jezzaboy

Got a black one meself, and as said already, the build quality is typical Japanese Fender. Bloomin good! Mine is quite heavy and the active bass and treble are basically an off/on switch. Also when playing a gig with a decent size lighting set up, mines buzzes like mad when in active mode. The neck is great and it is very stable over the course of a gig. Regarding the buzzing, if you check Harmony Central there is some advice on how to cure this as Fender dont want to know apparently. Personally, if I was looking for a Fender I would go for the Geddy Lee jazz as I havent heard a bad word about it. Also the guy from The Killers gigs one and Nick Seymour from Crowded House and he rates the Geddy highly. Jez

Thanks folks for all the replies, they are mucho appreciated. Regarding the G&L L2000 tribute, I had one of those, lovely natural finish, paid £250 for it and sold it for the same and regreted it almost right away. And guess what bass I seen in a picture on this site, yep, the bass I sold! The only store that I can find that sells them online is Hartnoll guitars and the price has gone up to £600. Anybody recomend anywhere else? I am going to look at either the mm or the G&L. So, cheers for all your input. Jez

Been playing Fenders of all descriptions for years noo and need a change. I am looking at getting either a stingray or a Status smart bass with mm and p pickups. Never having owned either of these types of basses, can you give me your opinions, especially on the Status as I really fancy one. Also, I have a Ashdown mag 300 combo and am thinking of changing it in the future. Would the Trace elliot 715 be a good bet as I need something portable and not too heavy as I stay in a flat. Cheers

[quote name='JDM' post='362039' date='Dec 23 2008, 02:57 PM']Thanks for the welcome. I shall take your comments on board as I begin to have a sniff around for a suitable tool which shall be after Christmas. I have recently looked at the Squier and shall investigate further. Is the EB-3 exceptionally neck heavy for all users or does the players build and stature come into it regarding being able to compensate for this ? Best Regards, Jon.[/quote] Jon I would stay away from the epi as not only is it neck heavy as mentioned, the sound aint that good unless you are looking for a 60`s type sound, if you get me drift. The tone controls dont do much and are a bit cheap and nasty, so, for slightly more than the cost of the epi, you should try a classic vibe squire, p bass or a jazz, they are both excellent. Having owned an eb03 and a epi thunderbird, they look cool but are mince to live with. Try a cheap Ibanez, a gsr200 or similar. Great build quality, active pickups. Good luck! Jezza

[quote name='martthebass' post='345842' date='Dec 4 2008, 08:33 PM']+1 Let's be sensible, the old bent piece of tin design was perfectly acceptable for a few decades. Would you take it off a '62 Jazz? If you want improved engineering etc buy something else - probably won't sound like a Fender tho.[/quote] Never mind the debate about badass versus standard lads and lassies! In my local dealer, Merchant city music, the price of a h1 p bass has gone from 499 to 599! Likewise, a standard p has gone from 339 to 499! And their prices are usually the best in Glasgow. Thre is no excuse for these kind of prices! Thank god I have bought enough gear the noo and at these sort of prices Mr Fender can stick them where the sun dont shine. Time to invest in another ibanez methinks!

Guys and Gals! At the moment I have 6 basses on the go. In no particular order they are Jap 57 p bass, ibanez sr500, vintage musicman copy, epi thunderbird, Mike Dirnt squire p bass with upgraded pick up and gotoh bridge and highway 2 jazz. At gigs I usually pick up the jazz or jap p as they look good and are dependable but the ibanez is fantastic! Had a few soundgear`s before but as has been mentioned elsewhere, the pick ups were designed for playing metal and sound crap on anything else. The bartolins on the 500 are superb and I would play this all the time if I didn`t have the fenders. As for the thunderbird, I only bought it cause of Pete Way of UFO fame. It`s a dog to play as you need to wear it doon at your knees to make it balance half decent, but its loud for a passive bass. Also, never buy one if you are a shortarse! As for the vintage, it lies around in it`s bag from one gig to another as my back up. Really, I wish I was like Herbie Flowers and just used the one bass but you see something and you just have to have it! Here`s a picture of Fred the fender [attachment=10620:SUNP0055.JPG]