(TL; DR) 
Dude likes bass.
Thanks, Talkbass, for so much inspiration and knowledge — for helping me find the sound in my head. I’ve learned so much from this place, I just wanted to share a dream with y’all.
It’s been twelve years since my last NBD. I’m a little jealous of the guys who churn their herd, with the thrills of the chase and all those New Bass Days. But I’m a buy-and-hold guy. Find the very best thing you can possibly reasonably afford — and if you’re still using it a decade later, give yourself permission to replace it.
I decided to go all-in on the only kind of axe for me in this world: a P with Jazz neck.
I adore old things, but never had a vintage bass. That option had a lot of appeal, but finding the dream Precision with an A-width neck was going to be a needle in a haystack, and pricey at that. I looked also at Fender Custom Shop: an actual custom would take a year-plus wait, and the customer experience seemed disconnected from the factory and craftsmen.
When I wrote to Lakland, it was John P himself who responded and became my only contact from start to finish. Bossman suffered my questions, stayed in touch, and never said no to the stupid ideas for my dream bass.
“Can I have block inlays made out of roasted maple to match the headstock?” No problem, won’t cost much, he said. “Hey, could you etch the word FUNK into the heel of the neck in homage to Mr. Jamerson?” Um, sure. “Would the craftsmen put their initials on the back of the body please?" Yeah, man. Taboot, John let me send a set of Fralins and my beloved LaBella 760FL’s for factory install and setup.
The Biggest Stupidest Idea, though, was the finish.
I enjoy the aesthetic of a time-worn and play-worn body. I see no shame in buying a relic’d bass, but there are so many examples that don’t quite do it for me — so many ways to be nervous that it wouldn’t come out quite how I hoped. So I asked John if he’d ever done a paint job with no clear coat on top. A bass that’s ready for the user to relic by just playing it. He said, “No… But I’ll try it, if that’s what you want.” He warned to avoid contact with fingernail polish remover, and that was a responsibility I could accept.
Sonic Blue was the color of the first real USA Precision I ever held in a music store. It was impossibly expensive to me then — unobtainable — and it just glowed as it sat in my lap. I never forgot it.
So: a thin coat of Sonic Blue, sprayed over Candy Apple Red. There’s a beating heart beneath that sky of blue. If I ding or scratch her, she’ll bleed. The hope is that in 10 years, she could look like I’ve played her for 50.
I mean, it’s a P-bass: what could be more basic?
But I think that there’s no bass just like this one in the whole wide world.
Dude likes bass.Thanks, Talkbass, for so much inspiration and knowledge — for helping me find the sound in my head. I’ve learned so much from this place, I just wanted to share a dream with y’all.
It’s been twelve years since my last NBD. I’m a little jealous of the guys who churn their herd, with the thrills of the chase and all those New Bass Days. But I’m a buy-and-hold guy. Find the very best thing you can possibly reasonably afford — and if you’re still using it a decade later, give yourself permission to replace it.
I decided to go all-in on the only kind of axe for me in this world: a P with Jazz neck.
I adore old things, but never had a vintage bass. That option had a lot of appeal, but finding the dream Precision with an A-width neck was going to be a needle in a haystack, and pricey at that. I looked also at Fender Custom Shop: an actual custom would take a year-plus wait, and the customer experience seemed disconnected from the factory and craftsmen.
When I wrote to Lakland, it was John P himself who responded and became my only contact from start to finish. Bossman suffered my questions, stayed in touch, and never said no to the stupid ideas for my dream bass.
“Can I have block inlays made out of roasted maple to match the headstock?” No problem, won’t cost much, he said. “Hey, could you etch the word FUNK into the heel of the neck in homage to Mr. Jamerson?” Um, sure. “Would the craftsmen put their initials on the back of the body please?" Yeah, man. Taboot, John let me send a set of Fralins and my beloved LaBella 760FL’s for factory install and setup.
The Biggest Stupidest Idea, though, was the finish.
I enjoy the aesthetic of a time-worn and play-worn body. I see no shame in buying a relic’d bass, but there are so many examples that don’t quite do it for me — so many ways to be nervous that it wouldn’t come out quite how I hoped. So I asked John if he’d ever done a paint job with no clear coat on top. A bass that’s ready for the user to relic by just playing it. He said, “No… But I’ll try it, if that’s what you want.” He warned to avoid contact with fingernail polish remover, and that was a responsibility I could accept.
Sonic Blue was the color of the first real USA Precision I ever held in a music store. It was impossibly expensive to me then — unobtainable — and it just glowed as it sat in my lap. I never forgot it.
So: a thin coat of Sonic Blue, sprayed over Candy Apple Red. There’s a beating heart beneath that sky of blue. If I ding or scratch her, she’ll bleed. The hope is that in 10 years, she could look like I’ve played her for 50.
I mean, it’s a P-bass: what could be more basic?
But I think that there’s no bass just like this one in the whole wide world.
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