The Last Bass Outpost

Thank you. I think I know what my parents were feeling as they were trying to program their VCR...😂 I should be better at technology than I am.

https://imgur.com/gallery/oBt5XXn
https://imgur.com/gallery/eYNFrTS
https://imgur.com/gallery/ZrKIDRq
https://imgur.com/gallery/BkVN6xJ
https://imgur.com/gallery/tB9zu4L

Some picture links.

I haven't been around for a while, because of dumb life stuff. But recently I found a group on Facebook (not sure how everyone feels about that place, so I won't link to it unless someone wants to see it) Basically someone found an abandoned building full of Hofner bodies and started a group where people save and rebuild the bodies into new guitars. Anyway years ago I had a Hofner bass, a 500/4. I'm sure I posted it all over here already... I had to sell most of my gear off at one point, and of course I've been looking to replace it since. I managed to get a body from them, and have been (slowly) trying to make something playable out of it. I wanted to post pictures, but my Photobucket account has long since disappeared-how is everyone sharing pics these days? Oh yeah, if anyone has a spare Hofner neck laying around, I can give it a good home... 

Quote from: Dave W on August 13, 2018, 10:28:19 PM
West Allis?

The internet brought Les Paul back into the public eye. Gibson fans always knew who he was, but he hadn't been a star for many years. It's good that the area recognizes him now.

Mukwonago, actually... there was a neat old stone bank building in downtown Waukesha (empty for years, of course) that I remember hearing there might be some kind of a Les  Paul museum years ago, that nothing ever came of. At least he gets the exhibit he has, though.
A lot of the old part of Waukesha is made of the pretty yellow stone as the courthouse building in the first post. It really is a nice looking town.

Oh and thank you daniel J for the good info!

"Lots of loud angry midrange"

Is there an example of what that would be good for? Or do I not see these around because "nobody likes that"? Not meaning to be argumentative, just wondering.

"I don't like any of the Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders. They may sound good solo but in my experience they get lost in the mix in a band."


What do you like the sound of? SD makes a vintage correct pup in this shape, or I guess I could try any one of the 6736635774786 versions of Strat pickups that APPEAR to be the same shape... not that I NEED to change anything. I A/B'ed the Giannini with my JB Player and liked that sound better. Hmm, I bet I could scare up a EMG pup in that form factor...

Jeez I grew up two towns over from Waukesha, there never was a word spoken about Mr Paul while I was there, and now there's TWO exhibits about him? Ok... I spent a LOT of time in Waukesha (because there was nothing to do in my town) and the music store I had my first lessons at (on a rented all-Black Victory bass!) was about a block from the building the LP exhibit is in... This thread just dredged up a lot of memories.

So I went and bought the bass today before work. My wife is gonna kill me when she sees the CC bill, but I figure it's better to ask forgiveness, than permission...  Plus I didn't want to feel like I missed it, and not be able to find another one, or something... I traded my Austin P for it. I got all of $60 for the Austin  but since I only paid $45, plus the $1 for the EMG pickup I put in it, I shouldn't complain...
Comparatively, the Giannini has a MUCH nicer neck-it's all maple (Austin had a rosewood-ish board) the nut width is 1-3/4" (Austin was 1.6") I prefer bigger necks, and always thought the neck on the Austin was too narrow, plus the depth wasn't real big either. the frets on the G are noticably smaller, though. No actual fret wear, though. I thought the AUstin sounded better, but that's because I changed it to what I like (EMG Selects, like my other bass). Maybe I'll change the G, but it's fine for now. I played an old P bass with the single coil pup like this, that had a "Quarter Pounder" in it, that I liked, so maybe when I save up the $ for one (that I'm sure will cost more than this whole bass did  ) I can change that out. THis bass has the dime-size pots, and the volume is a little scratchy, but otherwise there's nothing actually WRONG with it, I just haven't soldered anything lately, and am getting a little itchy. The bridges on both these looked identical. The body on the G is slightly thicker, but overall it weighs less than the Austin. Again, I bought another black Fender copy. I wanted something different, but this one plays and feels REAL nice, I shouldn't complain. Especially for $80 out the door...

I looked up the Turser basses Pilgrim said, and mine looks the same. Other than the butt-ugly headstock mine has.

So is there a big difference between the sound of these single coil P's and the split ones? And when I googled "Tele bass" those all seemed to have the big chrome humbuckers. Do we like those around here? Not that I'm planning on getting one any time soon, I just realized I don't think I've seen one of those (HB Tele bass) in person ever.

So I checked out a new (to me) guitar store today. They had a "Giannini" Tele bass copy that was nice.
https://www.musicgoroundstpaul.com/p/888777/used-giannini-gb-3-bass-guitar-black
Here's a link to the actual thing, since I can't seem to get pics to attach today...
Anyway, what is it with me and black Fender copies? I have 2 already, and really wanted to not like another one, but this played better than all the other basses at the store... Anybody here familiar with these, or the Giannini brand? I already have an "Austin" p copy, I wouldn't be surprised if both were made in the same Chinese factory... The G had a nice neck, it sounded good and didn't seem to be heavy. I think I'm gonna go back and grab it when I work tomorrow!

I see no-polepiece mini humbucker pups on eBay all the time. I wonder how different these Gretsch pups are, to the sometimes ridiculously cheap ones online... not that I want to dissect a "good" one just to see what's in it.

Thank you gentlemen! Of course when I went back there today, it was gone... but I see them online for the same $, so I will try ordering one.

So I was at the Guitar Center before work Friday. They had a Gretsch Jr Jet bass, the 2-pickup model.
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/gretsch-guitars-g2220-electromatic-junior-jet-ii-electric-bass-guitar
I had one of these when they first got reissued in the late 90's. I really liked it, it sounded and played great. Unfortunately the body was Plywood, and before it was a year old, the finish "sunk" and you could totally see the layers or plies. Also, the neck warped so bad that even with maxing out the truss rod, I had to pull the bottom dozen frets just to keep the strings off them... I took it back to GC several times for adjustments (before I just yanked the frets, obviously) I tried returning it or making a warranty claim, but the manager refused and told me it warped because I must have stored it wrong... l
I ended up using the pickups and tuning machines on my Hofner, and giving the rest of the "husk" to my luthier friend (who did the fret pulling).
So I saw the Jr Jet at GC, it played and sounded good. Plus it was a burst finish instead of all black like all my other basses... I have 2 black P copies and I want something different, and I can afford this one. I just don't wanna get burned again...
Have any of you-all gotten a Gretsch lately? Are they better made than the one I had? I remember the other one I had, said "Made in Korea" and this new one says made in China. Oh, and I remember paying about the same in 97/98 as these are listed for.
I just tried for way too long to attach a picture of this, but Photo Bucket is being stupid again. You'll just have to click the link to see them.

https://reverb.com/item/6470301-greco-sb-850-suzi-quatro-model-1970-sunburst
So while I'm at work at nights, I have time to search for stuff. Of course I gotta look for Thunderbirds (or similar), and either they're trashed, I can't afford them (I have NO business buying a 4-digit bass, but I still want one) or they're bolt-on neck Epis  Anyway I saw THIS and thought it looked cool. Then I looked at more of them, and wondered why this one is half as much as the other ones... So does anybody here, have a Greco 'bird, or even one of these? Yeah I know the headstock is different (but I like it) and it has P/J pups, so it won't sound like a real one. But I can (almost) afford this one... THese should be made of "real" wood, not ply, right? Or should I be concerned that this one is broken or something? I know where the credit card is, so that little voice is repeating "It's better to ask forgiveness, than permission" in the back of my mind...

I love how much I learn about... well, anything on here. I'd NEVER expect Eisenhower in a thread about Japanese basses... I love this place!

So if I were to search for the guitar sized bass pups, what are they called? Or would it just be easier to wade through whatever "gibson bass pickup" search came up with?