Delius

Yesterday I actually went shopping for a 2nd bass (having just sold fretless number 2, I was in the market for something with frets for the first time in a while). Key factor for me was versatility between a real retro sound and a real modern sound - partly because I've been spoilt by my G&L M2000 (which I [i]did [/i]manage to get for £1k all-in by importing it), and partly because I play a wide range of styles. I tried 4s & 5s from: Lull, Sandberg, Elrick, Dingwall, Mayones, Roscoe... and G&L Tribute, just to see how those compare to the "real" USA ones. I've got to say, I was very impressed by the Tribute range, much better than I expected. Obviously the rest in that list are well over a grand, and most of them played nicely, but for me the Roscoes (P/J) were the only ones that hit the G&L mark in terms of versatility. I then found a USA ASAT bass in the rack, S/H for under a grand; same electronics as the L2000. And suddenly I had "saved" £1500 compared with the Roscoe 5-string I was about to shell out on. I think I'll be looking out for one second-hand in a year or so though...

Aside from some of those already mentioned (relic work, gold hardware, headlessness) - one thing I just can't get myself to like is "wooden" pickup covers. It's also very rarely that I like a maple fingerboard... has to be just the right combination with the body. Silly really...

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1439208848' post='2840811'] Please play some other basses. [/quote] Ha! I'm sure I will at some point. I play lots of different instruments though so don't have time or space for more than a couple of bass guitars and I'm not really into getting rid of quality kit.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1439207276' post='2840784'] Ooh, I wonder what that was. Sounds lush. Or not, as it turned out. [/quote] Found the results of that one: [url="https://bassclef141.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/herts-bass-bash-2014/pbass-table_different-size/#main"]https://bassclef141.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/herts-bass-bash-2014/pbass-table_different-size/#main[/url]

I've had cause to wonder before about the rather large delta in pricing on quality basses, particularly second-hand, and whether there is really any tangible difference in quality as you ramp up in price - or if it's just a case of "whatever the market will bear" against a particular manufacturer or model. So, case in point - I've been a G&L man for nearly 20 years, and I think they are fantastic basses that represent great value for £1k-£1.5k (that said, I've only ever played Fender or G&L so I don't exactly have a lot to compare with). Looking at the marketplace and seeing basses from other quality manufacturers for around £2.5-3k, I sort of wonder even as my finger hovers over the PM button, "is it really worth double the price?". And I'm talking in terms of absolutely quality, not a personal preference thing. Say I pay £10k for a piano instead of £5k. It's almost certainly going to be a better instrument in some easily-definable way. Can this be the case with basses? As they are much simpler instruments and I would expect there comes a point where a bass just can't get any easier to play. This is not an entirely academic question as I'm actively looking at procuring another bass! I get that buying something more expensive now probably means you can sell it for more money later, but given my general aversion to selling ANYTHING that's not really a factor here. Would be interested in people's thoughts.

I just play my G&L. To be honest my Fender hasn't been out of its case for about 18 months - I just gave up trying to sell it!

Thanks to all for the input, very interesting. I think on balance I might just give it a go! The idea of switching between instruments and tunings doesn't bother me and I like the points about playing 'across the neck'. Will be buying 2nd-hand anyway so not too concerned about depreciation. The notes about string spacing were very useful too. I've heard that some B-strings are better than others. Any makes that are particularly outstanding (for better or worse) in that area?

Bass-wise I've been pretty much just playing fretless for the last 15 years, and indeed sold my fretted instruments about 5 years ago since I never used them, but have recently decided to get a fretted bass again, just to give me a couple more options and open up some different techniques. First instinct was just to get the fretted version of my G&L M2000, or maybe their MJ4, although I'm open other manufacturers (e.g. Sadowsky, Lull, Roscoe). Looking through the classified ads though, I see a lot of nice 5-strings out there. So that gets me wondering about maybe getting one - would be a bit more "different" from what I already have than just plonking some frets on it. The question though is, - why? I'm not bothered about extra notes (I tune D-A-D-G, so already have an extra tone down there) but maybe I'm missing something else about interesting/useful positions etc.? I guess I'm seeing the 5th string as a bit of a gimmick but that's from a position of ignorance so I'd be interested to hear people's reasons for getting - and sticking with - a 5-string. Any thoughts?

[quote name='davehux' timestamp='1376505062' post='2175170'] Lined fretless necks - like L plates but less useful [/quote] Oh God yes. HATE them.