lowregisterhead

Holy crap. My list only goes up to a mere 121 basses over 40 years, and I thought I was a lost cause! There's no point in me publishing my list, I'd just look stupid! 😁

Roger passed away a couple of years ago, but the business is still trading under the same name on eBay, fxguitarman1. They made a very nice custom see-thru plate for my 55-94 a year or so back.

That's a really lovely bass - as heretical as this opinion may be to some, I've always thought Lakland's P basses look even classier than the original design they're modeled on!

Welcome Brian! I hope you'll enjoy navigating the many and various topics and opinions on BC, but I warn you, it's addictive - I visit here at least once a day, and often more. 5-strings come in all shapes and sizes, and I've owned many over the years, over 100 in the 40+ years I've been playing at the last count, and pretty much all of them have been 5'ers since the early 90's. It'll all boil down to what suits you, so you need to go to a few good, well stocked shops and just play as many as you can. For me, I favour 35" scale because I find it really does make a difference to the overall consistency and integration of the 5th string. A lot of 5-string basses seem to me to be 4-string basses with a 5th string added as an afterthought. Tonal qualities and playability are very subjective, so another reason to try out lots of different basses. Out of the literally scores of different makes and models of 5-strings I've owned, my personal preference is for Lakland, because I've found the combination of scale, string spacing, tone and playability are a good fit for me. Their USA-made range is pricey (£3K+) but they do a range called Skyline, first made in Korea and now Indonesia, which are very good, and about a third of the price of the US versions. Check out the 55-02, 55-01 and DJ5. You might like them. Happy hunting!

As this thread seems to have been dormant for a little while, I thought I'd post a pic of my current clutch of Laklands... L to R: ‘02 Trans White 55-94, ebony board, Nordstrand/Aguilar pickups, Pope Flexcore preamp; ‘98 Amber 55-94 DLX, birdseye maple board, Aguilar pickups, Pope Flexcore preamp; ‘15 Tobacco Burst 55-Dual J, rosewood board, Hanson vintage pickups, John East Uni-Pre preamp; ‘07 Black Sparkle Korean DJ5, maple board, Delano pickups, John East DJ Retro preamp.

They are indeed. Strangely enough, the artwork that iTunes downloaded when I ripped the CD 'The Best of Led Zeppelin Vol. 1' was the cover of Dread Zeppelin's 'Un-Led-Ed' album. Someone who works with the online database surely has a sense of humour.

Many years ago, I had a custom bass made with blue LEDs in the neck edge dot markers. In practice, they were actually too bright on a dark stage and hurt my eyes! Maybe you can get them with dimmers these days... I also had another bass with luminous side dots. Those were actually very useful.

Purchase price, shipping and duty would be approaching a grand. But it's art, innit? I just checked out his other auctions, I really wish I hadn't.

How ironic. Someone should message him a link to this thread. Then again, Yanks don't get irony. There, I said it. Puts me in mind of this rant by Ed Byrne about Alanis Morrisette: Mind you. she's Canadian...

Not to mention potentially legally hazardous. Imagine if you bought some clothing that had been 'partied' in, got swabbed going through airport security, and it came up with traces of drugs? Scary. Sorry if that's slightly off topic...

The standard of finish reminds me of a teapot stand I made in Woodwork when I was about 12. My Mum still has it, but it's not worth nearly £600. It's priceless! 🙂

Yeah, that's the very chap!! Went by the name of Brian L. Zeebub!

Yes. A function band I gig with parted company with their guitarist recently. He was good at rustling up a gig, but as it transpired was also a pathological liar, and very good at fiddling the gig fee in his favour! Plus, it was only after he left that we suddenly realised what an unholy racket he had been making onstage. We're using two deps at the moment to cover gigs, both of whom are a massive breath of fresh air musically and personally...

Get her down to the gig, give her a tambourine and start calling her 'Janine'.