Marc S

Yes the Vintage quite surprised me in its' quality and playability / comfort I must say As anzoid says, the relicing wasn't the best - though I didn't think it was rubbish - just not as good / convincing as the Roadworn Jazz Again though, this may depend on whether you like road-wear / relicing anyway I think for the money (especially a decent 2nd hand price) I'd be prepared to live with the relicing on the Vinatge - if I could live with the weight, what with my ageing shoulders

Exactly what stingrayPete says above. I can't believe a tutor would refuse to teach you because of your choice of bass - that's really quite unbelievable In any case, I don't think that is a stick bass, as it does have a resonant chamber / body There are some great instructional videos on YouTube, Geoff's being some stand out examples. Watch as many as you can, but get some lessons early on too That's a nice looking bass you have there - congratulations on your purchase, and best of luck with your exciting new journey

I used to have a VM fretless Jazz, and it was an amazing bass for the money. Actually, I now have an MIJ Fender J fretless, which is also lovely The Fender cost considerably more than the Squier (obviously) but IMO, it isn't 2 or 3 times better (not that I'm now complaining about the Fender - I'm keeping it, it's my "forever" fretless) I must admit, there have been times when I wish I'd kept the Squier - it was rather good Re Sire, I only recently tried one (admittedly a fretted version) and was blown away by the quality of build, especially given the 2nd hand prices I've seen some of them go for. So my only other suggestion was to maybe swap the electrics on a Sire - possibly with some second-hand passive pickups + circuitry. Then again, that may add some further cost into the equation..... IMHO, a decent 2nd hand Squier VM is the best option I've seen. Again, you could upgrade the stock pickups (though the ones in mine were OK) Let us know what you decide, and good luck with your search EDIT: As ezbass suggests above, the Vintage fretless is another option. I did try a fretless one, and was impressed - though I do recall it being quite heavy compared to the Squier

My first bass was also a Kay. A really terrible almost-Rick-copy-type-thing It was utterly, utterly terrible, and I've seen a few for sale on a well known auction site, at really inflated prices - I mean £200 - £300 If I found one for about £2 or £3 I might pick it up, just for a trip down memory lane, and to ad fuel to my garden bonfire Discreet is quite right, budget instruments these days are streets ahead of the Kay type stuff that was around years ago EDIT: Of course your Kay bass may be much better than the one I had. I'm not suggesting you burn it - who knows what was in the paint back then?

Yes, I know. Of course, Kraftwerk didn't "invent" electronic music - far from it. They were among other German bands pioneering the Genre, bands like Tangerine Dream But for me, Kraftwerk were among the first, if not the first to make electronic music more dance-able, more pop orientated. So many bands, even bands whose style is / was so very different from one another, cite Kraftwerk as a major influence. What I liked as much as anything was that although he's in his 70's he's clearly still experimenting and exploring music and sounds, and he so obviously enjoyed playing that gig. And there were less than 200 in the crowd (It's a small room, in a club with several bars and venues within the same club). His book was for sale on the Merch stand, but I went for the poster and CD album. As soon as I left the venue, I was thinking I should have got a copy of the book. I will make sure I get myself a copy in the near future - thanks for letting me know you liked the book Frank Blank

Never saw one of these in the flesh. I had a Westone Thunder Jet back in the day - great bass that was In fact, I've seen many a Westone for sale lately, that I've considered under-priced (they really are great 80's Japan quality basses) But at that price, it seems very expensive. Still, if you really want one, there can't be too many around for sale out there....

Wolfgang Flur, (ex Kraftwerk) last Friday night, in a small club in Cardiff He's now over 70, but still full of energy (more movement / dancing than he did in Kraftwerk) Great songs & accompanying videos, met him afterwards for a signed CD + poster. Nice fella too

Yes, a bit of buying, selling & trading is how I've come to learn what I like best - by way of basses and amp gear. It has taught me a lot, and GAS is a huge part of that... even though one of the lessons has taken me around full circle But even going full circle, and getting back to where you were a few years back is a journey - you come to appreciate why you like "bass A" or "bass B", amp A etc Really like the title of this thread

Interesting Paul S. I hadn't realised you'd "strayed" into the world of upright bass. It's a slippery slope, which is fraught with further GAS induced moments, beware! I'm not familiar with the Dean EUB myself, so I'm not sure what the piezo arrangement looks like. It sounds like you've found an interesting solution though Paul - and I don't know why the copper tape would help.... except as you say, it bulks the strings out and may improve contact area... Would another tape material work as well? Would it improve matters even more if you added even more copper tape? I was going to suggest that the un-evenness might be due to the strings. I've found that on some DB's, certain string types just seem to be weaker on one string, more so than another Try some different strings on the same bass - hey presto, it's much more even. I've found this more the case with lower tension strings on certain basses. What is the tension like in those strings Paul?

5? you wait just a little while Pea Turgh.... you wait Would like to see that Jag build - is there a thread?

Just resurrecting this old thread, as I was wondering whether anyone else has bought one of these smart looking speakers, and what your thoughts are? Are you still using yours Mr Bassman? Still liking it? I wish there was one of these near me somewhere - so I could give it a whirl I'm still sorely tempted by them, but would love to hear one before pulling the trigger

Actually Newfoundfreedom - you can sell it to Mr Discreet for £139 Glad you pulled the trigger. I think if you hadn't - you may have regretted letting it slip through your fingers. At least this way, you can have a play around with it and sell it on if you don't like it, or you can't get the sound you're after It's funny, but some Squier VM pickups seem really good, others are OK (But from the VM series, they're always adequate or better, I find) You could trawl the BC marketplace for some second-hand pickups to try, and start experimenting I know what you mean re your comment too - I also think the SS Jaguar looks great. It seems the SS proportions work well - perhaps the body shape just suits the shorter neck? PS. None of us actually "needs" another bass - but you are now a member of the BC Subgroup "Too many basses, but perfectly happy for it to stay that way / searching for another bass anyway gang"

As Hooky_lowdown asks; Is it the long, or short scale version of the Jag? - As they will both sound different And as discreet says; If a bass has a typical split pickup, in the position a P bass normally has its' pickup - then it will sound like a P bass But the quality and / or brand of the pickup will also effect the sound. I've heard a Squier Jag, fitted with decent pickups and it sounded superb Personally, I like the P/J pickup arrangement - You can solo the neck pickup, for a P bass sound, and you can add a bit of Jazz "honk" to taste, if and when you want - it's not quite the same as a bass with 2 Jazz pickups, but IMO it's a flexible arrangement, with nice tonal options It's not for everyone, of course. But at that sort of price, well you can afford to experiment with some pickups and even restore the bass back to its' original state if you don't like it or want something else ..... and you'd probably get back what you paid for the bass too

If what you're looking at, appears dodgy from on-line photos, then it probably is "dodgy" When buying privately, I prefer to actually go & see the item (if it's an expensive item like a guitar) or arrange to meet somewhere mutually convenient, if that's possible I've bought several basses from people on here, and it's pretty much the most reliable place for 2nd hand gear. Again though, I usually like to try before I buy.... Other than that, I'd use a reputable dealer, or a guitar shop with a known reputation Definitely look before you leap, and get as much background info about the guitar beforehand EDIT: As Beedster says above "shops can be dodgy too" - hence my comment about using a shop you know to have a good reputation (these shops won't usually want to risk their reputation)

Four hours is indeed a long time to be rehearsing. But if you're that keen, and feel you're improving - then it's worthwhile having longer sessions In truth, my playing would probably improve, if I had any chance of getting a four hour home practice session in..... sadly, I don't get that sort of time Or else, if / when I have that sort of time, rather than concentrate or focus on anything in particular - I have a whole stack of new songs to learn Welcome to the wonderful world of bass. And I'm glad that you realise it's a different instrument - many guitarists think bass is just a "simpler type of rhythm guitar" Also good to hear you've already thought about lessons - a good tutor can guide you well, focus where you should be improving, and hone your style Best of luck, and welcome to BC

Sorry to be late to reply - but I've only just seen this thread. There have been other, similar threads, or at least similar answers in the past, to this very question I'm not really a bower either. I have tried, but my first experience of bowing was with Silver Slaps, and it sounded dreadful (which probably contributed partly, to putting me off) I found the strings seemed to roll quite a lot, and the bow just ended up "screeching" quite a bit too. I thought it was partly due to the low tension nature of the Silver Slaps, But other BC'ers mentioned lightly sanding / roughening the strings over the area where the bow would be in contact with the strings They said this improved bowing quite a bit. I didn't try this though - I did fear damaging the strings, or the bow hairs.... or both. Perhaps someone who has actually done this may care to comment? Innovation also do a set called "honeys" which have a metallic outer coating, and are slightly higher tension than the Silver and Gold Slaps oddly enough, I did once have these strings on a bass I bought, but never tried bowing them at the time. Again, don't know if anyone on here has tried Bowing Innovation Honeys? - would be good to hear your thoughts On another note, re your bow; I was chatting to a pro DB player just the other night. He was telling me that a lot of Bow players like to use heavy bows, and if they have a lightweight bow, they tend to add lead weights to each end - which he said improves "contact". This may also be worth experimenting with? - Just a thought.... Let us know how you get on. I found Bowing much harder than it looks

Not tried those Olympia strings Maude But I can say, I have felt that "drag" with flatwounds in the past - it's one reason I tended to avoid them I can also say with confidence, there's definitely no drag with the Adagio Flats

Indeed Maude, and the whole purpose of a thread on inexpensive flats is to let others know of what's out there, and to alert others as to what's good value or worth a punt Bridgehouse, you may know what flats you like or prefer - but there are many out there who haven't tried flats or avoid them because the one set they tried... they didn't like At £11 or £12 a shot - the Adagio's are amazing value - are they a quarter as good as Thomastik's, which are £50+ a set? - No! They sound and play great! My bass with adagio's, sounded better than my bass with TI's on at my last gig In fact, I bought my TI's from someone on here who paid full price.... and didn't like them. I'd say, at £50+ with P&P, that's an expensive experiment, if you then decide you don't like them Even selling them on to me, at under £30 inc P&P that's a loss of 2 sets of ADagio's A while back, I tried a set of Steve Harris sig flats, at £30+ a set, and I really didn't like them.... and that's 3x sets of Adagios - plus, it put me off flats for a while, so the more expensive strings were counter-productive, for me I'm definitely going to try a lighter gauge set of the Adagio's soon. And at that price, if they last a long time - they're superb value, great sounding strings And far from being a "compromise" they're a contender for my Flatwounds of choice