Lfalex v1.1

Finish looks like it's suffering from "orange peel", I'd take it back.

Put rubber feet on the same side of both cabs and lay them sideways in a stack? Yes, yes! I know the badges will be sideways! Or do the castors pop out?

Battered basses? Not for me. Breadcrumbs make for a healthier option.

They've been recouping the cost of that CMA fine in advance...

I use Elixir strings on my Fortress MM5 and Infinty SN4. I used them on my Streamer LX6 when I had it. I've never had any issues, and I've been using 130s as B strings alongside 45,65,80,100 G,D,A & E respectively.

Doesn't quite fit the bill, but I ran an Ampeg SVP-PRO (pre-amp) into a QSC power amp. That sounded like a valve preamp should when pushed into OD/distortion that used 3x AX7 and an AU7. No Solid State option in there, but the clean sound was fine.

Babooshka- Kate Bush. I like it because of the bass line. And, to a lesser extent, the lyrics. The rest of the song is er.... Not so good.

In every iteration of this news I've read, it only mentions "guitars" Does this mean we, as bassists, are exempt from Fender's retail price maintenance? No? Thought not..

Another beater favourite (though it's in good nick) is my Ibanez EDB605. Yep. A plastic bass. Neck is very slim and truss rod needs a tweak from time to time, but tonally it's great, if a bit cold-sounding. Inspired by this thread, I slackened the strings enough to get the ball-ends out of the bridge and shoved a couple of bits of corrugated card under the neck pick-up as it's always been too low. Adjusted it properly for string-to-string volume and BAM! Now it's really good. Especially for £150.

I picked up a Warwick '97 Fortress Masterman 5 a while ago as mid-price beater to preserve the better basses for nicer jobs such as home practice and recording. It's proven to be a firm favourite. Tough, dependable and sits well in the mix (think Stingray) If it is a shade heavy, the balance is excellent, thanks to that epic long upper horn...

This. Or find a suitable replacement neck in fretless?

That is awesome. But for some reason it screams "make me into a P/P" instead of a P/J...

Could've been worse. His name could've been Smith. 😉

These look interesting... But The difficulty of getting your favourite brand/type of string in double ball-ache format would put me off. Particularly if you've got the multi-scale 6-er. Been there, seen the movie, got the T shirt with a Status. Even if it's got string clamping screws at the top, it's still a real pain. A pity, because DBE strings can feel really nice in terms of tone, feel and consistency.

Just cheat and bend the G string up that last semi-tone!

If you're referring to the phenolic fretboard with regard to the delamination issue, my Vigier and Yamaha have been fine. My Status' fretboard, on the other hand, was disintegrating before my very eyes. Just keep the fretboard dry and clean and wipe off any sweat. Use a microfibre cloth, but no chemicals or polishes.. As for the modern tone, it can be tamed with the passive tone control on the bridge pickup. String choice can help with this, too, but I guess flats would be a bridge too far!

As an owner of 3, but now 2 Warwicks plus a Vigier Passion 5 s3... Get the Vigier. Especially if it's an s2. More Warwicks will be along later if necessary. In my experience in the studio, the Vigier is much more controllable in the mix and is a doddle to play for extended periods. The same is true for live work. It naturally cuts though better. Not to do the Warwicks down, but they're less consistent from one bass to the next, and the weight/ neck profiles might be an issue for s some. The Warwicks can sound mighty impressive in isolation, but less balanced than the Vigier. My Vigier is really smooth sounding but with bags of headroom if needed (18v EQ) and sounds less impressive until it gets into a mix/band setting. Hope that helps, and good luck!

That's quite lovely. Whilst I like the brushed metal pickup covers, I don't think they'd like me! Corrosion ahoy! Re; The spec sheet.. "Rechargeable lithium battery" Is that in place of the usual 9v or is it something different? I presume it's removable for charging? And does it power both the side LEDs and the EQ? So many questions!

Hmm, vaguely interesting. More seriously, is it Warwick (Germany) doing the building, or their Asian counterpart? This further brings into question the reason for the change. If they can produce the Metro at the same quality at a lower cost, will that saving be passed on to the consumer or contribute to Sadowsky's profits. I can't see how German production costs can significantly undercut the Japanese operation. More questions than answers, there, I'm afraid! Not sure if it's good news or not!

Second hand? Who knows what might turn up? (Edit- beat me to it, Russ!)

I've never not liked most Warwicks I've played. I've only owned German-made ones, and only sold the Streamer LX6 because I had to. My Fortress MM5 is a formidable Stingray alternative, and the Infinity SN4 is superb. Pros; Build quality, reliability, availability of parts and spares. Woody, growly sound, more so from the natural finished ones. TheWenge necks are lovely once played-in Plenty of choice at reasonable prices on the second-hand market. Cons; The Just-a-nut 2 is very fragile. It's been superceded by the 3. Nothing wrong with the JAN 1. The "barrel" Jack sockets aren't the best design ever, but can be replaced. They can be HEAVY! *other heavy basses are available. Some designs are a bit... Idiosyncratic. Thumbs jump off of my lap if I'm seated! Natural wood (unfinished) needs waxing and supposedly might dry out and crack. I've never seen it, though! Some confusion in the range since production has moved to Asian locations. You can easily tell if it's German-made from the woods, quality and finish. Some MEC pickups are funny shapes and can't easily be replaced by other manufacturers' units. The MEC EQs are functional enough, but not brilliant. The headstock design is blobby! My favorites? Dolphins, any of the Infinitys, neck-thru Streamers and Thumbs. The Jazzman pick-up configuration and J/TJ layout. That MEC twin jazz pickup!!

In my quitting experiences, it's nearly always been the primary songwriter's out-of-control ego that's precipitated the collapse of the bands in question. i) They sacked the "lead" guitarist, who was a lovely, unassuming and really talented guy. He really could play. This caused a lot of ill-feeling so he was axed. I attended one disastrous rehearsal afterwards and resigned by e-mail with no gigs booked. Things got worse when the described behaviour resulted in the the drummer and new bassist going. ii) At a charity gig, our de facto band-leader was a complete derrière about us not being prominent enough on the flyers/posters. The drummer and I were appalled at how he ripped into the organisers despite us telling him not to. We conspired to leave in unison after the said charity gig. After the gig, we apologised for his behaviour to the organisers while he was there and quit there and then. The band folded and is no more. I've been fired a couple of times in favour of more "malleable" and younger bassists, and a couple of bands collapsed when members emigrated.. I'd try to resign without anything in the calendar and no other commitments. Every time.

I'd need Elixirs or they'd start corroding! 😂

Maybe the elves could wind faster?

Mine. A 1996 series III 5-string. Still as good as new! Those stainless frets seem to last forever! Still sporting the Kahler bridge, Benedetti single coils and the original Quasi parametric EQ.