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The Fender/Squier Bullet Bass Thread
- Thread starter Johnny Alien
- Start date
Alright I’m back here is a pic. Put on a tort pickguard (the white on blonde kinda was washed out), Hipshot A type bridge for tighter string spacing, and some GHS balanced nickel rounds. Not loving the strings so any suggestions are welcome!
I put GHS pressurewounds on the Short Scale Bullet bass, I am enjoying them a lot more than the GHS balanced nickels. I'm sure everyone here knows, but the Short Scale version of the Bullet features the pickup in the MusicMan location instead of the Precision location (like the long scale Bullet). So it's not a simple "put what sounds good on a precision or mustang on there" type question for strings. Also my other bass (Hofner CLub) has flats, so i needed something different.
I am loving the Tort pickguard but had a thought, i might have one of my friends paint the original white one and do some psychedelic type thing to it, could be funky.
Last thought, played this at a gig and it was fun, i feel i have enough different tones/sounds between my 2 basses i'm probably done buying basses for a while. Got the flatwound hollowbody thump of the hofner, and the single coil roundwound grind/bite with the bullet bass. i'm not into 5 strings or active basses, so conceptually i can't find a need for another axe.
I am loving the Tort pickguard but had a thought, i might have one of my friends paint the original white one and do some psychedelic type thing to it, could be funky.
Last thought, played this at a gig and it was fun, i feel i have enough different tones/sounds between my 2 basses i'm probably done buying basses for a while. Got the flatwound hollowbody thump of the hofner, and the single coil roundwound grind/bite with the bullet bass. i'm not into 5 strings or active basses, so conceptually i can't find a need for another axe.
Even the long scale has the pickup a little closer to the bridge than a standard Precision. At least it looks that way visually, I could be wrong.
interesting, i figured it was a product of shrinking it down, maybe it was by design. would love to hear from others on here.
You are correct. Because of the bridge location difference it IS closer to the bridge than on the full scale. It also likely counter balances the thumpiness/low end from the shorter scale. I was just mentioning that I believe the full scale also does not have the pickup in the P spot
i truly have no idea, but i've always considered the b30 the original concept as a mustang/musicmaster replacement, and the b34 the 'scaled up' design ~
So, I got myself a squier bullet bass after many years of hunting and never finding one at the right time. It's a reverb find, so I was taking a chance not being able to play it first. But the price was right due to some fire damage to the body. So I rolled the dice. It arrived late last week and I've been trying to find some time to give it a good once over. There's some corrosion on the bridge parts and output jack, a bit of fret sprout, some pickguard damage, and non original knobs. But the pickup is functional, the truss rod works, and the neck profile feels really great.
Got the corrosion cleaned up a bit, tossed on some flats, and gave it a quick setup. The body has seen better days, but it's actually pretty neat with the fire damage(I'll post pics later). I'll cut a new pickguard sometime soon and toss the original in a drawer.
All of this is lead up to tonight's band rehearsal. I've been searching for the right bass for this originals project for almost a year. I've brought a couple split coil p basses with different pickup and string options, a Yamaha bb800 with the reverse p pickup, a 51 reissue with a single coil, a medium scale with a guild bisonic and a Novak goldfoil, nothing was quite right, even though all of them sounded good in their own way. The Yamaha was leading the pack, but it's a bit heavy and I really didn't want to have shoulder that for hours on end (great recording bass though, it anything else seated). The bullet wins! It was great. I had to do some eq'ing and boost the lows a bit more than for a p bass, but the mids just sang. It was very present in the mix without being overbearing or harsh. The neck played amazingly well and felt great (still have to address the sprout). Talked one of the guitar players after rehearsal and said I think I found the bass for the project. He agreed, which made me feel like a winner. And it's a real featherweight to boot.
I'll post some pictures soon. I just had to come here and comment while I'm still buzzing from rehearsal.
I wish they would reissue these. I think they're very deserving for the quirky little basses that they are.
Thanks for reading the novel.
Got the corrosion cleaned up a bit, tossed on some flats, and gave it a quick setup. The body has seen better days, but it's actually pretty neat with the fire damage(I'll post pics later). I'll cut a new pickguard sometime soon and toss the original in a drawer.
All of this is lead up to tonight's band rehearsal. I've been searching for the right bass for this originals project for almost a year. I've brought a couple split coil p basses with different pickup and string options, a Yamaha bb800 with the reverse p pickup, a 51 reissue with a single coil, a medium scale with a guild bisonic and a Novak goldfoil, nothing was quite right, even though all of them sounded good in their own way. The Yamaha was leading the pack, but it's a bit heavy and I really didn't want to have shoulder that for hours on end (great recording bass though, it anything else seated). The bullet wins! It was great. I had to do some eq'ing and boost the lows a bit more than for a p bass, but the mids just sang. It was very present in the mix without being overbearing or harsh. The neck played amazingly well and felt great (still have to address the sprout). Talked one of the guitar players after rehearsal and said I think I found the bass for the project. He agreed, which made me feel like a winner. And it's a real featherweight to boot.
I'll post some pictures soon. I just had to come here and comment while I'm still buzzing from rehearsal.
I wish they would reissue these. I think they're very deserving for the quirky little basses that they are.
Thanks for reading the novel.
Glad you like it. Instead of boosting the lows you could also try raising the pickup height to be a little closer to the strings, that gives more output and if they were far away, usually gives more low end as well.
I considered this, and might have to try it. As goosing the low end at the amp resulted in a very pleasant sound, I'm not rushing to make any changes. I know some people claim these basses sound anemic or lacking in low end. I don't feel that's the case, just that they have a different natural eq curve than they might be used to from other basses. Like I said, I tried many other basses looking for what fit for this project. I bumped the low end when setting up for rehearsal and the only other changes I made for the while night were the volume or tone at the bass. Sat perfectly in the mix.
Bought this a few years ago for $40. Restrung and cleaned up fretboard. It still needs a fret sanding and a pro set up. Got fret buzz. Truss rod tight as it can get. My concern is the pickups and pick guard. It appears a previous owner did something to the pickups and pick guard. Where the pickups screw in someone used a dremel tool and did a terrible job of it. ***? the pick guard doesn't line up with original screw holes. Only 3 screws holding it on. Any ideas what they were trying do and did? Apologies for lame photos.
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77stingray
Supporting Member
Hey all. I just got a sunburst B30. It is a really solid bass and in really great shape. There is even some flaming on the neck. This is the first Fender I really think I will keep because of the the short scale, smaller body size and high build quality. I ordered a new pickguard so that I can save the original from any further cracking. Although I haven’t tried this out in a full band setting yet, I am tempted to try out other pickups since you only have to modify a pickguard. I plan on keeping all the original parts so that the bass can be returned to 100% original condition. I would be curious to hear what other owners have tried. I have watched videos on Novak, Nordstrand, and Lollar replacement mustang pickups. Also have considered regular P pickups - I really love the sound of the Lollars in Nash basses. And lastly, I have been intrigued by Nick Campbell’s musicmaster mod which I believe has 2 guitar pickups, a b90 and a Novak foil pickup, both with their own volume and tone. It sounds great when he plays it (lol), though not sure it would be practical for me. Has anyone kept the original pickups and added an additional pickup closer to the neck?
Curious to hear about what people have tried.
Source: YouTube
The Mystery Fender Musicmaster Mod (Bass Tales Ep.6 w/ Nick Campbell)
Curious to hear about what people have tried.
Source: YouTube
The Mystery Fender Musicmaster Mod (Bass Tales Ep.6 w/ Nick Campbell)
I have NM4's on my Bullet that I jam with ,sounds great , also a Badass bridge and a hipshot bass extender.It also has a modded jazz bass neck for the narrowness of the nut. It's a Bullet bass deluxe body (USA). . . . I have several Un-modded bullets for sale including a B30
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77stingray
Supporting Member
I saw your B 30. I literally just bought mine a week or so ago. If I had more $$ I’d probably buy yours too. I really think they are great basses and there are so many mod possibilities! Let me know if you have any trade interests.
