Yesterday I had a good day.
I went to Chuck Levin's in Wheaton MD to try out some basses with the hope of buying an Ultra Precision in white with maple. I have an Elite Jazz in white with rosewood and am a huge fan. So easy to play and I think it sounds fantastic with everything wide open. (Not a fan of trying to dial in much else with it though, and I thought that was a me thing. Just reading here how it's not me, the pre-amp is garbage. I feel better, somehow.)
No dice on an Ultra P, and their quoted availability is February, which even caught the sales guy off guard.
So I switched to guns and tried an American Professional II thinking I would go traditional, and immediately did not like the neck. I have an early 80's MIJ Squire P with a baseball bat neck and I am spoiled by my Jazz. This profile was a '63 and I just didn't gel in my first impression.
Went further down the ladder to Player Plus and found the modern C to be to my liking, but I couldn't groove on the green color. They had white, but again I was thinking how a bass looks to me is a *really* big deal and I was not grooving on the Pau Ferro.
On this trip I am Dead Set on a maple neck like my MIJ P. (That neck however has a seized truss rod and is wall art. It was my first guitar, paid $200 bucks for it used as a senior in high school (all I could swing), and it took me through multiple bands and more good times than I could count. But it's toast.
So while I had been waiting for word about this or that in terms of leads times I am playing the Pro II and starting to come to terms with it. I think this will be it. It's gorgeous. So Todd (a very helpful sales guy) takes it to set up.
I'm looking around and my wife asks, "What are those ones up there? They look cool." "I dunno. They are a whole different deal.", but curiosity killed the cat and will likely get me one day too.
So I pull one down and it plays great, the pre-amp in nothing like my Elite, and really actually does things. But it is a god awful purple and black. However, right behind me is same/similar but in colors I really like. "Uh Todd? Hold up a sec on that!" I go back and forth between the two, the Pro II and what I found out with some Googling is an Ibanez. "Ibanez? Gross! That's for hair band guys. No thank you. But dang it does sound good.... I dunno - I don't think I'm ready to be an Ibanez guy. Ok Todd Pro II it is."
Twiddle thumbs waiting. But I am in the bass department and these are bass people so I casually ask, "Hey what's up with lack of Thunderbirds? I want to get one but all that is available is the Gene Simmons model. (See hair band comment above)"
"What you talking about, "No Thunderbirds"? I am looking at one right now just over your right shoulder on that wall."
I turn around, and realize what he means,"Oh no not those! Those are ridiculous looking. I mean a REAL Thunderbird." They proceed to confuse me with reverse non-reverse yada yada and which was first and meaningful or whatever, but they both say it's a hell of an instrument and if that's the sound I am looking for I should check them out. Well I am here, so what the hell, I may as well hear how it sounds.
BOOM. (whoah. Whoah. Oh my LORD. This IS IT! HEY TODD!)
I think it's about the ugliest thing I have ever seen, and has a rosewood board, and I think it is about as long as a telephone pole, but my wife loves how it looks so at least I have that going for me. Awesome.
Sorry Todd, you are a great sport. It was at that point we realized we were in a two seater with limited room. (Cue the hollow bass drum sound)
"It will fit. If I can fit it can fit with me."
TLDR
So the Gibson screws are both larger than the supplied Schallers, and the bottom one is significantly larger. So large that it wouldn't even fit through the hole in the button without a Strong Persuader (me, in lieu of Cray.) But then the oval head of the Gibson screws won't countersink into the Schaller button, so depth is off and the locks won't fit over it anyway if I simply bought a longer version of same screw.
So I need a screw wide enough to fit the Gibson holes and have bite (Schaller screws do not meet this criteria), but small enough to fit inside the button (Gibson screws don't meet this criteria.)
I'm thinking this is nuts. How can a strap lock pose any sort of confusion, yet here I am. Home Depot doesn't seem necessary for what must be a common problem. I am clearly being an idiot here.
"Todd?"
I went to Chuck Levin's in Wheaton MD to try out some basses with the hope of buying an Ultra Precision in white with maple. I have an Elite Jazz in white with rosewood and am a huge fan. So easy to play and I think it sounds fantastic with everything wide open. (Not a fan of trying to dial in much else with it though, and I thought that was a me thing. Just reading here how it's not me, the pre-amp is garbage. I feel better, somehow.)
No dice on an Ultra P, and their quoted availability is February, which even caught the sales guy off guard.
So I switched to guns and tried an American Professional II thinking I would go traditional, and immediately did not like the neck. I have an early 80's MIJ Squire P with a baseball bat neck and I am spoiled by my Jazz. This profile was a '63 and I just didn't gel in my first impression.
Went further down the ladder to Player Plus and found the modern C to be to my liking, but I couldn't groove on the green color. They had white, but again I was thinking how a bass looks to me is a *really* big deal and I was not grooving on the Pau Ferro.
On this trip I am Dead Set on a maple neck like my MIJ P. (That neck however has a seized truss rod and is wall art. It was my first guitar, paid $200 bucks for it used as a senior in high school (all I could swing), and it took me through multiple bands and more good times than I could count. But it's toast.
So while I had been waiting for word about this or that in terms of leads times I am playing the Pro II and starting to come to terms with it. I think this will be it. It's gorgeous. So Todd (a very helpful sales guy) takes it to set up.
I'm looking around and my wife asks, "What are those ones up there? They look cool." "I dunno. They are a whole different deal.", but curiosity killed the cat and will likely get me one day too.
So I pull one down and it plays great, the pre-amp in nothing like my Elite, and really actually does things. But it is a god awful purple and black. However, right behind me is same/similar but in colors I really like. "Uh Todd? Hold up a sec on that!" I go back and forth between the two, the Pro II and what I found out with some Googling is an Ibanez. "Ibanez? Gross! That's for hair band guys. No thank you. But dang it does sound good.... I dunno - I don't think I'm ready to be an Ibanez guy. Ok Todd Pro II it is."
Twiddle thumbs waiting. But I am in the bass department and these are bass people so I casually ask, "Hey what's up with lack of Thunderbirds? I want to get one but all that is available is the Gene Simmons model. (See hair band comment above)"
"What you talking about, "No Thunderbirds"? I am looking at one right now just over your right shoulder on that wall."
I turn around, and realize what he means,"Oh no not those! Those are ridiculous looking. I mean a REAL Thunderbird." They proceed to confuse me with reverse non-reverse yada yada and which was first and meaningful or whatever, but they both say it's a hell of an instrument and if that's the sound I am looking for I should check them out. Well I am here, so what the hell, I may as well hear how it sounds.
BOOM. (whoah. Whoah. Oh my LORD. This IS IT! HEY TODD!)
I think it's about the ugliest thing I have ever seen, and has a rosewood board, and I think it is about as long as a telephone pole, but my wife loves how it looks so at least I have that going for me. Awesome.
Sorry Todd, you are a great sport. It was at that point we realized we were in a two seater with limited room. (Cue the hollow bass drum sound)
"It will fit. If I can fit it can fit with me."
TLDR
So the Gibson screws are both larger than the supplied Schallers, and the bottom one is significantly larger. So large that it wouldn't even fit through the hole in the button without a Strong Persuader (me, in lieu of Cray.) But then the oval head of the Gibson screws won't countersink into the Schaller button, so depth is off and the locks won't fit over it anyway if I simply bought a longer version of same screw.
So I need a screw wide enough to fit the Gibson holes and have bite (Schaller screws do not meet this criteria), but small enough to fit inside the button (Gibson screws don't meet this criteria.)
I'm thinking this is nuts. How can a strap lock pose any sort of confusion, yet here I am. Home Depot doesn't seem necessary for what must be a common problem. I am clearly being an idiot here.
"Todd?"
