Edenburgh

I'm feeling the love for Daisy Rock here.

Picked this one up second hand for not much cash (less than a hundred) - the excuse was erm, "it's for my daughter". I have to say I am loving this thing!!! Might even gig it soon. I've not seen many about. Maybe people keep it a guilty secret?

Pablo purchased a Markbass Bass Keeper from me. Pleasure to deal with, prompt payment and great comms throughout. Recommended.

Here's my SSII. I'm playing a P bass mostly now so sometimes the narrow string spacing bugs me. Sometimes though I remember just how good it is. Sometimes I just give it a damned good waxing. Sometimes it scares wedding guests (low B, hit hard)

Here's my '77 Natural finish (ash body) Precision that I picked up recently. Honestly, I haven't gone near my SSII since I got this beast.

Thomastik Infeld (TI) Flats now on my recently acquired '77 P-Bass. Previously had Rotosound '77 flats on a MIM Roadworn Jazz. The TI's are better to play (smoother, slicker) than the Rotosounds but they are also more expensive. The Roto flats on my Roadworn Jazz always made me want to play Dazed and Confused by Zep (I hope that helps paint a picture of the sound). However, the additional cost of the TI's, spread over the life of these things may be deemed negligible (go without a couple of takeaway meals and you will break even!) Previously, I always thought that flats = dull sound and 'jazz'. No not so. I'm about to do a series of rock gigs with these TI strings on the P-bass. Finger style you can do anything from Motown to ....ok I can't think of anything else right now. But picked, you can do all the Lynott, Dirnt agressive stuff without issue. Also, flats feel nice. And the TIs are a light gauge so tension is less of an issue.

Arrived yesterday (a day earlier than anticipated). First the unglamorous stuff.... So far the work over the past 24 hours has comprised: A good old clean (Brasso on the chrome, once over on the poly finish with some pledge and some Antiquax to freshen up the fretboard) A wee tweak on the saddles reduced some buzzing on the second fret (a slightly suspect/raised 3rd fret is the root cause which might need some attention to properly fix the issue - but it is relatively minor and can be dealt with in due course). Oh - and it would appear the previous owner smoked cigars. Lots of 'em judging by the aroma. How come I never noticed that last week? Not that it would have changed matters. (None of the above are classed as gripes - just observations) A set of Thomastik Infeld Flatwound strings have now been fitted - my oh my they do blow away the flats I've used before (Rotosound '77s) How does it play? Chunky neck, but my other bass is the SSII 5 String - it's about the same in terms of width, but deeper (none of this has been measured scientifically). I spent the whole of last night playing Motown riffs with the tone rolled back to about 25% - thought I was Jamerson with the Funk Machine!. I found myself this evening doing picked Lynott riffs (tone rolled up to just below half). It sounds a bit clunky with the tone anything over half - unless you thrash it hard to make yourself sound like Mike Dirnt (it does that sound quite well). It is heavy. It weighs the same as my SSII - 5. What can I say? It's a P-Bass. Seems to be a good 'un despite what you read about 70's Fenders (earlier in this thread I mentioned I tried a '73 and walked away because of build quality). Solid & versatile. I didn't get the cheapest deal for a '77, but I didn't get fleeced. And there's that little bit of assurance that I bought through a reputable dealer (Andy Baxter) - the difference between the 'show price' and the website price actually paid for my return flights...which is the justification I continue to mention to my good lady wife... 24 hours in (honeymoon period), all is well. Looking forward to its first outing tomorrow at a rehearsal...

Update...it was shipped today (there was no way I was taking it with me and putting it in the EasyJet hold, was there?) - should arrive by the weekend. Will provide a further update once we become accustomed. I've got a set of TI flats waiting for the arrival... Once again, the warmth and opinions herein are appreciated and valued. Pip pip.

Two further images - one from my phone at the show...the other from the dealers website...

Geoff - fair point...here we both are (the bass has clearly had an easier life than its new owner):

What a weekend! Friday evening sitting at home surfing with a beer and I found out about this London bass show. Easyjet flight for first thing Saturday was booked 30 minutes later. This trip certainly made for easy comparison of all models. Heart : Tried out the Fender '58 and '63 vintage reissue models. From the secondhand stalls, tried out '69, '73 & '77 P-Basses. Head : Tried out a Yammy 2024 Wallet : The 'special show prices' for the yammy and the 70's P's were comparable - the wallet no longer had a casting vote! First off, the new Fender RI models are truly ace. Great build, great sound and the '63 had a significantly hotter output than the '58. Next the Yammy - all that you say about this bass is true. It is awesome. Even the controls have a confidence inspiring quality feel, just turning the tone dial you felt like someone had spent time making sure it had the right amount of resistance (not too slack, not too tight, just right). The guys at the Yammy stall also offered to supply me with any colour (either 2024 or 2024x) and ship it to me at the 'special show price'. The Head (and the wallet) couldn't fault that. Nevertheless, I went on to try.... '73 P-Bass (we're getting into heart territory) - my birthday year bass. Ash body, Maple neck, looked the part, played great, sounded great. But. 1970's patchy Fender build quality made me have a long hard think about it. You see there was an overhang on the heel where the neck was just very badly aligned. About 3-4mm out. Didn't appear to impact the playability, but it was a niggle nevertheless.....so I walked on.... '77 P-Bass (staying in heart territory) - ash body, rosewood neck, black pickguard. A heavy bass compared to the '73. Great condition, thick sound. Played better than the '73. I'll be honest, it probably isn't quite as well set up as the Fender Vintage Re-issues - but I can fix that - because I bought it! Heart - wins Head - trying to argue that head still won because I didn't do something really silly like sell my SSII to fund a 60's P-Bass purchase! Wallet - empty. Great weekend, great show. And spoke to the nice lady from Basschat in the queue while we were waiting to get in.

Thanks all for the warmth and enthusiasm in your responses. Food for thought. I will update this in due course for anyone who is interested...

I'm in the market for a special bass for one of those landmark birthdays (it's a 'happy birthday to me' present if you catch my drift) I was pretty much in the Fender P-Bass frame of mind - either mid 70's (a '73 to match my birthday would be rather nice) or VR or CS - that's the heart bit. The head bit is causing a distraction by saying 'Yamaha BB2024x' So - heart says P-Bass. Head says 2024-X (I saw Marco Mendoza playing one with Thin Lizzy in Glasgow recently and it sounded ace). Any thoughts or insights appreciated. (I know, I know, this is not a great hardship of a dilemma to have but some of the 2024 reviews suggest it is like a super duper p-bass which got me wondering)