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Post subject: Early 70's Vintage P Bass Nightmare
Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2011 8:16 am
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This is me ---> :shock:

I'm the proud owner of a useless vintage P Bass(and a useless 80's Fender Twin Amp) equipt with built in mystery problems. Years ago, I purchased this item from an ebay auction based purely on it's specs.

I would love to list those Specs for you ... but, I have long since given up on this beautiful looking bass. It's either a 71, 72 or 73 P Bass. And, The first person who tried to set this up for me confirmed it's authenticity and it's completeness.

However, I need to get to the point:

*When it arrived I realized that there was a farty sound being produced from this bass on many of the notes. I have brought it to several different local fender authorized luthiers; each one proudly claiming to have solved all my problems.

"oh ... i totally took care of this baby for you; it plays like a dream now, set it up for you really special; man it's an awesome instrument now"

untrue.

These repairs cost me money ... money I wish I had today.

I'm hearing this farty sound when i play it through the amp but especially when I record with it. So, as I run a recording studio, this bass is pretty much an ornament to me. It bums me out. I've been really needing a decent bass to record with for a LONG time. But, got SO burned, that I've given up.

And then, when I look over the list of "official fender" repair people here in South Florida ... I see several people I've already gone to see about this problem ... people who have claimed to have fixed it.

I've been raped over and over again ... now, I'm just wondering ... is there anyone in the country who can sort this out for me? Someone who wouldn't KILL me on the cost?

(on a side note; I have a nearly identical problem with a fender amp. Look for my other post about that if you're interested)


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Post subject: Re: Early 70's Vintage P Bass Nightmare
Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 4:39 am
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Too bad for you but are you sure you see very good luthier ?
It look not, fix a bass problem is not a rocket science or the problem is not the bass itself ?
For me Fender official repair service do not mean neccessary a good luthier.


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Post subject: Re: Early 70's Vintage P Bass Nightmare
Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 7:38 am
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Hey stratele52,

This is me ---> :idea:

Your English is fine. I understand what you're saying. And you're right. I've learned; just because someone is an authorized Fender repair doesn't always mean much.

I ended up calling fender yesterday. It's funny because, here in the US, they don't pick up the phone during they're proposed hours. Which is 10 AM Mountain time. However, I learned it's because the office moves west during certain seasons; go figure?

Anyway, what I learned was this: there are different levels of Fender Certification. Some of they're authorized Repair people, are in fact, better than others.

Today I'm going to attempt a simple remedy myself. I'm going to adjust the pick-up under the E and A strings ... and drop the Pick-Up a bit lower. Supposedly, if the Pick-Up is too close, it can create some kind of bad cancellation. I pray it works. I hate the idea of spending MORE money.

Let's all pray ;)


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Post subject: Re: Early 70's Vintage P Bass Nightmare
Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:27 am
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Hi jonathanj,

Yes good idea the pickups, sure if they are too close it give very bad sound.

Also look at fender.com there some informations about set up. You probably know ?


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Post subject: Re: Early 70's Vintage P Bass Nightmare
Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:06 pm
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PM me for a repair guy in Maryland with extremely fair rates if interested. He's a Fender authorized guy too. Always done a great job on my basses. Very friendly, too.


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Post subject: Re: Early 70's Vintage P Bass Nightmare
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 9:44 am
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if the guitar plays well and or is easy to play and acoustically you can hear all the notes coming out all up and down the neck and if it has good strings on it and it intonates and sets up good- then electronics is the next place to check. There are many really good guitar guys out there. There are many just decent guitar repair guys too and then there are shlubs also.

I would talk to Brother Dave if I were you. But I'm not you. Only you are you. I have thought about this and think it's true. :D


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Post subject: Re: Early 70's Vintage P Bass Nightmare
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 2:25 pm
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stroker vance wrote:
I have thought about this and think it's true. :D


I too have thought, and I think your thought is true, too :mrgreen:

Seriously, though, OP, have you tried the bass through a known good amp? It may seem stupidly obvious, but I've known someone try to fix a bass that had nothing wrong with it, when it was a blown speaker on the amp all the time. And a blown speaker produces a farty sound like nothing else...


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Post subject: Re: Early 70's Vintage P Bass Nightmare
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 3:23 pm
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jonathanj wrote:
This is me ---> :shock:

I'm the proud owner of a useless vintage P Bass(and a useless 80's Fender Twin Amp) equipt with built in mystery problems. Years ago, I purchased this item from an ebay auction based purely on it's specs.

I would love to list those Specs for you ... but, I have long since given up on this beautiful looking bass. It's either a 71, 72 or 73 P Bass. And, The first person who tried to set this up for me confirmed it's authenticity and it's completeness.

However, I need to get to the point:

*When it arrived I realized that there was a farty sound being produced from this bass on many of the notes. I have brought it to several different local fender authorized luthiers; each one proudly claiming to have solved all my problems.

"oh ... i totally took care of this baby for you; it plays like a dream now, set it up for you really special; man it's an awesome instrument now"

untrue.

These repairs cost me money ... money I wish I had today.

I'm hearing this farty sound when i play it through the amp but especially when I record with it. So, as I run a recording studio, this bass is pretty much an ornament to me. It bums me out. I've been really needing a decent bass to record with for a LONG time. But, got SO burned, that I've given up.

And then, when I look over the list of "official fender" repair people here in South Florida ... I see several people I've already gone to see about this problem ... people who have claimed to have fixed it.

I've been raped over and over again ... now, I'm just wondering ... is there anyone in the country who can sort this out for me? Someone who wouldn't KILL me on the cost?

(on a side note; I have a nearly identical problem with a fender amp. Look for my other post about that if you're interested)

HAve you tried the bass through a different amp?

Have you tried a different bass through the same amp?
If so, what were the results?

I just got to Tampa 5 weeks ago and I'll be here for almost a year, so I'm hoping I don't run into the luthiers you have....

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Post subject: Re: Early 70's Vintage P Bass Nightmare
Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:25 pm
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[quote="PKBassman"][quote="jonathanj"]This is me ---> :shock:

*When it arrived I realized that there was a farty sound being produced from this bass on many of the notes. I have brought it to several different local fender authorized luthiers; each one proudly claiming to have solved all my problems.


I'm hearing this farty sound when i play it through the amp but especially when I record with it. So, as I run a recording studio, this bass is pretty much an ornament to me. It bums me out. I've been really needing a decent bass to record with for a LONG time. But, got SO burned, that I've given up.

SIR,..Can you please DESCRIBE these "FARTY" sounds ? :shock: This could be one of the rarest basses in our modern time,It makes the JACO "Bass of Doom" and the Jamerson "Funk" bass seem like everyday run of the mill production line beginner bass,BUT the "Farty" sounding P-bass owned by Derek Smalls(so its rumored)is like finding the HolyGrail or the Ark of the Covenant(no offensive,just used for comparison purposes)and are the farts tuned to standard 440 pitch ? :wink:
SORRY,I JUST HAD TO... :mrgreen:

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Post subject: Re: Early 70's Vintage P Bass Nightmare
Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:34 pm
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a blown spkr or one with loose or ripped paper, or even a cable connecting the amp top to the spkr cab can be bad or not the proper cord etc can make a farty sound. I had that and jiggled the spkr cord and it stopped. I also had a ripped cone (about 1 1/2 inch) and it was making noise. I say it may not be the bass/ or there could be a grounding problem with the bass wiring or the pickguard can have the static thing going on or the power in your house is not quite 110 or a pickup could be rattleing or the heating ducts in the basement can rattle. Sherlock Holmes can maybe help too. We'll give him a call.......


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Post subject: Re: Early 70's Vintage P Bass Nightmare
Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 3:11 pm
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You weren't playing "Get Up & Jump" were you by any chance? Red Hot Chilli can cause that kind of noise... :oops: :mrgreen:


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Post subject: Re: Early 70's Vintage P Bass Nightmare
Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 4:13 pm
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PVTele wrote:
You weren't playing "Get Up & Jump" were you by any chance? Red Hot Chilli can cause that kind of noise... :oops: :mrgreen:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAA!!!!!!!!! :)

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Post subject: Re: Early 70's Vintage P Bass Nightmare
Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:02 pm
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OKAY it's been a week and the OP never came back. He probubly figured out he had a bad cord and spent millions of dollars on fixing a good guitar that didn't need fixing. HA!!!!!! That's funny.


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