BassBod

I'm not certain I can make it this time...but PM on the way....

I cleaned one of those up about ten years ago - all the stickers came off no problem, and the outer shell was in great condition. But the latches were well worn and a bit unreliable - could never get rid of the "smell of a thousand gigs" from the plush lining....

The D'Addario black plastic strings are pretty much "normal" sizes..a lot of that type are bigger (La Bella, Pyramid, Roto). That's the main reason I opted for them, so I didn't have to open up the nut and bridge slots and mess around. Having fitted them, they are just as nice as any other I've tried, and much nicer than the Rotosounds..which never sound in tune to me! The LaBella's have a bit more edge, the Pyramids are the softest and warmest sounding. But the D'Addarios are pretty much in the middle, nice medium tension as well, so haven't needed any truss rod tweaks in over a year of use.

Also very interested........

Yes....passive DI after any sort of preamp is good....Yes...sansamp (mostly) has DI output anyway....Yes, passive bass into passive DI can work, but it might be a bit dark and dull/low level ....all is Yes

Yes......

The little GK combos can be sneaked in, and hidden under tables..... On the rare truly "acoustic" situations where I've dared to play EUB I have put the combo off stage, or way back out of sight. I've done the same with ABG with good results..and almost forgotten there is an amp!

Mine is landscape - so the side mounted handle is on top. Works fine for me, but you have to remember the handle is not centred when you put the cover on.

Thomastik flats are very nice, but acoustically very quiet - great sound if you use the pickup (as I'm sure you do!). Might need to raise the action, as they are very floppy. I've got D'Addario black plastic flats on mine (fretted Martin four string) and they are the best compromise I've found for fullness and warmth.

[attachment=121451:stanleyk4uo.jpg] Try this - I'm guessing this was mid 70's Stanley gear. I think the multiple tiny speaker thing was copied/borrowed from the Alembic Wall of Sound PA.

With the current market, I would hold on the the old Fenders for a few more years. I can't imagine they will ever be worth less than now, and could be worth a lot more in a couple of years, when there is more "disposable income" floating around. But I know exactly how you are thinking...and it sounds like you are much more sorted than many! The physical thing is really important - my current jazz bass is the lightest Fender type bass I've ever owned, and easily the best sounding, so its worth a long look around to see what you can find. Mine was mostly made in Cornwall....

I'm between Bristol and Bath, and Shaftesbury is about an hour away....

I'd be interested - its not that far from Bristol, although we do tend to panic if it isn't just of the the M5! I enjoyed the Shaftsbury one a year or two ago...

Lack of power was never a concern for me - it coped with some loud blues gigs through a BF Midget, but I did use a Sansamp in front to get it sounding "appropriate" for the genre!

What he said, although I never needed to open the top of mine. The eq is gentle, but effective and it has plenty of power (it keeps getting louder past the half way point of the master volume pot...not many amps do this) and the fine tune/trim controls for the channel gains is a nice touch. The DI is a pain (stereo jack to get a balanced output) but you only need a short stereo jack to XLR cable made up to sort it. But I never did, I used a mono cable to a passive DI box instead ( that probably weighed more than the amp!). Great amp if you like the sound of your basses, and are happy with modern surface mount construction style, and need something very portable. I opted to go for an older style low power amp that I can get serviced for the remainder of my playing life. No offence intended to EA - they are great at helping you out, but once that amp is out of current production its beyond help (like all other contemporary micro heads).

Nice - I got to see/hear Mr Manring up close a few years ago, and it was great fun..especially when he starts de-tuning. I was surprised at just how skinny and floppy his E and A strings looked, he must have great control to get any depth out them without loads of rattles. Enjoy the bass!