I like your point of view best. In his mind he came out ahead and now has a bass he likes. Too often there is a "mob mentality" where everyone piles onto someone who doesn't follow their line of thinking.
Kudos to you sir. And to the OP.
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Kudos to you sir. And to the OP.
If he is happy that's all that matters. I totally disagree with the process as it would not make sense to me to purchase a $750 bass and completely gut it, and strip it and Frankenstein it. I would have returned it and left a review about why I returned it.
Mob mentality is certainly something to consider, as in the past people have joined this site to air their complaints and then permanently disappear. When I read the OP it did seem a little warped. It still seems a bit strange to do this, but hey I'm certainly not innocent of doing unconventional things with items I've bought.
From my point of view, it just would seem the bass should have been returned.
MF almost always offers a coupon, for which many well-known brands are not eligible. Just call them and they will give you a discount. Register as a backstage pass member, and 8% of your purchase price will go back to your account basically as gift card cash.
In this January I bought 5 sets of SS Hi-Beams for a total of $75, a brand new set of the DiMarzio DP123 for $49 ($99 at other stores) and a pair of the Yamaha HS5 studio monitors for $329 ($399 at everywhere). 8% of the total price is waiting in my account to be used for future purchases. What is there not to like about MF?
Glad your happy with it, but I am lost about whether you're saying all Mexican pbasses are lifeless due to the urethane, or it's something unique to that one.
I believe the only way one can buy a 100% nitro Fender bass is going through their custom shop. All the others with what Fender describes as "nitro finish" have non-nitro underneath the top coat. It's sorta like Taco Bell saying they use "seasoned beef" rather than saying they use non-beef fillers in their meat.
In fact, I believe their 100% nitro guitars and basses are not the same nitro of decades ago. They cannot spray that old stuff in California anymore due to CARB regulations on emissions. So your experience on the results might be due to where you live. One that has less restrictive regulations that allow true nitro paint.
I believe the only way one can buy a 100% nitro Fender bass is going through their custom shop. All the others with what Fender describes as "nitro finish" have non-nitro underneath the top coat. It's sorta like Taco Bell saying they use "seasoned beef" rather than saying they use non-beef fillers in their meat.
In fact, I believe their 100% nitro guitars and basses are not the same nitro of decades ago. They cannot spray that old stuff in California anymore due to CARB regulations on emissions. So your experience on the results might be due to where you live. One that has less restrictive regulations that allow true nitro paint.
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You need to be carefull with such modifications. The electronics in basses with poly finishes arent build to handle the vibrations you get from a nitro finish. You need to make sure you also replace all electronics with original Fender pre CBS electronics. Otherwise the amplification of the frequencies which come through the nitro finish will be amplified too strong. Causing all kind of unwanted effects like tearing up the skin of the bassdrum, messing up the tuning of your guitar player or damage foundation of monumental buildings.
If you don't want to switch out the electronics you can always use a curly cable to negate the negative side effects.
If you don't want to switch out the electronics you can always use a curly cable to negate the negative side effects.
I'll say a lot of this thread is bordering on my ability to believe.Somewhere, someone actually believes this.
I too check a members join date, then filter their comments through that lens. Sorry newbies, I just do.
I appreciate the pains you went through to 'salvage' this purchase . . . . . but I'd be damned if I paid good money for something that to me was so utterly wrong, and then spend even more money and time trying to 'get it right'. You shelled out for a couples sets of strings, new pickups, then paid to have it stripped and refin'd (after presumably you dis-assembled it, even more time and aggravation). My salute to your dogged patience and determination.
On the other hand . . . . . why didn't you just return or exchange it?
On the other hand . . . . . why didn't you just return or exchange it?
Hi JW. As I explained a few posts back. I was convinced the thudiness/deadness was due to a lower end pickup, given the price point. I went on the assumption the pickup upgrade would be the fix. That voided me out of returning it, and I was on my own from there.
-Mike
Apology accepted. It's kind of like moving into a new place to live or a new job and a group of people who've been there for a time feel ownership and have formed their clique - many times with groupthink assumptions about a newcomer. Some folks are welcoming and others are in the "pack." I usually resist joining in on forums for that reason. And as far as being a newbie. - Yes, while I might be a newbie on this forum, having played Fender basses since I bought my first one new in 1967, I'm not a newbie with Fender basses.
For the record. I have no point to make specifically about one type of finish vs. another. I don't really care. The point of my review was simply to state the experience I had with the 50's Precision I purchased. It had a very thick poly finish which I found significantly deadened the bass. I removed the finish down to the wood. put a thin finish on it which happened to be nitro by choice and it was like having a totally different bass.
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There is anecdotal evidence on both sides of the finish and wood food fights. The way I see it, a piece of wood that is 'lively' can definitely be dampened by a heavy poly finish. A piece of wood that is 'deader' won't suffer to nearly the same extent. Or perhaps more accurately, won't have the same benefit from stripping and refinishing. For all of the science involved, there's still quite a bit of voodoo.
I think I would have tried a string swap (insert YOUR favorite here) before even swapping pickups .
I border on the side of crazy as well....I have no scientific evidence to prove that a thick poly finish won't let the Mojo escape, but I'm not one to take chances, so I refinish most of my basses with nitro.
I just recently refinished my PJ Mustang and I must say I do notice a difference in sound (to my ears) for the better.
So there.
I just recently refinished my PJ Mustang and I must say I do notice a difference in sound (to my ears) for the better.
So there.
