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20 week scan last Friday - it's a Teeb-boy!

The one I'd grab in a fire is this: It's a 1980-ish MIJ Jazz copy, branded CSL. This was a £60 pawn shop find which I'd intended to clean up, restring & flip for £100 profit, if I was lucky. Looked like this when I brought it home: When I sat down, tuned it up & played it, unmatching 20-year-old dead stings & all, I couldn't put it down. Simply the nicest bass I've ever played. I've had it around 17 years now and it's evolved to the point everything's changed apart from the neck, body & tuners. I have a frankly silly number of basses but it's my go-to, feels more 'right' than anything else I've ever played.

MY 1964 Hofner Violin Bass bought in Nov 88, & has been with me ever since. This is my most cherished possession 😍.

This... it’s not going anywhere. It’s simply amazing. Status S2. my Sadowsky uv70 isn’t going anywhere anytime soon either.

I've had this since 1979 when I bought it second hand in a Coventry Music shop. I worked a school holiday job to save up to buy it. I recall it was £70 but I may have got that wrong. I was almost as big as I was at the time and I could barely lift it as its a really heavy bass, but it stood out from all the Fender Ps, Jazzes, and Rickenbackers at the time. Horace Panter from the Specials gave me his old case to carry it in. I don't know a huge amount about these. I've not seen any others so I'm guessing it is quite rare? It's got a nice clear acrylic bridge and scratch plate, but one of the tone pot knobs is missing a cap so if anyone knows where I can get one. Do let me know please!

I've had a few basses I thought I'd never sell and did. I don't tend to get overly attached to them as they're fundementally tools to me at the end of the day. That said, I'd never sell my Rockbass Streamer 5. Bought for me by my girlfriend back in 2005, she passed away in a car accident (at far too young an age) in 2010 and it's all I have left of her.

The saddest sound in the world

My playing has definitely improved. During the first lockdown, I was waiting for an operation on my right wrist. It was scheduled for 9th March and was understandably cancelled. I couldn't play for more that a couple of minutes due to RA. Last September, I had the op, they put a bar into my wrist and 12 weeks later I was back on bass. I'm playing for at least an hour a day and enjoying it. This must be the first time they put a bar into a Scotsman and not the other way around. 😀

This has quickly become my 2nd favourite bass to play (first is my Aria SB Black n Gold). It needs a few little setup tweaks when I get chance to spend a decent amount of time on it. But it's so comfortable to play.

Hi Oliver - that's a really good question! It's actually one I had given a fair bit of thought to previously - I posted this on the Yamaha thread a while back. Unlikely twins Two of my very favourite basses! IMO the Yamaha BB NE2 has taken more design cues from Spector than from any other of my basses including any of my other Yammys. In particular, they both have in common: sculpted backs making them very comfortable to wear; neck through; laminated necks – offer more stability and stiffness, reduces the likelihood of dead notes, improves tone evenness and response and improves resistance to warpage and twists; 3+2 headstock; purely active; seriously meaty low end; and 24 very accessible frets - even more so on the Yammy with its cut-away lower horn. The "extra" that the Yammy delivers is a 3 band EQ vs 2 band on the Spector and a Nathan East mid scoop, which I believe is centred at 2kHz, and which adds to its capability as a versatile tone monster. On the other hand the ability to obtain tonal precision by being able to select single or dual coil for either pup on Spector is an excellent feature, and being able to blend single / dual as well as single / single and dual / dual combinations of pups arguable provides an even greater range of desirable and very usable tones. Differences: obvious key one of pups - the Spector has its iconic EMGs whereas the Yammy features two Jazz-style, hum-cancelling, stacked Alnico V pickups; single bridge piece Spector vs individual bridge pieces on the NE2; 35" scale on the Spector vs 34" scale on the NE2; 17mm string spacing on the Spector vs 18mm on the NE2, but with a shallower taper on the Spector (down to 9.5mm at the nut vs 8.8mm for the NE2). In theory the individual bridge pieces should provide better isolation from vibrations on other strings, but I know some folk prefer single bridge pieces, and whilst a 35" scale should provide a slightly tighter low end, I think it's relatively marginal and I’m more familiar with 34" which is a very comfortable scale length for me, although I’m very much getting used to the Spector’s 35” which, combined with its slightly narrower string spacing and gentler taper, provides for a very well thought through fretboard playing experience. I was kinda gratified to read in this excellent review: Yamaha BBNE2 Nathan East Signature Model – MusicPlayers.com that their "evaluation short list" for the NE2 were the following: Spector Euro5 LX 5-String Electric Bass Guitar Warwick German Pro Series Streamer CV 5-String Electric Bass Guitar Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray 5 HH Neck Through 5-String Electric Bass ...so it appears that I'm in good company in wanting to put these two superb basses side by side! Both have pretty eye watering new prices although the NE2 is typically another £750 to £1,000 on top of the Spector - I was fortunate to get my NE2 in great condition used and my Spector new in a "sale". If I had to save just one 'in a fire'? Hmmm...tricky question! I guess I'd just be happy to still have either! But I'd probably, on balance (this week anyway!), be reaching for the flamed one to rescue from the flames.

NBD! Well, it was a few weeks ago actually. I picked up this awesome @Bassworks PPJ5 early January. It’s a great machine. For me the melding of modern engineering and great luthiery is awesome. TBH I wasn’t planning on buying anymore basses. I’ve recently sold quite a few pretty nice instruments. But I spotted the PPJ5 on a No Treble post and then noticed that Bassworks are only 40 mins from me. I was quite intrigued by the spec and philosophy behind the build. So off I went for a noodle and back home I came with it! I was so impressed that I ordered a matching fretless for it while I was there. The build diary for the fretless is here: https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/445717-fretless-5-string-bassworks-build-diary/ In fact the build diary for this fretted one has been posted by Bassworks in the build chat: The attention to detail and re-world ‘players’ approach to design coupled modern features in a traditional format is really refreshing. For me, while I’ve got some nice basses, I was really attracted to the versatility and stability that this instrument provides. The PPJ5 feels really well build and its only 8lbs. 8lbs dead on for a great sounding/playing 5 string with a 35” scale. It means that I should be able to use it on all of my current gigs (well, when gigs come back!). Here’s some pictures of the beast in all its glory. Here’s the spec taken from the No Treble post: • Lightweight Swamp Ash chambered body • Canadian Rock Maple neck with carbon fibre rods • 2-way truss rod with 12" to 20" compound radius • Macassar Ebony • 35" scale • block inlays • Luminlay side dot markers. • "Aero" treatment to fret ends and invisible fret tangs • Asymmetric thumb groove profile • 4mm Birdseye Maple headstock plate on lightly chambered headstock • Recessed tuner detailing, • Hipshot USA hardware • Bartolini PJ pickups • Tri-point pick up height adjustment from the rear and lockdown screws to the front • John East UNI Pre 01 3 band EQ running at 18V with a true passive option + PTC/VTC • Dean Markley Blue Steel cryogenically treated strings strung through body • Copper shielded electronics cavity. • Bassworks' top secret proprietary heel connection geometry and 5 screw fixation into threaded inserts in the neck heel.

I have a CV Squier I bought locally for £120. Already a good bass. Added the split 51 pick ups and it’s a great bass! Refin’d it myself with a can of £14 sherwood green paint. All in it was under £400 and it’s a solid go to bass for me. I look at ‘better on paper’ jazz basses but ultimately I know my limitations as a player and few folk would tell the difference in my jazz and a ‘real’ fender or other brand.

Well. the neck is legit. the body colour doesn’t fit with the era - I’d want to see in the cavities. There was Hot Rod red in the early 2000’s on the USA made basses, but as pointed out elsewhere, Chrome red is right for that era - a more metallic/candy apple looking red - not this red. Hot Rod Red on the USA basses was lighter than the same colour listed on the Japanese Jag basses. Weird. the gasket under the neckplate and the neckplate itself are wrong. Somethings wrong with the whole picture. So I’d walk away. Could be a refin. Edit - Pretty convinced it’s a refin. Looks a bit orange peely in the neck plate shot. if it’s £500...go for it. Basses from this era aren’t scarce, but are decent workhorse basses. The neckplate is a £3.99 eBay job though.

At the moment the basses I would never sell are the only ones I have. A 4 string bass I built over 20 years ago, now fretless, a 5 string bass I built later on, and my old double bass. The DIY builds are too personal to me to sell, and would have hardly any market value anyway, and the double bass is as good sounding a bass as I'm likely to ever be able to afford, even if it's quite scruffy looking.

Here it is...... Lovely!

Preparing for the cut: Modifying my workspace:

13-Feb-90 Trouble release their self-titled album (but it's not their debut):

Yes, the "well I have not had any problems with them so you can't criticise" army is always quite strong. Clearly, if someone is trying to contact a company and they have to come to a forum to ask if they are still trading, there is a problem.

Obviously I am an idiot. But I’ve been playing bass for 25 years and never really understood the fuss about steel roundwounds, until now. I’ve been used to nickels all my life. I think I flirted with steels once about 15 years ago, and for some reason decided they weren’t for me. Just put some D’Addario Pro Steels on my Celinder PJ. It’s a match made in heaven. Where on earth have I been? Much clearer bottom and top, top easily tamed by EQ knob if needed, and the roughness of these Steels isn’t too bad. Incredible thump and punch, beautiful. You probably had my epiphany already. But damn, I might put these on all my basses now. So good.

I've had the privilege of playing bass for John Coglhan , Ex Quo drummer. He was as tight as duck's butt, never locked in with anyone like that before.

My Fortress family - one of each I've also got a '96 Corvette and one of the early German Dolphin Pro II that made it thought quality check with a serial number.

I was doing a bit of research and it turns out Motorhead recorded NSTH in March '81, so a year after the British Steel tour hit Newcastle in March 1980. I've done a bit of googling and Priest did 2 nights in Newcastle, the first at the City Hall, the second at the Mayfair. I remember this and believed the City Hall gig was added for under 18's as the Mayfair was 18+. So fair play to Priest as I was 13 at hte time I found these pictures from the recording of NSTH Motorhead City Hall gig 30th March '81, which I believe was the night I was there. All nicked from https://garyalikivi.com/ which is worth a shuffti

Not the only one, I had it as well. One of the definitive NWOBHM singles...

I saw the same tour but at Hammersmith Odeon. I won front row tickets as there was a competition form in the "Unleashed in the East" album. Touched Rob Halford's leather biker boots. As you do

The thing I found that impresses other musicians most is if they play you one of their own songs and you can join in with a bassline that fits. It doesn't have to be flashy or harmonically complex.

After looking closely at all the pictures, I'm happy to confirm its definitely a bass.

+1 I always make a point of trying to be the most well prepared person in the room. I learnt that hard lesson when I was a teen and sometimes didn't get the job, so promised myself to always be in top of what I've been given to learn. I don't know how many 'auditions' I've been to where I know the material I've been given to learn much better than the people in the band. So it's a 'no thanks' from me.

Video update from Bruce at Bassworks of the Body being machined.

This is pretty much standard for any time though. I’ve always made the effort so that guy isn’t me, and get quite annoyed with others when it’s obvious that I was the only one to give up a lot of my free time, because I actually care.

This came up on YouTube looking for something else. They seem to be playing the tune in triplicate at break neck speed. The bassist really goes for it on that Mosrite, love the cool dress code too. Bring back matching jackets and guitars 😁

Gives new meaning to 'Jigsaws for aged 3 and under'

A reverse P is not gonna give the classic p sound. It may provide a sound you prefer or is different enough to offer a tonal difference but... *ramble alert* I have a great amp which has a three band semi para eq (which can be turned on/off). The voice of the pre amp in said amp can sound a tad bass heavy (or if you dig that it can sound perfect). If I plug in my jazz or short scale I can hear some of that color but when I engage and tweak the eq I can ‘clean up’ the sound and it is very noticeable in a positive way. This is when we have to consider the entire signal chain and also allow for each type of bass we use - too much scoop in an ‘all on full’ jazz, reduce some ‘mid mids’ on a short scale (cheers @Osiris for your observations on that one) to allow a bit more clarity and ultimately enhance any bass to create a more complete bass sound either for solo noodling or ensemble playing - basically EQ’ingto suit the application! If we need to be told what the bass/pick up is doing rather than listening to an audio example (you tube compression etc etc not withstanding) then we’re looking to be told what we want to hear rather than hearing what its doing and understanding how it can be manipulated with our own gear, our EQ’S, preamps and knowing how to get the sound we like. I think this happens a lot on forums that people love to read a florid description of what the thing they’re searching for ‘does’ (what a bass is doing or a pick up combination offers). I home brew and the description of hops and yeasts flavours can get quite ott so it’s not unique to basses! The amp has a big cut in the lows the bass control is adding back some 30hz mids boosting 350ish to bulk out the jazz and treble not too zingy as the voice of the amp is adding some higher treble too along with the inherent voice of the bass/pick ups

***flashback*** I used to have Trouble - s/t and Masters Of Reality's debut on either side of a C90 back in the day, which was never far from my walkman, what a tape 😂 ***flashback***

My favourite album of all time, that one. Flawless. It and Manic Frustration were recently reissued, at long last. If you haven't heard it, do yourself a massive favour... https://troubleofficial.bandcamp.com/album/trouble

It's definitely worth setting a provisional date for this and exploring whether or not the venue would / could be available...

I had a Pantera X790 Deluxe for a while. I think this was Westone's top end of the range then. Beautifully made instrument. I read about it somewhere, fell in love, waited a few years before one came up for sale in the Netherlands - I collected it from there! @Andyjr1515 did a headstock renovation on it as the paint had chipped off from around one of the tuners. But having GASed for so long I didn't bond with it when I actually got it plus it was too heavy. Boy did I take a hit when I moved it on! Say lar vee.

*other opinions are available.

My Embassy Pro has no neck dive, compared to the Epi T-Bird Pro I have. The longer top "horn" is a little longer so it balances better. The surprise for me is that the Embassy Pro sounds like a Thunderbird .

This is THE one. It will never ever be sold, and as you all know I buy and sell too much. This is the Lakland Bob Glaub owned by Nate Mendel. As seen on the Pretender Vid, live at Wembley 2008, album recordings etc...amongst many other appearances. Obviously being in a Foos tribute I had to have it but it’s more than that. It’s an absolutely amazing machine. So well built, I mean flawless and is easily the best P bass I own, and I have a lot! The sound with the Fralin pick ups in are mega and it plays amazingly well. Looks class, loads of mojo, sounds great, nice history and provenance. It’s lush and it’s mine 🤘 Couple of pics from Foo Fighters 606 Studio.

This is the bass I'll never sell because I absolutely love the way it plays and sounds, and musicians who I work with and respect, say I play better on it than any of my other basses.. It's a passive 1984 BC Rich Eagle. It can been in the two pictures below.. Thanks to Andy for modelling it so well for me at the 2019 South East Bass Bash.

It's the anniversary of the MH/GS collaboration:

I'll tell you what is really improving my bass playing ... this thread. I was already playing a reasonable amount anyway but, since reading the worrying downbeat replies here, I've taken to playing at least one full set - as live - every day, playing along to gig videos taken by @Silvia Bluejay. My covers band does three sets as either a full-fat rock gig or an unplugged acoustic set (so that's six sets straight away), my rockabilly band does three sets, and I'm involved in two other band projects with roughly a set's worth of music each. That means it takes 11 straight days to play through the entire repertoire I might be called upon to play post-Lockdown. I'll be damned if I finally get to rehearse with a band again and find that I'm the rustiest guy in the room ... [Pedantic] This isn't really improving my bass playing, of course, it's more a matter of slowing down the deterioration. [/Pedantic]

Really ? I was more curious about your reasons for having a keeper, but seeing as you asked... Somewhere down there, I'm playing my Fame 6 string. Loreley 2017. Yes closed the festival that day. That's why I'll never sell that bass. But what about your stories. This is the bass. I'll have it forever.