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My 1994 Stingray 5. Was originally a lined fretless but now has this 2000 fretted maple neck. Recreates a bass I used to gig 30 years ago.

ok ..so i stripped the body ...its now a nitro finish.

Tuning stability shouldn't be affected once everything has properly bedded in - the tuning system is still an inclined helical ramp so the inclination (sorry) to slide remains the same, it's just the turning of the screw that is affected.

Undo the control plate screws. Lift out the control plate. Unsolder the pickup wires. Get another control plate and put a V/Blend/T or proper V/B/active tones in instead. And if you're wondering why I'm posting this at 4am on Christmas Day, so am I.

I use them to play all over the neck to look as flash as possible while still playing the same notes. It really works, people think I'm a genius! Slightly, but not a lot more, seriously, I tend to anchor my playing at the 5th fret. That's not to say I don't go below it on any string, but it's very handy when you're playing 4-string lines and it means you can damp with the left hand on everything including that troublesome bottom E, and play walking bass lines from bottom E upwards using the same pattern (bottom C# if you want to be pedantic).

I commented when this was first posted here that towards the end, they get to play the basses and compare the playability, and that's when the differences show up. I wouldn't say there's an absolute correlation between price and playability, because things like neck profile are really significant and not price related, but certainly fit and finish tend to be - though there's a comparison between assorted Les Paul guitar clones and a genuine Les Paul that's worth watching, and shows that really good fit and finish can be found on budget guitars (as the owner of a couple of Harley Bentons, I can attest to that).

Keep them to three songs or have time slots. Monitor the buggers because you can be guaranteed that if there's no adult supervision, 50% of them will play a fourth song. The one open mic I go to that I'm not house bassist for[1] squeezes as many acts in as possible, and does this by keeping it to two songs apiece in ten minute slots. Others go for 15 minute slots. Changeovers need to be pretty rapid, which is bound to include moving furniture like stools and chairs onto and off the stage[2]. How big is this place that you're talking of subs? I take my 10" Deltalite cab and Tecamp Puma along to the ones I'm house bassist for, and there's a vocal PA. Acoustic guitarists go through the house PA (straight to desk, no mucking around with DI boxes) and electric guitarists will invariably bring their own amps for "their own sound". [1] Anyone that wants a proper bassist asks me, otherwise Tom is liable to perpetrate something bass-related on them. Just imagine someone who has generally got lost by the second verse of "Stand by me" and who plays "Folsom Prison Blues" with a walking bass line (which also gets lost around the second verse). [2] The term "stage" applies simply to the zone within which an act will perform, with no implications as to height, isolation, etc

Bass players! Here's your annual Christmas present from https://tomreadbass.co.uk - 22 charts added to the site this evening, taking the total of FREE accurate bass transcriptions to 1720 - still the biggest open free resource of bass notation in the world! As it's Christmas, we'll start with the seasonal offerings: White Christmas - Elvis Presley https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_6243c71d69aa4d128705509498cd99d7.pdf Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_38854becd5bf4c24905d9e434cb651b7.pdf Winter Wonderland - Elvis Presley https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_6dc8e09c11bd49858fd0b69e9a901f62.pdf Winter Wonderland - Bing Crosby https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_4437e665820848208b5bc2e08de1cd0f.pdf White Christmas - Bing Crosby https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_dfc36dd8bd62491ead1d6358cc2b2ea9.pdf Now a bunch more Elvis stuff (I've been doing a lot of ETA gigs recently!) All Shook Up https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_3a3207939d954e929081fa447892bca8.pdf Kentucky Rain https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_6fbd32c4fd1c499cb1a07a688b3712a2.pdf My Babe https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_85c6337ffe864ead87525aa159d84269.pdf Polk Salad Annie https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_5bfa987d7d3e41aea362ecf6f8e28e4c.pdf Sweet Caroline https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_449985c4329646568b0927fd278e4d17.pdf Little Sister - Get Back https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_eaed59fb287b469cabac6a627460925a.pdf Trouble - My Babe https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_e5c27df377954eb69707bab7ac0645e2.pdf Some refurbished/enhanced Queen bass charts: Radio Ga Ga https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_7f6607cc6d7e4a9bbc78ff35e5cadfe6.pdf Crazy Little Thing Called Love https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_32a3f35a7bfa4c8298d15db87cf9c561.pdf Fat Bottomed Girls https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_5cb08e4407324ce6b9308be108fd1612.pdf Who Wants To Live Forever? https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_0839114bd5a44aa2bad0e80dca72be2a.pdf I Want to Break Free https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_8afcd6b0cce245c6bea00a6b204341fb.pdf One Vision (radio edit) https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_7f6607cc6d7e4a9bbc78ff35e5cadfe6.pdf One Vision (full version) https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_7985e4167a0941ada7655da583187c51.pdf And now the rest: Whipping Post - Allman Brothers Band https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_0f13d33573ca439d8c234ab1addab8d9.pdf More Than A Woman - Tavares https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_506d3fb07d4f4f51a6b5e9ac4b0ac4e1.pdf I'm Coming Out - Diana Ross https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_923ac502a803420ebff1d63ea0aeeffb.pdf The Irish Rover - Pogues & Dubliners https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_bb833af75c7649ad8902a1c0b7943107.pdf Get Back - Beatles https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_2306b2bbcbee4e8ab6f3e009ff05ee3b.pdf Hope you enjoy using the charts, and please feel free to share the website with any bassists you know, or in any bass communities you are in. A very Merry Christmas from Tomreadbass Transcriptions!

Blue Sky Mine - Midnight Oil

Mr. Blue Sky - ELO

Thanks @Geek99 that's really helpful. I think, my thoughts are to play what I play as comfortably and as natural as what I do on a fretted 4. If I then find I use the B string for anything of any significance or as an extra dynamic then all good and well but the main aim is is play my 4 string bass lines just as competently on the 5 string.

There is a heck of a lot to unpack there. There are things I like in a bass that have no bearing on whether it's actually good or not. I'm partial to binding, lollipops, matching headstock and a slim neck with a smooth satin finish. I also like a sparkle paint job, but these things are irrelevant if I don't like playing it. You only have to look at some of the sale threads to realise that. I sat down with a bunch of new Fender Custom Shop basses the other day. I think I tried five in the end. The one I really liked the look of was the one I liked least in hand. The best one didn't have binding, lollipops or flashy paint, but wow! What a bass! Given your list of pro's and con's, there's compromises that need to be made unless you go the CS route. Here are 3 of the ones I tried.

Great work, I enjoyed that

I bought an Ibanez srx 5 and it was so wide that it was painful to play. I gave up on 5s then I bought a sire v7/5 which is very tightly spaced and it is almost capable of playing itself. my philosophy for 5 is this: 1. don’t try and use the b 2. if something can be played more easily using the B above fret 4 then do it. There are no prizes for making your life harder, suffering is not a virtue 3. avoid open strings by using the B - no open E, play across from B, fret 5 you have to know what you want from your 5 in order to be able to get its best value

Yes, with the OG preamp there are two trim pots behind those holes. I adjusted at them both - but they only affect the sound when the "slap switch" is activated, otherwise it goes through the three band EQ pots instead and ignores these settings. I twiddled at them to try to get volume parity between the two modes but they're not very intuitive and I realised pretty quickly that I just would leave the switch alone. Just not my thing at all. Even through the 3 band EQ instead of the slap switch mode, it was scooped as hell when the EQ was set flat. Whether it was the pickup or the EQ circuit I couldn't say, but I wasn't a fan of any of it, so I replaced the whole kit and kaboodle.

Just got mine too, waited 4 months which by all accounts is actually good … how do you find the Voicing switch, I can’t really hear any real difference between all three clicks can you?

Of the two, I'd have to take the HB (though I think the 'natural' version looks nicest, myself) purely because the nut width and board radius suit me much better. If it's a good example, though, you do seem to be getting a fair bit of bass for not a lot of cash. I've had a Harley Benton PJ5-HTR for a few years now, which I bought during a covid lockdown because it was cheap and I was bored! Whilst the one I received was rough out of the box and took some work on my part to get it playable, the bones of it are solid enough and I still use it.

I'm intrigued by these markings: I assume the holes were to adjust presets. Overall gain is obvious. The other could say 'shape depth', if so did someone have it adjusted for maximum scoop? Or have I grabbed the wrong end of the monkey?

Bullet In The Blue Sky - U2

I did this to both my Hohners and it makes tuning a breeze but at the cost of losing that long-term tuning stability. I have a plan to see if I can recess the knobs to restore the original appearance.

My take on 'elf on the shelf'... I sold my Orange Crush 25B this week and replaced it with this Elf 110 combo 😁

I've had my te1200 for a good few months now. A few gigs and lots of rehearsals. I love it. First time I've moved away from my matamp in about 8 years or so. Spades of power and proper hefty with the headroom, I pretty much set it flat with a small bass boost and haven't messed with the compressor as I have one on my board. I would recommend them to anyone.

Stock VVT for me. I've tried alternatives, including an active East pre', but only the stock set-up gives me the classic J bass sound - neck on full, bridge and tone backed off a smidge. Ymmv of course.

I decided it would be good to keep at least some of the stack-knob look by turning one volume/tone pair into master controls, and replacing the other with a rotary pickup selector or blender, using just the chromed volume knob. But can I hell get the volume knobs off? It feels like the screws have been tightened with one of those air tools that tyre fitters use. I have tried WD40 and heating the knob with a soldering iron, so far without success. The grub screws are slot-head types, and as I apply more torque the screwdriver blade starts to distort, or the blade cams out of the slot - you can only do that so many times before the screw is mullered. Any tips folks? And if you're wondering why I'm sat doing this on Christmas Eve, we've just had tea with the grandkids, and Mrs JapanAxe has sent me to my music room while she does some last-minute wrapping!