Mastodon2

I've got a Euro 5LX and it is a truly stunning instrument - but you'd expect it to be given the price tag of a new one. The finish in particular is just incredible, it's so perfectly applied it looks like the whole instrument has been wrapped in glass. Normally I'd be put off by a rosewood fingerboard, especially on an instrument of this price, as it's a budget option, but my Euro has the darkest rosewood I've seen, it's a nice thick board too. The whole thing feels very premium - I'd say if you can get a used one you'd be absolutely thrilled with it. I got mine on here for about half the price of a new one and it was immaculate, a real credit to it's previous owner. All I will say regarding the Tonepump preamp is that they leave the factory with the output gain set to the max and the output is just ridiculous - aggressive to the point of sounding harsh, hitting the front end of the amp so hard it would clip like mad at input gain settings that other active basses were completely fine at. Pop the back cover off and on the side of the preamp there is a little philips head screw, set it at about halfway between min / max and it takes all the harshness out of the sound. My Euro is probably the clearest and most commanding sounding bass I've ever heard, it's so present and piano-like. The Tonepump has way, way more output than most could ever need (but it's perhaps perfect if you play in a clanky, clangy metal band) but don't be surprised at first if you play it and your amp's clipping light goes mad and it sounds harsh to the ears - you can and should sort it immediately, it's a 2 minute job. Maybe you could try GAK or Andertons, they have decent returns policies and if it's not the instrument for you, you could send it back.

[quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1492444240' post='3280281'] Naked. Just because Scott can't play without lines doesn't mean you can't. [/quote] He can play unlined with no issues, but says he prefers lines because he is a "visual" player in that he relies less on muscle memory and visualises a lot of patterns on the board. That's fair justification I think, it's just whatever works for the individual. He does say that he thinks new fretless players should start out with lined, just to help their eyes program their muscle memory. It's just a suggestion though, we're all free to make our own choices. Personally I prefer unlined but have not yet owned a fretless bass, but I've played a few, never spent any real time on them yet. I will be getting one at some point and haven't decided which way I'd go. Those Ibanez lines on the side of the fretboard look great. I also like the lines where they have a tiny bit of each fret line on the board for a centimentre or so, to make it look almost unlined but still having a visual reference on board. If Alain Caron likes a little pointer here and there then I wouldn't feel to ashamed to have them either!

I've only started playing bass recently but in my experience of 15 years on guitar, there are those instruments that just have the perfect setup and make everything seem so easy. I've played some expensive guitars that had terrible setups - we're talking £2000+ "prestige" instruments from various American and European manufacturers who seem to ship guitars set up by the work experience kid. The best playing guitar I ever owned was a mid-range Indonesian built Ibanez that literally had the perfect setup for me - I could play cleaner and with less effort, the net result I can cleanly play things at speeds I just couldn't manage on other guitars. There have been times I've picked something up and found it pretty much exactly to my liking, or fiddled with the setup myself to get it there and I've found them very inspiring instruments to use. The ideas just seem to flow so freely when it feels like there are no barriers between my hands and the music in my head.