51 P Bass Semi-acoustic: The Bass Fender Forgot to Make

Bridgehouse

Look what postie brought... found some screws, foam and springs and wired it in! Will try tonight and report back my initial thoughts...

ICBM

With the black hardware this reminds me a bit of the 'HMT' series Fender P-Bass... only nicer, and like a strange cross between that and an antique double bass, from the wood figuring in the top.

Bridgehouse

ICBM said:

With the black hardware this reminds me a bit of the 'HMT' series Fender P-Bass... only nicer, and like a strange cross between that and an antique double bass, from the wood figuring in the top.

Never understood why fender didn’t do more with the Thinline idea and basses - they sound different enough and are significantly lighter enough to be worth the effort IMHO

ICBM

Bridgehouse said:

Never understood why fender didn’t do more with the Thinline idea and basses - they sound different enough and are significantly lighter enough to be worth the effort IMHO

Indeed. The perfect companion for the '72-style Tele Thinline guitar would have been a humbucker-version Thinline Tele Bass. The hollow body tends to give a slightly more 'airy' tone which I think would have suited it very well.

This is also very cool...

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/99/85/ff/9985ff9b1e65a73c8de993335fea9eda.jpg

Funkfingers

Bridgehouse said:

Never understood why fender didn’t do more with the Thinline idea and basses

In a word - Coronado. 

ICBM

Funkfingers said:

Bridgehouse said:

Never understood why fender didn’t do more with the Thinline idea and basses

In a word - Coronado. 

Yes, I can understand why that put them off trying the concept again.

Bridgehouse

Funkfingers said:

Bridgehouse said:

Never understood why fender didn’t do more with the Thinline idea and basses

In a word - Coronado. 

No, that’s a laminate style big body as opposed to a hollow version of a solid body. They did really well with the Thinline tele - should have done the same with their basses.

Bridgehouse

I’ve tried it. 

Well now. It sounds really rather different to my 51P partscaster. Far more open, lots more snarl and much more in the mids. It’s not as spaced as a Precision - much less of that piano like quality and far more growl in the mids. 

Then there’s the hollow nature - it’s got some the air and hollow thump you get from a hollow body but still has plenty of sustain (centre block no doubt).

Compared to my precisions it doesn’t sound like a Precision. But it’s not 100% Ric - it’s like a bag of Ric flavoured crisps - sort of Pricisionbacker if you like. 

However, it sits so well in the mix when I play along to stuff - far more presence and up front sound due to those highlighted mids. Interesting.

Have tried flats and roundwounds - rounds seem to accentuate the Ric side more, flats the P side. 

I have an idea for sound samples so bear with me..

OilCityPickups

Then it's done exactly what I wanted it to do ... 

No doubt with a bit of creative EQ you could tip it either way, which makes for a good take on versatility. On a solid bass you might have more clang than thump, but considering there is no other body or neck design element in common with a ... er Californian bass, or a an equal pickup positioning ... I think I nailed the design brief.  

Bridgehouse

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Then it's done exactly what I wanted it to do ... 

No doubt with a bit of creative EQ you could tip it either way, which makes for a good take on versatility. On a solid bass you might have more clang than thump, but considering there is no other body or neck design element in common with a ... er Californian bass, or a an equal pickup positioning ... I think I nailed the design brief.  

Yes, I think you did. Want a bit of Ric flavour to your P bass? Want the starting point to favour EQ’ing it to sound a lot like a Ric? One of these pickups will do it.

OilCityPickups

Bridgehouse said:

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Then it's done exactly what I wanted it to do ... 

No doubt with a bit of creative EQ you could tip it either way, which makes for a good take on versatility. On a solid bass you might have more clang than thump, but considering there is no other body or neck design element in common with a ... er Californian bass, or a an equal pickup positioning ... I think I nailed the design brief.  

Yes, I think you did. Want a bit of Ric flavour to your P bass? Want the starting point to favour EQ’ing it to sound a lot like a Ric? One of these pickups will do it.

Or get a P Bass body with no routs ... pop one of these right where the ... er ... Californian one's bridge pickup is ... and another, reverse wound one in the neck ... and you have a snarly, clangy beast that's humbucking in the middle position ... something not even a 'Californian' bass does :-)

Bridgehouse

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Bridgehouse said:

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Then it's done exactly what I wanted it to do ... 

No doubt with a bit of creative EQ you could tip it either way, which makes for a good take on versatility. On a solid bass you might have more clang than thump, but considering there is no other body or neck design element in common with a ... er Californian bass, or a an equal pickup positioning ... I think I nailed the design brief.  

Yes, I think you did. Want a bit of Ric flavour to your P bass? Want the starting point to favour EQ’ing it to sound a lot like a Ric? One of these pickups will do it.

Or get a P Bass body with no routs ... pop one of these right where the ... er ... Californian one's bridge pickup is ... and another, reverse wound one in the neck ... and you have a snarly, clangy beast that's humbucking in the middle position ... something not even a 'Californian' bass does :-)

To be honest it's sufficiently different in flavour from a normal P that it gives it a uniqueness already..

ICBM

TheGuitarWeasel said:

 ... pop one of these right where the ... er ... Californian one's bridge pickup is ... and another, reverse wound one in the neck ... and you have a snarly, clangy beast that's humbucking in the middle position ... something not even a 'Californian' bass does :-)

Converting it is very easy, actually - the bridge pickup's magnet is only held on by the screws that attach the coil to the baseplate, so you can flip it and swap the coil wires in a couple of minutes.

I did this and recorded the before and after results of both the bridge pickup sound and the both-pickups sound, and posted them - full AIFF, so no 'Youtube quality' excuses - on the RIC forum. I was banned shortly afterwards .

(There was of course absolutely no difference in tone whatsoever .)

GSPBASSES

I said it would be good. 

Bridgehouse

GSPBASSES said:

I said it would be good. 

To be fair, you did 

Andyjr1515

Bridgehouse said:

Look what postie brought... found some screws, foam and springs and wired it in! Will try tonight and report back my initial thoughts...

Clearly from your description it sounds great - and it looks beautiful.  Love the black contrast with the natural wood.

What was the final playing weight?

Bridgehouse

@Andyjr1515 - I'll weigh it in a bit

Bridgehouse

@Andyjr1515 - It's just a touch over 7lb 3oz

Andyjr1515

Bridgehouse said:

@Andyjr1515 - It's just a touch over 7lb 3oz

That's excellent.  Welcome to the 'light in weight doesn't mean light in tone' club

Bridgehouse

Andyjr1515 said:

Bridgehouse said:

@Andyjr1515 - It's just a touch over 7lb 3oz

That's excellent.  Welcome to the 'light in weight doesn't mean light in tone' club

Thanks!