Linus27

For me, it comes down to what I'm going to be using the bass for, how often and then what I can afford or justify spending. I love vintage Japanese Fender's so anything from the 1980's and pre 1990's. The only mod I have to do is upgrade the pickups but these are good enough for pub gigs, club gigs and all the way up to big venues including stadiums and can be had for under £1k. I'd also happily spend a little more and buy an American Vintage Fender which will again, do all of the above, be a little more unique but come in at around the £2k range. I wouldn't however buy a standard American Fender as they are no better than the vintage Japanese Fender's and for me in a lot of cases, poorer yet more expensive. If I was pro or doing a lot of paid work then my budget would probably be between £2k - £2.5k and I would settle on an Fender American Vintage. I do have a bass on my list to buy, a late 1970's fretless Fender Precision. My budget is around £2k, anything over that and I feel it's a waste.

I've got a gorgeous 1987 Fender Japan 62RI Jazz that my dad bought me brand new when I was just starting out. It's the best sounding and playing bass I've ever had and is my no.1. I've played this bass at thousands of gigs and pretty much on everything I've done, from tours, TV, 2x John Peel Sessions, Radio 1 roadshows and so much more. Its incredibly sentimental to me as my dad supported me all the way up to getting signed but passed away a few months before I signed. The bass has been fretless for the last 14 years and still gets played at gigs all year. However, I got asked to play Glastonbury this year and it was a fretted gig and I was so torn from putting the original fretted neck back on or use my Fender Japan Precision. I felt so bad for not playing Glastonbury with the bass my dad got me and have that extra bit of history sealed into that bass. In the end I did use my fretted Precision but I felt very guilty for not using my no.1 bass. What it does mean though is I'll never sell my Precision bass as that's the bass I played Glastonbury 🤣

That was super helpful, I hadn't seen it so thank you. I'm actually liking the AG more than the TH after watching that video. As for the AGS on the TH, I have no idea but I think everything was flat and it sounded very bright.

For anyone who's had or knows, what is the difference in tone between the Aguilar Tone Hammer heads and the Mark Bass Little Mark heads? I currently use a Little Mark IV and I generally find it clean, punchy, fairly versatile if perhaps a little sterile. I do like it though and have been happy with it if not perhaps finding it a little underwhelming. Lets say it does a solid job without too much fanfare. I recently played two of my basses through an Aguilar Tone Hammer 350 and I was pleasantly surprised at how clean and dynamic my basses sounded. They had a lot of sparkle and definition, and one bass in particular, a passive Fender PJ with fretless Status graphite neck and flats really came alive. I'd read previously, comments saying that a graphite neck can really show up poor technique or be quite noisy as it's very clean and accurate but I'd never found this in the past until I played through the Aquilar head. I had to really focus on my technique but what I was rewarded with was a gorgeous tone that just sung. Both basses which are fretless sung beautifully. My understanding was the Tone Hammer heads are generally warm sounding but the head I played through was super clean, punchy and sparkly. The head was connected to an Eich 1x10 so that may have also played a factor in the clean tone but either way, the tone was quite special and its piped my interest. So I'm interested if anyone can comment on comparisons between the Aguilar Tone Hammer heads and the Mark Bass Little Mark heads.

I have the very same head and I'm a big fan of it. I keep toying with the idea of moving it on but every time I gig with it, I'm super happy. Its punchy and the tone shaping is versatile but even running it flat sounds great. I've also tried the MarkBass Little Mark Tube 800 and that sounded really nice as well.

Looking awesome Mick, its gonna be stunning when its finished. Keep us updated with the updates.

Bought Paddy's MXR Bass Synth pedal from him and the transaction couldn't have been easier. Superb communication throughout, super quick delivery and brilliantly packed. Paddy is great to deal with and an absolute pleasure. Many thanks.

I've have always had a really strong ear which I guess is why I gravitated to fretless but I will still work out charts with my bass as reference the same way that Mohini did. Sometimes I will work the chords out on the first listen but I will hear the chord or note and know what it is through pitch and then go back and write it out after. I was just amazed at the other girl gushing over that technique when I do that all the time and just assumed thats what everybody did. I thought she was just trying to be dramatic and play up to the camera 🤣

You sir, are amazing, thank you so much

I don't understand why the other girl was so impressed with Mohini writing charts when working out a song. This is literally exactly what I do first time listening to a song. I have books and books of charts from bands I've played for, mostly original music where I've charted out the chords. I then work out the bass line based on the groove or what I'm hearing melodically. I thought this was the norm and everyone does it this way but there was nothing impressive or amazing to me what Mohini did in this video.

Wow, thank you so much, this is amazing and plenty to go by. Super excited to start listening.

That's amazing thank you, I had no idea it existed.

For some unknown reason, I have an itch to listen to some reggae and widen my understanding and appreciation of this genre. Not from a playing perspective but more of a listening appreciation. However, I know absolutely nothing about the groups etc. I do know a handful of Bob Marley track, mostly the well known ones and I really like them. I have heard of Aswad but only because they were in the charts in the 80's or 90's and sadly, I have heard of UB40 who I detest. So I guess I'm after the good shit to listen to. If Bob Marley is what Miles Davis is to Jazz, then who is John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Art Blakey, Charlie Mingus of the reggae world. Any recommendations greatly appreciated.

I play fretless and my setup is Bass > Tuner > Octave > Distortion > Chorus > Reverb 1 > Reverb 2 > Compressor > EQ/DI > Amp

Oh, I like him even more now after that video. Go Danny.

So I have gone ahead and ordered the HB for her along with the Fender short scale gig bag which had good reviews. Just looking at a small combo for her. I was going to get the 20w HB bass combo at £70 but the reviews didn't seem too good. So I'll keep my eye out for something second hand. After that, I'll probably change the strings to a lighter gauge as well once I've looked at what's available.

I've heard of a few others doing the same and changing out the stock pickups which I believe are Bartolini's.

We've already tried my 34" scale basses and some in shops and her arms are not long enough to reach the frets by the headstock. She has the nickname T-Rex because of her short arms. We've had the same problem for years in karting, if we get the pedals right, her arms can't reach the steering wheel but if we get the steering wheel right, her knees are too bent and she's too close to the pedals. We have to use a series of seat packs to get it right. It also doesn't help her elbows bend inwards where as most people's just stop when you straighten your arms.

Hey everyone, My 17 year old daughter has decided that she wants to learn to play bass. This obviously excites me as my son already plays Jazz piano and so I am very happy she has chosen bass. She does however have short arms as we've discovered from 5 years of karting and needing a variety of seat inserts. So a short scale is on the cards. Before justifying my man maths and going head first into either a Japanese Fender Mustang or a JMJ Mustang, I'm considering a starter bass for her. My choices are, Squier Bronco Harley Benton Mustang Copy MarkBass Little Yellow Squier Classic Vibe Mustang Each one has differing price ranges so just asking for thoughts and opinions and any clear winners. Thanks in advance.

Ibanez is probably your easy off the shelf option and comes in under a £1000. Its fretless but does have lines on the top of the board so technically a lined fretless. It also only comes as a 5 string option. Very good basses and I'd love one if it wasn't lined.

Thank you @cetera @stevie and @eude for the super helpful replies. From what you say, the Monza will probably be my best bet as I really don't need a lot of volume and I do like portability. My band is a singer playing acoustic, drummer with brushes and myself on fretless so not loud. For some of the smaller gigs, I even use my Warwick Gnome 300 through an 8ohms TC Electronic 208 which gives me a tone closer to what I'm after, it's just the occasional larger gigs I'd take the MB LM and BF Two10. What's more important to me is clarity, depth, richness and I guess fullness. My tone and playing is very much in the vein of Pino or John Giblin rather than a loud rock bassist or a funky bassist. If anything, closer to Jazz so articulate but certainly not nasal sounding like Jaco. Warm, rich, punchy and clean. Sounds like a Monza is on the cards in the new year. Despite Monaco being my favourite F1 race, I proposed to my wife on the grid at the 2006 Monza F1 race so I guess it make sense to go for the Monza 😄 Thanks for the advice everyone.

I'm currently using a Barefaced Two10 which I have generally been very happy with in terms of size, weight and performance. However, the vintage flavour of the cab is not suiting what I play these days and I have for a while been looking at changing it for something that is cleaner, tighter and more articulate. I'm currently leaning towards the Barefaced Super Compact which I believe will tick the boxes for my needs but I am also curious about the LFSys Monaco and Monza after positive customer reviews on here. They all seem pretty similar in application from what I have read so far, so I am just looking for feedback from those who have more real world experience in these cabs than me. Is there much differences between the three cabs? What is the difference between the LFSys Monaco and Monza over the different speaker sizes? Any pro's and cons between them all? I am currently using a 500w MarkBass Little Mark IV and play fretless. Many thanks for any input.

My moto is life is a book, and nobody wants to waste time reading a boring book so fill your book with amazing adventures, experiences and achievements. It doesn't matter how big that book is, but like all books it needs a start and will always have an ending so make the bit in the middle amazing. As SumOne above says, nobody is ever going to say, 'I wish I watched more daytime telly alone'. 🤣