Thin sounding Fender P-Bass Highway One

[lowstrung]

Why does my P-Bass HighwayOne is somehow thin sounding compare to the Fender Sting and the Jazz Bass
I own? A lot of tremble but no bottom end like the others
All the above basses with the factory pickups and height to strings the same.
Even my recently sold Squier P-Bass 60's classic vibe sounding better than the Highway..
Test done via a markbass little markII with 12"'s and 15"s and a fender bxr25.
Any idea?

 

[Moving Pictures]

Strings?

 

[pacojas]

wood?!!

 

[lowstrung]

stings eeh? well 45-100 fender stock round wound for HW , Ernie ball round wound nickel 45-100 for the others..nothing special.

 

[tastybasslines]

Many of the Highway Ones were fitted with AM Standard pups, and they were apparently not very good during that time period, mine included. I switched mine out with an ESP pup I wasn't using anymore, and it sounds much better now.

 

[OutToPlayJazz]

I'd try new strings as an initial solution - Being as Highway One models have been out of production for some time, you may still be running on the original strings. Try some DR's or a really good quality string.

If all else fails, order a much better quality pickup - SD Quarter Pounder, Aguilar Hot P, Lindy Fralin, etc.

Back to strings, make sure they're wound on the pegs from top to bottom, making sure you have as much tension as possible.

 

[tjh]

What year is your Hwy P? ... there were a couple different P pups used between the Hwy 1 and Ones over the years ... did you play with your pup/string height a bit to try and 'fatten' up the sound you were getting?

 

[bassbully]

I remember the older ones with standard Fender bridge were nice but the models with a BA bridge were thin sounding IMO.

 

[mpdd]

the only thing that worked with mine were the d'addario nickel rounds and turning the treble knob way down on my head

 

[Moving Pictures]

Definitely trying other strings can help. The HWY 1 I owned had the traditional bent plate bridge and sounded a lot better than my friend's newer model with the BA bridge. He swapped out the BA for a bent plate bridge and it was a huge improvement. Cheaper than a pickup swap and definitely worth trying. Mine always sounded great with either D'Addario XLs or DR Hi Beams.

 

[Lucas Dauphinais]

The Highway One, along with the American Special, used Fender's Greasebucket tone circuit, which was not used on the Highway 1, nor most other Fender instruments. This would be the main reason for the tone difference you describe.

 

[Turock]

The Highway One, along with the American Special, used Fender's Greasebucket tone circuit, which was not used on the Highway 1, nor most other Fender instruments. This would be the main reason for the tone difference you describe.

Both of my Highway 1 basses have the Greasebucket.

 

[Lucas Dauphinais]

I think Highway 1s were made with traditional electronics, then Fender updated the series with a nitro finish and Greasebucket electronics, among other upgrades, and dubbed it the Highway One.

 

[Turock]

I think Highway 1s were made with traditional electronics, then Fender updated the series with a nitro finish and Greasebucket electronics, among other upgrades, and dubbed it the Highway One.

No, sorry, that's not quite right. Some of the early Highway 1 basses did not have the Geasebucket, the later Highway 1 basses did.

 

[tjh]

The Highway 1 was issued from 2001 to 2005 with a traditional tone circuit, then the Highway One (note the different spelling) was issued as an update in 2006 with the Greasebucket tone circuit. We're essentially saying the same thing, but people were talking about how big of a difference the bridge was making on the different models when it was probably just the tone circuit.

Lucas, the Hwy 1 bass was introduced for 2003 model year (with conventional tone circuitry) .. mid '05 the Greasebucket tone circuitry was added to that model, and then mid '06 the 'upgrade' to the Hwy One took place, using the GreaseBucket tone circuitry for its entire run ... the Hwy One P's did undergo a pup change from the 56003/4 set to what was being used in the 'New' AmStands (61276/7 set) around '08/'09, which would likely have been the most noticable change for many users ...

 

[Turock]

The Highway 1 was issued from 2001 to 2005 with a traditional tone circuit, then the Highway One (note the different spelling) was issued as an update in 2006 with the Greasebucket tone circuit. We're essentially saying the same thing, but people were talking about how big of a difference the bridge was making on the different models when it was probably just the tone circuit.

Actually, we are not saying the same thing. The Highway 1 basses had the Greasebucket before being renamed Highway One.

 

[Lucas Dauphinais]

Oooh, okay - thanks tjh.

 

[Turock]

Yeah, thanks tjh for confirming what I tried to tell Lucas 3 different times.

 

[stanley00]

I would agree that it's the Greasebucket, I have it on my American Special. You'll have to dial in the tone with your amp eq for increased bass. I back off the treble, lower the gain, increase bass and mids and sounds fine. From there, the tone on the bass just smooths out any excess brightness.

 

[Turock]

I don't know. I have two Greasebucket Highway 1s, and I also own several MIA Fenders to compare. Mine do not sound thin at all. They do sound much thicker with LaBellas than Chromes.