c.2002/2014 Mexican-American Fender Deluxe P Bass

Update 2017: I'm happy to say that friends of mine have had this bass for a couple of years and have been making good use of it!

Update 2015: This bass is now available with a good gigbag. I've rewired the controls a bit and added a cute mascot behind the headstock so I've posted updated photos. I've also added the above soundclip (straight into my mixer, excuse me for a bit of clumsy rattle here and there -- I'm mostly a pick-player and only really got used to fingers on double bass). It's now rocking a set of "half-rounds" of the GHS variety, I believe, which means they're ground-down roundwounds and so have a sort of "worn in roundwound" sound to them with smoother fingering. This bass can also be heard on several of my records including throughout Living in the Future and Feeling Lousy. Now back to the original post... which I will update where necessary.

Warmoth (American) neck, Fender (Mexican) body. I just wanted to share because I'm enjoying it so much! After finishing off repairs/upgrades to my double banjo bass I popped the neck off the (now redundant) fretted banjo bass (body stowed for future project) and put it on this used 2002 P-bass Deluxe body I picked up from The Stratosphere.

I first learned to play on a J-bass but I've always liked the classic 50s P-bass "punch." I think that candy apple red smeared all over a body that combines both bass sounds and mixed with a 1 1/2" J-bass style neck has solved my quest for vintage electric bass tone. What's not to like?

Another secret desire of mine has been to have something with a gold andodized pickguard.

...and a thinner Tele-style headstock sure beats the big hunk of 60s Fender maple that tends to get knocked about...

The controls are now master volume, 3-way switch, and master tone. I'm not a huge fan of the blend-style J-bass controls and this lets me get, I think, a wider variety of mixed sounds that're more distinct for recording purposes.

With the bridge pickup jacked up a bit, I've also got a nice even response between the pickups as far as volume goes.

The pickups are stock but sound great.

The vintage-style bridge is just what the Dr. ordered. I love being able to slightly realign strings for different spacing... which is something a lot of the modern Fender bridges lack.

This is loaded with American-made lightweight Hipshots that're just the best you can get as far as I'm concerned.

A vintage sterling "bull" pin adorns the rear of the headstock as mascot for this bass.

There's a bit of flame in with the birdseye but I made a point of choosing a nice, straight-grain, fine-grain, and pretty much quartersawn neck when I bought it.

...gotta love the birdseye. I used a "satin gel varnish" which is really a wipe-on poly that lets you get an extremely thin, bare-wood feeling finish that still pops out the grain. I love the stuff and it feels fantastic. It's effortless to play on.

The finish is in great shape with just the most minor of usewear except for this typical patch near the jack where it's been chipped off from some small impact.

A nearly brand-new tweed gigbag is included and is what I've been using to take it about.