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Things You Wish Leo Had Done Differently...

kevteop

kevteop

Feb 12, 2008
4,452
513
York, UK
#1
I'm doing some maintenance today on a Jazz and a P bass, and it reminded me how much I hate the way Fender's basses have their pickups mounted - on foam pads with those long screws with the heads that strip so easily. It's mostly the screws I don't like but the foam is bad too.

Anyone else have slightly irrational pet hates with these ubiquitous basses?
 
#5
Ehhh... have a look at a G&L before you post, he actually did do things differently eventually ;)

I'd love to have a blend pot on my L2000.

That is all :)

Edit - what I most like about Fender is that, like every good engineer, he continually learned and refined subsequent designs. What you might wish he changed on his earlier instruments were fundamental to the great instruments he made later in life. Everyone who tries something new makes mistakes, and he was no different, but he never thought couldn't learn and improve and that was the key to his greatness.
 
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#8
A Jazz bass with Precision body option would have been great.

I have 2 Warmoths which fit the description, plus a 3rd which is a PJ (inspired by a MIJ Jazz Bass Special PJ I bought in 1985).


IMG_0881.JPG

I prefer a neck heel truss rod adjustment IF there is a proper truss rod adjustment route.
 
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#9
kevteop said:
Things You Wish Leo Had Done Differently...
Click to expand...
Not really on point, but..

Quantity.

If only Leo Fender made thousand times more of quantities of Fender basses at the Pre CBS era then, competing the number of today demands, so the price wouldn't rocketing high,..perhaps I can have one or two of that era fender basses today :D
 
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#10
i agree about the jazz bass circuit-
I wish they made better active electronics but that isn't a deal breaker/ plenty of drop in options.
a jazz bass with P necks are nice as well.
 
#13
Agreed about the heel-end truss rod adjustment.

The worst truss rod situation I've seen is on a Moses neck I've got fitted to a Jazz. It couldn't suck more. Here's why: 1) Adjustment at the heel. 2) Adjustment using a 5/16" socket, in a pretty deep recess so you need a 2" extension to reach it. 3) It's designed to fit Fender neck pockets but it's a 22-fret neck, so it's got an overhang to carry the extra frets.

Alright to be fair there's no way you'd be able to adjust it without taking the neck off anyway because you've got the stupid socket wrench situation, but adding the overhang makes it *look* more frustrating!
 

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