The Mustang bass stripe....

Pilgrim · August 18, 2009, 11:11:45 AM

I've been thinking for some time that my black Jay Turser JTB-401 ('54 P clone) would look even better with another accent. I put a bridge cover on it - and used adhesive tire weights under that cover to balance it - but the more I looked at Mustang basses, the more I thought Hmmmmmmmm...

So I stopped at an auto arts store and bought a 2" wide strip of chrome striping tape. I used my wife's excellent fabric-cutter to cut a 12" piece, then to cut some lengthwise strips about 3/8" wide, then trimmed the remaining rather wide piece to a width I thought would work. I wiped the bass with denatured alcohol, and applied the strips.

Here's the result:

Here's an original to compare it with - mine is wider. I just eyeballed mine, and thought the center stripe was at least 3x as wide as the side strpies...turns out that it was maybe 2x as wide. But the Turser is a larger body, so it may be OK in proportion.

I learned that you really can't wrap the strips around the sides without getting wrinkles (also the angle at which the tape lays changes, so they tended to overlap), so I trimmed them with a razor blade at about 1/4" of lap past the top of the bass. Also, that chrome is so reflective that I couldn't get a decent photo of it with the flash on, so these are taken with no flash. I'll probably try some photos outside where the light is better.

Best part is - it's just striping tape, and I used about one-tenth of what's on the roll. I can re-do it anytime I feel the urge if I want to change the strip widths or the look.

Whaddaya think?

Is it Mustang-ish??

Highlander · August 18, 2009, 11:14:55 AM

Nice one, Al...

leftybass · August 18, 2009, 11:21:36 AM

Did the same thing on my lefty SX short-scale. I'd always wanted a Mustang Bass but finding/affording a lefty was not do-able. So...

Pilgrim · August 18, 2009, 12:11:03 PM

Better (?) shots taken outside. That stuff is VERY reflective...chrome, donchaknow?

JimmyBond8 · August 19, 2009, 08:05:00 AM

Oh wow!! I didn't notice till the end that it was reflective Chromy!!

A guy in a local band did something similar to his black guitar, not racing stripes, but just big stripes with Tinfoil somehow. It looks smashing.

Very nice!! I think the thicker stripe works great on basses because of the bigger body and neck.
Welcome into the racing stripe club.

copacetic · August 19, 2009, 09:46:15 AM

By the way, how does that JTB-401 (54 clone) sound? Is that pickup just like a '54 or updated slightly? Body balance?

Pilgrim · August 19, 2009, 12:08:58 PM

Quote from: copacetic on August 19, 2009, 09:46:15 AM
By the way, how does that JTB-401 (54 clone) sound? Is that pickup just like a '54 or updated slightly? Body balance?

It's an extremely light bass, under 7 pounds. As a result, with the 34" maple neck (maple cap for the fretboard), in stock form it's a neck-diver. What I did was add about 11 oz. of adhesive tire weights on the front part of the bridge and on the inner surface of the bridge cover. The bass still only weighs about 7.5 pounds, and now it balances well. I wouldn't have added that much weight as a balance solution if the bass hadn't been unusually light to start with.

Here are photos of the weights - a local tire shop where I do biz just handed them to me, no charge:

I can't answer whether the Turser sounds like a '54, as I've never heard one. I can tell you that with Labella Deep Talkin' flats, it sounds very nice and definitely has a classic sound. As far as I can tell (and I've never pulled it out to look it over) it's a direct copy of the Fender pickup. Let's face it, the pickup in those basses wasn't exactly the highest-tech thing Fender ever did, so I don't think it would be hard to copy.

I have followed discussions about this bass on TalkBass and another forum, and those who own them seem to be very happy with the pickup and its sound. I read posts where a couple of guys had tried swapping in a Fender pickup and actually took it back out because they liked the sound of the Turser pickup better! Go figure.

In any case, it's certainly not an exotic bass, but the action on mine is low and fast, it required minimal setup, and it sounds good. For a price of under $200 it was definitely a worthwhile addition for me.

copacetic · August 20, 2009, 12:19:07 AM

Thanks for that detailed info and pictures. Really intriguing and just goes to show how simple and profound things can be. I like that balancing act as well. Congratulations!