Mornats

I've still never played a Mexican Fender that I'd pay any sort of money for. I've played two US Fenders that have been sublime, the rest distinctly average. Every Squire I've played has been good to excellent though. In fact when I bought my Squire VM jazz a few weeks ago I tested it against a US Fender with a mind to buy a Fender if it was head and shoulders above the Squire. Other than being a bit lighter and having a slightly sweeter sound (due to the custom shop pickups) the Squire was by far the better bass.

I hit 40 last month. I think this is a sign of that!

Lol found it sorry! http://basschat.co.uk/topic/247397-fender-in-trouble/

As the title says, I was reading that with interest and it's gone.

[quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1413573529' post='2579831'] Did you know she also gives lessons by Skype? [/quote] No, but I do now! That's something I should definitely do at some point just to learn anything from the legend herself. Trouble is... what would I ask her about... hmm!

My most recent bass purchase is a Squire! It was the end of my "I'm-turning-40-so-I-need-to-buy-myself-a-killer-bass-oh-dear-I'm-having-a-midlife-crisis-aren't-I?" thing. I'd eyed up a nice £900 Ibanez SR1600 that played brilliantly,but just as brilliantly as my 1995 Bass Collection SB320. And it sounded the same. Anyway, I kinda had an open budget (probably topping at around £1200 so US Fenders were in there) and to cut this long story down a bit, I put my Squire up against a US jazz thinking that as nice as the Squire is, the US jazz would be superb would be my midlife crisis bass. Nur huh, that Squire felt much better in my hand. Pickups on the Fender were nicer and sweeter sounding but I got the jazz. So anyway, what I'm saying is that there's nothing to say that for you, the CV precision can't be your bass for life All basses, even ones off the same production line are slightly different in very subtle ways to the point where you will just pick one up and it will be right. But you won't know this until you've played for a while so enjoy your lessons, keep your money and then see what you might need/want further down the line. It could be a nice lightweight MarkBass combo, or some home recording gear or even a nice bass.

I'm going to get some earplugs for gigs (mine and other bands) and rehearsals. For now I want to try out some generic ones (ACS Pacato, Elacin ER20 and the like) until I can get some ear moulds done and get some ACS Pros. The problem that I may have is that I think my ear canals may be quite small. I have never ever been able to get a pair of in-ear headphones to fit, despite trying all sizes of them. They either dig in and hurt or just fall out. Will earplugs (other than moulded ones) be any different? I guess for a tenner or so it's worth trying them but I'm also loathe to waste any money.

Don't get rid of the mojo!

Sorry I couldn't make it, I've come down with a crappy cold so wasn't up for it. Would have liked to have tried the Retrovibes especially that Carl Thomson-esque one in the middle.

Oooh shiny!

I sometimes run my bass through my audio interface (Focusrite Forte) into my studio monitors (M-audio BX5a Deluxe). It makes the bass sound more like a hi-fi bass than an amplified bass so there are fewer low end bass frequencies flying around. It's about as a loud as playing any music through the speakers. Although that doesn't help if you don't have any studio monitors, or an audio interface...

If there's still room can I put myself down as a tentative? Might be able to make it on Sunday and it's less than an hour away from me. I'd be bringing my brand new Squire VM Jazz, my Bass Collection SB320 and possibly my Yamaha TRBX 504 (as it's likely to go on sale soon) as well as my Indonesian-made MarkBass CMD 121P with an upgraded tweeter. I'm sure some people will be keen to try that one out

Just going back to my post from page 1, do remember that iPhones, iPads and MacBook Pros are all made in China yet most people consider these to be premium high quality products. People with pro-quality Apple-based home studios can often (and I'm speaking anecdotally here and not referring to anything mentioned in this thread) really slag off and completely discount instruments made in China just because they're made in China.

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1412872860' post='2572892'] Notice how the Mex sounds like a £99 junk store bass.. [/quote] To me that would say that the US Fender is only a sweeter pickup away from a £99 junk store bass. The mexican one was boomier and less defined but you could fix that with a £100 set of pickups. Which would make a £99 junk store bass a veritable bargain compared to a US P. By the way, I'm listening to these in HD through a Focusrite Forte interface and studio headphones so it's the best quality listening I can muster.

I listened to Queen's Another One Bites the Dust from this playlist and *really* listened to the bass line. Despite it being one of the most recognisable and memorable bass lines on earth it absolutely blew me away listening to it on a good system whilst actively listening to the bass, the mix and the whole thing. Maaaaan what a bass line!

I've always been welcome at every open mic night that I've turned up at. Didn't seem to have to be one of the mates of someone. We turned up (by which I mean myself with a bass, Pinball with a guitar and our singer Amy) put our names down and played when our slot came up. We do end up making friends with people there but they're always welcomed us as strangers first. We've had invites to come and do a headline slot a few times, which we've gratefully accepted and thoroughly enjoyed. There have been one or two instances where we didn't get a chance to play but it was a busy night and we turned up a little late so that's to be expected. What I haven't done is gone to an open mic and treat it like a jam night. They're two different things in my opinion.

Following what seems like a trend here I gig a Squire VM jazz (my most recent aquisition), a Bass Collection SB320 or an Overwater Classic J (made by Tanglewood). All are great basses and I get compliments on the sound. I do play through a Markbass combo though. Incidentally, when I bought my Squire I compared it directly with a US Fender standard jazz and the Squire was the better bass. The US one had a slightly nicer tone but as mentioned before no one, not even the bass player, will notice this on stage with a band. The Squire played much better anyway.

Remember that iPhones and Macs are made in China too...

I've got the same classic jazz bass and I find the P (neck) pickup soloed to sound very P-bass like. No honk unless I roll onto the J (bridge) pickup only which is where it honks like a jazz should. Can you record some sound samples at all? I could compare them to mine to see if they differ much.

My Tanglewater is just over 10lbs and is too heavy to gig with for me. I sold another Tanglewater that was over 11lbs. Beautiful bass to look at, play and listen to but just too heavy for me. My Squire VM is 8lbs 9oz which is just at the top end of the weight scale for me. So I think a 10lb bass would be a no-no for me. Oh and also, I just bought myself a cheap but brilliant jazz so what am I thinking?!

We tend to take our band and do more acousticy numbers. So it'll be me on bass, Pinball on guitar and our singer. We've had a percussionist join us recently and he comes along now with his cajon.

I do loads of open mics and it's quite the experience. You're often there within reaching distance of the half dozen people you're playing too, most of them musicians. It can feel like you're in an exam at times and is quite nerve-wracking but then afterwards once you start chatting to people you find that it's one of the most supportive atmospheres around.

I favoured the maple neck US basses (both the jazz and the p). They do sound so much brighter. I too suspected it was the wood combination as the other sounded so much closer to each other. The US and Mexican basses didn't sound too far off each other to my ears but the US ones sounded just that little bit sweeter and more refined. I found that when I tested a US jazz against the Squire VM jazz I bought. The US model just had that quality edge in the tone. The Japanese P and J just didn't do it for me. I'm usually a big fan of Japanese basses but they both (P and J) sounded a little muddied to me. Personally I'd love to see a Squire thrown into those comparisons. My Squire compared favourably to the US jazz I compared it against although it was a bit heavier and the US had the edge in sound. Also, superb playing. I enjoyed the videos for the groove as much as the comparison.