The Stirling Bass has a slightly smaller and lighter body. That's an Ernie Ball thing, though, Leo had nothing to do with that.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Things You Wish Leo Had Done Differently...
- Thread starter kevteop
- Start date
I'm referring to G&L, though I can't say for sure any of those are to your liking in terms of weight. There is a semi-hollow ASAT bass I would like to try.
Much appreciated. I didn't know G&L basses differed significantly in weight/construction. I'll have to give one a try. And like you, I'm very curious about the semi-hollow ASAT. If you have the chance to try one, please post your impressions.
I'm going to have to start getting out to the stores more often. 
I'll only want to spend money, though...
I'll only want to spend money, though...
Those are actually the only ones worthy of the name "Fender bass", all snobbery aside. I don't know why, but Fender has been almost pathologically incapable of making a Fender guitar or bass exactly as it was in the '50s-'60s. It's just a matter of attention to detail, no
rare or unobtainable materials involved. The long running US Vintage Reissue series, while decent instruments in their own right, are waaaay far off the mark as far as being accurate repros of the originals. At this point in time there are a lot more people who haven't played an original pre-CBS Fender than those that have. So, when you're marketing "vintage reissues" to customers who've never owned or even played the real thing, it makes it a lot easier!
Having said that, I must say that apart from a few niggling details (brass grounding strip on a '64 Jazz Bass reissue) the current US Vintage reissues (I haven't seen any except the '64 Jazz Bass, I own one of those) are as close as they've come so far. I also own a Custom Shop '64 Relic Jazz Bass which is nice but the USVRI '64 is actually closer to the real thing.
The neck profile and body countours on the '64 Jazz Bass are right on the money and the bass is light as a feather too! I first had a sunburst one which I sent back because the yellow part on the sunburst was opaque, no woodgrain showing through at all, so I got a solid colored one instead. The gray bobbin PUs in the bass sound great too. There's a hole for a ground wire under the bridge to the control cavity so removing the brass grounding strip and replacing it with a period correct under-bridge ground wire was simple. Why they install the ground strip (as well as the individual string mutes as used on '60-'62 Jazz Basses in addition to the brass grounding strip) on a bass that's supposed to be a '64 is beyond me. It costs them money and doesn't belong.
Last edited:
Several people on this thread have mentioned reversing the split coil Precison pickup... I wonder why? Seems the G and D would become muddier and the instruments would sound more like a Gibson EB bass. Maybe he was going for more clarity and bite at the top end?
Anyway, can some of you learned P-bass wizards enlighten me, please?
Anyway, can some of you learned P-bass wizards enlighten me, please?
It's not anywhere near that dramatic as the difference between a Fender and Gibson bass, the E and A strings are a bit more midrange-y and the G and D a little bassier. I prefer the traditional placement myself.
Me too - It's obvious that the clarity should increase with the pitch, although I do love very tight and focused E strings too.
Thanks for the info
No problem. Well, it's a trade off...you may get a little tighter, more focused E and A string with the reverse P Bass PU, but you lose a little bottom too. Not sure how Fender originally arrived at the "sweet spot" for the P-Bass pickup placement, whether it was science, trial and error, or a combination of the two, but I'm sure they didn't just slap it in there at random. I've read (I think it was George Fullerton who said it) that they made prototype basses with different scale lengths (both longer and shorter) before settling on 34 inches. It's likely they went through a similar process with pickup placement.Me too - It's obvious that the clarity should increase with the pitch, although I do love very tight and focused E strings too.
Thanks for the info
Last edited:
Yes, I was watching a video interview with Sterling Ball the other day and he was saying that Leo used to test the prototype jigs for pickup placement with a screwdriver against the bridge saddles, pressed against the cartlige of his ear. The closeness was apparently because he was very hard of hearing, but he used to listen for the sweet spot acoustically that way.
Reminds me of the Beethoven's 9th premiere story (he was so deaf he couldn't hear the applause, had to be turned around to see the standing ovation).
Dont forget Jags & Jazzmasters were pretty popular with the mid 60s surf rock bands.
Last edited:
More left handed options, and then other colors besides black and sunburst (excluding the American standard basses)
Yes, that was when they were still current. They were hot top of the line items then. The Jazzmaster actually remained on Fender price lists until 1980, although few were shipped in the '70s. Their star had already fallen by then.
Too bad Jamerson isn't around to know this. He could have been a decent player, had he only known. Joe Osborn managed fairly well with the covers on, as have countless others.
Well, a lot of us mortals can't. I could manage if I HAD TO but I find it extremely awkward. Remember, Jamerson also played with high action and ancient La Bella flatwounds...
There's nothing to be gained by having the covers on unless maybe you like the "full dress" look, so why bother if they get in your way?
Personally, I really like how Leo solved the problems I had with his older designs, with his newer designs. And I didn't even know him back then!!! 
I started playing on a P bass and eventually spent a lot of time trying to make it sound better for me. After replacing every part but the body and the pickguard, I gave up on it. It wasn't my deal. The standard P held no place in my heart.
20 years and 106 basses later and my current go-to is a Stingray 2 band. It solved all of the problems I had with the P bass:
Better balance with the 3+1 headstock and lighter tuners
1.625" nut (which is what the standard P uses now, but it started at 1.75")
Sturdy bridge with studs that keep the saddles from drifting
Simple active EQ
Truss adjuster wheel
Smoother sounding pickup due to placement and/or the pickup design.
I think even Leo wished he'd done things differently, thus we have his other designs available. Yeah, you may like the old, you may like the new, you may hate both. But he didn't rest on his laurels... and I'm glad for that.
I started playing on a P bass and eventually spent a lot of time trying to make it sound better for me. After replacing every part but the body and the pickguard, I gave up on it. It wasn't my deal. The standard P held no place in my heart.
20 years and 106 basses later and my current go-to is a Stingray 2 band. It solved all of the problems I had with the P bass:
Better balance with the 3+1 headstock and lighter tuners
1.625" nut (which is what the standard P uses now, but it started at 1.75")
Sturdy bridge with studs that keep the saddles from drifting
Simple active EQ
Truss adjuster wheel
Smoother sounding pickup due to placement and/or the pickup design.
I think even Leo wished he'd done things differently, thus we have his other designs available. Yeah, you may like the old, you may like the new, you may hate both. But he didn't rest on his laurels... and I'm glad for that.
Last edited:
Doesn't Sting play with his thumb? and with the covers on? For being so old i think most Leo designs are really good. Just wish more of them would have the bullet thrusrod adjustment at the top and bridges that doesn't let the saddles move around.
If only it were that simple, people would not argue in multipage threads regularly!
some perfectly aligned polepieces still have the "weak G" and not every Stingray has a weak G, including some of those with not perfectly aligned polepieces.
I disagree with your first sentence in my quote above. Leo gave us what began the acceptance of solidbody electric bass guitars, and kept improving from there.
As you pointed out, as time went on he kept improving things. I kinda wish that he hadn't sold Fender to CBS, but then again if he hadn't he might not have changed as much in his later designs, since I suspect that he made SOME changes to keep from getting in trademark trouble with Fender.
