When I saw it on the wall of the store I asked what model. The shop owner said he had ordered it at NAMM and that had just come in. I thought it was the coolest thing, so I bought it!
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The Few, the Proud, the Cowpokes. (official Fender Cowpoke club)
- Thread starter Lammchop93
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Hey fellow pokers! Going through pictures yielded one of yours truly sporting the Cowpoke I still play. It was taken at a bar in called Pelicans Roost in Kankakee Illinois from around 95. Hooked me into gigging for an El Sobrante fortnight...Claypool fans might get the reference.
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My cowpoke... It's seen a few mods. Dimarzio Relentless pickups, Hipshot Kickass bridge and an Audere Classic 2 band preamp. Tons of bottom end... nearly too much. I keep the bass at about 40-45% and the trebles rolled back to about 35%. I keep the blend at roughly... 60% to the bridge and 40% to the neck. I get more compliments on the tone of this bass than my Modulus.
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Hi Cowpoke friends, I own one from 1994, black, that I bought 3 years ago here in France. I play bass since 25+ years and it's my very first Fender. I love it ! It's really comfortable to play and it sounds awesome ! I think I'll never sell it.
I recently bought a MM Stingray that became my main instrument but I continue regularly playing my growling Cowpoke.
I recently bought a MM Stingray that became my main instrument but I continue regularly playing my growling Cowpoke.
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Popped your cherry on the only Fender you'll ever need! Yessss black...hello from Illinois.
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I have a few Cowpoke questions. I have a Cowpoke that I like very much, but a few things (IMO) could be improved. Santa is bringing me some new Aguilar AG4PJ-HCPU JBass/PBass pickups. Not a fan of the stock units. I'm going to install these with the existing preamp to see if this changes things for the better.
If things aren't improved, I would consider removing the preamp altogether and just run it passively with new pots and wiring. Do you owners feel the preamp is part of the sound or charm with this instrument?
The reason I'm replacing the pick ups is that I can't seem to get decent tone, despite all my fiddling. My amp is a Genzler Magellan 350 with a Bass Array 10" cabinet which sounds good to me with my Ibanez, FWIW.
If things aren't improved, I would consider removing the preamp altogether and just run it passively with new pots and wiring. Do you owners feel the preamp is part of the sound or charm with this instrument?
The reason I'm replacing the pick ups is that I can't seem to get decent tone, despite all my fiddling. My amp is a Genzler Magellan 350 with a Bass Array 10" cabinet which sounds good to me with my Ibanez, FWIW.
Whilst I regret getting rid of my Cowpoke, the thing I felt was lacking as the preamp. Although it's a Kubicki and supposed to be great, I found the EQ points not quite to my liking and felt it was a bit noisy. Back then preamps were expensive and I had no idea how to change one. There's a Precision Plus or something from the same period which is quite similar to the Cowpoke apart from styling. I now have a P-Lyte from the same vintage and the preamp seems to do the job, although the styling is a bit generic 90s. Hey, the bassist from the Sneaker Pimps used one for a bit, so it's legit
.I was sorely tempted. I saw another bass with similar styling, apart from having a control plate as the Schecter, but I have forgotten what it was. The Squier Paranormal has some of the vibe. I wish they'd just reissue the Cowpoke. Perhaps there are parts from Warmoth you could build one from.
Anyone still following this thread? I negotiated what I thought was a pretty fair deal for a long-neglected Cowpoke longer ago than I’d like to admit. I wanted one since discovering them, but I’ve never played her. She’s black on black and it turns out she was a bit more rode hard and put away wet than I realized.
I need to replace the guts, which doesn’t bother me. What bothers me more is the crack in the finish running from the output jack up across the body between the bridge and control knobs. But I digress.
I’m wondering what you all recommend for a preamp that works with the two existing holes. Is there something available that comes with two concentric pots? If not, I guess I could go passive with a neck volume/tone and bridge volume/tone, ‘60 Jazz Bass style.
Thanks for your input. I’m 100% comfortable working on the electronics and setup—much less so on the finish. But it seems like stripping and starting over is the way to go. I’ll probably stick with black, because that’s kinda my type for guitars, but a glossy primer gray might look good. Not sure if a non-standard color would sit right with me.
I need to replace the guts, which doesn’t bother me. What bothers me more is the crack in the finish running from the output jack up across the body between the bridge and control knobs. But I digress.
I’m wondering what you all recommend for a preamp that works with the two existing holes. Is there something available that comes with two concentric pots? If not, I guess I could go passive with a neck volume/tone and bridge volume/tone, ‘60 Jazz Bass style.
Thanks for your input. I’m 100% comfortable working on the electronics and setup—much less so on the finish. But it seems like stripping and starting over is the way to go. I’ll probably stick with black, because that’s kinda my type for guitars, but a glossy primer gray might look good. Not sure if a non-standard color would sit right with me.
I had Larry Pollack at Aero make me a PJ set and wired them up VT VT. I could have gone VV T and been happy.
The active electronics, bass boost, treble boost and blend pot are what I still love about my '94 P Bass Special. I can dial in a wide array of tones that I've used for a variety of gigs over the years.
There are many preamps out there you could theoretically replace the pots for. It's finding a stacked blend and volume pot on one shaft that's the tricky one, but there are few places out there that have a large variety of pots and probably appropriate values.
