alexa3020

There’s a Peavey mini mega 1000w class D on eBay that you could get for £250ish. I don’t know too much about them, but seems like a reasonably good deal. Looks like it has a load of features though - which I know you probably wouldn’t use

I really didn’t get on with BQ 500. My first impressions were good - a very neutral sounding head, so ideal for putting preamp pedal in front of it. But to me it just didn’t sound and feel right at band volume. Whether that’s a class D thing or not, I don’t know, but it was enough for me to go back to class a b. Of all the class D heads i tried in shops, I liked the Aguilar TH, markbass lmiii & Ashdown RM. The most neutral sounding head of the above is lmiii

I’m sure they do, I was referring to Chinese made squiers. There was a definite lack of quality on the one I tried

This looks useful. Thanks

Thanks for all the responses. thanks for the links to the serial number checker. I did check the serial number prior to purchase, and everything checked out. this is an interesting question and probably another topic, here’s my take; I do think that people buy off photos alone, and with regard to a p bass, it’s probably easier to find parts that look right. Also, there are some excellent squiers/copies out there - perhaps not the chinese ones, but I recently played an Indonesian one which was very good. Every now and then you’ll get one that plays and feels lovely. US p bass is likely to hold its value/appreciate. This is interesting - I shall do my research.

I’ve recently purchased my first ‘pre loved’ bass - a musicman stingray. I bought it off a chap who trades a lot of vintage guitars. During the purchase, the thought did cross my mind - what if this is fake? So I did my research and I’m as confident as I can be that it’s the real deal - but I’m no expert. Probably unlikely, but It occurs to me that if someone knows what they’re doing, they could take some of the hardware off a broken bass, add it to a cheaper body and neck, then sell it off as the real deal. Particularly a P bass for example. I basically checked that everything looked correct (bridge, neck, backplate, serial number, battery compartment, etc). The bass in question is in the link below: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ernie-ball-Musicman-Stingray-bass-4string-3EQ-with-original-hardcase-/384268166122?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0 Does this type of thing worry anyone else? Was there anything else I could or should have done before purchasing? I should add I did try before I bought and it played beautifully and sounded great (so perhaps it’s irrelevant). I will probably buy some more used basses in the future so it would be good to know if there are any other checks you can do thanks Alex

Thanks for the explanation.

I’m looking at buying a second hand stingray. It looks to be in great condition. However, I’m just wondering if anybody in the know can tell me what the deal with the finish on the neck. It almost looks like it’s made of 2 separate bits joined together. is it normal for them to be finished like this?

Rufusized, by Rufus & Chaka Khan. Heard Chaka Khan many times before, but wasn’t aware of Rufus at all. What a great band & the cover of stop on by is top.

Unfortunately the one I’m using doesn’t have any LEDs. I did have a play around with headphones & managed to get my head round what was going on. So I have a rough idea on what I want. I doubt I’d be able to hear what was going on if playing at band volume though

Tc vintage compressor fitted to pedal board. Let’s see how it goes

You probably have a point. Perhaps the only advantage will be that I can have it at the start of my signal chain. I probably wouldn't go out and buy a pedal, but given that I already have one, I think I'll have a little play and see how I get on. The TC vintage comp is a copy of the T rex Comp Nova all the vids I have found on youtube are with guitars - Hopefully that doesn't matter. I'm guessing there's no real difference between a compressor for guitars and bass

It’s just basic subtle compression I’m after. I didn’t realise I would find it that useful, until I used it. Now I’m thinking am I missing out on something. Glad I have found the Tc to play about with. The guide from @MuddBass is excellent too.

Thanks for the resource - I'll take a look. Since writing the post, I have remembered I bought a TC Electronic vintage compressor years ago - which I think I still have (will have to do some hunting). I don't know if its decent or not but at least I should be able to experiment with it