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Having let the new strings/setup settle down, I had another razz on it last night, this time using the TC BH250 into a decent set of headphones. Sounds good to me! One thing I noticed is that with the Glockenklang preamp, passive with the tone all the way up sounds pretty much identical to active with the treble all the way down and bass at neutral. Dunno if that's how it's supposed to be but I found it quite amusing - a sort of "huh" moment of realisation. Still unsure if I like the sound of it better in passive or active - won't know that for sure until I play it with a band. Concerning weight/lightness, I find it odd - I weighed it on the bathroom scales and came back with 3.4kg/7.5lbs. Now normally I'm not keen on how anything below about 8lbs feels (insubstantial/throwaway/toy-like) but this one doesn't feel that way - there's heft or substance there which shouldn't be and it feels both light and serious at the same time. Brains are soft and squishy and very suggestible, dunno what else to tell you.

That's a bold claim that probably hasn't been the case for most technology like this produced in the last twenty years. While I do prefer amps, it is very definitely not for this reason. I totally get and agree with this though. The IEM converts among us will claim that you can get the same effect, but as I said in the OP it is more than just the sound quality, it is the whole package of having the amps there on stage, the slightly different sounds as you move around, the visuals, and even the effort (dare I say sometimes fun?) to get them there and home again etc.

@Dazm66 +1 for a lot of the reasons given above. There and back the same day (possibly twice) sounds like a small price to pay for the assurances you want. Either that or buy one from Thomann and if you don’t like it, you can send it back.

Who makes the "Stellartone" tone pot? Sounds as if it does the same thing as the Fender "Greasebucket" in my American Performer Mustang.

The answer will be "money". The margins are tight at this end of the price spectrum; maybe they can't get a good-enough Jazz built for the same price as the simpler Precision. Or maybe they think that a Sonic Jazz would eat into sales of the Affinity Jazz? There wouldn't be an obvious "upgrade" from one to the other, which would lead people towards the cheaper one. With the Affinity Precision you might feel you're getting more for your money because it has an extra pickup compared to the Sonic.

This Saturday, we're doing a record shop show which coincidentally kick starts world goth day celebrations in the UK.

Has anyone ever tried out one of these basses? They look really cool but there’s nothing much more info about them. thanks Max

Check Reverb, Andy Baxter and the likes, and you'll be amazed, so it's not a real feature of that period as it's not constant.

It happened to me a few times many years ago even with pilot holes and grease, but the Gotoh screws are renowned for that issue. Since then I always sense the heat on the screws after each turn and go very slowly with a screwdriver (no electric device here), sometimes stopping and waiting for the metal to get cold (simply screw another one, no pun intended).

Yes - I'm definitely phoenixed out nowadays for doing this sort of stuff (spirit willing, hands not) but the fantastic and innovative ideas folks come up with with modding still fascinates me. And I know how I would tackle the back wing if I was doing it. I would probably need to draw a sketch, but basically I would recreate the general shape and visual effect of the two beauties that @RonC pasted above by: - routing the top rear bout from the back of the body, halving the thickness. - shaping the existing edge to the shape of the transition I wanted. - cutting a piece of contrasting wood and route a mirror step so that it would slot in at back that I'd removed and shape that to the 'correct' shape of the rear bout - I would add a sliver of contrasting light maple for the witness line - Glue it in - Carve the bout to the correct profile No idea at the moment what I would do to correct the 'SG' spikes of the front cutaways...

Thanks both of you. However as I always say great gig photos are just as much down to having a good photographer, good lighting and not too much clutter in the "stage" area as they are to the band looking and acting interesting when they perform.

And you were, some people simply don't seize (subtle) humour.

And another one for the 2nd hand Harley Benton idea. They're decent basses, less of a lottery and you wouldn't need to upgrade anything. Just had a look on FB and there's one in Shotts listed as a Harley Brenton for £80. There's about 4 others within 40km of Edinburgh, all under £90, but the HB would be my pick.

And it would be full if BCers wanting to meet the famous bass player. If not the other side of the country I'd make the effort to be there with my autograph book in hand Daryl. 🤣 Dave

While I alway love Tech21 preamps, we (as a band) have tried Tones and Cortex platforms and there is simply no comparison. Maybe recorded or sent 100% through PA they sound is the same, but I can't stand the fact that they (compared to amps) are non-responsive to articulation, volume changes or anything you do with your instrument. Also we always liked to create a good stage mix instead of using our amps simply as a monitors - we don't really need to hear precisely what we play, but we have to hear how our playing contributes to the whole band/song. If I had 150 gigs a year I might want to switch to pedalboard with Sansamp only just for logistics, but I am no pro, I still have my day job and I still have to fill half of the 150 slots, so my amps are doing fine The FRFR cabs are not an option - they are just a farty piles of mud, nowhere near reproducing a characteristics of real guitar or bass cabinet. (sorry for no-bass pic, but you have the rig;)

Oh. I checked here as this is the section for strings. My bad