Immo

[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1383172597' post='2261291']
I won't dare to start a new topic though, being 'Am I a real man?'
[/quote]
Whenever in doubt, make sure you have a beard and 'stashe.

I'd go with black... or better, 3-ply b/w/b.
3TS + Tort looks horrid in my book. Black/white/black pickguard looks cool on 3TS, both my 3TS basses are fitted with b/w/b pickguards and never will this change.

There are some forum members who did decent refinish jobs. I guess the best way is to simply put "refinish" in search window and to try your luck in contacting guys whose job impress you

Real man is a real man even with pink bass with bunny stickers all over it. As a matter of fact, proper combination of style features make you look awesome with a bass like that. Look at the bass'es namesake guy: Flea. He always has a style, however ridiculous.

P.S. With that said, I'd love to have Squier Badtz Maru Bronco Bass, goes really well with beard, leather jacket and torn jeans...

Once I tried to do this, but then I developed my preference in sound the other gear could provide, so I went for it.

[quote name='Low End Bee' timestamp='1378742732' post='2204053']
I quite badly want one of these. Shame I'm skint at the moment.


[/quote]
Oh, and I'm GAS-ing for this, too, after reading the topic.

Dusty Hill signature P-Bass.
A white P-Bass body with black pickguard. I have all the other parts required to build a new P-Bass with two split coils.
Oh, and Fender Greta amp to be used as bass preamp/drive.

I also GAS-ed for some oldie-but-goldie mojo bass guitar and seemed to hit the jackpot with a P-Bass styled instrument made of ash, with dual Schaller Humbuckers and Schaller 3D bridge at silly price.

Like others said - if you don't feel well with the bass, why keep it? It takes room for something that suits you better.
I did it with my Ibanez ATK310 - great sound, but something was off with it, so I traded it for cash I bought Tele bass with. Now I have three basses you can see in my signature, but I like the Tele best. While she has only one, muddy humbucker in the neck position and theoretically is least versatile bass of the three, she's my favourite: she's most comfy, has my favourite Roto 88 Tapewound strings and my, she's a looker. And when tempering with the tone knob, I can get a lot of her, much more than her looks would say to the one who has basic understanding that bridge PU = ring, neck PU = mud.
What I'm trying to say is that you have to listen to your gut. And who knows, what a lovely axe you'll get for the quid you'll earn for that Sandberg?

Hello and welcome, Andy! Nice gear over there.

Wojtek

Hi, I dare to bump the topic.
What would you say about GHS Pressure Wounds? I need flatwound strings with a quite bright sound but with a little less tension than Chromes. A long lifespan would be nice either.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_jxjqkNVzI[/media]

I lent my Traben Neo bass to a friend in April 2012 and he still has it. I'm OK with it, especially that I went completely vintage (at least [i]vintage style[/i]) recently.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1378156124' post='2196501']
As long as you trade it for something you will use rather than bits and bobs like some trainers, top up your mobile, a night out etc I think its all good IMO. You could bring it up and explain the situation?
[/quote]
That. As long as the money got for the present (given to you many years ago!) are put into good use or the present itself is traded for something you need, that shouldn't be a problem.

That is, as long the bass has no "To dear Jono Bolton on his 18th Birthday, may this instrument be used well for the rest of your life" plaque

RHCP examples:
- 20th Century
- Around the World
- Falling Into Grace
- Sir Psycho Sexy

Most funky bands use wah/autowah at least at times.
Most disco-style bands tend to use some bass synths.
Most Stoner/Doom/Sludge bands use overdriven bass.

I NEVER wear hats. I look bad in almost anything from beanie or baseball cap to any kind of hat. Only thing that was quite fitting was a bandana, worn like that:

(sorry, bassless pic).

I wouldn't wear anything on my head on stage unless the playing style would demand it (eg. country or blues beg for a good hat). As I plan to go into the weird west* cosplay, I tremble at the very thought about wearing a hat, but that's the necessity.

[size=2]* like, cowboys + weird stuff like zombies or aliens[/size]

What a looker!
Not too excited about the PU configuration, though, but it may be because of the split PU's sheen and matte looking 'bucker?
I'd use two splits, but anyway it's a wonderful axe!

ED: And THAT FINGERBOARD!

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1365176688' post='2036430']
Yes, I noticed that & I assure you no insult was intended.
I have a highly [i]prized[/i] bass (to me anyway) but sometimes [i]price[/i] gets in to cloud the issue too.
[/quote]
No offence taken
P.S. You see? I wrote "PolanE" instead of "Poland". Damn, this smallish netbook keyboard combined with haste results in me embarrassing myself.

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1365175270' post='2036399']
One of the best Freudian slips I've ever seen on this forum!
[/quote]
No, I'm from Polane, I make spelling mistakes

I have three basses I use, one I lent to a friend and I have parts to build three or four more. And I'm not ashamed or feeling guilty. This gear brings delight to my otherwise bitter soul and they are my priced possessions.

You know, if one person tells me something is a junk, OK, I might consider it. When two people tell me this, I start to wonder. When three people tell me this, I'd be afraid to use it. And when MY contact with this ends within 5 seconds due to the malfunction, I'll never, ever like to use it again. No reason for taking the risk. Having that said, there is only one company with a "back story" like that. But I won't lie saying that I'm not surprised that actually something Behringer made is working properly for a long period.

Squiers, especially VMs and CVs, are great, so are Epiphones and there's nothing to be ashamed of when using them, but I'd hesitate to admit I play something that's a real cr**p, like those bass-like products of Chinese companies making anything ranging from alarm clocks through toasters to amps. Behringer is a bit better than that, but the failure rate stories seem to shroud everything around this equipment.

[quote name='OliverBlackman' timestamp='1363881131' post='2018857']You would be better off expanding on a simple song than by playing something technical because it shows you have an understanding of the music you are performing.
[/quote]
That. Pretty much nailed it.

Hello from Poland as well!
I was once in California and, man, I love CA wholeheartedly. The most beautiful place I've seen, suffering a bit from the common belief that this state consists only of San Diego, San Francisco and mostly, LA. My heart stayed in Big Sur, all across from Hearst Castle to Carmel. But I also love those three cities, of course. One day I hope to move to either San Francisco, San Diego or somewhere within LA Metro (Thousand Oaks seem to be a nice spot). Where are you from, precisely?

P.S. It snows as [s]hell[/s] Hoth in Poland.

The thing with the "budget-version-companies" (Squier, Epiphone etc.) is that you're holding a thing that looks like a high profile stuff and then from the short distance one could tell it's a cheaper version. It's a matter of user's psychical comfort I guess. Many of us were raised in a societies with "high goals" somewher under the skin and - for example - many of us, as a kids, were laughed at at school if we haven't had brand shoes or other expensive stuff.

But on the other hand, we rely on the professional opinions. I imagine most of us (by "us" I mean seasoned and/or knowledgeable bass players) wouldn't mind playing a JV Squier even if we would feel bad with playing a "regular" Squier bass. And if many professionals tell us stuff like Beringer failed them, we tend to avoid it. Most opinions aren't coming from nowhere (as long as the aren't made by jealous competitors, that is ).

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1363876243' post='2018762']
Thirty years, as you say, is perhaps a little bit excessive. [/quote]

It's all because of the little to none gap between the winding. No dust or any other stuff (like dead epidermis) would contaminate the winding so flats last much, much longer. The top quality flats would hold the great tone even longer than 30 years - I can't seem to remember the name of this one fellow who uses the same set of LaBellas on his JB [b]since early 1970's[/b].

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1363874813' post='2018732']
My First Ampeg PF-500 didn't do much better than that. The second one lasted a bit longer (about 30 hours of use) before it went pop.
[/quote]
That's why I use 30+ years old solid state Sunn. You can smack this thing with a burning helicopter full of raging rabid elephants and it'll still work unspoilt.