Ed_S

If I'm out and about and see a music shop then I'll usually nip in for a brief look, but I won't waste their time or get their hopes up by trying things I've got no intention of buying from them, and I don't tend to buy token bits either. I don't even buy all that much from my local music shop, mainly because they've either binned or been binned by most of the brands I'd be interested in. What they've done instead is shift to buying and selling a lot of second hand gear; importantly without making the store look too much like a junk shop, and with good photographs and stock control online. It's working really well for them as a business, and it's allowed me to support them quite substantially by taking along my unnecessary impulse purchases and failed experiments to move on without having to deal with private selling.

Unless something stunning sneaks in before the end of the year, I think the best is going to be my Fazley Piranha 5. I’ve replaced all the hardware and electronics so it’s not quite as cheap as it started out, but it’s really light for a 5 string P-bass, the neck is remarkably comfortable and it sounds great with its new Delano pickup. Very pleased with how it’s turned out. I’m genuinely struggling to pick a worst as I’ve not bought all that much this year. Maybe the Ibanez miKro strings that were as harsh as tile saw blades and went in the bin as soon as replacements could be found.

Yeah, it's a tough one for sure. I'd like to think that some of a performance like that still lands with the audience and perhaps gets reflected on in favourable terms after the fact, but without question it can be dispiriting in the here-and-now when it's happening to you on stage. Because I was personally having fun playing with some different people in a style that I really enjoy but rarely get to take out, I was still fully invested in keeping the energy in the performance, even in the face of general apathy. If I get a call to do some more (hopefully in a more suitable venue with a more appreciative crowd and fewer pogo sticks) then we'll know it helped to sugar the pill.

Very rare dep gig for me on Saturday; a private birthday party at a village hall, playing a drummer-less acoustic-ish mix of covers and the band's originals. The audience seemed mostly disinterested, and somebody had brought along a pogo stick to entertain the children so the entire set was accompanied by a sound not dissimilar to an industrial stapler... sadly not in time with the music. In any case, I was happy with how I played and kinda enjoyed the novelty and general stupidity of the whole situation, plus I was ferried door to door and given a big block of chocolate as a thank you. One of their singers seemed quite keen to do some more acoustic stuff and said she'd be in touch, which would be fantastic if it actually happened as she's got a great voice.

Just in case anyone was fussed, this is how it turned out with the catchily-named Delano PC 5 AL/M2-AS and a guard that isn't made of resin-bound corned beef.

I went down the same track a couple of years ago, trying to figure out whether there was any stock lurking anywhere as it was on my own list of stuff to acquire. I remember playing a blue 5-string HH at Sounds Great Music in Cheadle (sadly closed now - I was trying a Markbass NY804 so this was 10 to 15 years ago) and it was amazingly comfortable to play. Sounded absolutely crisp through a Markbass F1 / NY804 as well, but sadly it was just too expensive on the day. Looking back it's one of a very short list of "I should have just bought that, irrespective" instruments; it may or may not have turned out as good long-term as I initially thought it was, but at least I'd have known for sure. I bought a Stingray Special when it became obvious that a new Sterling wasn't going to be attainable, and I completely agree - if they ever do it I'm certainly trying one!

I'm all for a backup bass if it's even slightly practical to take one, and a workhorse with as little to go wrong as possible if it's really not. If I'm only taking one then I'll favour something passive that I've wired myself so I know the components are quality and nothing's been bodged together.

I've got a Ray 5 Special, a Sandberg Cali Central 5, and used to have a Fender USA Pro Jazz 5. I don't have particularly small hands, but still found the Fender neck dimensions quite uncomfortable which is why I moved it on. The Sandberg is 35" scale so that changes the feel somewhat, but it's a slimmer nut and still a lot more comfortable than the Fender... though the way they do their fret ends doesn't really hit the spot for me. The Stingray sounds great (though the preamp does faintly pick up Radio 1) and the neck is very comfy, but it needs waxing every so often to keep the factory fresh feel. I've never played a Sire, and although I keep considering one (the P5R-5 specifically) I keep coming back to the fact that the neck dimensions look - on paper at least - to be quite Fender-inspired, and I know I'm not a fan of that. Of the basses you've shortlisted I'd go with the Stingray. I do own and like Ibanez SR 5s as suggested above, but I'd try one (including on a strap, not just sitting down) before investing, as they're overall a rather different proposition to handle if you're coming from a Fender Jazz.

I've just mostly finished a light modification job on a Fazley Sunset Series Piranha 5 in olympic white. Bought it as I was enjoying playing a Harley Benton Deluxe Series PJ-5 in hot-rod trans red that I did-up during lockdown, but I fancied something that was a pure P instead of a PJ simply for aesthetic reasons. Having done the same set of mods to each I'd say they're both great basses for their meagre asking price and as long as you're comfortable with some basic fret work (ends and polishing rather than levelling and crowning), shielding, and a bit of drill-and-dowel action where holes don't line up, they're fun to meddle with and result in a very playable instrument that you won't mind taking anywhere. The initial plan was to get a 3-ply parchment guard made, but the stock pickup (and hence the hole in the guard) is bigger than anything I can find on the market, so I need to decide whether I'm changing the pickup before I have a new guard made.

Nah, only charged me once. Don’t know whether or not they would have realised eventually, but right’s right so I just rang them and told them - asked for a return label to send one back. The post office isn’t far away, but for some reason the staff aren’t fond of boxes that size. 🙂

Well, I decided that for the sake of £165 I'd give the Fazley a try. Have to admit my first impression was mostly confusion that they'd sent two of them instead of just the one I ordered, but I took the opportunity to choose the one I wanted to keep - call it compensation for having to mess about sending the other back. One had a more interesting grain pattern in the neck and fingerboard, but also a few finish glitches. Most importantly, though, that one was a full half-kilo heavier than the other (4.3kg vs 3.8kg) so I've kept the light one with the boring neck, and will now set about bolting bits and pieces to it. All looks pretty decent for the price anyway, in the spirit of the thread.

I'm facing the same decision over the same cabs and am almost certainly jumping the other way. The short version is I already had a G2 Super12 and Midget, but then received a One10 as a gift, so bought another to go with it and took the pair to live at the rehearsal studio. Wrapped up in the excitement of new toys, I decided they were the best thing ever, so bought a Two10 to use for gigs. As the honeymoon period ended, I started to notice that I was forever messing around with my EQ and 'never seemed to be completely happy with my sound these days'. Out of interest I took my Midget along and instantly realised that whilst the 10s are undeniably great bits of engineering, they're just not what's best for me. I'm currently steeling myself to take a thumping loss on selling all the 10s and probably order a Super Compact for gigging. Whilst I know they're about as loud as each other, the Midget is coming across so much more authoritatively in the room than the pair of 10s that it's hard for me to accept it's not substantially louder.

My personal view is that HBs can be good fun for modifying provided you acknowledge that a £120 bass with £240 of parts added will still be worth £80 trade-in. Mine's a PJ and a 5 string, but still essentially a budget P-bass. Turned out really quite well now it's finished, and I play it a lot more than I expected to. Before (stock image) After (badly lit image) I really want a white one that's just a single P, and I keep looking at the Fazley equivalent and wondering whether to do it all again. I know I'd probably be miles better off just buying a Sire P5R-5 and leaving it alone, but that's not as interesting.

These are pearlescent but they never had gold hardware, and of course I’m a different Ed S - just a passing Ibanez owner adding my 2p to confuse things! 🙂

Looks to be one with just a small headstock ding at a shop in Germany if you fancy a shot at the dream and don't mind a player. I can confirm they're nice, though there's so much variation in the colour of the boards, you'd think mine were different models. Edit: just noticed they also say discolouration to the back of that b-stock. They do have a bit of yellow-ish-ness in them, so perhaps I have that to look forward to!

SR1105B in pearl white (PWM) finish, maybe?

As I quite liked the stock strings on my new Stingray I bought a couple of sets of the same regular slinky bass 5s from Amazon, but when I was fitting the first set I noticed that whenever I touched the strings there was an eggy, sulphurous smell coming from them. So many jokes, so little time. They didn't smell in and of themselves, but clearly the bit of sweat on my fingers was causing a reaction with something on the strings that shouldn't have been there. I tried the other pack and they were absolutely fine, so I contacted S&T and asked about the strange set. They confirmed that I was playing authentic, and although they seemed a little incredulous at what I was telling them, sent me a replacement pack which were also fine. I then bought another couple of sets from Thomann to pad out an order and get free shipping, one set of which has also turned out to be eggy. I couldn't be bothered with the back-and-forth over another set, so just binned them and won't bother buying any more.

However I try to justify this it's going to be the 'too many' option, but I choose to see it as 4 rigs... - Markbass 1x12 combo for those jump in a taxi type gigs. Probably all I strictly need as it would cover most gigs I play. - Barefaced G2 Super 12 and Midget as either a 3x12 stack for anything big, a 1x12 for anything small, or a 2x12 for anything medium. - Barefaced One10 (x2) for rehearsals as they fit in a lockable flightcase that I can wheel into the studio store and leave there. - Barefaced Two10 because I wanted a one-hand-portable version of my rehearsal cabs to keep at home, ready for medium-small gigs. And then a few lightweight amp heads to use with the cab combinations. Though I'm currently considering moving the combo and the 2x One10 stack on, and just using the Midget and Two10 in their respective places as they're essentially the same things. Could be down to 2 before long!

I used to do this with my very first amp - a Park B25 mkII - so I could jam with a couple of guitarists after school in the music rooms. I used a Boss GEB-7 with the EQ left flat and the Level control pushed up, but it sounds like near enough the same idea. From memory I'd say my first bass was set up pretty well (late 90s Yamaha, straight out of the box and un-messed-with) and the pickups didn't need to be any higher; it was just on the polite end of passive and there was only so much output level available, so pushing the preamp with a pedal was a reasonable fix and never hurt anything as far as I'm aware.

Just a 5 string black P-bass, no more than about 3.5kg in weight, 16.5mm string spacing, roasted maple neck with a plain ebony board, and big stainless frets with perfectly rounded ends.

Next, get yourself a Cali Central - it's got a P thing and a Ray thing going on at the same time

I'd go with "£50 - post cash through letterbox" - somebody will usually 'steal' something they think has value much quicker than they'll take something labelled as having none, and the less time it's out there, the less chance that somebody will come along and just destroy it for fun and leave you to clean up the mess. My faith in humanity is perhaps a little worn, but I'm rarely disappointed.

I guess history has proven out that for me it'd be a superstrat type. I haven't played properly in a long time now, but at the point where it fizzled out I had the ESPs in these pics so they are what's available for the very occasional noodle. The tele in the first pic was really nice but not at all 'me', so it moved out when the stupid black shred machine in the second one moved in. I sold the last of my amps, cabs and effects in the recent cull so I could probably sell up completely and move on happily enough, but these two aren't eating anything in storage so I figure it's probably more cost-effective to just keep them than get into a sell/re-buy cycle every time the delusion resurfaces, as I'd never be able to justify anything close to their quality again.

When I switched back from 4s to 5s I sold my Precisions to a local shop. Had they been rare or unusual it would have made infinitely more sense to list them here and await a discerning buyer, but in the event I decided to sell my utilitarian instruments in a befitting manner and avoid all the negatives that come with private selling. Can't speak for anyone else, but that's why you didn't see mine for sale in the marketplace.

Did you end up with https://www.jimdunlop.com/dunlop-deluxe-guitar-stringwinder/ instead of https://www.jimdunlop.com/dunlop-deluxe-bass-stringwinder/? It's the bass specific one I have, and I'm yet to find anything it doesn't work with.