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Is the amp new?

I'm in complete agreement with you Pete. Under normal circumstances I play a P-style Bass 90 percent of the time. My personal experience is that I have a couple of boutique P Basses and an ordinary USA Fender P Bass and in terms of sound and overall usability there's no real reason to get a boutique P except I could get the spec I wanted. I love them all, but in terms of playability and tone the Fender at about half the price does just a good a job in its own way. The boutique basses were an expensive and unnecessary indulgence (but I don't regret it). When I see people paying upwards of five grand for a new boutique Precision Bass I just hope whoever buys it realises they will end up with something which at the end of the day is essentially very similar to a much less expensive example. P Basses are so much in vogue it's easy for some folks to get carried away with the mythology and lose sight of the practicalities.

@Dankology with his lovely Hofner on this live session

I think I'll probably go with a rockboard strip - about a tenner from thomann and much more exciting with the colour features

Good gig last night at a new venue. Drummer won the reconstituted Cannon Trophy, awarded in the past for the person that had the biggest ‘mare on the night. Local gig for me, he lives 45 minutes away, and forgot his cymbals so had a mad dash home and back to get them…he made it back with 10 minutes to spare, at which point we admitted the potential for a late start was averted 🤣 FrankenJazz -> Darkglass Anagram -> Darkglass Microtubes -> BigBaby2. Started off with the pad switched in, but it was all a bit lost so turned it off and the whole thing came alive. Had one guitarist (both the other side of the kit) look over and say I was a bit loud but from where I was it sounded fine so left it. 😁 Went to a blues jam this afternoon. I’ve been threatening to go for ages but never have before, however I needed to go to get tyres sorted at Kwik Fit, which gave me an excuse to sneak a bass into the car and go down after. Only the house band bass player other than me there so I got called up a few times. Took the Tokai Hard Puncher which sounded nice from a clip I’ve seen on FB. Had someone come up to ask if I was looking for a band, so I may have dropped myself in the c@rp with ‘er indoors by saying maybe 🤦‍♂️

Sounds similar to both my Conklin and Bee Bass! Built specifically to upset other bass players, naturally!

LEDs are curent driven, don't mess around with power supplies. Get some rechargeable 1.5v batteries. They'll last for decades on a single charge.

That was simply brilliant! Thanks for posting

Bought a Katana 500 Head from Gareth he kindly held it till my funds had cleared and met me half way to exchange which is a goo 2 hours drive for him. Top chap deal with complete confidence

Bonker T & the MGs

It's going to depend on how much you earn from playing. In the 90s my wife (a grade 8 flautist) bought a flute for £8k. At the time that was more than what both our cars added together cost. My bass cost £350, a month's wages. I still have it.

I've been reading this thread with interest... I've been using a Headrush MX5 for a few months now which is the same "form factor" as the GX10 and also has a touch screen. I'm really impressed with it, mainly for the touch screen and how easy it is to create and edit patches. I will probably sell it and replace with a GX10 purely because I prefer the Boss bass amp simulations. This would mean that my ME-90B is going too. I'd be ok with that, while I really enjoy the ME-90B for it's simplicity I hadn't experienced touch screen digital effects. A GX10 will cover me for guitar and bass. I've also got the Headrush on a small pedalboard so I can have my wireless and vocal FX mounted with it, a GX10 would just slot in as a direct replacement...

I'm going to try to do gear abstinence next year, so I thought I'd have one final swatch at FB marketplace. I was instantly reminded how dangerous it is when this bad boy appeared for a very keen price (complete with a Hiscox Liteflite hard case) and on the right side of England for my purposes. I decided to carpe that diem. 9 hour round trip, but it was definitely worth it. Basically unusued, the only issues were that it was a bit dusty in places, and there was some goop on the headstock where a clearly disintegrating stand had been cradling. Managed to get that cleaned off - it hadn't stained the finish, yay! Gave it a fret polish and oiled the fingerboard and gave it a good old setup. So, how is the "Stingray killer"? Good, as far as I can tell in headphones. My favourite finish for these basses would be Soda Blue, but this natural one is growing on me in its elegant simplicity, and the black pickguard suits it very well. But that's it! No more! I will be striving to make 2026 a fallow year in the gear acquisition stakes, so I guess I was getting one final hit in before the lockdown. FYI - no Stingrays were harmed in the making of this. Merry Christmas to me (and everyone else!)

Next Sunday (28th Dec) at 7-15pm. Jah Wobble talks about bass, bass and bass. Sounds good to me. BBC Radio 4 - Illuminated, Bass Notes https://share.google/mAXXaQY45g9XE5spg

Good advice Pete

The BL of the first regular gigging band with a following that I played with, once said to me 'buy right and pay a little more in the first place and it will save you a lot of money in the long run'. He was quite right and I've followed his advice (in the main part) ever since. Whenever I haven't, I've always regretted it! You don't need to spend big on a bass that will cover every gig that you are likely to get called for. If people were to ask me for advice, I would say these days to buy a s/h Fender American Std Jazz Bass if you need a 4 string bass. You can pick them up for a grand (give or take) these days, and no BL or sound engineer is going to be less than happy if you turn up on a gig with one. You will still be gigging it in 30 year's time and it will justify the additional money if you we originally looking to spend a bit less, many times over. You should note that things change over time - ten years ago I would have advised people to pick up a s/h Stingray, which were really good value at the time and look at what they go for these days!

The Sherlocks atvthe jolly brewer in Lincoln. My daughter introduced me to them and is a huge fan. i have to say, great band, really strong songs, and a great way with the fans. They come off stage after playing and chat with people which means a huge amount to young fans like my daughter. saw them at rock city and have to say it was a surprise to see what I think of as a big band in such a small venue. Loved it though.

I think the quality is fine. They don’t make these anymore do they? Out of interest, how many cabs are you running? What’s the need for this over an abm 600? If I remember rightly the 900 has two of the power stages from the 600, meaning you can run 4 x 8 ohms cabs. If you don’t need to, save yourself the weight of this and get a 600.

System of a Dawn

System Of A Town.

Probably £1000. However these things are all relative. If you had asked 5 years ago £500 as I had less disposable income. Some people could easily justify £3000. Still cheap compared to a lot of work tools or hobby equipment.