grayn

I've owned and used this MB500 for around 3 years. It's been great until recently. When I switch it on, it starts off very loud, far too loud for the settings. Then after approx 5 mins it settles down to normal. It stays OK unless I re-plug my bass back in, when the problem re-occurs. I have tried changing the speaker cable but no change. Any ideas what the problem may be? Cheers.

Nice bass and agree the f-hole binding looks ace. How about binding the headstock? Loving the pickup on this bass and it sounded great at rehearsal.

Cheers. I have owned a couple of violin basses in the past and I think the most practical is Epiphone's Viola bass. It feels more solid, and the pickups are a little more versatile. I much prefer this Guild though and it's thin body makes it very comfortable.

Cheap but decent gig bag, for my Guild Starfire I bass. I tend to use gig bags rather than hard cases, these days. I wanted a decent but preferably low cost bag, for this new Starfire. After a little searching, comparing dimensions of the bass to the case, I found a Hartwood Acoustic Bass Guitar Gig Bag, for under £30. It has 20mm padding, with stiffened sides. It arrived today and I was really hoping my semi acoustic bass would actually fit inside. Big sigh of relief, it does. It is nice and snug and an adjustable upper neck rest works really well too. It looks quite smart and well made. Only time will tell if the zip lasts but I'm hopeful. A good score for less than the price of a set of bass strings.

I'd definitely like one of each.🤑

I recently joined a 60s band and though my Sandberg Lionel sounds the part, I had an urge to get a more 60s style bass. I play short scale basses these days and thought perhaps a violin bass. Then, last Saturday, I popped in to see my mate, who owns Aire Valley Guitars. I didn't expect to see anything in the retro bass department, although he does get some unusual and retro stuff in. Anyway, the first thing I spotted was a brand new Guild Starfire I bass. I've always liked the look of the Starfire II bass but thought the Starfire I looked slightly odd, with it's split coil pickup. Well I had to have a go. This is a centre blocked semi acoustic, with a 1 1/2" depth, arched mahogany body, that is bound back and front, with unbound f-holes. The split coil pickup is controlled by single volume and tone knobs. The volume can be pulled out to change the pickup from series to parallel wiring. I first played the bass acoustically and got a reasonable amount of volume, for such a thin body. The bass does feel nice and resonant. The action was nice and low, the frets are well done and the bass was easy to play, with a vibrant feel, that gave me a lot of pleasure. Before I plugged it in, I put the bass on a strap, as I can not deal with neck dive. I like my bass in a diagonal position and to my surprise, the Starfire stayed put, on releasing my hands completely. That was with a very flimsy, 2 inch strap. Now it's home, I use a well padded 3 inch strap and it really is solid as a rock. Plugged in, the single split-coil pickup sounds nice and full, with plenty of clarity. The tone rolled off also sounded useable, even though the passive tone control isn't the best I have used. But mostly I have my tone on full, almost always. The series/parallel knob, when activated, kind of thins out the tone. This could be quite useful in some circumstances but I'll be leaving the knob down, as I much prefer the thicker sound. The bass comes with D'Addario EXL165 Nickel Wound Bass, Custom Light (.045 - .105) strings. I had thought of changing them for D'Addario Chromes or GHS Pressurewounds but these round wounds sound really nice, especially if I play an inch or two nearer the neck, than I usually do. Once the newness is played out of them I have a feeling, they will be just right. This bass is built very well. It is solid yet light and has a nice finish. If I was being picky, the inside edge of the f-holes look scrappy and there is a miniscule cherry red blob on the body binding, near the heel of the neck. You have to look close to see these though and the dark, transparent cherry finish is rather lovely. I am rather looking forward to taking it to the next band rehearsal, on Wednesday. (Sorry, I forgot to remove the plastic covers from the pickup)

Good score and another +1 for a tort SP.

My bass is a Sandberg California II Lionel Short Scale. I got it around 7 1/2 months ago and around 3 months ago I wanted to replace the strings Sandberg had put on it. When I bought the bass, at Promenade Music, Gary had given me a set of GHS Pressurewound, med-light, 44-102 strings and asked me to let him know what I thought of them. So I thought it only fair to give them a try. GHS say these strings have the bite and growl of round wounds but with a much smoother feel. When I put them on, it was obvious they were heavier gauge than Sandberg's originals, with some extra tension. So, I just lowered the action, to approximate the feel of the original strings. Still had a tad more tension but it wasn't long before I liked the feel of these newer strings. They do have a rather nice, smooth feel to them. I do not like the feel of flat wound strings under my fingers but these GHS strings do feel good and very nice to play. Tonally they do have that thicker tone you get from some flat wounds, yet do in fact retain the snap and attack associated with round wounds. I am not saying they are the best of both worlds, rather they have their own sound, which contains elements of both. It's a sound I have come to really like. Kind of retro, yet with plenty of definition. I do not use a plectrum on bass but for finger playing, slapping and muted playing, these Pressurewounds do a very good job. And 3 months on, they sound pretty much the same, as they did when new and they have had a lot of playing.

Say hello to Lionel.

I gigged with an American Performer Mustang and really enjoyed it's feel and sound. None of the short scales I have owned had neck dive. That will probably apply more to Gibsons/Epis and Hofners. Here's my present duo: Sterling by MM Stingray and Sandberg California II Lionel. Both a real delight to play and hear.

Brotherly love, with a bit of friendly competition.

After many a year, saying that relicing and ageing guitars/basses was rediculous, I have gone and got an aged bass. Last week I went out to try out some short scale basses and had dismissed one, because it had soft ageing. There were no long scratches or swathes of exposed woodwork. This was a subtle process, that had odd blemishes, pin prick marks in the finish and matt/worn chromed hardware.. Cleverly done but still fake, in my book. Anyway, I came away with a very reasonably priced Sterling by MM short scale Stingray and was loving it's tone and playability. Took it to band rehearsal and all went very well. But in the back of my mind, I was still thinking about that aged bass. Not as as a replacement but as a brother to my newly acquired shorty. It was well over twice the price of the Sterling 'Ray but after a good session with it, through the shop's Eich combo, it had to come home with me. TBH, I'd still have preferred a non aged bass but this baby was so nice and the ageing so subtle, I felt/feel very good about it. The bass in question is a Sandberg California II Lionel Short Scale, in virgin white. Put succinctly, it is more or less a very classy, short scale P-bass, with an alder body, hardrock maple neck, rosewood fingerboard and passive electronics. With Sandberg's usual, high quality build and hardware. I got it home and put it through my Galien-Krueger/Mark Bass rig, doing a good A/B test, with my Sterling 'Ray. Obviously the Sandberg had the quality of a higher end bass but there wasn't that much in it. Playing wise, they both feel so comfortable and easy to play. Tonally the 'Ray has more versatility, with it's 3-way switch giving series, parallel and single-coil options. I mainly use the single-coil option and it's a very different sound to that of the Sandberg. The Sterling, unsurprisingly, even in s/c mode, sounds like a MusicMan. A tight, punchy sound, with a s/c clarity. The Lionel has that split-coil sound of a P-bass but probably the fullest, clearest P-bass sound I have heard. And I have owned both US and Japanese, Fender Precisions. So enough difference to warrent owning this two shortys. This Sandberg is a class act.

Very nice bass. Let's see the whole thing.

Nice trio. It's a shame the Lionel I looked at was aged, it's a lovely bass. Does the EBMM S.S. have the 3 way switching? I fancy getting another shorty, to use flats or tapewounds on. Maybe a Schecter Banshee.

Just got one of these. Sterling by Musicman Short Scale Stingray. Awesome little bass.

I went out three days ago, to try out some short scale basses. This is my second proper foray into using the more diminutive scaled bass. After many years of long scaling, I got myself an American Performer Mustang and used it as my main gigging bass, for a year or so. Then I slipped back to the familiar and returned to the Jazz bass. More recently I fancied a lighter , smaller bass, for playing at home. I was toying with the idea of a Hofner Club or Violin, or some other kind of semi. Then I saw a lot of great solid bodied short scalers. Anyway, I decided to go out and try some, making my way over to Promenade Music, as they had 3 short scalers in stock. The one that really grabbed my attention was a Sandberg California II Lionel Short Scale. A kind of stylish, mini P-bass, in vintage white. But on close scrutiny I realised it was aged. Not heavy relicing, just clever pitting and small marks that genuinely made it look like an old bass. But as I really dislike any form of fake ageing or relicing, it put me right of this rather tasty bass. That left a Hagstrom Viking, which had overly high action, so was put down almost immediately and a bass I wasn't that keen on trying, a Sterling by Music Man Stingray S.S. The reason being, I've owned 4 full sized US EBMM Stingrays and although really loving them, always found the tone, rather too aggressive for the bands I have played in. Nevertheless, I did pick the little 'Ray up, for an unplugged play and it has to be said, it is so spot on. Diminutive and a little toy like, after Jazz bass playing but it was just so solid and vibrant. Damn it, I didn't want another Stingray. So I left that shop and headed to another, to try out a Gibson SG Standard Bass. Now I really loved the sound of this. That big old Mudbucker was awesome, with or without the bridge mini HB. Overall a rather great bass, with one enormous flaw. I expect you will know what I am talking about. Neck dive. OMG, let go of the neck, for a split second and it so wants to obey gravity, rapidly sliding toward the floor. I know there are a multitude of ways to try and combat this balance issue but I didn't have it in me to take the problem on. So I went home to think again and carry on trawling the 'net. Eventually I had to admit to myself, I really fancied that mini 'Ray. So today I returned to Prom, to have a really good go. I plugged the little darling into an Eich 1x12 combo and was soon away with the bass playing faeries. It sounded bloody good. Now this bass, unlike the other Stingrays, is passive. But it has a couple of clever tricks up it's sleeve. One being a push/push volume knob, that gives a nice little increase in output. The second being a 3-way, rotary knob, pickup selector. With one pickup? Yes, this gives the mighty, single pickup, three different wirings. Series, true single-coil and parallel. I know the middle position is true S/C and sounds awesome. I think the first position is parallel, which sounds equally as great, being a tad thicker. The 3rd, I think, is Series and is the traditional Stingray tone. This I preferred, with the tone control rolled back. Anyway, with it's ease of play, great feel and superb tones, this relatively low cost bass, is kicking up a storm at home and I'm thinking of taking it to the next rehearsal. I have to give a special mention the the Eich combo, I played through. What a cracking, smallish combo. Very high quality sound. Whilst there today, I asked the shop tech to lower the action on the Hagstrom Viking bass, so I could have another go. He did so. TBH, I didn't really like the way the bass played but I loved the pick ups. Thick and warm, with a ton of depth.

Nice video review. It certainly sounds good with flats on. How does it balance on a strap?

I owned and gigged the US Performer and really rated it. I much prefer 2 pickup basses and the Jazz on this bass certainly was not useless. Really well built and finished, with some great tones.

A really stunning bass. I reckon in a few weeks you'll be wondering why you didn't realise how amazing it iwas, earlier. Congrats.

Thanks. The JB of course. But later on I spent ages noodling on the Cort. It's whole feel and tone just makes me experiment more. Made me go all King Crimson😸

I went out today, to get a guitar and bass. I had in my mind to get a Telecaster and either a 4 or 5 string bass. I did try out a couple of nice Teles but came home with a 4 and 5 string bass, instead. I already have a very nice '61 re-issue Jazz Bass, so didn't need another JB. But I picked up an American Original 70s Jazz Bass, in vintage white and got rather wowed by it. Really gorgeous and very smooth to play. Well, it has different pickups, positioned slightly different and different body wood to my '61, so that's my excuse for getting it. I also tried a couple of Cort 5-stringers. A GB75JH which is incredibly good, for very little cash. But the one that came home with me was an A5 Plus SCMS, which is a single cut bass, with a through neck and multiscale fretting and really excellent spec. Bartolini Mk1 pickups, Hipshot hardware and some beautiful woods. Including Ash body, with a spalted maple top and a maple and panga panga neck. The pre amp works really nicely with 3 band EQ, vol, pan and a passive/active switch. 2 very different basses, in pretty much every way but both are a real buzz to own and play. The Jazz will be more for band playing, the Cort for noodling and recording. Though I may take it to band practice, for some fun.