven said:
Warning, I am about to go off the deep-end:
My new bass is a very old bass, it's a 1952 Fender Precision. I have been after a 1951-1954 P for a very long time, and I finally got one last week.
Right off the bat, the bass felt very good, and played like butter... very easy to play with low action, actually a bit lower than my normal set-up. The bass looks incredible it is top loaded with mojo. The intonation is great and the sound level between strings was dead on (often single coils with two saddle bridges are hard to dial in volume between strings).
I feel a certain antiquity vibe, an old story emanating from this bass... it's been places, and it commands a certain amount of respect or sensibility when played.
Tonight I played my first gig with my pre-CBS '62. I am blown away, no bass ever felt so good to me. It is so solid and effortless to play. Its providencece makes me want to play my best out of respect for this instrument. It is something truly special. No bass has ever done this to me before. I am flabbergasted!
Click to expand...
How does butter play? Greasy? Fat? Smooth? Like corn on the cob?
 
  • Like
Reactions: madjazzbass
#51
I don't know why but I always thought the word flabbergasted had a negative or not so positive meaning. I thought it meant something like "overly upset" and I was further fueled by the OP's warning that he was about to go off the "deep end." As I read the OP's upbeat and positive story, the whole time I was waiting for the first shoe to drop. Then he talks about the first gig and how truly wonderful the bass is. I then looked up the word flabbergasted and I must say I was a little flabbergasted to learn that I was wrong about the word. It isn't limited to the negative. I was then reminded of a time when I submitted a short story for a little amateur writing club I belonged to online. The first comment I received was from a guy who simply wrote: "That was sublime." I responded back with: "Screw you too, buddy."
 
  • Like
Reactions: bobyoung53 and shadven

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back