They've never worked for me. Great in other folks hands, terrible in mine
Course, in a telling example of life finding amusing ways to mess with me, the only competition I ever won had a Ray as the prize
Glad to hear you're enjoying the Sire
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
Welcome to TalkBass! Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Course, in a telling example of life finding amusing ways to mess with me, the only competition I ever won had a Ray as the prize
Glad to hear you're enjoying the Sire
Looks great Tony! I'm thinking of picking up the exact same Bass (I have Black and Blue basses, but no white ones!). I did originally pickup a Sire V8 from Thomann, but it had to go back, long deep scratch on the binding, and the bridge pickup wasn't working. It was a lovely bass besides the faults, but wasn't acceptable. I had a refund issued as they had then gone out of stock, so I'm thinking of grabbing the Z3 from Andertons. The V8 had the glossy fretboard and satin neck and I thought it looked really good.
Don't even think about it mate, just do it. Honestly you won't regret it even if it's hitting the upper echelons of price for me, in the scheme of things it's only 4 family dinners at the curry house
It's the law of unitended consequences mate, if you were teetotal, you'd end up winning a bottle of whisky at the local church raffle when all you really wanted was the Imperial Leather talc.They've never worked for me. Great in other folks hands, terrible in mine
Course, in a telling example of life finding amusing ways to mess with me, the only competition I ever won had a Ray as the prize
Glad to hear you're enjoying the Sire
Very true. With 13 year clean and sober under my belt it's also the reason I don't buy raffle tickets
I am really liking the EB Cobalt Flats on this PB-50. They have a slight stickiness to them that is a little annoying, but they sound REALLY good. First set of flats (of many brands tried over many years) that I actually LIKE the way they sound. Have played a few gigs with them on the PB-50 and they sound great at home at rehearsal, AND at a gig. .045-.105 #2813. For me, it's the magic combination.
Last edited:
I'm using them on mine, but I replaced the pickup with a Bootstrap Pickups Palo Alto (discontinued?), which is slightly milder than the stock Roswell pickup (8KΩ vs. 9KΩ). The milder pickup was a little more controlled, but not too mild like a vintage wind. It was the Goldilocks of pickups for me. The Cobalt Flats gave it just the right fullness.
Hopefully not.
I recommended the Bootstrap to a few SCPB players in the US, those that tried reported back happy.
Quite a few of my posts on here have sometimes been off topic pertaining to other guitars but that’s because most of you on the IOAHBC are really chill and help whether stuff is on or off topic. But this time this post will be strictly on topic.
My JB-75. I love it, but I want to talk about the elephant in the room. It weighs in at about 5.9 – 6ish kilos (~13lbs). I’m not getting any younger - arthritis, sciatica and a bad back that flares up from time to time, making it difficult to play even seated for a longer period of time. The body according to Harley Benton is American ash (white, swamp, I could not tell you).
I’ve taken the neck off and weighed just the body (PG, control plate, bridge, strings and pots included) and that’s weighing in at 3.4 Kilos (about 7.5lbs) I’m thinking of swapping to an alder body if I can source one, preferably natural unfinished so I can paint it a new colour.
Northwest Guitars are selling a JB body in alder (albeit the only one left is white poly so it would need a respray). It weighs about a kilo lighter at 2.4 kilos unloaded against the 3.4 kilo loaded HB I’ve just weighed.
northwestguitars.co.uk
Neck pocket is similar to the HB, HB is 62.75 wide, NW is 63.4 but neck is tight on the Harley. Pocket depth 15.69 on HB but 17mm on NW so do any of you think this could be a problem (1.5mm lower on the neck?), I suspect not as just lower action a little and pickup height? Just looking for pitfalls here that you folks may be aware of but I’m not.
I’m just a bit confused as I’ve read Alder is about half the density of Ash and yet once everything is back on I estimate I’ll only save about .7 - .8 kg with the new body (top of my head).
If the truth be told, I’d have already bought this body in white if I’d not bought the white Marcus Miller last week, but just wanted your opinions whether that less than a kilo removed would make the guitar a bit easier to play, a 13lb bass reduced to an 11lb bass?
My JB-75. I love it, but I want to talk about the elephant in the room. It weighs in at about 5.9 – 6ish kilos (~13lbs). I’m not getting any younger - arthritis, sciatica and a bad back that flares up from time to time, making it difficult to play even seated for a longer period of time. The body according to Harley Benton is American ash (white, swamp, I could not tell you).
I’ve taken the neck off and weighed just the body (PG, control plate, bridge, strings and pots included) and that’s weighing in at 3.4 Kilos (about 7.5lbs) I’m thinking of swapping to an alder body if I can source one, preferably natural unfinished so I can paint it a new colour.
Northwest Guitars are selling a JB body in alder (albeit the only one left is white poly so it would need a respray). It weighs about a kilo lighter at 2.4 kilos unloaded against the 3.4 kilo loaded HB I’ve just weighed.
Jazz Bass Compatible Guitar Body - Olympic White
Jazz Bass Body (4 string) - Compatible with Fender/Squier Hardware Compatibility We’ve produced faithful replicas of this iconic body shape, with the same dimensions and pickup routing as the original, thus ensuring our bodies are compatible with genuine Fender hardware and necks, including MIA...
northwestguitars.co.uk
Neck pocket is similar to the HB, HB is 62.75 wide, NW is 63.4 but neck is tight on the Harley. Pocket depth 15.69 on HB but 17mm on NW so do any of you think this could be a problem (1.5mm lower on the neck?), I suspect not as just lower action a little and pickup height? Just looking for pitfalls here that you folks may be aware of but I’m not.
I’m just a bit confused as I’ve read Alder is about half the density of Ash and yet once everything is back on I estimate I’ll only save about .7 - .8 kg with the new body (top of my head).
If the truth be told, I’d have already bought this body in white if I’d not bought the white Marcus Miller last week, but just wanted your opinions whether that less than a kilo removed would make the guitar a bit easier to play, a 13lb bass reduced to an 11lb bass?
11# is still heavy! I have a six string Schecter Stilletto that I don't play often (my only 6) because it is so heavy. Beautiful bass but......Quite a few of my posts on here have sometimes been off topic pertaining to other guitars but that’s because most of you on the IOAHBC are really chill and help whether stuff is on or off topic. But this time this post will be strictly on topic.
My JB-75. I love it, but I want to talk about the elephant in the room. It weighs in at about 5.9 – 6ish kilos (~13lbs). I’m not getting any younger - arthritis, sciatica and a bad back that flares up from time to time, making it difficult to play even seated for a longer period of time. The body according to Harley Benton is American ash (white, swamp, I could not tell you).
I’ve taken the neck off and weighed just the body (PG, control plate, bridge, strings and pots included) and that’s weighing in at 3.4 Kilos (about 7.5lbs) I’m thinking of swapping to an alder body if I can source one, preferably natural unfinished so I can paint it a new colour.
Northwest Guitars are selling a JB body in alder (albeit the only one left is white poly so it would need a respray). It weighs about a kilo lighter at 2.4 kilos unloaded against the 3.4 kilo loaded HB I’ve just weighed.
Jazz Bass Compatible Guitar Body - Olympic White
Jazz Bass Body (4 string) - Compatible with Fender/Squier Hardware Compatibility We’ve produced faithful replicas of this iconic body shape, with the same dimensions and pickup routing as the original, thus ensuring our bodies are compatible with genuine Fender hardware and necks, including MIA...
Neck pocket is similar to the HB, HB is 62.75 wide, NW is 63.4 but neck is tight on the Harley. Pocket depth 15.69 on HB but 17mm on NW so do any of you think this could be a problem (1.5mm lower on the neck?), I suspect not as just lower action a little and pickup height? Just looking for pitfalls here that you folks may be aware of but I’m not.
I’m just a bit confused as I’ve read Alder is about half the density of Ash and yet once everything is back on I estimate I’ll only save about .7 - .8 kg with the new body (top of my head).
If the truth be told, I’d have already bought this body in white if I’d not bought the white Marcus Miller last week, but just wanted your opinions whether that less than a kilo removed would make the guitar a bit easier to play, a 13lb bass reduced to an 11lb bass?
I cannot comment on the density/weight issue but here is my take on the neck:Quite a few of my posts on here have sometimes been off topic pertaining to other guitars but that’s because most of you on the IOAHBC are really chill and help whether stuff is on or off topic. But this time this post will be strictly on topic.
My JB-75. I love it, but I want to talk about the elephant in the room. It weighs in at about 5.9 – 6ish kilos (~13lbs). I’m not getting any younger - arthritis, sciatica and a bad back that flares up from time to time, making it difficult to play even seated for a longer period of time. The body according to Harley Benton is American ash (white, swamp, I could not tell you).
I’ve taken the neck off and weighed just the body (PG, control plate, bridge, strings and pots included) and that’s weighing in at 3.4 Kilos (about 7.5lbs) I’m thinking of swapping to an alder body if I can source one, preferably natural unfinished so I can paint it a new colour.
Northwest Guitars are selling a JB body in alder (albeit the only one left is white poly so it would need a respray). It weighs about a kilo lighter at 2.4 kilos unloaded against the 3.4 kilo loaded HB I’ve just weighed.
Jazz Bass Compatible Guitar Body - Olympic White
Jazz Bass Body (4 string) - Compatible with Fender/Squier Hardware Compatibility We’ve produced faithful replicas of this iconic body shape, with the same dimensions and pickup routing as the original, thus ensuring our bodies are compatible with genuine Fender hardware and necks, including MIA...
Neck pocket is similar to the HB, HB is 62.75 wide, NW is 63.4 but neck is tight on the Harley. Pocket depth 15.69 on HB but 17mm on NW so do any of you think this could be a problem (1.5mm lower on the neck?), I suspect not as just lower action a little and pickup height? Just looking for pitfalls here that you folks may be aware of but I’m not.
I’m just a bit confused as I’ve read Alder is about half the density of Ash and yet once everything is back on I estimate I’ll only save about .7 - .8 kg with the new body (top of my head).
If the truth be told, I’d have already bought this body in white if I’d not bought the white Marcus Miller last week, but just wanted your opinions whether that less than a kilo removed would make the guitar a bit easier to play, a 13lb bass reduced to an 11lb bass?
Do you have any downward room on the bridge while it was on the bass? if you have 1.5mm to lower the saddles you should be golden. The pickup should not present a problem to be lowered 1.5mm.
As for the 1kg difference, by the time that body is painted and has all hardware installed, I doubt the difference will be noticable?
I gave mine away years ago to a local lad as a starter because i couldn't deal with the weight. He is about 21 today and still rocks it, he can carry it
"Do you have any downward room on the bridge while it was on the bass?"I cannot comment on the density/weight issue but here is my take on the neck:
Do you have any downward room on the bridge while it was on the bass? if you have 1.5mm to lower the saddles you should be golden. The pickup should not present a problem to be lowered 1.5mm.
As for the 1kg difference, by the time that body is painted and has all hardware installed, I doubt the difference will be noticable?
I gave mine away years ago to a local lad as a starter because i couldn't deal with the weight. He is about 21 today and still rocks it, he can carry it
I have plenty of movement on all the saddles so reducing should not be a problem, pickups neither
"As for the 1kg difference, by the time that body is painted and has all hardware installed, I doubt the difference will be noticable?"
That's what I was thinking too, it really is the heaviest guitar I have, in my ignorance I added Schaller tuners to the neck, and being tight I didn't go for the ultralites the neck weighs quite a bit too! It's strange that JB's weigh a lot more than PB's I doubt the extra pickup would make a kilo difference but what do I know?
Anyway I'm still seriously tempted to get the new body, and well, white might be a contrast to my other 3 black basses
Can't go wrong with a white JB"Do you have any downward room on the bridge while it was on the bass?"
I have plenty of movement on all the saddles so reducing should not be a problem, pickups neither
"As for the 1kg difference, by the time that body is painted and has all hardware installed, I doubt the difference will be noticable?"
That's what I was thinking too, it really is the heaviest guitar I have, in my ignorance I added Schaller tuners to the neck, and being tight I didn't go for the ultralites the neck weighs quite a bit too! It's strange that JB's weigh a lot more than PB's I doubt the extra pickup would make a kilo difference but what do I know?
Anyway I'm still seriously tempted to get the new body, and well, white might be a contrast to my other 3 black basses
Well, that's what I did went and bought it last night. The white is growing on me. Originally I was planning a seafoam green colour but I think the neck being a light tan would look odd. If it was a lighter colour I'd probably be able to pull it off. So white it is! It'll be a Northwest Benton nowCan't go wrong with a white JB
Last edited:
Olympic White is such a good color. I have an OW Telecaster that I love.Well, that's what I did went and bought it last night. The white is growing on me. Originally I was planning a seafoam green colour but I think the neck being a light tan would look odd. If it was a lighter colour I'd probably be able to pull it off. So white it is! It'll be a Northwest Benton now
Are you going to keep the black pickguard or try something else?
I think I probably will keep the PG black mate, at least for now anyway. I can't think of another colour other than white (that might be interesting) or Tort (not a fan) that would go with a white guitar. That said, I have little to no imagination when it comes to colour matching so I'd be happy to take suggestions
I’m not a Tort fan either. For some reason it makes me think of my grandmothers living room.I think I probably will keep the PG black mate, at least for now anyway. I can't think of another colour other than white (that might be interesting) or Tort (not a fan) that would go with a white guitar. That said, I have little to no imagination when it comes to colour matching so I'd be happy to take suggestions
My Olympic White Tele came with a Tort guard. I changed it to white. White on white is a good look. Either black or white are both good choices imo.
I now have one of the enhanced P basses. I have a SUB but I find the MM sound a bit limiting, so this has an MM option but also a P.
Comments:
* Even with a zero fret, the 1st fret action is higher than I would have expected.
* Overall, the neck is pretty nice. It's not as skinny as say a Fender Precision Lyte or Squier Standard P, but it comfortable and about on a par with the vaguely Jazz proportioned SUB. It plays very cleanly with about 2mm action (12th fret) but I will aim for 1.7mm over time.
* I'm not a big fan of the binding and block inlays, but they are well done.
* The blue is such a generic blue it's very bland and meh. Metallic blue, dark blue, almost any other blue would have been better.
* The P sound is good. The MM sound with the preamp is more polite and bland than a SUB. There is seemingly less range in the two band EQ.
* To me the blend is backwards. I may well rewire it.
* I wish treble and bass locations were consistent with anything else I have. The bass knob isn't super quality.
* The bridge is solid. I don't care either way about string through.
Overall, for what I paid for it, it's excellent value provided you don't mind the meh blue and block inlays. The SUB I have is nicer to look at, but more limited in comparison unless you like the MM sound.
Comments:
* Even with a zero fret, the 1st fret action is higher than I would have expected.
* Overall, the neck is pretty nice. It's not as skinny as say a Fender Precision Lyte or Squier Standard P, but it comfortable and about on a par with the vaguely Jazz proportioned SUB. It plays very cleanly with about 2mm action (12th fret) but I will aim for 1.7mm over time.
* I'm not a big fan of the binding and block inlays, but they are well done.
* The blue is such a generic blue it's very bland and meh. Metallic blue, dark blue, almost any other blue would have been better.
* The P sound is good. The MM sound with the preamp is more polite and bland than a SUB. There is seemingly less range in the two band EQ.
* To me the blend is backwards. I may well rewire it.
* I wish treble and bass locations were consistent with anything else I have. The bass knob isn't super quality.
* The bridge is solid. I don't care either way about string through.
Overall, for what I paid for it, it's excellent value provided you don't mind the meh blue and block inlays. The SUB I have is nicer to look at, but more limited in comparison unless you like the MM sound.
Bear in mind that MM pickup is not at the same position. The Enhanced bass is more like a Sandberg VM series in terms of configuration and doesn't sound like a Ray. Not better/worse, just different. Personally I funny the MM pickup on the VM/Enhanced basses a bit too thin, but combined with the PP you get a few distinct bits sounds.
Bear in mind that the MM pickup is not at the same position. The Enhanced bass is more like a Sandberg VM series in terms of configuration and doesn't sound like a Ray. Not better/worse, just different. Personally I find the MM pickup on the VM/Enhanced basses a bit too thin, but combined with the PP you get a few distinct good sounds.
edit: autocorrect went a little silly last night and I didn't notice.
edit: autocorrect went a little silly last night and I didn't notice.