markorbit

Yes indeed that's one of the three voicings. I've not heard a 'that's the sound in my head' demo yet though.

i've always had a fondness for the Marshall Super Bass or whatever Bruce Foxton used in the late 70s/early 80s.

My Fender American Standard P5 B string isn't the best. It's less noticeable when the strings are new but that B is duller than the others. It's not a pickup thing as you can tell acoustically.

For anyone interested my SP1 -5 comes in at 8.83 Ibs. First impressions - it certainly doesn't feel like a P. The fanned frets and shallower neck carve make it feel more like a boutique bass. It's only when your eyes drift to the right and you see the pickups that you go 'ah yes, it's a P'. My Fender P5 is chunkier and has that 'I'm a P' vibe immediately. It's a very light one at 8.5 Ibs. Different vibes. One is a real P and the other is a 'nicer' bass approximating a P with a slinky, modern finger style in it's alternative settings. it's a good combination to have in a single bass. Acoustically it has more clarity. I notice that more on the E. The B is better too. The gigbag quality is reassuring. I'm just debating trying some flats on it.

Every time I see a white one I start to question my choice of vintage sunburst... but I'm not cracking... just yet!

I toured a MkIV AH250 through a red stripe 4x10 back in the day. Wonderful amp although 20 years later I acquired the same model for nostalgic reasons and the sound wasn't how I remembered it. I got into the SMX 12 band stuff with the tube and the dual-band compressor. That was my favourite preamp and I'm not sure if anybody has bettered it. Power ratings are so unpredictable. I hear people complaining today that a relatively recent 300w Class D head is hitting it's limits. 300w seemed a lot in the 80s.

£2099 for the Vintage Sunburst. Not sure if that's a mistake. Once I saw the GuitarGuitar prices (£2299) and after speaking to Andertons I didn't think they would stay under £2k for very long. Another price increase before too long wouldn't surprise me either. I remember when some Canadian basses would come in under £2k!

When I was browsing around the other day I did notice that they weren't the lowest in the UK for the John Taylor model. I've not seen the SP1 near the Bass Direct price though.

35" on the B is better than 34". The E is just over 34" which I think will be a minimal improvement. The rest of the strings are less than 34" which will hopefully make them fuller-sounding so it all makes sense for a Precision vibe. I hope the combination of fanned frets and overall reduced scale length doesn't make the high frets too condensed for the odd chord up there. Regarding the graphic above on playing position v pickup angles - you have to also factor in how close you are to the bridge. I can't help thinking the way to play a DIngwall is to adapt a technique which moves forward as you switch to the higher strings.

It's not compatible with me neither. I had high hopes for a Vintage Ultra but was so disappointed. I will check out the videos of this but Darkglass are on my 'nope, won't be for me' list. I don't really do digital without a fight either 🙂

Just revisiting this thread. When this auction ran and it's selling point was 'it was used on All Mod Cons' I thought Bruce had replaced it after that. I especially like the one he used on the Trans-Global Express gig from 1982 that was filmed and released on video. Upon closer inspection it is the same bass unless he also modified more than one black/maple P the same way. Assuming he didn't THIS is the Bruce bass to own.

I thought they sold that one. Yes, if I had the money...

I remember Sting's fretless Dark Stain one. Think it was model MC940DS. He always had a phaser on it. Sounded fab and the fact he was a bit loose with the note pitch didn't seem to matter! Edit: Apparently it's a MC900DS modified to fretless!

Yes, you are 'The Bass Centre' in 2025 🙂

Just reminiscing. There were some crackers weren't there. I remember visiting the Bass Centre in Wapping numerous times and seeing Steinbergers, Status's and Wals. I bought a lovely Wal Pro 2E Cherry second-hand for I think... 300 quid. If I had a time machine and some funds I'd go back and get a Status S2000 in black weave preferably with the script font on the brass bridge plate. I love the look of early Status basses. All shiny and new. We were spoiled.

Passive is my preference. Extensive tone tweaks can usually be done elsewhere and I don't have to worry about batteries and electronics that I didn't need going wonky. If I have the urge for an active bass it's a plus if it also has a passive mode and it's quite a big deal that it can still function if the battery dies. When I hear a good demo of a good Fender Precision I ask 'why would you need anything else'?

Shipping & duties will add around £500 by my reckoning.

I didn't think you could use two discount codes but you can. It makes the price for the stock five-string an attractive £2070.29 and that supposedly includes import duties and taxes. There are only 4 days left for the additional discount code. Tempting.

Haha... fantastic. Great story! Yes completely unnecessary. Thanks for the insights Brad.

Nice to see you here Brad. One album you played on gets a reissue this month - Toyah's 'Love Is The Law'. Phil Spalding plays on the other tracks. I think you did the prep at Toyah's house in Whetstone.

Just getting interested in these, especially the V. Sadly what constitutes 'affordable' these days is still fairly pricey. Watched lots of youtube demos and I think they sound good. I've always liked carbon necks for their clarity and consistency. I quite like the 4 string micro-headstock with the straight string pull. I also like the G&L can-opener. The Klos Apollo reminds me of a cross between Status, Dingwall and EBMM. Only thing I'm not sure about is the carbon pickguard and knobs (on the custom) but they could be changed. I'd probably go passive.

Could have all been in a straight line with the left footswitch. Reasons.