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You guessed it... another "keep or sell" (50's Sting Sig.)

Keep it or Sell it?

  • Keep it you silly boy!

    Votes: 92 56.8%

  • Sell it ya' goof!

    Votes: 56 34.6%

  • I don't give a care!

    Votes: 30 18.5%
  • Total voters
    162
#41
Also, reach out to @2saddleslab here who has TV Jones in several basses with this body style if you want additional good info. I know one of his basses is a Cabronita with the upgraded TV Jones and I'm not sure if the others are Cabronitas that had that pickup shape to begin with or he routed for that pickup in a 51-56 body shape.
 
#43
jtrom said:
Damn, that looks fine!

Is it yours? I would love to hear some demos with the pickup in that spot. Not many out there with just the 1 pickups but a few with both bridge and neck.
Click to expand...

That's not mine, but in my post above yours here, I recommended a TB'r (@2saddleslab) to contact regarding the TV Jones. The TV Jones seems to be getting popular in Fender basses with the Cabronita line (although Fender uses their own version in the regular Cabronitas), and the Custom Shop has several models going now with the TV Jones.

Here's my Fender Custom Shop P with the dual SD '51 Stack pickups:
IMG_6032-33.jpg

IMG_6027-33.jpg
 
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#44
I just remembered something I had seen recently on the TV Jones pickups in the Fender Cabronita and Custom Shop basses. Here's a video with someone from the Fender Customer Shop discussing the Proto P model with the TV Jones. There's a spot where he discusses optimal pickup location for the TV Jones on this body style. I believe the existing pickup position on the Sting is closer to the neck. I only mention this to steer you to do a bit more research prior to heading down that path so you don't have it routed for the TV Jones and it ends up being mud when closer to the neck.

Also, I listened to that recording that you posted. That bass sounds thin, but I'm not sure how it was recorded or what type of strings he has on it. It sounded twangy to me. My SD '51 Stack pickup sounds nothing like that. Oh, and I'm using TI Jazz Flats on that bass. You should look up some video demos of the Fender Custom Shop Dusty Hill P bass to see if you like the tone. It's the same pickup as mine.

Here's the video:
 
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#45
porterbass said:
I just remembered something I had seen recently on the TV Jones pickups in the Fender Cabronita and Custom Shop basses. Here's a video with someone from the Fender Customer Shop discussing the Proto P model with the TV Jones. There's a spot where he discusses optimal pickup location for the TV Jones on this body style. I believe the existing pickup position on the Sting is closer to the neck. I only mention this to steer you to do a bit more research prior to heading down that path so you don't have it routed for the TV Jones and it ends up being mud when closer to the neck.

Also, I listened to that recording that you posted. That bass sounds thin, but I'm not sure how it was recorded or what type of strings he has on it. It sounded twangy to me. My SD '51 Stack pickup sounds nothing like that. Oh, and I'm using TI Jazz Flats on that bass. You should look up some video demos of the Fender Custom Shop Dusty Hill P bass to see if you like the tone. It's the same pickup as mine.

Here's the video:
Click to expand...

Hey thanks for the link! That’s awesome info. Man, I have a Gibson grabber... my mind is addicted to making things difficult and is frantically trying to figure out how to install a movable TVJ haha
 
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#48
thedukeofno said:
For me, feel is more important than tone, within reasonable limits of course. While I can change pickups / strings / amp settings etc. to dial in a tone, feel is a much more difficult characteristic to correct. If I find a bass that feels right, I’ll make it sound it right. YMMV.
Click to expand...

Ya that’s true. I don’t have a bass that feels 100% correct to me haha.
 
#52
jtrom said:
So I have a "keep or sell" question. I realize that everything is subjective and personal but I'm wanting to hear your experiences/thoughts

It's regarding my Fender MIJ Sting Signature Bass. It was the FIRST real bass I bought and I played it for many many years.

As I progressed in skill I realized that the bass wasn't giving me the sound that I wanted so I bought a Lolar pickup for it... STILL not the sound I wanted. So the single coil isn't my thing. At all. Ever. It has sat in my closet for about 10 years and the other day I dug it out. LOVE the look. LOVE the feel. Can't stand the sound :bored:

If I could find a pickup that made it sound like a big phat thumping pbass (I have Bill Lawrence p's in my 2 other basses) I would play it every day until I die. I can't really afford to go pup shopping and experiment with different pickups. sooooo ...... ?

Have any of you been in a similar situation? What was your ultimate revelation? Regret? Glad you sold? Still have a bass in your 20 year old closet? Sentiment has me by the ****! :D

View attachment 3108142
Click to expand...
10 years and you couldnt get pickups for it to sound right..?..also..I dont think my closet is 20 years old..
 
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#54
I had one of these years ago and liked it a lot EXCEPT for the stock pickup, which I changed out right away. Problem is, I can’t remember what I replaced it with. Anyway, it sounded fine to me afterwards.

That said, if it’s not giving you what you want, sell it.
 
#55
jtrom said:
So I have a "keep or sell" question. I realize that everything is subjective and personal but I'm wanting to hear your experiences/thoughts

It's regarding my Fender MIJ Sting Signature Bass. It was the FIRST real bass I bought and I played it for many many years.

As I progressed in skill I realized that the bass wasn't giving me the sound that I wanted so I bought a Lolar pickup for it... STILL not the sound I wanted. So the single coil isn't my thing. At all. Ever. It has sat in my closet for about 10 years and the other day I dug it out. LOVE the look. LOVE the feel. Can't stand the sound :bored:

If I could find a pickup that made it sound like a big phat thumping pbass (I have Bill Lawrence p's in my 2 other basses) I would play it every day until I die. I can't really afford to go pup shopping and experiment with different pickups. sooooo ...... ?

Have any of you been in a similar situation? What was your ultimate revelation? Regret? Glad you sold? Still have a bass in your 20 year old closet? Sentiment has me by the ****! :D

View attachment 3108142
Click to expand...

I had a Rick I bought in the 70s that from the mid 70s until 2008 sat in my closet as it didn’t have the right voice for the music I play. I should have sold it decades earlier.
 
#56
jtrom said:
Ya I'm not exactly sure if it's the hum bucking one but it's a very quiet pickup (in terms of white noise sound). Nothing to complain about on that front.. unless my basses voice is the issue! perhaps... another can of worms haha. It's a very thin sound with massive peaks in the mids. If I play too hard it spikes and clips and is just a thin sound. With both the original pickup and the Lollar I've tried different strings and pickup height and amps and pre's etc. same thin middy sound
Click to expand...

May be it’s a capacitor issue or pot failure and not a pick-up issue.
 
#57
I had one of these for a while, but the thin single-coil pickup sound is not for me. (I'm also not terribly crazy about the colors in the two-tone sunburst finish, although the vintage tint on the neck is gorgeous.) I sold it after having it for a few years (but always opting to take other basses to gigs).

However, they have the nicest playing Precision-width necks that Fender makes (IMO). So, about ten years later I felt like giving it another shot and picked another one up. Comparing them to my regular Precision (with the usual split-P pickup), I realized just how thin a sound those really have (especially on the low E and A strings). I never tried the hum bucking (two a side) version of that pickup. Maybe it's thicker, but I'm skeptical.

So I sold that one too, realizing that it's not a good bass for me. Because I bought them used, both kept their resale value pretty well.

It's too bad the necks are square-heeled, because I'd slap that neck onto a regular Precision bass and would probably be really happy with it. Since lots of people like the basses as is, I'm not too big on routing them to put another pickup in (although you might be able to combine the Mike Dirnt version to get what I'm talking about, since it's also a square heeled neck).
 
#58
Burwabit said:
Actually. I guessed “Which pickguard looks best with my Squier J bass.” Oh well, carry on.
Click to expand...

That's funny, I guessed "If two trains leave New York and Chicago at 10 am, and the NY train travels at 60 mph while the Chicago train travels at 75 mph, what is the capital of the Chase Manhattan Bank." Not my lucky day, apparently.
 

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