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I do not follow Fender or Yamaha or many other brands as they just do not fit me. That's why I didn't remember that it is a neck through. But my main point was that as it is a fine instrument, I would keep it as it is. Self made modification may be fine, but there are other possibilities, too. A skilled luthier can make a good fretless version of it. Same dimensions and everything, the playability between those two could be very interesting. And a good luthier may suggest some tiny modifications that support the fretless sound, too.

The Power of Love - Frankie Goes to Hollywood

The Murder Of Love - Propaganda

Yep, the Godin pickups are crazy high output, especially the neck one, giant pole pieces.

This And this And this And done.

I Will Kill You - Cannibal Corpse

Adam Neely just posted a brilliant video about this stuff today. https://youtu.be/U8dcFhF0Dlk

Like other people have said, I prefer a physical magazine and don't like reading features on a screen. I used to subscribe to a bass guitar magazine but stopped my subscription because it seemed to concentrate on the heavy rock/metal scene. There were features about players I'd never heard of because their music was not to my taste. I was wanting to hear about your average touring or function bands, people who play on cruise ships or in holiday camps, studio session players or those in a theatre orchestra pit. Heavy rock dominated the pages. I also found the magazine hard to read because of the layout. "In your face" art with words overlaying photographs became an assault on the senses. What is wrong with black print on white paper, using a font size that doesn't require a magnifying glass to read? If the new publication can find the right balance across the vast music scene, with an easy on the eye format, then I shall certainly be interested in reading it.

This was more to do with recording a live performance, but the retrospective amp sim is just fine so maybe I'll just stick with that.

I'm interested to see how that goes. I have Elixirs on mine.

Starting a new build for a fellow Basschat member, because this one deserves documenting properly — if only as a cautionary tale. The brief: a paulownia body, finished properly in nitrocellulose, going Dakota Red, paired with a MIM Fender neck. The timing: while fighting a genuinely world-ending case of manflu. The wood: paulownia, which has zero sympathy and even less respect for human suffering. As usual, this will be a warts-and-all build thread — no carefully curated highlights, just the reality of what’s involved in getting a nitro finish right on a wood that actively resists it. This is very much not a “quick colour and clear” job. Paulownia has a habit of revealing grain, pores and dents you were sure you’d already dealt with — especially once primer goes on and you’re already feeling sorry for yourself. The plan (and yes, this is the long way round): Multiple coats of nitro primer Careful flattening Shellac to lock everything down before colour Grain filler, because the grain will come back if given even half a chance More sanding than feels medically advisable Eventually… Dakota Red At the moment it’s firmly in the “primer shows everything you missed” stage — which is nitro’s favourite moment to kick you while you’re down. The aim here isn’t speed; it’s getting a finish that won’t sink, print through, or look like it’s been applied with a teaspoon. I’ve also added a cut out to the neck pocket as the neck is a heel adjustment truss rod. My cunning plan is that it will be covered by the pickguard in normal use but means that the neck can be adjusted in situ by just taking the pickguard off and not having to de-string, remove the neck, adjust, attach neck, re-string, tune and repeat until it’s right. Progress may be slower than usual, fuelled mainly by tea, ibuprofen and stubbornness — but it will be done properly. I’ll keep this thread updated as it goes along, warts, mistakes, fixes and all, including the usual sanding, swearing, re-priming, and pretending this was all part of the plan from the start. Dakota Red to follow… once both the finish and the builder are fully cured.

I bought the first ones. Dimensions looked right but they don’t fit. Only £6 so no biggie. Does anyone know if Fender actually majestic and sell them?

EBMM are coming out with a new line of Stingrays that sit above the Sterling ones but below the regular US-made range a bit later this year, not a million miles away from what they did with the SUB basses back in the day, but without the Hammerite finishes. They're supposed to be somewhat cheaper than the regular US-built range.

Use any mic you want to - bigger dynamic mics look great - but please don’t plug it in. The chances of improving your sound by mixing it with a DI are slim and the likelihood of making it sound worse are considerable 🙀

I used to have a fretted Aria like this but with an oval sound hole instead of the f holes. Big thick body. Sounded marvellous unplugged. Now have GAS for one of these fretless jobs… 😁

Black is cool, Henry Ford got it right 👍