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Thanks. Pictures really don’t do it justice. It’s soooooo nice. This is my 6th Rick and in my opinion sounds the best by far. Nice chunky neck too that’s effortless to play.

Becoming inspired to give flats a go, though the main 'Ray gig is with an Evanescence tribute, so not quite the vibe! 😅

Not quite Lauder so I’ll substitute so I don’t die before I get old.

Well, yes and no! The guy that I mentioned makes a living from playing bass and decided that he needs a P bass that was completely bulletproof, complete with a quarter sawn neck / CS pickups, etc to handle every pro gig that he gets called for. I seriously considered getting something similar, but decided that I couldn't justify the extra cash as I already have a really nice 70s P bass that is always going to be my main bass, so paying the extra £1.5k wasn't worth it when I could get an AVRI that was a pretty similar spec, but without the quarter sawn neck! As I said in another post, you can pick up an American Std for £1k or so, which makes it difficult to justify the extra cash. But, for guys that are going to get that boutique P bass as the one that they use all the time, then it's certainly worth it for them!

When I got my first Stingray in the '80's a pre-EB 2 band, I always felt that in a band mix I was inaudible due to the big scoop in the midrange frequencies that is one of the defining characteristics of that bass. I was used to more mid-forward tones like a Jaydee or Status ect. Tastes change though, and now I really appreciate the idiosyncrasies of the Stingray sound. It's both punchy and understated at the same time, if that makes sense. More recently, I especially like a 'Ray with flats. It never occurred to me back in the day that Bernard Edwards might have used flats. I thought everybody had ditched them asap when rounds became popular. Nowadays we know better.

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!