Jellyfish

[quote name='bassman344' timestamp='1397164804' post='2421481'] After years of choppin n changing and thousands of quid spent and traded. I think I'm finally tired and bored and wana settle on something. The grass sometimes was definitely not greener on the other side with some basses and I have many regrets of ones that got away. And then there's the money that is harder to earn, and doesn't buy as much as it used to; and you near have to give stuff away to sell it quickly now. Anybody else feel fed up with it or am I just getting old? [/quote] Be glad that you've tried a lot and (hopefully) found out what works for you and what doesn't. Then go custom.

I regard playability probably the most important, but I found no basses within my price range playable enough. So I went custom and got one with specs that weren't available off the shelf, making it the easiest to play out of any basses I've ever tried and probably will try.

I wouldn't worry about the initial cost, but instead focus on whether the lesson was worth the money or not as the costs can vary so much.

Got the MXR Bass Compressor myself. I use it for heavy distorted tones, and basically have it set to its highest ratio so it's limiting rather than compressing. It can do a bit, a lot, and everything in between and I was lucky in that it was one of the first ones I've tried and it worked amazingly well. Marcus Miller was the first guy I saw that used one, which should give you an idea of its compressing and limiting capabilities. Go for about £115 used.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VffYU2cNKq4 Just in case anyone wants to watch the video...

There seem to be plenty good and bad reviews, but I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Didn't find the noise particularly unpleasant, and I didn't really find anything [i]too[/i] loud. Got to meet our dear leaders, of the peoples republic of Basschat, and a couple of other Basschatter's too. Had a lot of fun trying out various basses that I wouldn't normally try in a music shop and was surprised most of the time. The best part of the show, for me, was meeting Adam Getgood and having a chat with him, as well as trying Eve basses. Those things are beautiful instruments and cost less than an American Fender. My only regret is that I didn't get to try out any ACG's as Alan's stand was mostly always packed full of people! Not that I'm complaining, they definitely stood out that's for sure.

Purchased a pedal off me. Swift payment and contact, couldn't be happier.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1393423135' post='2380032'] That is a lovely piece of timber - what colour body would you put it on though?? [/quote]

Awesome!

I actually have Madagascan Rosewood on my Alpher bass, which I'm certain is what you guys are talking about. Obviously, with having it on a bass that was built for me, I haven't had experience working with it, but I absolutely love the tonal characteristics of it as I'm a fan of Maple boards[i].[/i] [i][/i] [b]And on the finished article...[/b] [url=http://flic.kr/p/hb3ssx][/url]

Would be rude not to contribute... [url="http://flic.kr/p/hb56BZ"][/url] [url="http://flic.kr/p/hb4XJV"][/url] [url="http://flic.kr/p/hb5hZZ"][/url] [url="http://flic.kr/p/hb4hEJ"][/url] [url="http://flic.kr/p/hb3Qwn"][/url] [url="http://flic.kr/p/hb4Vu4"][/url] [url="http://flic.kr/p/hb4kD9"][/url]

I've had a go on the 504 as I purchased one (through the shop I used to work at) for a friend who needed a new bass. I'm a fan of easy-to-play basses over the sound but the 504 delivers in both areas to be honest. A nice solid body that has cutaways in the right places and a really nicely shaped neck. The finish on the back of the neck was great too and the out-of-box setup was pretty much spot on, although the intonation did need adjusting. Other than that, as others have said, it sounds really good for the money. Yamaha's pickups are renowned for punching above their weight, or at least that's my point of view , and the new ones they developed for their TRBX range sound a lot better than most other basses in that price range.

Most brands with low resale value. Two that I've had personal experience with are [b]G&L[/b] and [b]Ibanez[/b]. If you have around £350 to spend, the [b]G&L Tributes[/b] are amazing, both the 4 and 5 strings and, as long as you can get on with the feel of it, it'll stomp on most other things in that category for versatility and quality. The [b]Ibanez[/b], at least for me, was a similar story. Bought a 5 string Prestige for £600 and it was only since trying out other, more expensive, basses that I realised what a silly price that was to pay for such a good instrument. Perhaps I'm being a bit biased here, but the [b]Alpher Instruments[/b] range of affordable basses, their [b]Prime[/b] range, is stupidly good value for what is essentially a custom built instrument. For £999 you get an instrument with pre-defined pickups and a small selection of woods to choose from but that is put together in the same way that their high end basses are. Compare that to most other popular brands and it comes in at under their prices for an instrument that's hand build in the UK. And if you're worried about having not heard much from them, just take a look at the recent reviews in this months Bass Guitar Magazine. To get something of that quality for £999 is crazy. I know there's one on my list.

Just booked my tickets! Already have a BC polo, but I slimmed down too much and now I don't look cool enough... So I [i]obviously[/i] had to buy another (smaller) one. Hopefully I'll get to actually meet some people as I'll be by myself this time!

Cheers for the suggestions. I'm definitely going for that flatwound, P-bass type sound. And the maple is just a preference.

I've got a rough idea, but I don't often delve into the 'Fenderish' end of things so I'm asking your assistance. It could be used, but I'd also like some ideas of new basses as I'll be down in London soon with a lot of shops available to trawl though...