Bigwan

As per you Andy, I've always been an Elites man. I think initially it was because they were available locally, but I've grown accustomed to their feel and sound. They maybe don't keep the zing as long as some others, but that suits me just fine. I vary my gauge depending on the bass and tuning, but I've come to conclusion that if my fingers can take it I'll be moving to the heaviest I can stand (50-110 at the minute, but only on my 34" scales) - it really does help my sound.

[quote name='essexbasscat' post='981526' date='Oct 8 2010, 01:06 PM']Chinese CV Jazz or P. Both punch well above their weight. Keep the change.[/quote] +1. Or a used Warwick Corvette (my previous ATK recommendation might not suit as the neck's pretty chunky!).

Ibanez ATK300. I bought an ATK700 (with a few cosmetic issues and a dodgy switch and jack socket) last week for £150. Bargain I say... BARGAIN!!!

Stingray...

I think all the BBx14 series are basically the same bass, but the 'X' has a pickguard and the 614 is active. The x24 seems to have a 5 piece neck but otherwise virtually the same as the x14 series as far as I can see. All good. I wasn't knocked out by the 5 string version and didn't think the active circuita was great either, but the 414 (and therefore presumably the 414X and the newer 424) is a cracking bass for the money. In my experience Yamaha don't make crap basses at all.

Both the basses I saw were Sadowsky's. A natural standard 5 with maple board and a red 4 with rosewood board and matching red headstock. Didn't see the whole show though.

The Yamaha BB's are great basses for 4 strings, but I found the BB415/615 very lackluster in the B-string department... may just have been the examples I played though.

[quote name='markstuk' post='966574' date='Sep 24 2010, 12:19 PM']See... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=102569&hl="]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=102569&hl=[/url][/quote] Brilliant basses!

Surely the Sterling 5HS is too close to your current Ray 5? Be daring! Bongo, Bongo, Bongo!

Why not go the whole hog and have a precision modded to be a Jazz (Like Wille Weeks'/Clarky's Alleva)? Jazz bass sound with precision ergonomics. Problem solved. It's a step better than the PJ idea for me - PJ doesn't do the 'role-off-1-pickup-slightly' sound due to the mismatch in the pickup types. I seem to remember seeing a Musicman 'Ray modded this way somewhere along the line - think it was yer man from the Stereophonics... Or you could just put a P neck on a J...

I bought my Lakland 55-01 used for £400. It's a fantastic bass for that money. Hangs with anything under a grand (and to me it's better than the musicman stingray 5 i used to have). Also, if you can find one, there's the Cort RB5/Josh Paul signature. If you can handle the tight string spacing an Ibanez atk305 is worth a look too.

Bongos rule. Love my 4HH. I'd love a 5 string version again but can't get on with any EB 5. Something about the ergonomics doesn't work for me (ray and bongo). You learn to get around the limited spacing for slap with the neck pickup. I'll agree the visual aspect isn't for everyone, but you soon get past that! Don't think about it, just buy one!!!

I always fancied one of these. Smart looking bass.

Meh... they're no Bongo ;¬p

Bought one of these here a while back. Great preamp. Mine's fast becoming a fav!

I remember GarethHughes did some clips of a fretted custom he had for sale with ghs brite flats on it and I thought they sounded really roundwound-esque...

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='956531' date='Sep 14 2010, 08:54 PM']You'd think with all his high-profile gigs he could afford to get his bass set up properly.[/quote] Properly for you, or properly for him ;p I do see your point though!

Buy used. You'll get a lot of amp for £500. There's a used Hartke Hydrive 2x10 combo local to me in as new condition for £375 so something like that's worth a look. An Ibanez Promethean is good by all accounts, but one 10" speaker will only do so much.

Other than all valve, you'll be hard pressed to find a 'modern' amp that doesn't have a fan of some description. What do you have against them? When you're playing with a drummer you're unlikely to ever hear it anyway! You could try a Trace Elliot V-Type head/combo. I recently bought a V-Type preamp and it's full of vintage valve goodness! There's also the Mesa Walkabout head/combo which sounds really nice and valvey. There's the Orange Terror Bass head too. I've always sworn by the Ashdown ABM, but very few others seem to like them nowadays - both mine are the (better for me) original, pre-EVO models. These are all valve pre/solid state amp over 300 watts, but if you're playing with a drummer you'll need more than 60 solid state watts if you ask me. If you want to go uder modern you could try the TC Electronics RH450 - it seems to do vintage VERY well by all accounts.

I've been considering this myself lately (especially with all these gorgeous ACs knocking around all of a sudden!), but there are very few basses I've ever played that have 'shocked me to my core' (to quote Anton Ego). When I find 'THE ONE' I'll maybe sell a lot of stuff, but at the minute I have a nice range of available options. I've only 2 basses I will NEVER sell (my Fender P was a wedding present from my lovely wife and my old Aria Pro II and I have been through too much together!). Although my Lakland JO is my no.1, if something extra special fell into my hands, who knows - I have a list of people willing to take it off my hands.

The BG500 looks great except for the weight. I suppose with a decent hand truck it wouldn't be an issue until you came to stairs - then it'd be a VERY big deal, at least for my back! Shep on here has one (pantherairsoft) and has a whole page to himself in the new BGM singing its praises so he might be the guy to ask.

[quote name='Veils' post='947980' date='Sep 7 2010, 09:26 AM']It's only been out about a year?[/quote] Ya see that's what happens when yer band's named the same as an old metal tune (by Cynic) and I haven't me brain plugged in... and surfing in work where I can't see the vid in the first place!

Do your own homework I say... but then not everyone researches stuff the way I do!