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Post subject: Uriah Duffy what?
Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 7:28 pm
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I was just reading the new issue of Bass Player and Uriah Duffy was talking about his "Formula" for making Mexican and Japanese Fenders into "Superior" instruments.

Step One: Replace the bridge with a Badass.

Step Two: Replace the pick-ups with Bartolinis.

Step Three: Replace the tuners with Hipshot Ultralight's and the D-tuner.

Step Four: Put in a John East J Retro or Aligular OBP-3 Pre-amp.

I'm Reading this thinking that by that point you've paid more for replacement parts then you did for the bass. He's got a great tone but man I just don't see going through all that and spending more on replacement parts then on the original instrument. Just bizarre to me.

Stay Brown,
Rev J


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Post subject: Re: Uriah Duffy what?
Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 8:12 pm
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Gotta agree with you Rev.


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Post subject: Re: Uriah Duffy what?
Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 8:18 pm
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His 98 Mexican Jazz was used when he got it and he turned it into exactly what he wanted. It ended up getting stolen and he thought enough of it that he had to replicate it.

I'm impressed that out of all the makers and Basses he could buy, he thinks highly enough of the MIM Jazz with some custom parts [and gold plating] to have it in his arsenal.

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Post subject: Re: Uriah Duffy what?
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 12:20 am
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seismic wrote:
His 98 Mexican Jazz was used when he got it and he turned it into exactly what he wanted. It ended up getting stolen and he thought enough of it that he had to replicate it.

I'm impressed that out of all the makers and Basses he could buy, he thinks highly enough of the MIM Jazz with some custom parts [and gold plating] to have it in his arsenal.


I'll give you that. To me on one level it kind of feels like putting an $8,000 stereo system in a 1982 Ford Escort. On another level I understand your point.

I love my Steve Bailey Jazz. But I also know it is a fairly rare instrument. I love that without changing settings I can comp chords, run death metal lines, and solo. Play Afro-Cuban music, funk, and run Stanley Clarke and Jaco lines on it, then go play with a jam band and the only thing I had to change is right hand positioning.

It also scares the hell out of me to leave the house with it. The Warwick model is about $1500 more for a new one. For someone who works for minimum wage that's quite a bit. I'd love to put together a kit bass with some of those concepts (especially the neck profile of the SB, maybe take the body shape from a Jazz, the tuners, pick ups and electronics from Uriah Duffy's mods, and put a Kahler Bass Trem on it). That might be a killer bass.

I actually have an uncle in Maine who builds basses. HMMMMM!

Stay Brown,
Rev J


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Post subject: Re: Uriah Duffy what?
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 9:32 am
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Nuts to the Leo Quan! Nearly impossible to get a good setup for the average player and requires lots of work to setup good for a skilled luthier with all the proper tools and experience working on them.

If you want to risk buying a product that requires a bunch of work to get right from a company with the worst customer support on the planet, as in NONEXISTENT support, then go ahead and buy Leo Quan products. But you will never hear me recommend them at all. I sent them two pleas for help via the only support system they offer, email. I never got any answer at all! I was offering to spend even more money. Ignored. This was an URGENT CRITICAL problem and nobody ever answered. I wasted a bunch of money on their "wonderful" product.

There are better alternatives for the money, but frankly the stock Fender bridges are OK too. The stock bridges worked for Jaco, Noel Redding, etc....and I'm no better a player than they were. Bridges do NOT make you a better player! Tone is in your fingers, not in a bridge. If you need more sustain because you have a sucky body, OK then get a high mass bridge. Maybe a Schaller or anything but those Quan rip offs. Anytime I hear someone say you gotta get one of those Leo Quan things I instantly start discounting everything else that comes out of their mouth because we obviously have two different definitions on tone quality.

Tuners on the MIM are FINE and I don't see how putting on different machine heads contributes anything to a "superior" tone, just to the cost. That one is a head-scratcher ain't it? MIM tuners are pretty stable. If they wear out replace them with another set, they are otherwise totally unnecessary to mess with. If you want a drop D tuner, add one. But this makes no "superior tone" sense even then.

If you put a preamp in, isn't it an active Jazz at that point? I do not want an active instrument as a primary or #1 instrument. I do not consider active basses of any sort "superior" but rather a less desirable choice compared to a really good passive one as your primary instrument. Yes, I have an active and if I need an active tone I drag it out but it is not my favorite tone. I like the organic sounding passive Alnico.

Pickups are a personal choice and there are lots of choices. I don't think I'd let someone who extolls the virtues of Leo Quan bridges choose my pickups for me. The Barto P-Bass pickup is nice and I've used it but I have another Jazz pickup I like better.

Uriah Duffy is a busy and really a decent player. However I know for a fact that what works for him is not what is best for me. If what works for him works for you then great! But it won't work for me.

If you posted this just to get me riled up, it worked.


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Post subject: Re: Uriah Duffy what?
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 10:11 am
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You tell 'em brotherdave!


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Post subject: Re: Uriah Duffy what?
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 10:13 am
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I didn't mean to get you riled up Dave honestly.

I read that article and started thinking about that show "Pimp My Ride" on MTV where the heavily modify crappy cars with a bunch of useless crap (like a video monitor underneath an SUV in the spare tire spot). I'm reading all of these modifications and picturing Xibit doing an over hyped run down of everything they did to make it a better instrument.

Honestly about the preamp he did mention that both models had a passive switch on them. That actually is the only mod I'd really do to my SBJ is convert the mute switch to a passive/active switch but really am not sure how much I'd use that either since I run the onboard EQ flat anyway.

I think there are 2 factors in my preferences for actives. One is the era in which I grew up/started playing. I'm 37 now and started playing when I was 16. Right as the "Shred" thing was on it's way out and the "Alternative" thing was coming in so I was surrounded by that sound. Plus the higher output made techniques like tapping easier to hear (granted Billy Sheehan was doing it on a passive modified P-Bass).

The other is having had tendonitis in my left elbow from pulling too hard. That higher output helps me lighten up my touch and not have to play so hard. Anything that makes it easier to play is a great thing to me.

Plus playing an instrument with an extra low string and an extra high string I feel the preamp gives me a little extra clarity and balance in all registers.

It all comes down to personal preference.

Stay Brown,
Rev J


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Post subject: Re: Uriah Duffy what?
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 10:16 am
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Too late for that Rev. Now ya got him all wound up!


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Post subject: Re: Uriah Duffy what?
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 1:43 pm
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Sheesh !!! My 98 MIM Jazz was complete poo. I dumped too much money in it trying to make it sound better. I sold it. I agree with the $8000 stereo in a 71 VW thing. My 2 cents. I don't even want to talk about the "not" BadAss bridge.


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Post subject: Re: Uriah Duffy what?
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 8:11 pm
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I read the article in question & had the the same reaction as Rev J & Dave,....... firstly..... if I buy a Jazz or P-Bass & it comes from the factory with a BADASS II ..great! if it came with the old school bridge that would be great too. But if I were ever to replace a stock Fender bridge with an after market bridge.....my first choice would be a Gotoh, or Hipshot ( I have the same feelings for Leo Quan as DAVE....they have crappy nonexistant customer service) but that being said I don't see the need to change a bridge thats done a fine job on Fender basses since the 1950's
As Dave said ....the stock Fender bridge worked fine for Jaco & Noel Redding.....& Tony Franklin, Sting & Reggie Hamilton, Duff McKagan, Roger Waters, Bob Babbit etc.. I have a couple of basses with the old school bridge & they work fine I also have 3 basses that came stock with the BA II & they're fine too.............I recently read a post where a guy was saying that he changed the stock bridge on his Reggie Hamilton Jazz bass with a couple of after market bridges only to return to putting the stock bridge back on the bass. (apperantly the vintage sound & vibe wasn't there with the after market bridges....but who knows)

I also have no problem with the tuners on my MIM & MIJ Fender basses.......I actually never ever give them a second thought as they work fine (& several MIM & MIA basses have stamped Fender tuners...are the made in the same factory ? that I don't know but they do the job) & as for the pick ups ...well I think it depends on the model bass you buy but that being said I've never had a problem........

I wouldn't waiste my time buying a bass that I knew I was going to strip down to the bare bones & replace the bridge, pickups & tuners etc (unless maybe it was a vintage bass that had potential & needed TLC) ........ Anyway if I wanted an upgraded or custom Bass I wouldn't go Duffy's route ...I'd go the American Deluxe, Fender Select or the Custom shop route.........Just my opinion.. :)
Good Bass playing lies in the fingers, heart & mind........I've always thought this & funny enough I was lucky to see Marcus Miller give a Bass clinic here in Vancouver last month
& as he was winding down the clinic he said the same thing to the Bassists who came to see him.


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Post subject: Re: Uriah Duffy what?
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 9:15 pm
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I remember the BA bridges way back when they came out. They were as far as I knew at the time- the first direct replacement bridge for a Fender. There could have been others- I didn't know,,, (guitars were more like tools back then and no one thought much about going crazy modding guitars). So like me- a thousand or more other young bassists bought them and put them on their basses and it just snowballed from there. The guy behind the counter talked them up. Maybe they did some good for some basses. The best thing IMHO back then was the advent of the Dimarzio P bass pickup. It was like the BA bridge in that not many replacement pickups( like bridges) for a Fender bass were on the market

I've never had any problem with Fender tuners either. The only problem I experienced was the weight of them in the case of the 97 American Jazz Deluxe. It had real bad neck dive. In 98 they came out with lighter tuners. Other than the 97 I've not played another Fender that had neck dive like that- just maybe some neck nearly almost dive.

I've noticed many times that Japan and Mexican pickups seem to be inferior. Brother Dave has explained this several times. I agree with him or he agrees with me- one or a '.tuther. It's the diff magnets and wire as I remember him explaining. It made sense.

I guess I've gone total old geezer because I have no idea who Uriah Duffy is, was or who he plays for.. Did his parents get into Charles Dickens or Uriah Heep ? Probably Heep. I really liked them back in the 70's.

I agree with Marcus Miller = fingers, heart and mind. Fingers for sound, Heart for the fire to play , and mind to understand and learn and progress at playing.


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Post subject: Re: Uriah Duffy what?
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 9:48 pm
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I remember back in the early 80's.. (how's that for geezer.... :lol: ) but anyway ..I do remember back in the early 80's when everyone who played a bass had a BA II on their instrument...it was crazy, ......I never had one until I bought a Geddy Lee Jazz Bass in 2006 & it came stock on the bass.
I've always been satisfied with what ever bridge came stock on what ever bass I owed.
As for Uriah Duffy ....he's played for Alicia Keys, Christine Aguilera, The Family Stone & Whitesnake (speaking of the 80's..... :lol: )


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Post subject: Re: Uriah Duffy what?
Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2012 10:08 am
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Here's a clip or two:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W73uafFYMA4

Even though that groove has been used in a million instrumental rock tunes I can't help but think of "That's it for the Other One" by The Greatful Dead.

Here's a ballad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PXmWK-jOyY

Ok on this next one he's using a Lakland (so sue me) at least it's a J style axe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMm5zuRUOtE

Stay Brown,
Rev J


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Post subject: Re: Uriah Duffy what?
Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2012 7:34 pm
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Uriah Duffy can also be seen doing demo's for the Bass Octave Deluxe & Bass Envolope filter on MXR's (Jim Dunlop) website.........(two great stomp boxes I'm gonna soon be purchasing) :)


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