mcnach

Indeed. Tried all sorts over the years and I reached the conclusion that the best system is useless if bandmates are not using it consistently, and the simplest methods work if bandmates care just a tiny bit. Currently using Band Mule for availability, gigs confirmed, details etc. I used Google calendar for years quite nicely (we made a band account as well as having our own personal ones) but current bunch just couldn't make that work :shrug:

I would get a second opinion first

I didn't realise that we'd met!

It's quite common for people to strip that black finish. It's not as smooth as a satin finish, so just like some people take a scouring pad to glossy neck finishes, some people stripped the necks on their SUBs. That compensated nut is quite difficult to explain otherwise.

I got a set months ago as I was mildly curious and needed to add a few £ to get free delivery, but I didn't have the right opportunity to try them until yesterday. I just wish I had bought a 5 string set instead, as that's what I play most.

I don't find them similar to TI Jazz Flats, I feel these have a deeper bottom and lower mids. If I were going to compare them with anything it would be GHS flats. Regardless, they're pretty nice and they cover quite a range of sounds using the passive tone control, at least while fresh.

I had a 4-string set for a while that I bought to try, as they're just around £10-12, or £15 for a 5-string set. I finally put them on a bass and I'm really liking their sound. I almost never like a set of flats on day 1, but these are nice. That's all, public service announcement over.

That neck looks like the real thing, I haven't seen those compensated nuts in anything other than EBMM instruments in the mid-2000s, which tracks with the idea that it might just be the neck from a SUB (the made in USA SBMM ones, made between 2003-2006). I had a 2005 SUB with the compensated nut. The serial number on those was a sticker on the back of the headstock, which would be gone while stripping it (SUBs had a black headstock and black back of the neck). Resale price will take a hit for sure, but it can be a very decent instrument, this.

I had to go and do it... and a blue Z3-5 just joined my Z7-5 after a few months playing the Z7 a lot. The Z7 feels like the better bass, but the Z3 is definitely more Stingray-like and surprise to me: I prefer the preamp on the Z3 too.

by mistake... yeah right

Thank you! And yes, the two images are at 90 degrees of each other, so that's just the way I made the images. I didn't bother correcting the orientation as I just wanted to see whether the images were visible or not.

Thank you. Am I right that you're in the "Apple ecosystem"? Can anybody using a Mac/iPhone see them at all?

Thank you for trying in all those combinations!

By default, the link you get when you "copy dropbox link", ends in dl=0. Originally (talking maybe 2010 or so) I noticed that those links didn't seem to work, but changing it to dl=1 fixed it. Of course, that was on a different forum software too. When I was trying to include the images, I noticed some didn't show initially, but if I resized the image to around 30% then it displayed when embedded in a post, at least for me... but from other people's comments it seems that only I was able to see them. Which is odd and unfortunate as I have no way to give or not permissions, by default a link is public. :shrug: I'm going to try a few things here, please somebody tell me if they can see any images. 1) Dropbox link (dl=0), small image, under 200 Kb [well, I can't embed this one, the link appears highlighted when I put it on the box for the url, and it just won't be accepted] This is the link directly, "as a link": https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/na3xcu0vzkiigrm1g58ib/IMG_20250511_141711_s.jpg?rlkey=mk6oj71ipdi3due4g4wd5d8dd&dl=0 2) Dropbox link (dl=1), small image, under 200 Kb This is the direct link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/na3xcu0vzkiigrm1g58ib/IMG_20250511_141711_s.jpg?rlkey=mk6oj71ipdi3due4g4wd5d8dd&dl=1 Embed (at least I see this one!): 3) Dropbox link (dl=0), large image, a bit under 5 Mb embed: doesn't work direct link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/196kf8s2h7ymkuhyxv6u0/IMG_20250511_141711_large.jpg?rlkey=9or3g2y47pkv0eojjz49pvvc5&dl=0 4) Dropbox link (dl=1), large image, a bit under 5 Mb direct link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/196kf8s2h7ymkuhyxv6u0/IMG_20250511_141711_large.jpg?rlkey=9or3g2y47pkv0eojjz49pvvc5&dl=1 embed (I can see it):

If it's the bass we all seem to think it is... Cool looking bass! I agree, it seems a bit silly to install those pickups on that bass with that string spacing, but I doubt there's any mileage talking about warranties with anybody, so as disappointing as it may be, I'd be looking at ways to alleviate the issue. One would be replacing the bridge with something that will give you a slightly narrower string spacing, if you can live with narrower spacings. Listening to the clip that was provided, I can hear the volume discrepancy and while not great, it's not huge either. Using a compressor would probably be my choice, it's simple enough and no surgery required. Replacing pickups is probably a non-starter due to the design. I've had bigger volume drops (particularly on the higher strings) on standard basses (Stingray and Precision come to mind) which I just adapted to by plucking harder or softer, it becomes second nature quickly. So I suspect a compressor should work well.

Personally I'd stay away from DH Gate, purely because it's a bit of a lottery. I'd go with some of the usual cheaper suspects that are known to be generally decent: Squier, Harley Benton, Westfield, SX...

I've put a few pedals for sale, but none of them show a thumbnail and at least some of them fail to display the images in the post itself. I've been using this method for as long as I can remember, I have no idea why it's not working now. I can't be the only one using Dropbox. Has anybody else found issues? Using Chrome browser, Windows 11/10 (different computers).