Tortoise shell is definitely a “love it or hate it” sort of thing. When I got my Ray 4 the second thing I did was replace the boring black pick guard with a red tortoise shell one. (The first thing was installing flat wound strings.)
Maybe its because my main bass back in the day was a Fender P Bass in three color sunburst with a tortoise shell pick guard - about as classic and old school as it comes.
The only reason I haven’t put a tortoise shell pick guard on my Squier PJ is because I can’t find one that would fit at a reasonable price.
Yeah, black or white is my last pick for a pickguard that I can stand. But that is the bassline (puns intended), things below that start with any kind of tortoise.
Understand, to each his/her own I reckon. I only like the tortoise shell look on certain color basses, but like you I also like Pearl pick guards. I strongly considered having Sweetwater put one on this little Mustang but for the $$ they wanted in labor, I said no as I ought to be able to do it myself. I am also thinking of putting a white pearl pick guard on my Candy Apple Red J Bass, I think it would look schweet.
In my ‘blackout’ project on the Squire 70’s Jazz bass, I wanted to get rid of the black pickguard with white stripe and replace with an all black pickguard.
I toiled for days over figuring out what would fit as Squires vary year to year, places wanted tracings etc.
Then I gave all that up and took out a sharpie…white line gone.
Cost = 0
Black screws are on the way
I really wish that I had those knobs on my Squire Jazz, @John_E
The only real “complaint” I have about it . . .
And yes, you’re right about the pickguards. I was looking for them once, and they do vary somewhat, so I didn’t bother. Good luck with your ‘blackout’ project!
I think, and did not see it in there, the Floating bridge is actually an original concept, where all the uprights basses and instruments like violins and cellos and violas, they all use a floating type bridge.
So, all points about construction, and not being sturdy for a flat (fixed) mount bridge are valid, but they did not create this for the hallow body, they just reverted to it, I believe.
Gibson uses strange floating bridges on all their basses (and guitars), and I, along with many others, CAN’T STAND THEM. Hipshot and others make replacements for them, however, not a good idea in your case with a hallow body for reasons already stated.
Not only are they weird and a pain in the ass, I can’t play them well. The action above the body (not necessarily above the fretboard, but above the body and pick ups) is super high and weird to plant your thumb for bass, and even weird to pick and palm mute on guitar.
IDK if it just takes a special talent to play Les Paul’s and those other guitar’s and basses, but I could never get comfortable with them, and don’t really like Gibson or Epiphone all that much anyway. Aside from classic tone of Les Paul’s guitars, I am quite perplexed as to why people like them.
The floating bridge is not so bad once you get used to it. Once you get the intonation just right it’s fine, you just have to remember to change strings one at a time lest your floating bridge floats away and you have to start all over. @Gio suggested making a pencil mark so you know exactly where to place the bridge.
I honestly believe that I could get used to a floating bridge, I just don’t think I could get used to a Gibson (or really want to).
I take that back, there are some cool looking Gibson’s, but I would want to change the bridge to the Hipshot fixed bridge.
I’m down to one bass (Hofner) and a guitar that I rarely play. There is a slot available on my triple guitar stand, so…
I’m thinking maybe a Stingray. I’m loving the short scale, so what models of Ray should I be looking at?
Toby @T_dub you’re our resident Ray expert, so I hope to hear from you.
non short scale new around 2K, used you can get (a nice one) for about 1200. short scale ernies are about the same but really difficult to find used. your best entry point would be a used short scale sterling ball around $350. this is what i play and it’s nice.
you can go to reverb and under your feed just put in a search for ernie ball short scale bass and save the search. here’s currently what they have, no used ones right now. but they do have the sexy dropped copper new.
Thanks, I kinda know how to do searches in Reverb. I was just asking if anyone knew of any specific models, since there are so many variables in the Stringray world.
