That’s true, though it’s heavily based on the fact that Fenders is so afraid to really do any thing new. Think about it. Since the 1965 Fender try put “new” sku on their catalog every year, still till today they are still selling Teles and Strats and Ps and Js.
MusicMan is great a step up in innovation till you get to G&L. Arguably the best of Leo’s design across the board. Better design bridge better design tuners and better design pickups.
Yeah. You get the feeling that once he left Fender he finally got to make what he wanted.
The whole CBS thing had to be pretty limiting for the guy.
I love my P bass. It’s an EBMM, not a Fender, but all the basics of the Precision design are there.
Fender Ps were everywhere back in the foundational days of blues, rock and roll, Motown, Soul and pop, on all the coolest music that defined the times. It did do the job, but for quite a while it was the only game in town — until competitor models ultimately came on the scene. Then emerging bassists opted for more and different tonal qualities. Even Leo designed the Jazz and StingRay to expand players’ tonal options.
Still, at the end of the day, any bass, any instrument, is just a tool. Sure, each has a legacy built on the tunes and players that created its place in history. But it was the musicians who made the instruments’ sounds epic.
That little experiment I did last month was interesting; most people thought the BB was the P-bass and that the P-bass sounded the least P-bassy. It all came down to playing style.
Flea Winter gear
Taken today, in front of my punky-funky luthier.
I guess the local Fender P-Bass Mafia does not want him to continue helping me with modding my HB 
I tried to update him on the skill vs talent discussion in another thread, and he just mumbled: “f#cking internet”, so that’s that!
About creating the ideal bass himself, he replied that one of his customers (the bassist of “Lord of the Lost”) wanted him to make a custom bass … and he respectfully declined.
Now the bassist has purchased an oversized fan-fretted multiscale 5-string, and according to my punky-funky luthier, this is the best bass he ever had in his hands.
If he made that, it would take very long and get very expensive…
Hmmm … maybe @sunDOG is on to something??!
Had to google “Lord of the Lost”, and it’s this - I think it’s kind of a Teletubby version of Rammstein:
Fortunately, they also do something like this:
I’m on to what? The fact that Dingwall’s are freakin’ good basses? 
Yeah, if my punky-funky luthier says so, it must be true
Just read the origin story of my punk-funky luthier. Very adorable!
I also feel humbled that he takes the time to route my f#cling chinese-made HB’s … and is dirty enough to discuss all my little stupid issues (like how to make a pickguard).
well, that’s alright then…
Now I really want to see/hear you playing an oversized (34-37") fan-fretted multiscale 5-string custom shop Dingwall!
So do I 
But I’ll stick to my 4…
37"!!!
Three inch more is a world of difference, also in the world of bass playing
While waiting for my punky-funky luthier to route Pink’s Hot for a P/H pickup config, I will revisit … the pickguards.
I have decided to NOT make new pickguards (until I have developed the skills to do so), but just reuse the old pickguard.
Reusing stuff matches my philosophy much better anyway, so it’s all good!
This is the old pickguard, which I have destroyed to make the Humbucker fit temporarily. That was pretty stupid, in hindsight.
I have removed the black 3M wrap film, so it’s even uglier!
I will cut a piece of the newly & badly made pickguard (the pearl white under the old one) and fill the cavity of the old pickguard with it. Gaps will be filled with epoxy putty.
I hope that will be stable enough … we’ll see!
After sanding and reapplying the black 3m wrap film it should look like new though. Like a f#cking influencer after nip and tuck
To find the right position, I determined the center, drew an outline of the pickguard and used it for measuring the Humbucker PU position, relative to the old p PU:
Now I could draw the final position of the pickup - and can use the template for routing the pickup cavity on my Frankenstein-pickguard (I just put the pickup on the paper to see if the size fits - this is NOT the final position).
Pretty excited - let’s see what will go wrong
Used strong magnets to hold both pieces in place. Then a flashback to my childhood: playing with lots of dough - I can sand away what I don’t need later. Big fun, really!
An hour later … now it looks like this:
Pretty good (though it looks sh#t) … it feels already very solid … the surface is smooth … hopefully there are no small micro gaps, but it doesn’t feel like it.
Tomorrow I will sand it and use the Dremel to cut a hole for the Humbucker, put black car wrap film on it … and that should be it.
FU pickguard - mind over matter
Again, Dremels are generally not the best tool to cut plastic. I would try and find a way to saw it.
I will try a “dry run” on some leftovers tomorrow and decide after…
I tried the cutting method today, by the way. That’s only good for straight lines that go from edge to edge, not for curves and especially not for rectangles within the pickguard (ie pickup cavities).
That’s really pity, as it would have made things much easier…
But the good news is that the pickguard activities seem be on the right track now … I have three “open” basses here that want to feel complete again
Yes but different bit or cutting disc.
The problem with a dremel is you risk melting the plastic
