Matt P

i started with a Line6 G30 then upgraded to a G50 after a couple of years, both are fairly common on the secondhand market, i bought both of mine through the marketplace here and i think the total cost of both combined was less than the new price of a G50. one of my friends started with one of the cheap 2.4GHz ones from amazon and gave up on it in about an hour as it wasn't connecting reliably, he went to a smoothhound one and is very happy with it, i borrowed the smoothhound and didn't get on with it (in the gap between the G30 and the G50) G30's have been sold on here for as little as 75 quid (about 145 new) Matt

Space, I only have room for what I have now, about 15 instruments in total (guitars and basses) if I want something new then something has to go first to make space, I have only ever had one bass amp at a time and since I went to markbass and barefaced I haven't had any amp gas. My guitar amp collection has been slimmed down considerably and what is left isn't going anywhere. Matt

Thats a lovely job you've done there, i've looked at that paint before, might try it next time i paint a body (with the clear coats over the top probably) I have a shop locally that specialises in that type of paint for street art. I have one of those 18mm spaced bridges you were looking at, bought it in error ages ago (used i think) If you want it i'd be happy to drop it in the post to you as it's never likely to get used. It might take me a week or so to get it to the post office though. Matt

I think it would be for my letts 5 string so not actually a p-bass, but it's a passive bass and the p retro has always appealed to me Matt

i've been waiting for one as well, if i start saving now i should have enough pennies when they become available (or possibly 2) Matt

my leads are coiled carefully, secured with a velcro tie (which is rivetted onto the cable so i don't lose them) then they go into the case that my amp and pedalboard live in (a thon accessory case) the cables for the PA get exactly the same treatment but go into a sports holdall (actually 2 smaller ones to keep the weights down) Discovering the Velcro double sided tape on a roll was a revelation, I use a jeans rivet to attach them to the cable and hey presto no lost ties, i think i have bought at least 60 of the pre-made non-attached type and could probably find about 10 of them left if i searched hard enough, they either go missing on dark stages gigs or get pinched. and some of the cheaper loop-on type have started to come apart and ended up smearing the sticky adhesive everywhere. https://shop.velcro.co.uk/collections/velcro-brand-cable-ties/products/velcro-brand-one-wrap-reusable-ties-10-mm-x-5-m-black https://www.prym.com/en/rivets-9mm-silver-coloured/old-iron-403101 Matt

I would definitely be looking at the ibanez talman range, there are black versions available, either the tmb30 if you want shortscale or the tmb100 if you want full scale, they are very popular and not too difficult to find in shops. Very good instruments at bargain prices. Matt

they should be standard metric fasteners, measure the diameter of the screw and then hit up ebay or similar for some replacements, i would suggest Nyloc nuts as they are less susceptible to loosening off due to vibration. i'll guess that they will be M3 but M2 or M2.5 are possible. Matt

i'll agree with everything that has been said already (especially the use of a wireless so you can wander around and see how you sound in different areas as suggested by @Dad3353) a quick click of the link in your Bio shows me that you are playing a fender Precision which is a great starting point, but what amp are you using? also the EQ settings can have a huge difference in how audible you are in a room, i find that a bit of a boost in the mids helps to keep me audible. It sounds like a fantastic opportunity and i'm slightly envious as i've not played in a band since the lockdown was enforced. Matt

😂 right now i'm going to gave to buy some seal stickers to go on it!

some of the images were captured by the way back machine https://web.archive.org/web/20121015131941/https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/134869-re-valving-an-orange-bass-terror/ if someone has a bit of spare time they could be retrieved from there and re-posted to an alternative hosting site? i would do it myself but i'm only here sneakily, i should be buying new seals for the shower screen not looking at basschat 😁 Matt

I know it's not in production anymore but the SWR headlite has a Built in compressor, however i never really got on with the one i had, the input clipping light used to come on far earlier than i liked, ended up selling it and going over to Markbass. Some of the issues might have been down to my stupid colour-blindness though as it used bi-colour LED's as indicators and i was never sure what colour they were lighting up, it also had the stupidest ultra bright LED's and chrome control knobs so it was impossible to see the settings unless you were in a very bright room. Matt

Ahh, I know it was one of the members on here but can't remember exactly who, i don't think it was an abandoned build, rather that the spec was changed considerably (loads more strings than the 5 the neck was made for) and the blank had been glued up already so another was started and the neck i have was left over so a cheapish build was available. I do consider myself quite lucky that i got a playable bass in the end, it took about twice the time than was originally quoted and the collection experience itself wasn't great but I've had it fettled by a local expert and it plays fine. I think that the reason i actually got a bass was partly down to the fact that it was partly made from abandoned parts from other builds so there wasn't much work required to get it together (but it did take forever to get it built despite the ready-made nature of some of the parts) I will leave the conversation now as i know how much of a sore point the whole thing is for so many members.

I have a custom (ish) 5 string that i had made by Letts a while back (just as their relations with Basschat were falling apart) it was actually a neck that had been started for another Basschatters order that was then changed (it might have been @binky_bass possibly) and a body blank that had been started (luckily it was i the wood combination that i would have chosen anyway). the bass wasn't exactly what i had ordered but was fairly close, I wanted a workhorse passive 5 and that's what was delivered, the pickups weren't what i had asked for and the neck was a bit on the chunky side but it's been my go-to bass ever since and if i had another bass built i think it would have the same neck profile as it feels so right now. i may be in the minority of people that have kept their custom basses but i think i just got lucky this time. I would definitely buy another custom bass but probably from @Andyjr1515 as i really like his work, unfortunately i'm pretty skint and that isn't likely to change in the near future. Matt

Which rounds have you tried? Stainless seem to last longer in my experience and keep the attack better, maybe you could try newtone strings, they offer 2 different types in both nickel and stainless. Matt

i find it amusing that all of their stock seems to be 2017 models (with the odd exception) but the fact that all the prices are the same seems lazy to me, and offering a guitar with all the accessories (case etc) for less than half the retail price of just the hard shell case makes it look even worse. Matt

@Mikey D what is the balance like on a strap? that is the only thing that might scupper it for me as i find neck dive a real pain. Matt

I have been using a 25w antex one for at least 15 years, as a bonus the heating element is replaceable if it ever dies. Big thumbs up for esr as well, they're not a million miles from me and a the service I've had from them has been top notch. Matt

Well, there have been developments here, I might have found a buyer for my squier p5, so there may be a tmb35 heading my way at some point soon, for those who have the 4 string how heavy are they? Matt

But it won't fit into any of my hiscox guitar cases so smuggling it into the house is a bit harder, the case issue is also on my mind, I prefer to use hiscox and the only option is a full size bass case which is a bit of a shame and makes it harder to fit in the boot of the car. Matt

I know but I have a real problem with sending stuff back, I don't know why but its a whole psychological thing for me I think, I have the funds sitting in a separate account ready but just haven't managed to buy, there is also the small issue that my wife thinks I don't have room for another instrument and I'm not sure what I would could part with to make space. Matt

Near identical to the one I had as my first 5 string, mine had quite a bit of wear on the gold hardware and the body but it was a great bass, still in regular use with a friend of mine. Matt

I've had my eye on these for a few months, but I like to try before I buy and haven't managed to find a local shop with one in stock, I have played and loved the 4 string version and I love 5 strings but I can't quite commit to buying one online. The stupid thing is that I love the colour, the string spacing is exactly what I prefer and I love passive basses but I just can't click on the buy button. Matt

I've played quite a few aria guitars and basses of various eras and prices and they've all been very nicely made and sounded good, I've got 3 arias in my collection at the moment and I wouldn't want to sell any of them. I'd expect this one to be pretty good for the money, they always seem great value. Matt