I've had my Fender MIA Performer from new since 2018. It was my main bass until I bought a Dingwall Super. Whilst I've always enjoyed the Fender, the SP really highlighted a gulf in quality and I kinda started hating on the F a little.
There are some pretty pronounced dead spots all over the neck, playing a D anywhere kinda disappears a little. Having played a done of O basses since buying this I hasn't happy with the pickups (or that grease bucket tone control) and I'[ve been thinking it just looked kinda meh with the black plate.
So about a month ago I felt the time was right to do something about that.
I already had a set of EMGs GZRs in another bass that's getting moved on soon, I swapped out the pickup guard for a nice tort one courtesy of Tiny Tone in Manchester and added a Hipshot Xtender to see if it did anything about the dead spots.
The GZRs have been in there for a while and I love the tone, just a bit of nail polish to remove the EMG logo and it now sounds like a proper P bass (whatever that is!), I love the tort pick guard, you'll notice the color being off white, I used to live in a apartment with a floor to ceiling window/balcony door that was south facing) so the stock Olympic white finish has more or a vintage look that the tort really offsets nicely. I'm really pleased that the Xtender trick did it's thing and worked and I haven't found a dead spot anywhere (yet). I've also fitted Dunlop strap locks (which I'm doing to all my basses over time) and it's had the annual sand and oil treatment on the neck. The fingerboard will get a light oiling when I change the strings next.
She now plays, sounds and looks fantastic again and loving her as much the day I bought it.
I hadn't realised until I saw this picture, just how nice the fret board is, it doesn't look that quite that good in real life! That G string needs re-seating on the bridge!
There are some pretty pronounced dead spots all over the neck, playing a D anywhere kinda disappears a little. Having played a done of O basses since buying this I hasn't happy with the pickups (or that grease bucket tone control) and I'[ve been thinking it just looked kinda meh with the black plate.
So about a month ago I felt the time was right to do something about that.
I already had a set of EMGs GZRs in another bass that's getting moved on soon, I swapped out the pickup guard for a nice tort one courtesy of Tiny Tone in Manchester and added a Hipshot Xtender to see if it did anything about the dead spots.
The GZRs have been in there for a while and I love the tone, just a bit of nail polish to remove the EMG logo and it now sounds like a proper P bass (whatever that is!), I love the tort pick guard, you'll notice the color being off white, I used to live in a apartment with a floor to ceiling window/balcony door that was south facing) so the stock Olympic white finish has more or a vintage look that the tort really offsets nicely. I'm really pleased that the Xtender trick did it's thing and worked and I haven't found a dead spot anywhere (yet). I've also fitted Dunlop strap locks (which I'm doing to all my basses over time) and it's had the annual sand and oil treatment on the neck. The fingerboard will get a light oiling when I change the strings next.
She now plays, sounds and looks fantastic again and loving her as much the day I bought it.
I hadn't realised until I saw this picture, just how nice the fret board is, it doesn't look that quite that good in real life! That G string needs re-seating on the bridge!
