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NBD—J back in the house!
- Thread starter DrThumpenstein
- Start date
Thought you might like that. And on a Jazz there will be even less guard material which I think will make that color work even better.
Congrats on the new bass. A terrific, classic look.
THE HOLE.
My 2010 Precision V has it too so, it's been a Fender thing for a bit. I also have a 2014 Dimension Deluxe 5 but I've never removed the PG to know if there's a hole there. I thought it was for a CNC machine to hold the body while it got routed/shaped. But, I'm not sure.
P.S. My active Dimension also has that same bridge except for a 5'er. At 1st I didn't like it but had no reason to dislike it. Now, I love the bass and am not a parts-changer type player so, there it stays tho' I flirt with the idea of replacing it with a Fender high-mass vintage bridge.
THE HOLE.
My 2010 Precision V has it too so, it's been a Fender thing for a bit. I also have a 2014 Dimension Deluxe 5 but I've never removed the PG to know if there's a hole there. I thought it was for a CNC machine to hold the body while it got routed/shaped. But, I'm not sure.
P.S. My active Dimension also has that same bridge except for a 5'er. At 1st I didn't like it but had no reason to dislike it. Now, I love the bass and am not a parts-changer type player so, there it stays tho' I flirt with the idea of replacing it with a Fender high-mass vintage bridge.
Congrats on your new bass!
I love a J with flats!!
My understanding is that the hole is part of the CNC routing process.
With the way they route their pickup and control cavity these days, you can't really go without a PG anyway... bummer since you've got a nice piece of wood with a great burst. But just find a PG you like and go with it.
I love a J with flats!!
My understanding is that the hole is part of the CNC routing process.
With the way they route their pickup and control cavity these days, you can't really go without a PG anyway... bummer since you've got a nice piece of wood with a great burst. But just find a PG you like and go with it.
Yay!!! I hope you did right by Mrs. Thumpenstein.Those clever bastards! I feel like I’ve been had.
NO MORE TALKING ABOUT THE HOLES!
There, that’s better.
I thought the hole was there to hide the set list in. It's also useful for hiding a treasure map. That way you can justify charging $3000 for a charred MIJ P bass. (See the Mojo thread.)
Ms T is looking even lovelier with something sparkly hanging around her neck!
I tried out a Deluxe P with the same preamp but with a P/J pickup set. It sounded really good.
I’m liking the preamp so far. I’m still try to figure out the frequency points for the EQ bands so it’s easier to complement those with the parametric EQ on my amp. But it’s easy to dial in a good sound, which is really all that matters.
I posted a separate thread after I did the upgrades, but I thought I should circle back to the original NBD thread. I am really in love with this bass! There were several things about the Fodera that I wanted to try to reproduce in a J bass that I’m not afraid to take into bars. A flatter fretboard, active pick ups, nice, thin, J neck profile. I had it dialed in by the middle of last week and I’ve just been playing it like crazy the last few days. We are adding a few more songs to our set lists so I needed the shed time anyway, and spending it getting to know this bass really makes me happy with my choice!
Upgrades:
Hipshot drop tuner
Tort guard
Dunlop flush strap locks
Labella Deep Talking Bass lights (760FS)
Also another good dressing with fretboard oil, darkened it up a little more. Mmmmm…chocolate!
Upgrades:
Hipshot drop tuner
Tort guard
Dunlop flush strap locks
Labella Deep Talking Bass lights (760FS)
Also another good dressing with fretboard oil, darkened it up a little more. Mmmmm…chocolate!
First rehearsal with the new bass tonight. It sounds great! Deep, punchy, authoritative bass. Played through the WD800 and an old Ampeg 215 @ the drummer’s studio. It’s a darker cab than my Subway cabs so I EQd both the bass and the WD to compensate. I LOVE the tone of a good J in a rock setting and this bass really delivers.
One quick twist of the mids control was all I needed to dial myself into the mix. This was what I was looking for with the active preamp. I tweaked the amp to the usual settings for that cab, then on the bass, cut the bass gain slightly from the detent, kept the treble gain down, started with the mids @ center, and ended up bumping them slightly to sit better with the keys, guitar, and electronic drums.
It’s certainly my heaviest bass, and I felt it after 3 hours. We just ran through setlists with no breaks, and although I had some shoulder fatigue toward the end of the night, it was pretty tolerable. It weighs just over 9.5 lb (9lb 9 oz) and my next heaviest is a pound lighter. But it’s perfectly balanced and I’ve got a nice, soft, 3-in leather strap for it, so it wasn’t uncomfortable until about 2.5 hours in. I’ve probably played it while standing for a couple of hours at a time most days over the past 2 weeks while learning some new songs and felt fine, so I’m not concerned. Our sets are usually 40-45 minutes so I’m not going to worry about the weight at this point. A couple of my bandmates played it and both remarked about how solid it feels. They’re right, and I believe that solid, hefty feel is a result of the nice piece of alder that the body is made of, paired with the comfortable maple neck. And in my opinion, it contributes to the great tones I’ve been getting out of this instrument.
I love the neck on this thing. I have migrated to flatter radius necks and this one felt great from the start. I’ve set it up with low action and it’s buzz-free and fast.
I played a few songs with the Genzler 4 on the Floor OD pedal and it drove that pedal beautifully. The pedal lets you dial in very precisely the mix of clean and driven signal, which allows you to keep some articulation in your driven tones. This bass is capable of very articulate tones.
I’m really happy with this bass. Fender has produced a quality bass at a reasonable price point that checks all the important boxes for me. The only thing I would change might be the weight, but I’m so happy with the tone and playability that I don’t really feel like this axe needs changing.
One quick twist of the mids control was all I needed to dial myself into the mix. This was what I was looking for with the active preamp. I tweaked the amp to the usual settings for that cab, then on the bass, cut the bass gain slightly from the detent, kept the treble gain down, started with the mids @ center, and ended up bumping them slightly to sit better with the keys, guitar, and electronic drums.
It’s certainly my heaviest bass, and I felt it after 3 hours. We just ran through setlists with no breaks, and although I had some shoulder fatigue toward the end of the night, it was pretty tolerable. It weighs just over 9.5 lb (9lb 9 oz) and my next heaviest is a pound lighter. But it’s perfectly balanced and I’ve got a nice, soft, 3-in leather strap for it, so it wasn’t uncomfortable until about 2.5 hours in. I’ve probably played it while standing for a couple of hours at a time most days over the past 2 weeks while learning some new songs and felt fine, so I’m not concerned. Our sets are usually 40-45 minutes so I’m not going to worry about the weight at this point. A couple of my bandmates played it and both remarked about how solid it feels. They’re right, and I believe that solid, hefty feel is a result of the nice piece of alder that the body is made of, paired with the comfortable maple neck. And in my opinion, it contributes to the great tones I’ve been getting out of this instrument.
I love the neck on this thing. I have migrated to flatter radius necks and this one felt great from the start. I’ve set it up with low action and it’s buzz-free and fast.
I played a few songs with the Genzler 4 on the Floor OD pedal and it drove that pedal beautifully. The pedal lets you dial in very precisely the mix of clean and driven signal, which allows you to keep some articulation in your driven tones. This bass is capable of very articulate tones.
I’m really happy with this bass. Fender has produced a quality bass at a reasonable price point that checks all the important boxes for me. The only thing I would change might be the weight, but I’m so happy with the tone and playability that I don’t really feel like this axe needs changing.
