GeneralElectric states:
Huh? How'd you get the neck on it? They are neck through construction. One-piece.
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list your basses' flaws
- Thread starter alexbib
- Start date
Danelectro Dano 63 -- had to shim the neck to get the action down properly.
Epiphone Jack Casady -- no problems so far, love this bass.
Fender Jazz '62 AV reissue -- tuning keys are pretty stiff, probably need to lube? Perfect otherwise.
Fender Precision '59 CS reissue -- had to max the truss rod in order to put on heavier LaBellas and get the neck relief where I wanted, which was irritating. Otherwise it's perfect and has the best tone of any P-bass I've heard.
Fender Precision '57 AV reissue -- perfect.
Fender Precision Elite II -- perfect.
Fender Precision '51 reissue -- don't like the thick polyurethane finish, but the bass is otherwise great.
Fender Precision 5'er -- one tuning key sticks, but hasn't slipped or broken yet. Otherwise it's perfect.
G&L L-2000 -- perfect.
Rickenbacker 4001 -- abused and beaten up over the years, electronics crackle, "road worn" doesn't describe the wear! But I love the tone!
Rickenbacker 4003 -- perfect.
Rogue Viola II -- Intonation is tricky with the floating bridge, but it's playable and sounds good.
Squier Jazz, VM Fretless -- the neck is fussy, needs more truss adjusting than I'd like.
SX Jazz -- fit and finish have flaws but the bass sounds good.
SX Jazz 5'er -- surprisingly good tone from this thing, but has fit and finish flaws, wood grain matching is iffy, etc.
SX Precision -- more finish flaws than my other SX basses, and high fret issues. But it's a good beater.
Epiphone Jack Casady -- no problems so far, love this bass.
Fender Jazz '62 AV reissue -- tuning keys are pretty stiff, probably need to lube? Perfect otherwise.
Fender Precision '59 CS reissue -- had to max the truss rod in order to put on heavier LaBellas and get the neck relief where I wanted, which was irritating. Otherwise it's perfect and has the best tone of any P-bass I've heard.
Fender Precision '57 AV reissue -- perfect.
Fender Precision Elite II -- perfect.
Fender Precision '51 reissue -- don't like the thick polyurethane finish, but the bass is otherwise great.
Fender Precision 5'er -- one tuning key sticks, but hasn't slipped or broken yet. Otherwise it's perfect.
G&L L-2000 -- perfect.
Rickenbacker 4001 -- abused and beaten up over the years, electronics crackle, "road worn" doesn't describe the wear! But I love the tone!
Rickenbacker 4003 -- perfect.
Rogue Viola II -- Intonation is tricky with the floating bridge, but it's playable and sounds good.
Squier Jazz, VM Fretless -- the neck is fussy, needs more truss adjusting than I'd like.
SX Jazz -- fit and finish have flaws but the bass sounds good.
SX Jazz 5'er -- surprisingly good tone from this thing, but has fit and finish flaws, wood grain matching is iffy, etc.
SX Precision -- more finish flaws than my other SX basses, and high fret issues. But it's a good beater.
They are neck through, they are not one peice. The body is two "wings" attached to the portion of the "neck" that continues beyond the fingerboard. While it is expensive and very involved, putting a different neck in is possible I am sure. Unless it was badly damaged I don't know why you would though.
1978 P-Bass, black/black PG/maple neck & board - modded with a PJ set of EMGs - has been my one and only player since 1981:
- G string is worthless for note quality (sustain) from the nut up to 7th fret (9th fret and above, though, it SINGS).
- Crazy bad checking, crazing and chipping of the finish; you sneeze on this thing and it loses paint
- The weight of it gets a little hard on the back by the end of a 4-hour gig
- It's starting to crack where the nut joins the neck and also at the bottom of the neck where the truss rud screw head is
That's about it.
- G string is worthless for note quality (sustain) from the nut up to 7th fret (9th fret and above, though, it SINGS).
- Crazy bad checking, crazing and chipping of the finish; you sneeze on this thing and it loses paint
- The weight of it gets a little hard on the back by the end of a 4-hour gig
- It's starting to crack where the nut joins the neck and also at the bottom of the neck where the truss rud screw head is
That's about it.
The only "flaw" in my bass is the fact that I got a birdseye maple neck and freetboard and live in Ohio. I have to get it set up professionally 2 times a year outside of the little tweaks I do to it every so often. Next bass I get will have a wenge neck.
That was my point.
With a new neck, it's essentially a new bass with old wings on it.
So, my question is, what makes this neck a "non-original" neck? What's the story here because there is one, sounds like.
And this hasn't held up as well as his Fenders? What was done to the Fenders?
That's what I'm trying to find out here.
Only twice a year? You're getting off easy!
That doesn't include all the little tweaks that I do to the truss rod. Twice a year paying $75 each time. I know, wah wah wah, but I'm not a rich man these days.
I heard Fender started to test all their basses before they leave the factory to make sure they have the patented Fender dead spot as they were getting to many complaints about perfect sustain all the way up the G string.
Fender MIM Jazz:
-Dead spots on the G string between frets 7 and 8. seven being the worst by far.
i absolutely love it though.
if i come home from playing basses at a store that have been alright, but not great,
i put on my bass and when rest my hand around that neck and play the first two notes
i breath a calm breath, glad i'm home again.
-Dead spots on the G string between frets 7 and 8. seven being the worst by far.
i absolutely love it though.
if i come home from playing basses at a store that have been alright, but not great,
i put on my bass and when rest my hand around that neck and play the first two notes
i breath a calm breath, glad i'm home again.
I heard Fender started to test all their basses before they leave the factory to make sure they have the patented Fender dead spot as they were getting to many complaints about perfect sustain all the way up the G string.
Hey, no deadspot - no fender (or japanese fender
Epiphone EB-1 (fretted):
Neck: had to remove 2 shims under heel of neck and square it up in the pocket to properly set the action. No cost involved.
Bridge: stock 3-point bridge sucked as I couldn't set the action for each string. Replaced the bridge with a Hipshot Supertuner. Cost was about $100. This is by far the best investment anyone can make in a Gibson or Epiophone bass, IMHO
Pick-up: this is subjective but I didn't care for the tone of the stock humbucker. The sound was too "farty" for me. I replaced the stock pickup with the large single coil pick-up from a 1954-1958 Gibson EB, a'la Jack Bruce's Gibson EB used in the Cream reunion. The sound is now perfect for me. I was able to rework the stock pickup cover but acustom cover is in the works. Cost: don't ask! Let's just say its cheaper than buying a real 1950's Gibson EB.
Controls: replaced the stock pots with Gibson pots (500k ohm) and amber knobs. Installed oil filled 0.1 uF cap for tone bleed. This really didn't imrove the sound, but while I was replacing the pick-up I decided to experiment a little. Also replaced the stock jack and jack plate with Gibson parts. Cost: around $50
Strings: Replaced stock strings with D'Addario Nickle half-rounds. I have also tried SIT medium Rock Brights but went back to the half rounds.
Set-up: I bought this bass bone-stock and in the box second hand in 2005. The set-up was terrible. The action was about 1/4 inch at the 17th fret and the intonation was way off. I was actually able to set it up very well with the stock bridge but the A string's action was a little high. After setting the neck relief and the action, I have had no issues whatsoever. The neck is very stable and the bass plays like a dream thanks to the Hipshot bridge and proper set-up. The action is nice and low where I like it w/o any buzzing.
Neck: had to remove 2 shims under heel of neck and square it up in the pocket to properly set the action. No cost involved.
Bridge: stock 3-point bridge sucked as I couldn't set the action for each string. Replaced the bridge with a Hipshot Supertuner. Cost was about $100. This is by far the best investment anyone can make in a Gibson or Epiophone bass, IMHO
Pick-up: this is subjective but I didn't care for the tone of the stock humbucker. The sound was too "farty" for me. I replaced the stock pickup with the large single coil pick-up from a 1954-1958 Gibson EB, a'la Jack Bruce's Gibson EB used in the Cream reunion. The sound is now perfect for me. I was able to rework the stock pickup cover but acustom cover is in the works. Cost: don't ask! Let's just say its cheaper than buying a real 1950's Gibson EB.
Controls: replaced the stock pots with Gibson pots (500k ohm) and amber knobs. Installed oil filled 0.1 uF cap for tone bleed. This really didn't imrove the sound, but while I was replacing the pick-up I decided to experiment a little. Also replaced the stock jack and jack plate with Gibson parts. Cost: around $50
Strings: Replaced stock strings with D'Addario Nickle half-rounds. I have also tried SIT medium Rock Brights but went back to the half rounds.
Set-up: I bought this bass bone-stock and in the box second hand in 2005. The set-up was terrible. The action was about 1/4 inch at the 17th fret and the intonation was way off. I was actually able to set it up very well with the stock bridge but the A string's action was a little high. After setting the neck relief and the action, I have had no issues whatsoever. The neck is very stable and the bass plays like a dream thanks to the Hipshot bridge and proper set-up. The action is nice and low where I like it w/o any buzzing.
Fender Jaguar
-Some hum in active mode, even after I installed extra shielding.
-Output is too hot to effectively use my fuzz pedal, which is becoming more and more intrinsic in my sound.
-Frets seem to be wearing awfully quick for a 30-month-old bass (possibly the fault of the DR Hi-Beams I put on it).
-Bridge and preamp dials are corroded (perhaps I have very acidic sweat).
-When switching between from passive to active, there's a good chance I'll get insanely loud electronic squealing. I just can't seem to track down what's going on. Useful for ending volume wars at practice, not so great when you're at the gig.
-Requires action tweak for every major change in humidity levels, regardless of where and how it's stored.
Still, this is probably the bass I'll be buried with. I love the neck, tone and looks of it, so I'm more than willing to put up with it's foibles.
SX Jazz
-Bridge Rattles
-Neck could probably use a shim to get the action from 'very good' to 'just right.'
-E string has much higher output than the other strings, but I'm just too lazy to take off the ashtray when a compressor can fix it for me.
-Two-piece ash body has a visible seam in the grain pattern on the back. It's matched almost perfectly in the front, but I know it's there.
-The neck is more stable than my Jag, and the tuners are also better quality than the Jag's. That just plain pisses me off.
What the hell do you expect for $160? This is my main recording bass (since it doesn't hum more than any other jazz), and it splits gigs with my Jag, depending on whether or not I'll be using gobs of fuzz. I can't believe I was thinking about replacing these pickups before I even got it; they need one minor tweak, and this thing'll sound like a dream.
-Some hum in active mode, even after I installed extra shielding.
-Output is too hot to effectively use my fuzz pedal, which is becoming more and more intrinsic in my sound.
-Frets seem to be wearing awfully quick for a 30-month-old bass (possibly the fault of the DR Hi-Beams I put on it).
-Bridge and preamp dials are corroded (perhaps I have very acidic sweat).
-When switching between from passive to active, there's a good chance I'll get insanely loud electronic squealing. I just can't seem to track down what's going on. Useful for ending volume wars at practice, not so great when you're at the gig.
-Requires action tweak for every major change in humidity levels, regardless of where and how it's stored.
Still, this is probably the bass I'll be buried with. I love the neck, tone and looks of it, so I'm more than willing to put up with it's foibles.
SX Jazz
-Bridge Rattles
-Neck could probably use a shim to get the action from 'very good' to 'just right.'
-E string has much higher output than the other strings, but I'm just too lazy to take off the ashtray when a compressor can fix it for me.
-Two-piece ash body has a visible seam in the grain pattern on the back. It's matched almost perfectly in the front, but I know it's there.
-The neck is more stable than my Jag, and the tuners are also better quality than the Jag's. That just plain pisses me off.
What the hell do you expect for $160? This is my main recording bass (since it doesn't hum more than any other jazz), and it splits gigs with my Jag, depending on whether or not I'll be using gobs of fuzz. I can't believe I was thinking about replacing these pickups before I even got it; they need one minor tweak, and this thing'll sound like a dream.
Ibanez Axstar (headless 4 Sting) - stripped the locks bolts on the head stock holding the strings, had to re-tap to larger size. Have to sand the locks pieces whenever I change the strings or the strings will slip, probably why I stripped the head bolts trying to really crank them down, love the pickups but not the electronics, very noisy and dull but they have since been replaced with an active setup. I had to shim the neck to get the action I like but love the bass, very well balanced for being headless and light. Never goes out of tune on me...
Ibanez Axstar (headless 5 string) - Stings are to close together for a 5 string and I have semi fat fingers, it did have way better locks on the top holding the strings, never had the problems I had with the 4 string. Sounded ok, sold now...
Peavey Fury (4 string) - borrowing from my guitarist... headstock to heavy, when I let go of the neck the head stock drops to the floor. Action a little low but that can be raised. Sounds OK but I like my 4 string Axstar better.
Ibanez Axstar (headless 5 string) - Stings are to close together for a 5 string and I have semi fat fingers, it did have way better locks on the top holding the strings, never had the problems I had with the 4 string. Sounded ok, sold now...
Peavey Fury (4 string) - borrowing from my guitarist... headstock to heavy, when I let go of the neck the head stock drops to the floor. Action a little low but that can be raised. Sounds OK but I like my 4 string Axstar better.
