Doner Designs
Steve Doner
- Jun 2, 2012
- 5,784
- 6,819
- Disclosures
- Doner Designs is an alias for Steve Doner
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.
Which is your favorite P Bass?
- Thread starter Red Planet
- Start date
Fender Precision Blacktop
Yes, it says Precision right on the headstock, and it's got a Precision neck & Precision body.
Coincidentally, the Jazz Blacktop has Precision style pickups.
Yes, it says Precision right on the headstock, and it's got a Precision neck & Precision body.
Coincidentally, the Jazz Blacktop has Precision style pickups.
Hey everybody...
This is my #1.
It's a 1985 Ibanez RB650 that I bought brand new and, from day one, it has been my favorite. It has been on about every gig that I've ever played.
It originally had a maple neck on it, but around 1990, I broke the truss rod. By that time you couldn't buy these any longer. It was also before the internet...so I called Ibanez (Hoshino USA)in Bensalem, PA and asked if the had a replacement neck for it. I was put on hold...tick tock...tick tock....
The guy came back to tell me that they had one left on the shelf, but it has a red headstock and a rosewood board... and there's no more. What do ya know..the very last one. heh. I'll take it! I gave him my address, sent the money and after a few days, it showed up.
It cost me either $90 or $110..can't remember..hmm.
Anyway, I was very excited.
I opened that package and there it was..all new and shiney with a tomato red headstock! heh. It didn't have any hardware , but it did have the nut...good enough.
The problem with that new neck was by the time Ibanez started putting rosewood boards on the RB 600 series, they weren't using the "sweetheart" tuning keys any longer. Maple board neck tuners used a small hole for the ..umm..whatever the correct name is for the part that you wrap the string around..heh.
The rosewood wood board necks use the same size as a Fender. (I just remembered that I had to ream out the old neck for a Fender size hipshot D-tuner.)
I had this ugly '82 or so Jazz bass that I had no love for. It had a puss-cream-umm..if you mixed butterscotch and vanilla Jello pudding together...you get it..right? ugh. It did have the nice old Fender deluxe tuners on it that made their way to the Ibanez and while I was at it, I swapped the knobs too.
If you ever notice on later rosewood RB 600 series, they used two string "trees" on them and one on the maple neck. Well, I wasn't aware of that so I just put one the new neck.
The day finally came when I got it all together..and OH MY GOSH! I thought my bass was the bee's knees when it had the old neck on it, but this new neck was so perfect, I was stunned. low action..I mean on the deck..not a buzz..clank..rattle..nothing but perfection. The profile was slimmer..faster..better than perfect.
Needless to say I couldn't be any happier.
Later on that year or so, I got the notion to customize my bass like any long hair - 20 something - college rock listening - musician would normally do.
In my case it was to do something with the body. I wore Converse All Stars back then and I got the idea to spray paint the soles of my Chuck Taylor's and put some foot prints on it...so I did...add some purple Magic Marker accents and a few dots of sparking red fingernail paint..thanks to my girlfriend for that. heh.
Ok..I thought it looked cool, but I wanted to see more of that fancy paint job..so off with the pick guard and out came the saw. I took the part off around the lower bout. I should've signed it. I thought it was as cool as any Rembrandt.
In my mind, I had the best bass ever and the coolest looking bass ever. Yeah buddy!
Anybody that has gigged with a P Bass , especially when they were young, has probably stepped on or gotten your cord tangled in something and ripped out - broke your pick guard. That certainly happened to me enough to fabricate a custom-heavy duty jack plate for my bass out of diamond plate aluminum.
The extra pickup came from an idea that I had for it, but it didn't last long. I wired it back up like it was and just left the pickup in it to fill the hole.
Let's see...oh yeah..the "electric" emblem on the head stock was from an old electric typewriter.
Anyway..as usual, I rattled on about a topic. It's because this bass has been a constant joy for most of my adult life and I have been extremely fortunate to have had it. Thirty years later, it's just as good ..heck..better than it always has been. It has a unique voice too.
Here I am in the present day..mid 50s..gray hair..dark rim dad glasses (they're in fashion again..go figure) and here I go onstage with this thing on a strap.
Maybe I missed the "act your age" bus. That's ok..I didn't need to go there anyway. heh.
heh..heck with'em.
This is my #1.
It's a 1985 Ibanez RB650 that I bought brand new and, from day one, it has been my favorite. It has been on about every gig that I've ever played.
It originally had a maple neck on it, but around 1990, I broke the truss rod. By that time you couldn't buy these any longer. It was also before the internet...so I called Ibanez (Hoshino USA)in Bensalem, PA and asked if the had a replacement neck for it. I was put on hold...tick tock...tick tock....
The guy came back to tell me that they had one left on the shelf, but it has a red headstock and a rosewood board... and there's no more. What do ya know..the very last one. heh. I'll take it! I gave him my address, sent the money and after a few days, it showed up.
It cost me either $90 or $110..can't remember..hmm.
Anyway, I was very excited.
I opened that package and there it was..all new and shiney with a tomato red headstock! heh. It didn't have any hardware , but it did have the nut...good enough.
The problem with that new neck was by the time Ibanez started putting rosewood boards on the RB 600 series, they weren't using the "sweetheart" tuning keys any longer. Maple board neck tuners used a small hole for the ..umm..whatever the correct name is for the part that you wrap the string around..heh.
The rosewood wood board necks use the same size as a Fender. (I just remembered that I had to ream out the old neck for a Fender size hipshot D-tuner.)
I had this ugly '82 or so Jazz bass that I had no love for. It had a puss-cream-umm..if you mixed butterscotch and vanilla Jello pudding together...you get it..right? ugh. It did have the nice old Fender deluxe tuners on it that made their way to the Ibanez and while I was at it, I swapped the knobs too.
If you ever notice on later rosewood RB 600 series, they used two string "trees" on them and one on the maple neck. Well, I wasn't aware of that so I just put one the new neck.
The day finally came when I got it all together..and OH MY GOSH! I thought my bass was the bee's knees when it had the old neck on it, but this new neck was so perfect, I was stunned. low action..I mean on the deck..not a buzz..clank..rattle..nothing but perfection. The profile was slimmer..faster..better than perfect.
Needless to say I couldn't be any happier.
Later on that year or so, I got the notion to customize my bass like any long hair - 20 something - college rock listening - musician would normally do.
In my case it was to do something with the body. I wore Converse All Stars back then and I got the idea to spray paint the soles of my Chuck Taylor's and put some foot prints on it...so I did...add some purple Magic Marker accents and a few dots of sparking red fingernail paint..thanks to my girlfriend for that. heh.
Ok..I thought it looked cool, but I wanted to see more of that fancy paint job..so off with the pick guard and out came the saw. I took the part off around the lower bout. I should've signed it. I thought it was as cool as any Rembrandt.
In my mind, I had the best bass ever and the coolest looking bass ever. Yeah buddy!
Anybody that has gigged with a P Bass , especially when they were young, has probably stepped on or gotten your cord tangled in something and ripped out - broke your pick guard. That certainly happened to me enough to fabricate a custom-heavy duty jack plate for my bass out of diamond plate aluminum.
The extra pickup came from an idea that I had for it, but it didn't last long. I wired it back up like it was and just left the pickup in it to fill the hole.
Let's see...oh yeah..the "electric" emblem on the head stock was from an old electric typewriter.
Anyway..as usual, I rattled on about a topic. It's because this bass has been a constant joy for most of my adult life and I have been extremely fortunate to have had it. Thirty years later, it's just as good ..heck..better than it always has been. It has a unique voice too.
Here I am in the present day..mid 50s..gray hair..dark rim dad glasses (they're in fashion again..go figure) and here I go onstage with this thing on a strap.
Maybe I missed the "act your age" bus. That's ok..I didn't need to go there anyway. heh.
heh..heck with'em.
That's a piece of art. How about a matching headstock. Guitar player mag was full of adds for those. You can really tell you have a bass you love after playing something else for a few days. Go back to it and it seems even better.Hey everybody...
This is my #1.
It's a 1985 Ibanez RB650 that I bought brand new and, from day one, it has been my favorite. It has been on about every gig that I've ever played.
It originally had a maple neck on it, but around 1990, I broke the truss rod. By that time you couldn't buy these any longer. It was also before the internet...so I called Ibanez (Hoshino USA)in Bensalem, PA and asked if the had a replacement neck for it. I was put on hold...tick tock...tick tock....
The guy came back to tell me that they had one left on the shelf, but it has a red headstock and a rosewood board... and there's no more. What do ya know..the very last one. heh. I'll take it! I gave him my address, sent the money and after a few days, it showed up.
It cost me either $90 or $110..can't remember..hmm.
Anyway, I was very excited.
I opened that package and there it was..all new and shiney with a tomato red headstock! heh. It didn't have any hardware , but it did have the nut...good enough.
The problem with that new neck was by the time Ibanez started putting rosewood boards on the RB 600 series, they weren't using the "sweetheart" tuning keys any longer. Maple board neck tuners used a small hole for the ..umm..whatever the correct name is for the part that you wrap the string around..heh.
The rosewood wood board necks use the same size as a Fender. (I just remembered that I had to ream out the old neck for a Fender size hipshot D-tuner.)
I had this ugly '82 or so Jazz bass that I had no love for. It had a puss-cream-umm..if you mixed butterscotch and vanilla Jello pudding together...you get it..right? ugh. It did have the nice old Fender deluxe tuners on it that made their way to the Ibanez and while I was at it, I swapped the knobs too.
If you ever notice on later rosewood RB 600 series, they used two string "trees" on them and one on the maple neck. Well, I wasn't aware of that so I just put one the new neck.
The day finally came when I got it all together..and OH MY GOSH! I thought my bass was the bee's knees when it had the old neck on it, but this new neck was so perfect, I was stunned. low action..I mean on the deck..not a buzz..clank..rattle..nothing but perfection. The profile was slimmer..faster..better than perfect.
Needless to say I couldn't be any happier.
Later on that year or so, I got the notion to customize my bass like any long hair - 20 something - college rock listening - musician would normally do.
In my case it was to do something with the body. I wore Converse All Stars back then and I got the idea to spray paint the soles of my Chuck Taylor's and put some foot prints on it...so I did...add some purple Magic Marker accents and a few dots of sparking red fingernail paint..thanks to my girlfriend for that. heh.
Ok..I thought it looked cool, but I wanted to see more of that fancy paint job..so off with the pick guard and out came the saw. I took the part off around the lower bout. I should've signed it. I thought it was as cool as any Rembrandt.
In my mind, I had the best bass ever and the coolest looking bass ever. Yeah buddy!
Anybody that has gigged with a P Bass , especially when they were young, has probably stepped on or gotten your cord tangled in something and ripped out - broke your pick guard. That certainly happened to me enough to fabricate a custom-heavy duty jack plate for my bass out of diamond plate aluminum.
The extra pickup came from an idea that I had for it, but it didn't last long. I wired it back up like it was and just left the pickup in it to fill the hole.
Let's see...oh yeah..the "electric" emblem on the head stock was from an old electric typewriter.
Anyway..as usual, I rattled on about a topic. It's because this bass has been a constant joy for most of my adult life and I have been extremely fortunate to have had it. Thirty years later, it's just as good ..heck..better than it always has been. It has a unique voice too.
Here I am in the present day..mid 50s..gray hair..dark rim dad glasses (they're in fashion again..go figure) and here I go onstage with this thing on a strap.
Maybe I
missed the "act your age" bus. That's ok..I didn't need to go there anyway. heh.
heh..heck with'em.
It's like finding the perfect woman and smart enough to realize what you have and how lucky you are.
Hey everybody...
This is my #1.
It's a 1985 Ibanez RB650 that I bought brand new and, from day one, it has been my favorite. It has been on about every gig that I've ever played.
It originally had a maple neck on it, but around 1990, I broke the truss rod. By that time you couldn't buy these any longer. It was also before the internet...so I called Ibanez (Hoshino USA)in Bensalem, PA and asked if the had a replacement neck for it. I was put on hold...tick tock...tick tock....
The guy came back to tell me that they had one left on the shelf, but it has a red headstock and a rosewood board... and there's no more. What do ya know..the very last one. heh. I'll take it! I gave him my address, sent the money and after a few days, it showed up.
It cost me either $90 or $110..can't remember..hmm.
Anyway, I was very excited.
I opened that package and there it was..all new and shiney with a tomato red headstock! heh. It didn't have any hardware , but it did have the nut...good enough.
The problem with that new neck was by the time Ibanez started putting rosewood boards on the RB 600 series, they weren't using the "sweetheart" tuning keys any longer. Maple board neck tuners used a small hole for the ..umm..whatever the correct name is for the part that you wrap the string around..heh.
The rosewood wood board necks use the same size as a Fender. (I just remembered that I had to ream out the old neck for a Fender size hipshot D-tuner.)
I had this ugly '82 or so Jazz bass that I had no love for. It had a puss-cream-umm..if you mixed butterscotch and vanilla Jello pudding together...you get it..right? ugh. It did have the nice old Fender deluxe tuners on it that made their way to the Ibanez and while I was at it, I swapped the knobs too.
If you ever notice on later rosewood RB 600 series, they used two string "trees" on them and one on the maple neck. Well, I wasn't aware of that so I just put one the new neck.
The day finally came when I got it all together..and OH MY GOSH! I thought my bass was the bee's knees when it had the old neck on it, but this new neck was so perfect, I was stunned. low action..I mean on the deck..not a buzz..clank..rattle..nothing but perfection. The profile was slimmer..faster..better than perfect.
Needless to say I couldn't be any happier.
Later on that year or so, I got the notion to customize my bass like any long hair - 20 something - college rock listening - musician would normally do.
In my case it was to do something with the body. I wore Converse All Stars back then and I got the idea to spray paint the soles of my Chuck Taylor's and put some foot prints on it...so I did...add some purple Magic Marker accents and a few dots of sparking red fingernail paint..thanks to my girlfriend for that. heh.
Ok..I thought it looked cool, but I wanted to see more of that fancy paint job..so off with the pick guard and out came the saw. I took the part off around the lower bout. I should've signed it. I thought it was as cool as any Rembrandt.
In my mind, I had the best bass ever and the coolest looking bass ever. Yeah buddy!
Anybody that has gigged with a P Bass , especially when they were young, has probably stepped on or gotten your cord tangled in something and ripped out - broke your pick guard. That certainly happened to me enough to fabricate a custom-heavy duty jack plate for my bass out of diamond plate aluminum.
The extra pickup came from an idea that I had for it, but it didn't last long. I wired it back up like it was and just left the pickup in it to fill the hole.
Let's see...oh yeah..the "electric" emblem on the head stock was from an old electric typewriter.
Anyway..as usual, I rattled on about a topic. It's because this bass has been a constant joy for most of my adult life and I have been extremely fortunate to have had it. Thirty years later, it's just as good ..heck..better than it always has been. It has a unique voice too.
Here I am in the present day..mid 50s..gray hair..dark rim dad glasses (they're in fashion again..go figure) and here I go onstage with this thing on a strap.
Maybe I missed the "act your age" bus. That's ok..I didn't need to go there anyway. heh.
heh..heck with'em.
I love seeing basses like this and the stories behind them...Thanks for sharing
Last edited:
Hey everybody...
This is my #1.
It's a 1985 Ibanez RB650 that I bought brand new and, from day one, it has been my favorite. It has been on about every gig that I've ever played.
It originally had a maple neck on it, but around 1990, I broke the truss rod. By that time you couldn't buy these any longer. It was also before the internet...so I called Ibanez (Hoshino USA)in Bensalem, PA and asked if the had a replacement neck for it. I was put on hold...tick tock...tick tock....
The guy came back to tell me that they had one left on the shelf, but it has a red headstock and a rosewood board... and there's no more. What do ya know..the very last one. heh. I'll take it! I gave him my address, sent the money and after a few days, it showed up.
It cost me either $90 or $110..can't remember..hmm.
Anyway, I was very excited.
I opened that package and there it was..all new and shiney with a tomato red headstock! heh. It didn't have any hardware , but it did have the nut...good enough.
The problem with that new neck was by the time Ibanez started putting rosewood boards on the RB 600 series, they weren't using the "sweetheart" tuning keys any longer. Maple board neck tuners used a small hole for the ..umm..whatever the correct name is for the part that you wrap the string around..heh.
The rosewood wood board necks use the same size as a Fender. (I just remembered that I had to ream out the old neck for a Fender size hipshot D-tuner.)
I had this ugly '82 or so Jazz bass that I had no love for. It had a puss-cream-umm..if you mixed butterscotch and vanilla Jello pudding together...you get it..right? ugh. It did have the nice old Fender deluxe tuners on it that made their way to the Ibanez and while I was at it, I swapped the knobs too.
If you ever notice on later rosewood RB 600 series, they used two string "trees" on them and one on the maple neck. Well, I wasn't aware of that so I just put one the new neck.
The day finally came when I got it all together..and OH MY GOSH! I thought my bass was the bee's knees when it had the old neck on it, but this new neck was so perfect, I was stunned. low action..I mean on the deck..not a buzz..clank..rattle..nothing but perfection. The profile was slimmer..faster..better than perfect.
Needless to say I couldn't be any happier.
Later on that year or so, I got the notion to customize my bass like any long hair - 20 something - college rock listening - musician would normally do.
In my case it was to do something with the body. I wore Converse All Stars back then and I got the idea to spray paint the soles of my Chuck Taylor's and put some foot prints on it...so I did...add some purple Magic Marker accents and a few dots of sparking red fingernail paint..thanks to my girlfriend for that. heh.
Ok..I thought it looked cool, but I wanted to see more of that fancy paint job..so off with the pick guard and out came the saw. I took the part off around the lower bout. I should've signed it. I thought it was as cool as any Rembrandt.
In my mind, I had the best bass ever and the coolest looking bass ever. Yeah buddy!
Anybody that has gigged with a P Bass , especially when they were young, has probably stepped on or gotten your cord tangled in something and ripped out - broke your pick guard. That certainly happened to me enough to fabricate a custom-heavy duty jack plate for my bass out of diamond plate aluminum.
The extra pickup came from an idea that I had for it, but it didn't last long. I wired it back up like it was and just left the pickup in it to fill the hole.
Let's see...oh yeah..the "electric" emblem on the head stock was from an old electric typewriter.
Anyway..as usual, I rattled on about a topic. It's because this bass has been a constant joy for most of my adult life and I have been extremely fortunate to have had it. Thirty years later, it's just as good ..heck..better than it always has been. It has a unique voice too.
Here I am in the present day..mid 50s..gray hair..dark rim dad glasses (they're in fashion again..go figure) and here I go onstage with this thing on a strap.
Maybe I missed the "act your age" bus. That's ok..I didn't need to go there anyway. heh.
heh..heck with'em.
Cool bass, awesome story.
Great basses! Do it.My favorite is this one.
ESP LTD Vintage 214 fretless, now outfitted with a set of EMG Geezers and I just love it.
However, my favorite of all the P-basses I've ever played is a USA Lakland Bob Glaub (now 44-64) 3TS, Tort, Rosewood. Had a chance to play one at the Lakand factory and later at some music shop whose name escapes me. It's the best P I've ever played, with the best neck I ever played and the sound is pretty much perfect. Every so often I entertain the idea of selling all my basses (and some other stuff) and ordering one. The only thing I don't know is whether I'd go with a P or a P/J.
Attachments
Actually no. The other one is a Custom Shop, but that one is an MJT relic body and an All Parts neck
Well, like everyone says...MINE! It's nothing special when held up against some of the classics listed on here (2000 MIA P/J), but I've had it since I was 20, and have likely played nearly 200 shows of various sorts with it....
...from house parties as a young ugly f***er
....to swanky club shows as an older ugly f***er
And many, many practices and get-togethers in between
I love it more than the day I bought it.
...from house parties as a young ugly f***er
....to swanky club shows as an older ugly f***er
And many, many practices and get-togethers in between
I love it more than the day I bought it.
Very fond of this 1996 50th Anniversary model.
Plays and sounds really really good.
Looks okay too.
Invalid Link Removed
Flame maple front and back
Invalid Link Removed
1 of 500 made
Invalid Link Removed
Plays and sounds really really good.
Looks okay too.
Invalid Link Removed
Flame maple front and back
Invalid Link Removed
1 of 500 made
Invalid Link Removed
Thanks for the offer.
We go back a long way. I bought this as my first pro bass with the money I earned from my first pro band and unfortunately, as too many of us did at the time, it's rather modded.
Some of the mods were needed. The frets wore out, the nut broke and I made it active in the early 90's. It's a far better bass now but not what people usually want in a 60's Fender.
My Roger Waters Precision Bass and my G&L LB-100 both have fantastic split pick ups.
The Roger Waters neck is fat as a pbass neck should be and the G&L neck is like a Jazz bass neck so I really have the best of both worlds but both are awesome P basses and that makes me very Pleased indeed!
The Roger Waters neck is fat as a pbass neck should be and the G&L neck is like a Jazz bass neck so I really have the best of both worlds but both are awesome P basses and that makes me very Pleased indeed!
