Misdee

Wal necks are, as I remember them, pretty chunky and barrel-like, for want of a better term. They are certainly nothing like the shallow D of a Stingray, more like a slightly narrower chunky Precision.

Hard to whittle it down to five, but John McVie, Graham Maby, George Murray, David Hood and Robbie Shakespeare all inspired me when I first started playing and still do now, decades later.

I too have absolutely no desire to get involved in a political discussion - I'm way past saturation point with all this Brexit business - and as someone else has pointed out, that horse has already bolted. The fact is that the pound will not be recovering to pre -Brexit levels any time in the foreseeable future, not least of all because many in the financial markets believe that sterling was grossly over-valued for most of the last 35 years. They would see the current exchange rate as a far more accurate valuation of the pound, especially in relation to the US dollar. This is significant for the price of musical equipment not just from the USA but also from the Far East, where trade with the West is usually conducted in US dollars, regardless of the final destination of the goods. The big question is whether, in the longer term, manufacturers will have to rethink their pricing structures for the UK market. Conceivably, there may come a point where American guitars become priced out of the market in Britain and sales fall off drastically. Companies like Fender will have to make a decision whether to cut profit margins or see their sales dwindle, leaving them with 100% of nothing. I am brassed - off myself because I've been saving for a new MM Stingray and now can't even bring myself to find out what the post- Brexit prices are. My only hope is that Sterling Ball takes pity on America's closest ally and cuts us a special deal. I am not, however holding my breath!

Feedback thread for Misdee - comments and suggestions gratefully received.

I've been reading this thread with interest, despite the fact that these basses don't really appeal to me in so much as Shell Pink would have to be one of my least favourite Fender custom colours, and although I quite like Flea as a bass player that is not enough to get me to buy what is essentially just another vintage Jazz Bass copy. I wouldn't buy a bass with fake wear on it either, but that's just me being a grumpy old man. This may be an apocryphal tale, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that some young pup of an internet billionaire bought the 61 Shell Pink Jazz for Flea as a gift to his most esteemed musician. Someone told him that this was the rarest and most valuable bass that there was, so he bought it as a present. Flea promptly put stickers on it and proceeded to beat hell out of it in his inimitable style. That's punk rock for you. Regarding the stack knobs v VVT configuration in terms of tone, I know that many bass players favour one arrangement over the other, including such notables as Jaco Pastorius and John Entwhistle, but I'll be damned if I can hear a difference. Either one will sound like a Jazz Bass.

I went to see Rainbow at the first ever Monsters Of Rock at Donnington in 1980 (!). That was the era of Graham Bonnett as singer and Roger Glover on bass, although I would have to say that the Dio/Daisley lineup was Rainbow's finest hour. L.A. Connection is still one of my all time favourite play- along tracks at home.

Thanks for that, Emmett. The Sunburst one is a looker, that's for sure. I've always wanted a '70's style Jazz and this looks like a fantastic example. Grateful if anyone else can share their impressions of these Basses.

I'm seriously interested in buying one of these basses, but I am very unlikely to be able to try one out, and will have to buy sight unseen. Is there anyone who has one of these basses, or even just had a go on one who can tell me just how chunky the "U" profile neck feels compared to a typical Jazz Bass. My current Jazz Bass is a 2012 American Standard with the Modern "C" profile, and that to me is already a bit on the chunky side compared to a typical 1960's era Jazz neck. I am not necessarily averse to a slightly bigger neck, but I haven't got the biggest hands and there is a limit to what I can comfortably cope with. Any other thoughts, observations or indeed recommendations about this particular model would be very gratefully received. Cheers

I had an Ampeg SCR DI, and I have to say, the sound was an acquired taste. Even without the Ultra-Hi button on, I found the treble very, very prominent and I had to cut the treble control to less than nine o'clock or it was just unlistenable with my Fender PJ - style bass. I am a fan of Ampeg gear, but to my ears at least, once you strip away the marketing hype, the reality is that the SCR doesn't sound very much like the classic designs we all know and love.