NBD: MIM Precision

[Eric***]

I got this guy a little over a week ago off of talkbass:



It's a Mexican P-bass with an upgraded pickup (EMG) and bridge (Badass II). Being new to the world of P-bass, I'm not sure what those do for you, but they seem to be reasonably well-received and it was a good deal.

I've found myself being a bit more comfortable with this bass than on the Ibanez I have. It's probably just the honeymoon period, though I do like the bigger neck a bit more. The space it gives is nice and it hasn't felt too clunky yet. The action is comparable between the two.

I might switch out the strings for flatwounds at some point, but for now I'm pretty happy with it as is.

[mrmudcat]

looks good is that burple purple

[Zip]

Congrats, that purple looks sharp! I like the string spacing on the P bass, really comfy. And that Leo Quan bridge is a really nice upgrade, changes the whole tone of the bass. Looks like a winner to me. Enjoy!

[Tig***]

Congrats, that purple looks sharp! I like the string spacing on the P bass, really comfy. And that Leo Quan bridge is a really nice upgrade, changes the whole tone of the bass. Looks like a winner to me. Enjoy!

+1 on the nice upgrades.

HNBD!

[marnold***]

Nice! That EMG pickup is basically the same as the one in my bass, except mine's in a soapbar enclosure. I really like it. The Badass bridge is a nice upgrade too. Can't beat a good P-bass, that's for sure. Put some flats on there and get your James Jamerson on! The nice thing about flats is that you only need one set for your entire life.

I've always preferred the string spacing on a Jazz bass, which my LTD has. My Spector had a P-bass spacing, but I didn't really mind it at all. I'm WAY more picky about guitar necks than I am about bass necks.

[Eric***]

Nice! That EMG pickup is basically the same as the one in my bass, except mine's in a soapbar enclosure. I really like it. The Badass bridge is a nice upgrade too. Can't beat a good P-bass, that's for sure. Put some flats on there and get your James Jamerson on! The nice thing about flats is that you only need one set for your entire life.

I've always preferred the string spacing on a Jazz bass, which my LTD has. My Spector had a P-bass spacing, but I didn't really mind it at all. I'm WAY more picky about guitar necks than I am about bass necks.

It's weird: I'm much more holistic when it comes to bass. By that I mean that I go considerably less by specs and instead just kind of work off of what I hear and feel. Perhaps that means I care less. I think it's mostly a product of me going spec-hunting with guitars for many years and ultimately determining that it doesn't matter as much as I might have thought at one time. I'm happy to just look for good deals and go with what feels good on bass.

[Katastrophe]

Great upgrades, and a really nice lookin' bass. Congrats!

[marnold***]

It's weird: I'm much more holistic when it comes to bass. By that I mean that I go considerably less by specs and instead just kind of work off of what I hear and feel. Perhaps that means I care less. I think it's mostly a product of me going spec-hunting with guitars for many years and ultimately determining that it doesn't matter as much as I might have thought at one time. I'm happy to just look for good deals and go with what feels good on bass.

I think that with me it's just that I was fortunate enough to get a very nice bass pretty early on (MIA Peavey Fury). I started in 1986 which mercifully was before the dawn of the Intarwebs so I didn't have thousands of sites to peruse with conflicting information. Plus my options were much more limited than they are today. What the couple of shops nearby had, was what I had to choose from.

[Eric***]

I think that with me it's just that I was fortunate enough to get a very nice bass pretty early on (MIA Peavey Fury). I started in 1986 which mercifully was before the dawn of the Intarwebs so I didn't have thousands of sites to peruse with conflicting information. Plus my options were much more limited than they are today. What the couple of shops nearby had, was what I had to choose from.

Just in case you thought of it this way, I should clarify: I meant that I'm much more do-I-like-this about bass than I am about guitar, not necessarily compared to other people. I think knowledge is good, but I just find myself fairly apathetic when it comes to knowing a lot about basses, where I was always fairly interested in understanding guitars.

[NWBasser]

I think knowledge is good, but I just find myself fairly apathetic when it comes to knowing a lot about basses, where I was always fairly interested in understanding guitars.

That's probably a good thing Eric. I probably know a little too much about basses which has led to a current collection of six. I have some redundancy going on now and need to pare things down.

Oh yeah, Happy New Bass Day!

And, how 'bout some pics of the new rig?

[NWBasser]

The nice thing about flats is that you only need one set for your entire life.

Yeah, my fretless has the same set of flats that I put on when I get about six years ago. I'll probably never change them.

[marnold***]

Just in case you thought of it this way, I should clarify: I meant that I'm much more do-I-like-this about bass than I am about guitar, not necessarily compared to other people. I think knowledge is good, but I just find myself fairly apathetic when it comes to knowing a lot about basses, where I was always fairly interested in understanding guitars.

I understood. I just gave the reason why _I_ seem to care much less about bass specifics than guitar. Of course that's easy for me to say now. I've got a bass where if I don't like the tone, a brand new one is just a knob twaddle away. The fact that I got it inexpensively makes it even better!

[kidsmoke*]

at the risk of thread veer, may I ask what is this regarding string spacing? I'm aware that, like on guitars, there are different scale lengths, but what's this about spacing?

I'm still bassless...(oh my GF would love to hear me say that out loud) and nearly plunge regularly. Part of the reason I don't is my ignorance. P style, J style, scale, NOW spacing..... I still love the Idea of a full scale semi (a la 335) just because....

Why should I care? What's the deal?

Maybe NWbasser...start a thread on the basics of bass options or something. I'd read it.

I'm this/close to a hollow bodied washburn, full scale, with humbuckers and piezo. It's beautiful and CHEAP. Hanging right next to it was the coolest mustard colored Tele bodied MIJ bass with a single neck pickup. I'd go for that but it was NOT cheap. I'm using simple cosmetics and build quality as my criteria, cuz technically I have no idea.

FWIW... the tele bass i refered to looked exactly like the one on the left, said "precision" on the headstock. and MIJ at the heel.

[marnold***]

Nut width on a p-bass is 1 3/4 or 1 5/8 inches. Jazz is 1.5. That's a general rule. You have odd ones, like the p-bass special that has a p body, j neck, and both p and j pickups.

[piebaldpython***]

at the risk of thread veer, may I ask what is this regarding string spacing? I'm aware that, like on guitars, there are different scale lengths, but what's this about spacing?

String spacing is the distance between the strings......that would be perpendicular to your measurement for scale length. Not all guitars have the same "spacing" between strings and that can through one off.....especially when using the thumb and fingers for picking.

String spacing is a common term on the pedal steel and lap steel forums. My custom lap steels have the EXACT same scale length (24") and EXACT same string space (3/8") between strings......so I have no problems moving from one to the other.

[Eric***]

at the risk of thread veer, may I ask what is this regarding string spacing? I'm aware that, like on guitars, there are different scale lengths, but what's this about spacing?

I'm still bassless...(oh my GF would love to hear me say that out loud) and nearly plunge regularly. Part of the reason I don't is my ignorance. P style, J style, scale, NOW spacing..... I still love the Idea of a full scale semi (a la 335) just because....

Why should I care? What's the deal?

Maybe NWbasser...start a thread on the basics of bass options or something. I'd read it.

I'm this/close to a hollow bodied washburn, full scale, with humbuckers and piezo. It's beautiful and CHEAP. Hanging right next to it was the coolest mustard colored Tele bodied MIJ bass with a single neck pickup. I'd go for that but it was NOT cheap. I'm using simple cosmetics and build quality as my criteria, cuz technically I have no idea.

FWIW... the tele bass i refered to looked exactly like the one on the left, said "precision" on the headstock. and MIJ at the heel.

The bass on the left is a 50s-style precision bass. I think they went to the split humbucker in the 60s -- all of my knowledge of this is based on the Squier Classic Vibe basses, since they have 50s and 60s models. There is such a thing as a telecaster bass though:



The string spacing thing is particularly pronounced in my case, since my one bass is an Ibanez SR1000 (super-weenie neck, both narrow and thin) and the other is a fairly chunky precision bass. I'm not super-nimble on the fretboard, so the extra space between strings helps me not accidentally hit other strings when doing something like a pull-off, where my finger is moving across the fretboard in the plucking motion.

I also like a warmer tone versus a cutting one, so the single neck pickup on a P is a little more normal to me than a bridge pickup. I haven't yet found a good use for a bridge bass pickup (the Ibanez has both).

NWB may have lots of excess bass knowledge, but he single-handedly guided me through buying a head and cab via craigslist, so at least you have a great resource on this forum.

[kidsmoke*]

Nut width on a p-bass is 1 3/4 or 1 5/8 inches. Jazz is 1.5. That's a general rule. You have odd ones, like the p-bass special that has a p body, j neck, and both p and j pickups.

Thanks...that's what I was looking for. I understand WHAT string spacing is(thx PBP)....what I'm wondering is what kind of discrepancies are we talking about and where do they show up (eg Gibson = 24.5 and Fender = 25.5)

[piebaldpython***]

Thanks...that's what I was looking for. I understand WHAT string spacing is(thx PBP)....what I'm wondering is what kind of discrepancies are we talking about and where do they show up (eg Gibson = 24.5 and Fender = 25.5)

Not sure what your question is here TIO??? But, scale length of course can throw off your "note playing" if unsighted (not looking at the neck). Also, different scale lengths dictate that you string your git differently. The longer the scale, the less tension of string and the shorter the scale the more tension you want on a string.

So, if you're playing 11s on your Fender Strat, you may want to go to 12s on your Gibson. Again, this is a common topic on the Lap Steel forums.

[Eric***]

The longer the scale, the less tension of string and the shorter the scale the more tension you want on a string.

I think you mean it the other way around: there will be more tension the longer the scale length is, so given the same string gauge and tuning, a 25.5" scale guitar will have more tension than a 24.75" scale guitar.