Linus27

Amazing, thank you

I've just bought a Fender Player II Active Modified Precision in Forest Green and I must say, its beautiful. It plays really well, is very well built for a Mexican bass and does sound quite punchy. I've changed the strings to a set of La Bella Deep Talkin flats and it has improved the tone. Not sure I'm fully settled on these strings for this bass so we will see but my only minor gripe is the pickups sound a little thin, certainly compared to my other PJ and P-Bass. So I'm toying with the idea of upgrading the pickups. As the bass is active and passive, the pre-amp is quite detailed with a volume, pickup pan and tone in passive mode and volume, pickup pan, tone, mid cut/boost, bass cut/boost, treble cut/boost along with a active/passive switch. It also runs on 18v. So my question is, can I just leave the pre-amp alone and change to any PJ pickups of my choice or do I need to find a set of pickups that can be used with the pre-amp and the 18v power?

My mind is made up, this will suit my band no end and allow for more creativity. I can get rid of my Octave pedal and use this as well as some of the other presets and features. I'm sold, take my money 😆

Me neither 😆

I think the only difference between the V1 and V2 is the mute button and the dimmable blue colour light strip along the front.

All of our gigs were in the Greenfields area apart from one which was on the main drag down to the West Holt stage I think. We played at 12pm, 2pm and 5pm and for all four gigs, we played to probably anything from 100 people to a couple of hundred people. Our guitarist quickly counted on one of our gigs and there were about 60 inside the tent and a further 100 sitting outside on the benches or the grass listening. I witnessed on most of the larger stages and tents, there was a very large crowd watching that could range from a a few thousand to 10's of thousands, depending on the artist and the time of day. For some artists, the crowds were so large, for example Kneecap and Tom Odell, they had to close access as there were simply too many people wanting to watch. Some of the smaller fringe tents did suffer from only a handful of people watching but this could depend on the time they were playing, the music they were playing, the quality of their playing and if anyone big was playing elsewhere. For example, one of stages we played at, we played at 12pm and had a couple of hundred watching, however, if we played at 5pm, it would of been anything like 500 plus.

I pretty much solely play Fender basses and have had high end American Vintage, Standard US, Japanese and Mexican Fender basses over the last 40 years. As already said, it can be a hit or miss across the board but personal choice is that the Japanese Fender basses are the very best at playability and quality. However, you need to pick the right ones. Japanese basses made in the 80's are consistently incredible, certainly with Ash and Alder bodies, US hardware including pickups. They feel and play like a really good original vintage American Fender bass and are sublime to play. I have two and they are amazing with so much mojo. Saying that, some of the more modern Japanese Fender's made with basswood and non US hardware are not so good and seem thin and lacking to me. I personally would not touch them. I also had a Mexican 70's Classic Jazz that came out around 2008 I think and that was one of the nicest Jazz basses I ever played and I really wished I'd kept it. I also have just picked up a Mexican Player II Modified Active PJ and that is really nice. Superb quality and plays very nice but I do have a few doubts on the pickups sounding a bit thin. I've also played and toyed with the idea of getting the Mexican Telecaster bass as the ones I have played have all been excellent for the money. I would happily say, the Mexican Fender basses are superb these days, especially the more high end, signature and re-issue models. I've also had many US made Fender basses and I found the standard US basses to be ok but nothing special. Clinical and a bit lifeless but good quality and functional. I've also had two 75 AVRI basses and one was out of this world and the other was dull and lifeless with no personality. I also recently played the AVRI II 54 P-Bass and that was really special. Sounded fabulous and the quality was on another level. It is on my list of basses to buy at some point.

I have no idea, I just know my wife likes Marilyn Manson, Linkin Park, 90's grunge and dance. Some of the jazz I've played her she has liked and some has just been disjointed noise. I suspect this might be the latter. Not sure if that answers your question.

I've got tickets and really can't wait. Not sure my wife is going to enjoy it though, I think the level of musicianship will go totally over her head 😆

So an update on these questions. It's too early to say and I'm not in a position to say because I only joined the band a few months ago. The main person in the band, Andrew who's band it is and named after, spotted me at a gig and basically said he needs me in his band, approached me and here I am. However, I am just his bassist and no more. Andrew has however played Glastonbury for about the last 13-15 years and has supported Marrilion, released albums and written music for TV and adverts. That is as much as I know. So financially I can't say but from what I know artists do have to pay for tickets (I didn't) and Andrew did but I'm not sure if he gets any for free or reduced rates. I don't know if every artist has to or if it's just the smaller artists. Maybe the big named artists do as well but I really don't know what their arrangement is with the organisers and getting to play. We did however get treated very well as an artist and get ferried about, fed with our own facilities. In regards to playing 4 shows, we were offered these slots but possibly due to Andrew's contacts. Next time in 2027 if we play, we are aiming for the Greenpeace stage. We sold a few vinyl records but to be honest, nobody wants to carry a vinyl record around with them all day, plus we saw no band, small or large selling any merchandise, it was only the official Glastonbury T-shirts that were for sale.

Amazing thank you. It was super cool to find an old Trace Elliot GP7 combo on stage for me to use. It sounded fab.

I've just got back and I must say it was super enjoyable. It was my first Glastonbury but I was also playing 4 shows so slightly different being there as an artist rather than a member of the public. We did get ferried in and out, fed and in a quiet camping area with only about 20 tents. I will also say our facilities were ace with soap, running water, sinks, toilet paper and food and drinks. Highlights for me were Ash, The Script, Alanis Morissette, Cliffords and Badbadnotgood. Neil Young was also really good, just for his band and the guitar shredding. The best though was a band called The Coronas, they were absolutely incredible. Also watched Alessi Rose and despite not being my thing, she was very good. Her bassist was using a black Fodera. Also saw Tom Odell and again, not my thing but very good. Watched a bit of Kneecap which was interesting and then they sat near our tents today so had a chat with them. Our drummer went to see Biffy Clyro and said they were his highlight and Weezer was also really good according to our guitarist. The worst was 1975, absolutely dreadful and people were walking out. They were so bland and a cross between background music and Busted. Pulp were a bit boring but I've never been a fan so probably wasted on me. The ones I did know were good and Jarvis Cocker is an awesome frontman. Haim were also really disappointing. As for the flags, every other flag was a Palestinian one and it became a bit of a running joke as so many artists were making a statement at some point during their set.

Thank you very much 🙂

Cheers buddy, thank you for the kind comment 😊

Well I can tell you exactly what I'll be playing and it's not very interesting or original 😂 Fender Japan 60's Classic Precision with LaBella Deep Talkin Flats. Sansamp BDDI, Ampeg Opto Compressor, Boss or MXR Octave and TC Electronic Tuner. Boring but a solid workhorse setup 😂

I'm playing 4 gigs at Glastonbury 2025 with Andrew Maxwell Morris. Wednesday 25th: Toad Hall - 17.10-17.50 (40mins) Thursday 26th: Mandala Stage - 14.00-14.45 (45 mins) Friday 27th: Open Arms - 12.00- 12.45 (45 mins) Small World Stage - 14.10-15.00 (50 mins) I so can't wait 😎

I'm playing Glastonbury 2025, I have 4 gigs lined up, playing with Andrew Maxwell Morris. Wednesday 25th: Toad Hall - 17.10-17.50 (40mins) Thursday 26th: Mandala Stage - 14.00-14.45 (45 mins) Friday 27th: Open Arms - 12.00- 12.45 (45 mins) Small World Stage - 14.10-15.00 (50 mins) I so can't wait 😁

I still use the Sansamp BDDI v2 and love it. Clean punching sound and a great DI. I don't use the drive on it either.

Had an absolutely amazing gig last Wednesday playing in Guildford at part of the very busy GT Session weekly gigs. We were headlining out of 4 acts with a 30 minute slot. We weren't quite sure what type of set to play as each act was different and we originally decided to play a more uplifting choice of songs. The act before us was very chilled and laid back so we mixed it up and played some chilled songs and a few upbeat songs to lift the vibe and pick the listeners up. I can say we played an absolute blinder and went down a storm. I play fretless and the sound was incredible, so I decided to have a bit of fun by really bringing out the fretless tone, emphasising the slides and the use of my chorus and octave pedal, so much so that our singer gave me a nod and gesture to take a bit of a lead bass part as it was just sounding so good. After the gig, another bassist came up to me and said I saw you were playing so I had to come down and listen as you are my favourite fretless bass player and you sounded incredible 😲 Another bassist came up to me and was fascinated by the pedals I was using and what strings I was used and a few other people came up after and complimented me. Absolutely awesome gig and makes it all worthwhile.

Good spot and clearly the headstock has also been changed as its different to the picture 🤣

I think its a very smart looking bass and as a fretless player then this sparks my interest. I actually really like the colour as well.

Oh my god, that is gorgeous, I could so do with one of these right now for a bunch of gigs I've got coming up.

I had a fretless with Pau Ferro and I really didn't like it, it felt cold and brittle. I also feel like that with Rosewood a little but not as bad. Ebony for fretless is unbelievable and my preferred wood for fretless followed by graphite. For a fretted bass then I don't think it makes any difference as you are fretting onto the frets.

I bought the Laney and I was massively disappointed in it and returned it. I also found the EQ to be very weak and subtle and if anything, it sounded very sterile and bland.

PMT, Bax and Gak all gone. These are not good times.