Cairobill

@BigRedX Totally agree, but I assume he was in need of a poly. And I've just noticed this is a conversation from almost a year ago. Like you, I spent time in the trenches with a Juno 106 SMPTE'd up to a Fostex in the 80s We thought it was a bit rubbish at the time too! I'm a (B)Arp 2600/JX8P man myself nowadays. But for Poly, my 2p contribution is that a Deepmind will do all that 80s stuff for not a lot of spend (and a whole lot more). An Obie Matrix would edge it slightly but sadly you can't get them for 200 quid anymore.

100% agree. That was in reference to the need for a synth to cover 80s classics. The Deepmind can do all sorts of other stuff...

In my experience the best bang for the buck to get the retro vibe going without buying an old classic is the Behringer Deepmind 12 (about 4-500) The Deepmind has a bit of menu diving but is a great synth with a Juno-Esque sound and the all important filters and envelope controls on the front. Cheaper (but you need a controller) would be the Roland DSP clones of the old classic (JU-06 etc) which will sound great in a band context...

Can't believe I just wrote an essay on pointless best of lists in a discussion about pointless best of lists 🤪

Haven't read through the thread as yet but just noticed Tim Quy from Cardiacs passed away yesterday. Such a shame about both Tims (band leader Tim Smith died in 2020 after a long illness). I saw them in the tiny Herne Hill Half Moon as a kid in 86/88 and they blew my brains out. Such an incredible band and probably my preferred variant in the prog rock arena. Amazing.

I’ve had a few XL2s over the years. Two were straight as a die and one arrived bowed. The explanation when I tried to get it fixed was that it can happen due to heat exposure. Maybe a rare occurrence?

Apparently a Steinberger will do a banana impression if it's exposed to excessive heat e.g. a couple of hours in a hot car. I recently saw a nice XL2 for sale that had a nasty bow on a UK guitar site. Pretty fatal unless you're happy playing exclusively on the lower 5 or so frets;) Again, like the bendy Rics, there is a potential cure via heat treatment, but it's very expensive and often doesn't work

I had a banana neck V63 that I had a very good luthier give the block/heating treatment to and it didn't work. Shame, as it was a great bass in all other respects. The moral of the story is to look at the bass from the side and avoid if the action at the neck/body intersection is mid or high. My '78 skinny neck' 4001 was perfect though, and had always been string with rounds. Lovely bass. Being neck-collapse-aware also goes for Steinbergers, they can collapse in the middle if subjected to too much heat...been there once!

In the absence of a good teacher, this Rufus Reid DVD will help you focus on sound production, using the body and proper hand shape etc to get a good sound without overstraining your fingers etc. His left hand guidance is essential to avoiding trashing the tendons in your hand https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evolving-Bassist-DVD-Rufus-Reid/dp/0757915655

Ah yes of course, I forgot they went to Pau Ferro. That is much harder. If your fretless is a really nice bass, not a bad idea to get the fretboard swapped out for ebony. It was less expensive than I expected it to be. The results were fab as well and def scratched that itch.

It was born as a fretted rosewood 'Ray but I had the Bass Gallery replace the board with fretless ebony with side lines. I spent years looking for a fretless Ray but they are a) rare and crazy expensive and b) rosewood is not up to much as a wood for fretless to my taste. This one is absolutely killer...Sings and has 'that tone'

Here are my two from 1989 (the only electric basses I own). Very effective as a G.A.S remedy (although I still get the odd attack)

I too had a love hate relationship with 'Rays. But I discovered through extensive trial and error that I hate 3 bands and love 2 bands. I used a three band extensively in the studio and live in the nineties and it was clicky/boomy struggle. Roll forward to about a decade ago and I found the Stingray motherlode with a 2 band Classic. I discovered that a great sound out of the 2 band is all about nickel strings -> letting them bed in -> rolling the treble knob off just enough to tame the zing and keeping the bass knob about halfway or a tad above that. Amazing punch, lo-mids and definition (maple fretboard for me of course) That was my big moment of clarity. YMMV of course!

I had the pleasure of owning a German Club for a while. Had to move it on as it was too expensive to be a 'core bass' but that was a beautiful instrument. Just wonderful. Played like a dream and recorded incredibly well

I like the look of those Hofner Clubs

One of the greats. Otherworldy. Cheers!

That looks very nice!