John Schoen

The Squier VM Tele is a great bass, this Fender version would make it more versatile with the added bridge pickup. It also has four bridge saddles instead of the two of the Squier, this one might get a chance to take the place of my Squier.

The C on the A string of my Squier VM TB. Hits you like Mike Tyson in his glory days.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160638982798"]Just a little bit of tail lift and the traces of the stickers are only visible in the right light[/url]. Could that guy be serious?

Another happy Gravity picks buyer here. Thanks for organising this group purchase, Mel.

I love my Fleabass. The quality seems to vary a lot, you have to be lucky to find one that is finished well but when you find one it is a lovely instrument. The only thing that I was not completely happy with was the sound of the stock pickup, it was a bit bland. I replaced it with an EMG 35DC; it sounds and plays better now than basses that cost twice as much. /edit I have watched the video now and there are some visual differences between a Fleabass and the bass in the video. The bass that he plays has three knobs instead of two and the output jack is on the side of the body instead of the front.

Rosewood burns longer.

I would like two of the fluorescent green ones.

A) Keep it. It has become part of your life after fourteen years and everything you did with it, I am sure you are going to miss it as soon as you have sold it.

Yes, it looks somewhat like an Alembic Exploiter. When you think about it, this one is a real Exploiter because they are trying to cash in on the name of a dead legend.

+1 for the Orange Crush 50. It has a classic bass sound and doesn't break your back. I tried it against more modern sounding combos like Ibanez, Markbass and Ashdown and prefer the sound of the Orange. Orange Watts seem to be bigger than those of other manufacturers, it is really loud for a 50 Watt amp. I am very happy with mine.

I haven't been in the Melkweg for ages. I try to stay away from loud noises because I have tinnitus. Loud hobbies and insufficient hearing protection.

Thank you. I live in Zaandam, about 5 miles north of Amsterdam.

My Ibanez ATK300.

Thank you Pictures: My Fleabass with my amp. The "collection". From left to right: - Ibanez ATK300. Big heavy lump. Makes the right noises, maybe a bit too synthetic because of the active circuitry. - Fleabass. Great bass that could give a Stingray a run for its money now that it is fitted with an EMG pickup. - Squier Vintage Modified Precision TB. Deep warm sound that registers on the Richter scale. - Squier VM Precision. The only bad point is that is it not black.

I have been lurking long enough, time to introduce myself. I am a returning bass player, used to play in the '90s and got myself an Ibanez ATK300 about a month ago after a twelve year hiatus. This forum has helped me a lot in deciding which amp to get for it and then caused some GAS attacks that made me buy three more basses. First I bought an Orange Crush 50 so that I could hear my Ibanez. That already sounded better than the Ibanez practice amp that I played it through when I bought the bass. I really like the sound and volume that I can get from this small amp. Then, after reading some of your impressions, I bought a Fleabass, a Squier VM Precision TB and an amber Squier VM Precision. All three are great basses for the money. I was not completely satisfied with the sound of the Fleabass, it was a bit bland, so I fitted an EMG 35 DC pickup and the thing is a killer now. It is funny to see how things have changed while I was doing other things. '70s Fenders were considered barely good enough to be used as firewood then and Squiers not much better. I have to say that I love my two current Squiers, they are leagues above those that I remember. My bass heroes are John Entwistle, James Jamerson and JJ Burnel. The TB will get a set of flatwounds when the original strings wear out to get the sound closer to Jamerson's and I use the Precision to try and get close to the '60s sound of Entwistle and JJ Burnel's sound. A Shuker JJ Burnel signature tops my wish list now, I hope that I will have the spare cash to buy one next year. Enough toys to play with in the meantime.

I think he was the inspiration for a lot of players to pick up the bass (I am one of them). Pushing and crossing boundaries he has changed the way a lot of people approach the bass, a great innovator. Miss him, I am going to watch The Ox's Tale DVD and raise a glass to him tonight. Then let it rip.

[url="http://www.musicstore.com/en_EN/GBP/WelcomePage"]Music Store[/url] in Cologne has a good selection of Warwicks and they ship anywhere.