RussFM

They've owned Spector for a couple of years now too and they've been doing pretty well under them.

Semi-acoustic, or generally anything with binding on the body. I like the look of some of them, but they're just uncomfortable to play.

I used https://www.karaoke-version.co.uk/ recently. I only needed one song, but it allows you to customise the tracks, removing any instruments you don't want, easy to use and the track sounded good.

Yep, since buying a £350 G&L Tribute SB-2, my Fender American Standard Jaguar rarely gets taken out of it's case, I'm always reaching for the G&L first. It's lighter, and I love the sound of the MFD P pickup. Apart from a tuner upgrade, there's nothing that could justify the cost of upgrading to a US version.

I like Fender offsets, but this one's just a step too far for me. And I have a feeling it will be priced way higher than I'd consider it at.

I'd definitely recommend a G&L Tribute SB-2 for value for money. Indonesian budget but with USA pickups. I prefer the sound to a Squier for similar money. They're £489 at Andertons but £399 at Guitar Guitar. I'm still tempted by one of the Jazz style G&Ls too, starting at £329 or £399 with block inlays and scratchplate.

If something with MFDs comes back down to £350 it would be hard to say no!

Thanks all. I really didn't expect the Effects section to tell me I'd be better off with the Headrush 😁 I guess cost is a big factor here. The Headrush does so much for it's price point, and does it very well. I'll keep the idea in mind though and if a suitable preamp does come along at the right price then maybe that will be my starting point, but I'll hold onto the Headrush for now. As for the tuner, my band plays songs in three different tunings, and not all together in the set list, so there's lots of changing!

Confession time. In 20 years of playing in bands, I never had a single pedal. I then bought a Zoom B3 a few years ago, just for practising at home. When I joined my current band, I actually started using it, but found it a bit limited for getting the sounds from a couple of their old songs. I upgraded to a Headrush Gigboard and I'm really happy with it. But it got me thinking, I probably use 10% of it's capabilities, I have one rig set up and I switch between three effects. So what if I built a pedalboard? Here's my set up: Compressor - EQ - Chorus - Octaver - Ampeg SVT - Markbass 212 IR. In parallel I then split off to a Tube Screamer, a high gain guitar amp (not sure what it's modelled after!) and another IR for my distorted tone. That's blended about 60/40. If I sold the Headrush I'd probably get around £350. So let's set that as the budget, but I'm happy to buy all used gear. I think I'd need: 1) A preamp. Must have DI out, plus headphone out and aux in for home practice. 2) A compressor. It could be in the preamp. 3) A distortion. It could also be in the preamp? But must have a blend control, so maybe something separate like the Soul Food? 4) An octaver. The one I use is based on a Boss OC2, but guessing I'd need something cheaper. 5) A chorus - I currently only use this in one song, so can be something really cheap. 6) A tuner! What's missing - a small board and a power supply? Is there anything else to consider? I have used my Headrush to record through it's USB interface. Are there any preamp pedals with that built in? What order would I put them on the board? If I wanted to use the board to practice through at home, the preamp would need to be last to use the headphone out after the effects, perhaps I'd switch that back when I'm playing live?

Thanks everyone! I hadn't had chance to play it again until last night. I sat down with my tools to give it a proper inspection and set up. I took the neck off and noticed it had a two small strips of sandpaper as a shim. Not sure how they were set in there as they fell out when I unscrewed the neck, but I put the neck back on without them and noticed mine too then had a significant forward bow. The truss rod was stiff, but a quarter turn sorted it out. My saddles are now very low, I could perhaps give the truss rod another slight turn and raise them up, but it's playing nicely as it is. Certainly no corroded frets or missing screws though, it's all put together very well, shame you got a poor example Martin!

I've been looking to replace my Spector Legend Custom (now sold to vmaxblues), with something more Fender flavoured as a backup to my Fender American Standard Jaguar. After lots of research I settled on a G&L Tribute, taking advantage of Andertons Black Friday/Cyber Monday/'well it's Christmas soon' £100 discount (still available!). I usually play my Jaguar with just the P pickup, in active mode with a little bass and treble boost, which gives it a really grindy tone that cuts through well in a one-guitar rock band. I'd never played a G&L, but the MFD pickups sounded like they'd give me the tone I was looking for. I was almost tempted by the £399 L2000, that seems like a lot of bass for the money, but wasn't sure I'd get on with that wide neck, so decided to go for the SB-2 at £349, with the more familiar 38mm neck. Available in Sonic Blue with a maple board, or Black Frost with Brazilian cherry, I decided on the black. When I opened the box, I was a little disappointed and wished I'd gone for the Sonic Blue. Despite being described as 'a classy gloss finish', it's more of a matte/satin finish, like the old Fender Highway 1s. It already had a slight mark on it, and is a fingerprint magnet. However, after a quick play, I realised it's very comfortable for my pick playing, and as my budget backup, I don't mind at all if it gets some early natural wear. It's a little more unique than the common black gloss basses too, it looks great. Construction and quality wise, it's far ahead of the Squiers I've played. Better than the most of the Fender Mexican Standards too, though perhaps a step below the Fender Deluxe Active Jazz I used to have (why did I sell that!?). The neck is very smooth - I'd describe as very well sanded as opposed to a satin finish like my Jaguar. The fretwork is perfect, on quite a thick fretboard compared to my Fender. The Brazilian cherry looks like it has a more coarse grain than rosewood, but certainly more attractive than the pau ferro other brands have been using. It's a light bass, definitely under 9lbs, I'll weigh it over the weekend, but it balances perfectly on a strap. The sound is exactly what I was looking for. It's a punchy, well defined tone, like a boosted active P. It doesn't have a tone control, just two volumes. Bringing in the Jazz pickup rounds things out a little, taking off that edge. Rolling back the volumes gives a more vintage tone. There's no noise at all. Having US-made pickups in these Indonesian-made basses should have them flying off the shelves quicker than the Squiers for similar money, especially with the Fender price rises this year, but perhaps they're missing the familiar shape and Fender name. With these current discounts I might be tempted to buy another! L-2000 or JB-2 next? 😄

Met up with Stuart to hand over a Spector Legend Custom, great to deal with, thanks!

For 10-15 years I went from a passive bass straight into amp, and used the amp EQ, but so many times the sound engineers took the DI before the amp, I didn't like not having that control. These days I always prefer to use a preamp of some kind, either in a DI box with an EQ or now using a Headrush Gigboard. Ar least I know what I'm sending to the desk is what I'm used to hearing at home/rehearsals.