Linus27

Here is my current collection. It's so very nearly perfect. The Stingray always was my dream bass and so I just have to own one. Been through a couple but have now finally settled on the 2EQ model in my favourite colour. It sounds amazing and is so incredibly light. This is my Warwick Corvette Standard. One of the last German ones made. I always fancied a Warwick and decided to take the plunge at the end of last year and certainly do not regret it. It sounds amazing and typical Warwick. I love playing Jamiroquia and Jazz type stuff on it. This is my ESP 400 Series Jazz. Made in Japan in 1989 and fitted with Bartolini pickups. Quite simply, my best bass. It sounds stunning and has been my workhorse for 23 years. It has never let me down from the hundreds of gigs I have done with it despite the dents, cracks and various battle scars. It has done plenty of radio shows and TV shows and lots of recordings. The only downside is the output is fairly low so I need to make sure the volume is up on the amp. This is my Squire Vintage Modified Fretless. This bass I fell in love with despite not intending to buy one. My wife bought it for me as a surprise gift. She said I just looked so happy and played it so naturally. This is my latest bass, my Fender MIA Precision. This is going to be my current working bass. Incredibly light and sounds superb.

Yep, all the time in my driving guitar punk pop days. Used to break a string every 4 or 5 gigs but then I did play fairly heavy with a pick. Not heavy as in heavy music, heavy as in I play heavy. Got quite good as being able to improvise the bass lines with one less string. Quite a weird feeling when a string breaks. String goes all floppy and it feels like everything goes to jelly as both hands try to make contact with a solid string and trying to find the right note on a different string I have found that now I play with fingers more, I still dig in really hard and get a clanking sound as the strings hit the frets and pole pieces on the pickups. I tend to hit down on the strings rather that pluck them upwards. I guess its different if not ideal

Once again, thanks everyone for the input in this thread. It really has helped a lot.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='855158' date='Jun 2 2010, 06:06 PM']Linus, I was cheeky for you and asked on the pricing of that Olympic White P, and he said the price is pretty much firm due to the charges he has to pay. I doubt you would be able to talk him down much. The thing is, people who do not know the market would probably pay that, but we know otherwise. If he said £500 all in itd be good, but £600 is too much.[/quote] Thanks Gareth for doing the donkey work. Like you and otehrs have said, its too expensive and to close to a MIA price.

[quote name='Clarky' post='855026' date='Jun 2 2010, 04:09 PM']For £75 differential I would choose MIA any day due to better construction/hardware, easier truss rod adjustment, and hard case. But its partly a function of availability - now that OHM and Musicman 20's MIA basses have sold, I haven't seen another around for £650. With patience, though, another will likely come up Ultimately your call mate! Edit: £575 does not include p&p, so consider this nearer £600 all-in[/quote] Yeah the price is putting me to be honest. If it was £500 then I would go for it but £575 is quite steep considering they go for around £400 - £450 on here. Then like you say £650 for an MIA one. I think patience is needed.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I have passed the info on to my friend who will discuss with the band. Cheers.

[quote name='Raggy' post='854996' date='Jun 2 2010, 03:42 PM']Seen this [url="http://www.fareastguitars.co.uk/usedpb4.htm"]http://www.fareastguitars.co.uk/usedpb4.htm[/url] Its a beauty [/quote] Would you says this was worth going for over a MIA model which would be about another £75???

[quote name='Clarky' post='854956' date='Jun 2 2010, 02:59 PM']But don't forget if importing from Japan (or US or non-EU) import duties/fees add another c.20% to the total - happened to me with Sid when I was a bit green about these things and I ended up with a disappointing customs charge![/quote] I must admit, I am a little worried about ordering from Japan via Ebay. There is one on there being sold by some Japanese company that I have not heard off. Not sure its worth the risk or not.

[quote name='P-punk' post='854952' date='Jun 2 2010, 02:56 PM']The CIJ 70s turn up on ebay all the time. Don't know if I'm allowed to link to ebay, so you'll have to search for yourself. Right now there is one for sale (secondhand) for $505 (=£350) + shipping. I've seen them cheaper as well.[/quote] Is that in olympic white and UK based or in Japan?

[quote name='basshead56' post='854755' date='Jun 2 2010, 12:47 PM']True, will definately cost a fin or two I reckon.[/quote] Yeah but when you get it, you're going to have a whale of a time

Need a little advice for a friend who plays in covers/function bands as I have no idea about this sort of thing. She sings in a covers band, playing songs from the 70’s too modern day. They mainly play at weddings and private functions. At the moment they charge £350 for a 7 piece band to perform for 2 hours with a 15 min break. This works out at £50 each. Is this a reasonable rate to charge for this type of thing?

[quote name='Bassassin' post='854687' date='Jun 2 2010, 11:57 AM']So Bruce Coyle of Fender GBI can't spell "Squier", the name of one of his company's own products? J.[/quote] I think I recognise that plaice

When I started playing bass, then it would have to be Sting, Derek Forbes from Simple Minds, Adam Clayton from U2, Gary Garry Beers from Inxs and Jeff Ament from Pearl Jam. Recently it has been Stuart Zender of Jamiroquai, Tim Commerford from Rage Against The Machine and Paul Webb from Talk Talk. Future is going to be James Jamerson and maybe some Pino.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='854271' date='Jun 1 2010, 10:40 PM']I can guarantee that if you get a good 08-10 Precision, you will be very happy. I was so happy with mine I went and got another.[/quote] Damn this GAS is killing me. The only thing I really don't like about the MIA model compared to the CIJ is the logo on the headstock. I love the long Precision bass text on the CIJ one compared to the tiny little Precision bass text on the MIA model.

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='854158' date='Jun 1 2010, 09:25 PM']Ah don`t worry about that. I`m bound to change my mind and want to punt mine again shortly. Or with all of Clarky`s MIA P bass love, he`s bound to buy one and then you just hang about for a few weeks then it`ll be up for sale to pay for another GAS purchase!! Jez[/quote] HAHAHA. Well, if you do decide, I have £650 waiting here for it when you are ready

[quote name='Clarky' post='854102' date='Jun 1 2010, 08:54 PM']Just to add to my previous post, I have not managed to get the action as low on Sid as I did on the infintely easier-to-adjust 2009/10 MIA Precisions. On the latter you can tweak the truss rod small amounts until its just right. With Sid and 70RIs in general if the action is not right, off comes the neck, tweak of truss rod, put neck back on, leave for a day or so to settle ... and if its not right its so frustrating. I stripped the bolt holes in the neck in another 70RI I once owned due to repeated truss rod tweaking and ended up stuffing the holes with toothpicks - not ideal. DOn't want to labour this too much, as once the action is sorted (and if you are lucky it may be perfect when you take ownership) these are lovely basses. The newer MIA ones though are simply superior IMHO[/quote] Thanks Clarky. Has been helpful info. Makes me even more angry I missed Old Horse Murphy's one. £650 would had been perfect but I was still deciding upon a fretless or a Precision. Oh well, my own fault.

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='854087' date='Jun 1 2010, 08:47 PM']I have seen the new US p go for around £600-650 on here and at that price, it`s a nae brainer!! Jez[/quote] Yeah I missed out on one by one evening Just have to wait for one to turn up now.

[quote name='jonthebass' post='854061' date='Jun 1 2010, 08:19 PM']I'm adding a big +1 with Clarky on this one. I owned Clarky's fabled 'Sid' 70ri P for a while and after a complete electronics change it was better but not the same as my USA P's. My thoughts are if you splash out on a CIJ/MIJ bass, then over time upgrade the electronics and buy a case at some point then you're either at the same price point, or beyond, a USA model. Regards, JTB[/quote] So you are saying that the US P has better pickups than the CIJ 70RI which have the Vintage US pickups?????

oh bugger. Been getting the urge to look at Jaguar basses as they look a bit different and retro but been avoiding them. Now this turns up. BUGGER. If they don't do white then I'm safe

Thanks for all the help. Looks like its going to be a waiting game then. If a CIJ one turns up then great, I'll go for it. If not and I have enough for a US model then I'll go for that. Thanks for the help.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='853013' date='May 31 2010, 09:43 PM']Having owned an American Standard Precision, I'd say it's a lovely bass (if you like Precisions), but the 62AV model I had with the nitro cellulose finish was something else. Pure tone machine. Wait for one of those to come up. What happened to the fretless, Michael? [/quote] Hey Rich, I'm going to stick with my Squire for now and go for a Precision instead. If a CIJ 62 RI fretless in the Jaco colours turns up then great, it can replace my Squire but until then, I'll stick with the Squire which is awsome as it is.

I had pretty much made up my mind to try and get a Fender Japan 70RI Precision in olympic white. However, today I read some really good comments by fellow basschatters (Clarky and Old Horse Murphy) regarding the MIA standard Precision and wondering what others have thought about them. Better to go Japanese or save some more and go American? The good thing about the MIA model is its available now where as the Japanese model would only be available when someone sells one on here. Cheers for any advice.

I would say my top 5 are, 1. ESP 400 Series Jazz with Bartolini pickups from 1989. This bass taught me to play and has done hundreds of gigs, been on TV, radio, front covers of magazines and knows me better than I know myself. 2. Fender MIA Precision 1977. One of the first expensive basses I bought. Ended up doing a lot of gigs with this and recording an album. Sadly sold around 10 years ago. 3. Ernie Ball Stingray 2EQ 2008. Bought this from Tom on here and its a cracking bass. I have owned 2 Stingrays previously to this which were both 3EQ and I was never quite happy with them despite loving them. This one is just perfect. Very light and sounds incredible. 4. Warwick Corvette Standard 2009 - I always wanted a Warwick but never really had any experience of them. After listening to a lot of Stuart Zender, I decided to take the plunge and to be honest, I am blown away by this bass. Its one of the last German made Corvettes and sound is unreal. OK, its a £600 bass but for that sort of money, it kicks butt and why its in my top 5. 5. Squire VMJ Fretless. For the money, it punches way above its weight. Its sounds great, plays great and is a superb fretless. It really can't be faulted.

Great thread Rich. Like you, I grew up with 80's bass players and despite them being a big influence on me, tonally, they have never really played a part on my sound apart from always wanting to have that Precision tone that U2 and Inxs had in the mid 80's. I actually only achieved this tone once I got a 77 Precision about 10 years ago. Saying that, when it comes to EQ and tone, I like everything flat and if it sounds crap then I am screwed. Those 11 band Eq's that all amps had back in the day were a nightmare. Even 6 EQ's were a nightmare. So simple is best for me. I would go as far as saying that thanks to Old Horse Murphy, I actually have an amazing amp and cab. He got me into Aguilar cabs and I also bought his GB Shuttle 6 from him. Paired they are the best sounding rig I have had. He did all the work and thankfully I benifited from his experience. As for my tone, I guess the best way to descibe it is balanced. Enough bottom end so its full but not boomy and enough top end for it to add clarity and have a bit of attack. I don't really do mids What this normally means is everything on the amp is flat. Then on my Jazz, both pickups are on full and the tone is dialled on full. A Precision is the same, everything is on full. If playing with a pick and its a bit too twangy, then I turn the tone down a bit to balance the bass and treble. The bottom line is, run everything flat and maybe with a bit of tone fiddling, get a nice even balanced sound and lets the natural sound of the bass come through rather than boost certain frequencies. My ideal amp would have an on/off button, 1 x input, 1 x mute, 1 x line in for tuner, 1 x volume and 1 x tone. Then a whole array of blue LED's. I love blue LED's As for flats, yeah, not a big fane of them. I miss the top end. The sound is too bass heavy. I have just taken flats off my fretless and put rounds on and it sounds 1000 x better.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='851882' date='May 30 2010, 03:56 PM']Maybe not for much longer ;-)[/quote] You are joking right? Now whats taking your interest ?