Just picked up a P-type for £100

[simoncroft]

I was curious about this partso, because it has a piezo bridge and a zebra wood neck. So I drove to the guy's house and bought it. I'd say it's got a lot of potential. Neck is comfortable in my hand, and the board is close ro flat in terms of relief. Action needs adjustment and the frets need a little dressing.

As I'm not impressed by the sound of the Warman magnetic pickup, I'll install a Wilkinson alnico set. The electrics can also be improved without messing with the conventional Precision look. At the moment, there are two volumes, and no tone. I have a spare ganged pot, so I'll add a master tone control as the outer ring where the tone control usually is.

TBH, it's all a bit too black for me, so I've ordered a mirror plate/guard to replace the black one. OK, that ups my spend to about £150, but what a bargain for a bass I'm convinced will out-perform a Fender MIM bass! Plus, it's going to look cooler than a polar bear with an icecream.

And oh, that nut wil probably have to go…

 

[GrumpySquatch]

That neck is crazy purdy!

 

[willmunny]

Dig it

 

[Thatbastarddon]

Sweet!!! Congratulations!!!

 

[JohnnyGoo]

Very nice .

 

[Ukoldgit]

That's a bit posh Simon and you didn't have to raid the piggy bank. HNBD

 

[Amp Mad Scientist]

I was curious about this partso, because it has a piezo bridge and a zebra wood neck. So I drove to the guy's house and bought it. I'd say it's got a lot of potential. Neck is comfortable in my hand, and the board is close ro flat in terms of relief. Action needs adjustment and the frets need a little dressing.

As I'm not impressed by the sound of the Warman magnetic pickup, I'll install a Wilkinson alnico set. The electrics can also be improved without messing with the conventional Precision look. At the moment, there are two volumes, and no tone. I have a spare ganged pot, so I'll add a master tone control as the outer ring where the tone control usually is.

TBH, it's all a bit too black for me, so I've ordered a mirror plate/guard to replace the black one. OK, that ups my spend to about £150, but what a bargain for a bass I'm convenced will out-perform a Fender MIM bass! Plus, it's going to look cooler than a polar bear with an icecream.

And oh, that nut wil probably have to go…

View attachment 102141
View attachment 102142
View attachment 102143

Does the piezo bridge sound like an acoustic / upright bass?

 

[Far Rider]

Gorgeous!

 

[67plexi]

 

[simoncroft]

Does the piezo bridge sound like an acoustic / upright bass?

That's what I was hoping. If you add it to the magnetic pickup, it actually takes on a raspy quality, a bit like a Ric. On it's own, it's quite thin. I reckon it needs a preamp, although the Fishman installation sheet says this is optional. Trouble is, if I add a Fishman PowerChip as well, I've more than doubled the price of the bass!

 

[eclecticsynergy]

That's one trippy looking neck. Good score.

Yah, there's a reason why you seldom see piezo pickups in basses.
Body resonance is what gives an upright its fullness.

 

[GrooVey]

look cooler than a polar bear with an icecream.

Yes Sir. That’s a sexy neck.

 

[simoncroft]

The mirror pickguard arrived today. I'll wait for the new pickups to arrive before I start work, but I reckon this bass has real potential. I'll dress the frets while the strings are off, and I'm thinking flats, rather than wound, for the strings. I really like wirewound for some things, but flats seem to be the classic Motown Precision sound. That's what I'm after, because I already have Jazz Bass-type instruments for a more Pastorious/Entwhistle kind of tonal palette.

 

[3bolt79]

Congrats Simon on finding a nice deal. Looks like it should be lots of fun.

 

[simoncroft]

The bass is mutating folks! The new pickups are Wilkinson Alnicos, and they sound like the real deal. I know Trev Wilkinson to talk to, and he's and he's a very knowledgeable guy. I've used his bridges and pickups pon many a build, and always been pleased with the result. Fitting the mirror plate wasn't as easy as I hoped, because the body rout was non-standard. As a result, I had to fill some areas with black auto body putty. (If you look carefully, you can still see slight white Chinagraph marks, where I've flagged up the areas I needed to fill… Actually worked out pretty well in the end.

Next stop, I'll dress the frets and change the nut.

 

[Oldiemurphy]

The bass is mutating folks! The new pickups are Wilkinson Alnicos, and they sound like the real deal. I know Trev Wilkinson to talk to, and he's and he's a very knowledgeable guy. I've used his bridges and pickups pon many a build, and always been pleased with the result. Fitting the mirror plate wasn't as easy as I hoped, because the body rout was non-standard. As a result, I had to fill some areas with black auto body putty. (If you look carefully, you can still see slight white Chinagraph marks, where I've flagged up the areas I needed to fill… Actually worked out pretty well in the end.

Next stop, I'll dress the frets and change the nut.

View attachment 102383

That looks fantastic, Simon!