I may need a larger area rug for future updates! My collection is starting to get a little redundant since the sunburst (w/ flats) and oly white (w/ rounds) MIA Fender P's cover all my needs. The other Fenders cover the same ground, but each has its own little nuance that prevents me from wanting to thin the herd!
Since my last update, the black Fender Reggie Hamilton Jazz is the newest one to me (bought used last weekend, made in 2007).
Left to right:
1) Squier parts bass with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound P and J pickups. Surprisingly bright tone in a good way. The pickups would not be recommended to achieve a Geddy-like tone, but for whatever reason, that's the type of tone this bass puts out - bright and raspy.
2) Musicvox Space Cadet 34" ... a bit of a runt in terms of looking out of place in this picture
An impulse purchase based on looks. Flat (16" radius) and shallow C neck. Pickup combo is nice and beefy. I do like the bass a lot, it's well-built (Korean) and it's very unique, so I'm keeping it.
3) 2007 Fender Reggie Hamilton Jazz ... still wondering why I bought it last weekend, but no regrets either. No need to change anything on this guy. The P pickup is very deep sounding. Despite only having a master volume and blend control in passive mode, I love the range of tones. In active (18V), I personally think it retains it's passive character which is a good thing. Can't see me ever using the active mode though since I like to passive tone a lot. It's definitely the heaviest bass I've even owned, and finger marks show up on that finish like I can't believe! lol
4) My #1 baby. It's my fave 2009 MIA neck from another P-Bass on a MIA 2010 body I had routed for the Jazz pickup (2010 body originally had a maple fingerboard). MJS Custom Hand Wound pickups. Local pickup builder (Mississauga, Ontario) who I sat down with and talked about styles and preferences and we went from there. Strung with flats - Fender 9050ML (50-100). The one that gets saved if I can only save one in a fire.
5) 2012 MIA P-Standard. My #2 baby, but my #1 roundwound bass
All stock except for the D-tuner.
6) 2013 Gretsch Electromatic G5440LSB ... Long-scale hollowbody. It requires a straight-arm and shoulder tilt to reach low F, but worth it. Complete hollowbody (no center block) and DR Legends flats. As close to playing a double bass as I'll ever get.
7) 1986 MIJ Fender P/J ... Precision neck that I had professionally converted to a fretless. It was a risk since I don't see myself ever having the confidence to play fretless live. However, I had a hunch this bass would sound beautiful as a fretless with these pickups and TBX control and I was right. The tech did an absolute amazing job on the neck (with maple inserts in place of the frets and a liberal amount of tung oil coating the fret board). I'm practicing with it more and more and really enjoying it ... lots of fun to play.
Up close each bass has it's fair share of gig-earned marks. Not a boutique collection, but I have owned more expensive non-Fender basses in the past, and it's the comfort necks more than anything else that keeps me to tied to Fender.
Edit: Ack! See what happens when you take all your basses out of their cases, line them up just so, and post a picture? Someone offers to trade a Traynor YBA200-2 tube amp for the bass you know you'll use the least (the Musicvox). To be continued ... lol
