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Christ, ignore me AGAIN, I was trying to edit someone else's comment... I am going for a lie down.

I’m in Dallas with work for the next 3 months and spotted a Guitar Center on my drive back from the supermarket today, so thought I’d pop in. They didn’t have a huge selection of new basses (although there were a couple of nice vintage P and J basses high up out of reach in their Premium section), but I sat down and grabbed a few to try. First one was a Yamaha BBP34. I’m a big fan of Yamaha basses and this is one of their relatively high end models (I think it was $1499). Played it for a couple of mins and it did absolutely nothing for me - I was quite disappointed. I couldn’t have told the difference between it and a $250 bass to be honest. Finish was fine but the setup was lousy, and it just felt disappointing. Next up was a Fender American Professional II Precision. This I absolutely loved, and it instantly felt comfortable. Great sounding too. Neck was very comfy - slim front to back but traditional P bass but width. Setup nicely straight out of the box and surprisingly light. This was up for $1500, and if I was in the market for a P bass (haha, which is pretty much all the time!), I’d definitely be considering one of these. Finally, and probably the most surprising to me, was a cheapo Sterling by Stingray SUB. Sticker price was $299, and I had very low expectations from it. Bear in mind that I’ve owned a couple of “proper” Stingrays in the past and have never really got on with them. Well, I plugged this in and was blown away. Build quality was great, it was setup nicely and neck was slim and frets were very well finished. No dead spots, 2 band eq worked perfectly, and it sounded great! All for the equivalent of £218, in a choice of a few colours (including a really nice powder blue which is actually called chopping blue for some reason). Quite taken with it, and I think I might grab one for the time that I’m out here for, and then donate it at the end of the trip to a local music group or something. Ordinarily I wouldn’t have given a cheapo bass like that a second look. Just goes to prove something we probably all know - you don’t have to pay a fortune to get a decent bass.

Someone got AM and PM mixed up fml, good start

Thank you mods for everything you do.

Was in Bass Direct today and had a little noodle on the OW (fretted) Jazz. Hugely impressed. Looks great, sounds great, plays great. The finish and overall craftsmanship is right up there. I’ve a CS Jazz that I love and, being honest, this is just as good, IMO. If anyone is in the market for a really good Jazz then this is definitely worth checking out.

Thanks folks, now bear with us as we fine tune this badboy

Oops, sorry *tip toes out*

My latest

Maybe the update is taking longer to get to those of us north of the border

I know it's standard but it still feels like a flaw in design I've had the bass open and of course it's easy to flip the wires, but still...

shocking. Send them Here for scrappage… I’ll send you a brand new Ibanez premium SR in return - you know it makes sense…

Just taken a group shot of my p basses

Slow slow progress this. It is still going

It should default to the new theme but if not make sure this is selected at the bottom of the site. We're working on a dark theme but it takes agggggess to do something as simple as that because Invision don't tell you what any of the buttons/areas are actually called!

Well that’s all that practising I was going to do, out the window 😉

Just checked, he said Thursday, but not which Thursday. Even better. He can control us through fear.

… yet another reshuffle of the Nano Max. I’ve taken off two larger pedals, a Markbass Compressore and a Cog Custom Dirtbox. In their place I have put a MXR Carbon Copy (love these), a TC Electronic Mojo Mojo, a Boss OC2 and finally a Seymour Duncan Studio Bass Compressor. I’ve also switched from the normal Evidence Audio SIS cables to some Squareplug/Mogami cables. These are quicker, have a slimmer width and tbh are a bit easier to work with as I seem to be changing so much. I guess we’ll see how long this setup lasts then 😁

isnt this the right vid? 😁

It's getting there 😊

Johnathan Richman - Abominable Snowman in the Market - he's down by the peas and carrots, apparently..............

An Avon (Rose Morris) EB0 copy in a sort of dark wine red colour. Played and sounded ok until the tension of the flatwounds, literally pulled the whole bridge out of the body. Fixed it and last heard it was in Canada of all places. Here's proof it existed from 1975

Inspired by the discussion on the thread about hilariously bad songs, can I invite you all to submit your nominations? Here's mine: The Flying Lizards - Money - YouTube

A Retrovibe Stinger pre-amp. Decided to keep the stock pickup as a result.

Oh yes it is, blast. Sorry, as you were...

The Rootmaster stuff is great. Running the 1x15 combo with another 1x15 cab will give you a very deep, monstrous tone. I used to use the RM500 head with two 1x15 cabs. I stupidly sold one of the cabs then found myself lacking something at a big function gig and got myself a Rootmaster 2x10. I'd prefer another 1x15 though. Second hand Ashdown cabs are great value but you'd likely have to go and collect them which sounds like it's not a great option for you right now. Playing through two Ashdown 1x15s looks good too, I think!

I'd not played an instrument since the recorder at primary school. Unless you count being given a knackered electronic keyboard and some sheet music and being told "learn that in two weeks" as my music "lessons" at senior school. I basically had no clue and was trying to work it out from myself by getting learn guitar books out from my local library and trying to play my friends' electric guitars upside down. Luckily the shop had a few lefty basses in.

In for a penny, etc

that looks like a logical way to start. Solder the smallest (i.e. shortest in height from the board) components first - diodes, then resistors, then sockets, then blue 'box' capacitors and LED, electrolytic caps, then finally the pots. Make sure that the pots are turned to full counter-clockwise before you solder them so as to minimise the risk of excess heat damaging the internal track. Also, keep your soldering iron tip CLEAN!!!

I can't remember the exact tale, and probably no one in the band tells the truth about it anyway, but The Cure were signed to German label 'Hansa' in the 70s. The label wanted to promote disco and tried to steer the band in that direction, also the band were contractually obliged to record another single so they recorded this little nonsensical gem as two fingers up to the record company, so the story goes. Who says Robert Smith doesn't have a sense of humour. I actually really like it.

I've been dabbling with the post-reunion albums over the last few days but, today, went with SIT and SSOASS. Two mighty albums. I love the production of SIT.

My moneys on Al

It’s guitarworld. Don’t expect too much.

Plectrums not allowed, and no hitting below B.

I had an early-mid ‘80s Vox 3002 Custom that my dad bought from the guitarist in his band. Learned to play on it then got my first Precision and didn’t touch it for years. Then, about ten years ago, I sold it here to fund an Ampeg SVT. Sounded decent, from what I remember. Weighed a ton though!

Soundgarden - Echo Of Miles. They hard some truly great non-album tracks over the years

Very nice Si… looking forward to hearing how it sounds.

If I could go back in time to the mid 80's and give myself some advice when I first started playing that would be invaluable as a bass player, it would include but not necessarily be limited to; Pick up a short scale and stick with it. You're a short arse and 34" scale basses are way to big and cumbersome so don't waste the next 25-30 years fannying about with them. A 30" P or PJ is all you'll ever need. Do not - under any circumstances - buy that Trace Elliot SMX rig in the early 90's. Just don't. It's a gutless, one trick pony that will do your head in for years to come. Stick with the Marshall Jubilee rig instead. Or a Peavey of some sort. Learn some theory sooner rather than later. A little goes a long way. Don't play with loads of crap drummers, your timing is bad enough without those idiots hindering you. Learn more covers even if you don't like them. It will push your playing more than doing your own thing ever will. Don't gig on opium. Ever. I repeat, DO NOT buy that f@cking Trace rig no matter how cool it looks.

Buy Apple stock early 80's. Don't sell the Wal, or the JD or the Warwick... Practice more.

First gig since March 2020 last Saturday. It was so good to be back out and playing live again!

Nothing, so with all the money I've not spent, we would have our house in Tuscany by now.

I bought the amp and cab I could afford, and saved for the bass I wanted. Knowing what I know now? Same bass but I'd leapfrog the carlsboro stuff and go directly to the Trace.

I'd probably spend more on a first amp with hindsight. And know not to get too attached to the bass as a load more would be coming along all too soon! 😂

TL:DR - It's great, can't wait to try it in a gig situation. I bought this cab from @wayne58 of this parish a couple of weeks ago. Always loved the look of them and this one was dangerously close to home, so I took the plunge. Cameron was a pleasure to deal with and the cab is immaculate. Lovely bit of oxblood cloth too, it's a looker. I've had the chance to try it out at a couple of rehearsals now. The Polished Knob (no, really) in Todmorden should have been its gig debut tonight but extended restrictions meant we were two days too early and the pub had to cancel. So it's rehearsal room only impressions with my rootmaster 500 head and Sandberg tm5. So far it gives me the sound I've had in my head for years. Fat without booming, clear without harsh treble. Deep without mud. I got it because I wanted to move more air without turning up. I was after more presence, if that's the right word, and it certainly does that. Happy boy.