NBD: Johnson P

[twinjet]

Let me show you my Johnson...

It's a beater. Pretty bad, the truss rod has been tightened and the saddles are touching the bridge plate - and I still have close to 1 cm string height!

The bass was in terrible shape. I fixed it up a bit at the pawn shop and cleaned it up at home.

I plan to deck it out a bit! I'll post more pics as I perform upgrades. I hope to swap out the tuners, install a white pearloid pickguard, stick some white pearloid block inlay stickers, a better bridge, and lastly a good set of pickups.

The guys at the local music shop (same one that sold me an American P bass two weeks ago) were amazed that I bought such a piece of junk, especially at the ridiculous price of $85! I'll be honest, when I was trying to scratch the P bass itch, this was the first P that I tried and liked. Despite the warped (now straight) neck, and the many cosmetic flaws, I am still glad I bought this. I just wanted a cheap beater I could drag to a bar and not have to worry about. This is it.

 

[Oren Hudson]

Sounds like you had a good time re-habing this thumper. I love doing that myself. Enjoy.

 

[Wallace320]

I agree... I dunno what moves all of us, but goes exactly like you said...

You finally put your hands on somethin' worth it (e.g. a true American Fender) then get caught by the goal to keep a cheapo goin' doin' your best to help it out of the dust

It's pure fun
and w'all need it

Cheers,
Wallace

 

[Runnerman]

I've got an older one with a fender shaped headstock sitting in the closet for a lot of years now. I used it as a teaching bass and my daughter played it for a while. The pups are fairly strong but tuners are horrible. I've never considered using it as a gigging bass. Congrats to you for giving it a go.

 

[bnolsen]

shim the neck pocket and that will help with the saddle height. Doesn't look like you have much room for running out the saddles more though.

I'm seeing a deep red one on craigslist for less than you paid (oh crap its 2 miles down the road from work). Would this work as a BEAD (or higher) beater?

 

[Runnerman]

shim the neck pocket and that will help with the saddle height. Doesn't look like you have much room for running out the saddles more though.

I'm seeing a deep red one on craigslist for less than you paid (oh crap its 2 miles down the road from work). Would this work as a BEAD (or higher) beater?

I'm saying yes....lower tension is probably better for this neck....although the tuners are not extremely precise so this could be a pain. After this convo I'm thinking to pull mine out and tune as a DGCD, setup, and see how it does.

 

[bnolsen]

I'd probably prefer the D C# or C tuning over the B anyways. Would appreciate it.

 

[Muddslide]

Looks nice to me. What color is it? Kind of comes across bluish-green to me in the pic, but that may just be reflected light on a black finish. Either way, what's not to like for a sub- $100 bass that you plan to have fun fixing up?

I had been without a guitar for a while, but wanted one for recording and writing and just messing around on again. I am not a guy who has much leisure cash ever--just a hard working slob with a great family and lots of bills to pay.

Strats aren't my favorite electric guitars (prefer Teles, Les Pauls...) but they ARE pretty versatile and since I am playing some surfy-type instro music I wanted a whammy bar and the Fender single coil sound. Decided my best bet would be to find a cheap old used Squier Strat or something. It was actually harder to find a Strat-alike on the cheap than I expected it to be. Usually I see them in local pawn shops and on the local CL in abundance, but the stars were misaligned when I started looking for my El Cheapo Strat.

Finally found one at a pawn shop marked $79. I got it for $40. A Johnson. I was surprised at it, frankly. It is very quiet--was expecting real scratchy pots or a jacked-up jack or something...no...everything functions at 100%. The neck is straight, nice and chunky like I like them...creamy off white body, white pg, maple fingerboard.

Has the same headstock and logo as your P-bass so probably made around the same time at the same factory.

Mine's really sweet. Maybe I just lucked out. But don't give up on yours--if mine's a player*, I imagine yours is (or could be) too.

* (by "player" I don't mean a high-quality, professional instrument--just a very playable El Cheapo that, with some mods and upgrades, could be really pretty darn nice and giggable.)

 

[twinjet]

Looks nice to me. What color is it? Kind of comes across bluish-green to me in the pic, but that may just be reflected light on a black finish. Either way, what's not to like for a sub- $100 bass that you plan to have fun fixing up?

I had been without a guitar for a while, but wanted one for recording and writing and just messing around on again. I am not a guy who has much leisure cash ever--just a hard working slob with a great family and lots of bills to pay.

Strats aren't my favorite electric guitars (prefer Teles, Les Pauls...) but they ARE pretty versatile and since I am playing some surfy-type instro music I wanted a whammy bar and the Fender single coil sound. Decided my best bet would be to find a cheap old used Squier Strat or something. It was actually harder to find a Strat-alike on the cheap than I expected it to be. Usually I see them in local pawn shops and on the local CL in abundance, but the stars were misaligned when I started looking for my El Cheapo Strat.

Finally found one at a pawn shop marked $79. I got it for $40. A Johnson. I was surprised at it, frankly. It is very quiet--was expecting real scratchy pots or a jacked-up jack or something...no...everything functions at 100%. The neck is straight, nice and chunky like I like them...creamy off white body, white pg, maple fingerboard.

Has the same headstock and logo as your P-bass so probably made around the same time at the same factory.

Mine's really sweet. Maybe I just lucked out. But don't give up on yours--if mine's a player*, I imagine yours is (or could be) too.

* (by "player" I don't mean a high-quality, professional instrument--just a very playable El Cheapo that, with some mods and upgrades, could be really pretty darn nice and giggable.)

It is blue-green... More blue, slight tinge of green. Beautiful finish, really. It is wearing the Fender rounds that were on my American P bass, and they sound great. I don't know that I plan to gig often with it, but if I need a backup... This is useable. Plus, what's to dislike about bass rehab?

 

[twinjet]

shim the neck pocket and that will help with the saddle height. Doesn't look like you have much room for running out the saddles more though.

I'm seeing a deep red one on craigslist for less than you paid (oh crap its 2 miles down the road from work). Would this work as a BEAD (or higher) beater?

I have it tuned standard. It'll be my rock bass while the American takes all the other gigs. But I couldn't see why BEAD wouldn't work, just file the nut a bit.

 

[Roosevelt]

Let me show you my Johnson...

It's a beater. Pretty bad, the truss rod has been tightened and the saddles are touching the bridge plate - and I still have close to 1 cm string height!

The bass was in terrible shape. I fixed it up a bit at the pawn shop and cleaned it up at home.

I plan to deck it out a bit! I'll post more pics as I perform upgrades. I hope to swap out the tuners, install a white pearloid pickguard, stick some white pearloid block inlay stickers, a better bridge, and lastly a good set of pickups.

The guys at the local music shop (same one that sold me an American P bass two weeks ago) were amazed that I bought such a piece of junk, especially at the ridiculous price of $85! I'll be honest, when I was trying to scratch the P bass itch, this was the first P that I tried and liked. Despite the warped (now straight) neck, and the many cosmetic flaws, I am still glad I bought this. I just wanted a cheap beater I could drag to a bar and not have to worry about. This is it.

View attachment 717501

Did you ever upgrade it? If so do you have pics, I would love to see how it turned out. I have an opportunity to do the same but just want to know if it is worth the trouble.

 

[4sight]

So you're telling us someone really gave your Johnson a beating? Yes, I am childish

I love cheap P basses, good score!

 

[twinjet]

Did you ever upgrade it? If so do you have pics, I would love to see how it turned out. I have an opportunity to do the same but just want to know if it is worth the trouble.

So you're telling us someone really gave your Johnson a beating? Yes, I am childish

I love cheap P basses, good score!

The bass is long gone. I didn't do anything with it.