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Yes I saw that Elwood, but I've just tried out a medium scale 5 string and my hands are too small . It's pity cos that one is near me.

At least it wasn't the Park Avenue split with only half the lines from Don't Go Breaking My Heart 🤣 - sadly I can't find the video. I am still mates will all former bandmates, indeed the drummer comes back and sits in with the band (that has been going yonkers) on occasion.. We even get together with the original guitarist from years ago and have a session banging out the old tunes. Still tight with all of them and able to catch changes/mistakes on the fly with a quick look or nod Back in the day said guitarist and original vocalist could clash at times, eventually guitar went, we kept going with a couple of other guitarists, then vocals guitars left and we carried on for a bit with another guitar & vocals, but eventually drums had had enough and went & I followed. Roll on some years and drums vocals & I got together for a showcase with the guitarist from the band the drummer had ended up with and that continued for many years 'til the vocalist emigrated and we enrolled the vocals from the band drummer & guitarist had been in during the interim before the showcase gig. Drums has moved on but we still all get together for parties, Christmas, and sadly most recently funerals Pretty much all splits were amicable though I have memories of difficult moments with the original lot as guitar & vox clashed heads. Did a gig around Easter time. Guitarist thought it would be a good idea to give the audience eggs and got some bags of the candy coated eggs for the vocalist to hand out. Vocalist just hurled handfuls towards the bemused crowd. Guitarist had a hissy and walked off. Thankfully I think it was pretty much the end of the night. Girlfriends throwing their 6p in and screams of "Kev's the worst one" ... a phrase that still gets bandied about on occasion 40 years later 😄

Thanks for your insight. I’m probably a veteran, been playing bass in bands for 40+ years. I play with fingers only and still use a backline amp on stage. The reason for my question is that I’ve just become the owner of a Guild B301 strng with roto nickels, it has what I call a woody tone and I’ve not had that vibe from a bass in years, I love it. So I wondered if I could encourage that sound from some of my other instruments. I guess the answer is no seeing as this bass just seems to do it naturally and my others don’t.

Traded my Sadowsky with Paul for his Roscoe. Met up halfway at a services on the A14 this morning. Bass exactly as described and Paul is a top fella. Deal with confidence! Many thanks Paul Cheers! Keir

This is mine, cheers for sharing. I’ve just got normal strings on there now and they’re absolutely fine.

Absolutely no connection with the seller but there is this in the BC listings: I have a Maruszczyk Elwood 4a 32”” and I can safely say it is the best playing bass I have ever owned. This price looks like a bargain. I have several medium scales now. One problem is the limited range of strings available for genuine medium scales but some people say they do fine using full scale strings. I happen to like D’Addario nickel rounds and chrome flats, so I am catered for at reasonable prices for medium scale strings but if you prefer other brands, their medium scale strings can be hard to find and seem to command a price premium over standard scale. BTW: Gretsch now do a medium scale for around £500. There is also the Hartwood Satellite for £199 (Gear4Music), if you like slightly off the wall designs. I also picked up an 80s Greco P/J for just over £200. Various similar Yamahas, Arias, etc come up occasionally for much less than your £1K max. Happy hunting! P.S. Warwick do a few medium scale variants including the Star Bass that comes in under £1K.

If the magnets can be taken away, they can be replaced or magnetized. If the pickups are packed into resin, then it is easier to use a specific magnetizer or change the pickups.

Thanks for all the replies guys. I did order an Ibanez Mezzo SRMD205 from Gear 4 Music to try out the 32in scale. Really nice bass and the scale is perfect. Just my hands are too small for the 5 string. I do have an old Yamahe BB404F which I found was making my wrist hurt. So I bought a couple of short scale basses 2 years ago: a U5 Fretless and a Warwick Rock bass. After trying out the Ibanez, it seems like the perfect scale. I've seen the mediums that are for sale on here, look nice, but are too far away from me. I will revisit and see if anything is worth the trip to go and see.