Lw.

Thought I'd dredge this thread rather than starting a new one - I could do with some Fender based help please fellow basschatters...

Back Story; I've using my 5-string Warwick exclusively as my electric bass for about the last 10 years (though I do dabble with my acoustic a bit) but have recently found I have the urge to go back to 4-strings and have something with a bit more of that classic bass sound for times when the Warwick can be bit dominant (I love the Warwick sound but sometimes you don't want the brand of bass you play screamed over the track).

After playing around with a few options in shops I've decided on a passive Fender Jazz - while in the US I played one of those vintage re-issue blue with matching head-stock ones & instantly wanted it, but unfortunately it's out of my price range, so I thought maybe this would fulfill my needs; [url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-classic-series-60s-jazz-bass-lacquer-3-colour-sunburst/84068"]Classic 60's Lacquer[/url] - esp as everyone raves about the playabilitly of the Roadworns (this is a roadworn without the industrial sander being applied).

I finally tracked one down in a store & played it over the weekend - the sound was good but the neck was absolutely awful & the finish was quite poor (though maybe I've been spoiled by Warwick on these points?) - for this price I wouldn't be able (or inclined) to do any changes. It's left me unsure what to do in order to satisfy my desires! One option would be to wait for a Am Std to come up second hand that was suitable but am I mad for considering this second option;

Buy a Squire Vintage Modified then add Fender Custom Shop 60's pick-ups & get a nice neck made by Warmoth. This would come to about the same price as a classic 60's or a used Am Std but would it be as good? Are the rest of the electronics in the Squire good enough to be used like this?

Thanks!

It's worth sticking with it if you found any joy when playing. Bands/open mic things are good & help you engage but if no-one will play with you even playing along to the radio can be fun.

Then again, if you're not enjoying it it could be worth investing the time & money into something else like a sport or something. There's definitely a healthy balance to be found somewhere...

Could have sworn I'd dropped the price on this but maybe not!

Price drop to £140

I've moved house now so bass is Reading if you want a go, or I can meet you with it in central London during the week...

And people complain that they can't find any high-end left-hand basses, I think we now know who's been hording them!

Am I being blind? Where's the buy button?

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1394797719' post='2395325']
You mean sales-talk?

In a slow market, you have to try harder to sell your stuff. As long as there are no outright lies, I don't see a problem with people bigging up their for sale items!
[/quote]

Yeah I'm fine with sales talk but sometimes it seems that a few people either have or have sold x-brand of bass all putting the usual guff about "being the best version", "just as good, if not better than x" etc... and they've all convinced themselves the basses are worth more than they actually are.

Fine though, I'll always try to negotiate though the nature of negotiation is hard for one-off private sales as it's very one dimensional (as opposed to negotiating with shops or employers etc...).

I think the market has definitely slowed of late, some of it has to be down to hard financial times & the early stages of the year often being the tightest. But there does seem to have been a rise in the number of people asking WAY too much for their stuff! There's a few examples people all owning the same thing artificially inflating the prestige & value of their products - nothing particularly wrong with that but it's what I think is slowing the market.

I'm sure it'll settle down eventually, markets always do - I just hope it sorts itself out quickly as my new bass fund will be available next week!

Bottom one looks good - I don't think I've seen too many maple+white block necks about so makes a nice change.

Bump.

I think the tone of my bass is probably at it's best at about 3/4 on-bass volume, so sound check/start set at half volume then sneakily turn it up to 3/4 on the bass when I feel the need. I never touch the amp when I'm playing - both tone & volume changes are done with the bass.

It sounds like more practice would help but obv buy a new bass if you want one.

Yes P basses have wider string spacing than some other basses (though I don't know about the two you already have) but worth bearing in mind that the neck thickness may be an issue if you have small hands (though you'll only know by playing one).

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1392908217' post='2374050']
Let's face it, those on the Brits make a living playing music/creating/singing. I'd sell out in a flash if I could do it for a living and make real money from it.
[/quote]

Who performed on last nights show? The vast majority are actually on terrible money when you look at the deals long term. Though yes, I'm sure most of us would love to be on the mega bucks from music (I certainly would).

^ It's a strange mix of crowd in there because the screaming fans that stand at the front (I didn't watch it at all this year so the crowds might be different now) are paying music fans like any gig, but all the round tables (that take up most of the room) are all music company bought so everyone around them is just concentrating on looking "cool" & getting drunk, not really interesting in the show.

Okay, I just watched the above video & will admit that probably wasn't her best performance but I do feel she's a genuinely talented artist (though not actually to my tastes) that has developed her career very well & in the right way.

Shame about the other 99% of our day time radio!

Wish I hadn't looked in this thread - these basses look really good, might have to try one out when I finally get round to buying my new bass!

Have completely avoided watching the Brits in recent years; James Corden is a moron, the program drags on way too long (or is just boring) & the whole thing with surprise about winning is a farce, the labels all know who has won what weeks in advance - the party is just their excuse to get drunk with their mates & bask in their own success (assuming you count about 15 years of decline whilst still earning money a success). Then they have the audacity to charge people to get in to watch!

It's certainly not for me any more, though at least in the past they did have some good music & performances.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1392842494' post='2373479']
Twenty posts and nobody's mentioned Warwick???

You can pick up both German and Rockbasses for silly money at the moment....

Isn't there a Westone Thunder 3 for sale in the "For sale" section?? Now there's a good through neck bass...
[/quote]

I did, still can't believe how cheap some Warwicks are going for at the moment.

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1392836678' post='2373356']
interesting points raised, but I'm puzzled what 'features' a J&D or Harley Benton Jazz is missing from say Fender Mexican Std or even US jazz?
cheers
[/quote]

They're not missing any, that's the point.

For me the Fender design (either P or J for the sake of this) is the basic/standard bass, they do everything that's needed & have done it very well for the last 60 years or so. Over those years other brands have taken that design and added bits (as have Fender) be that different designs for bridges or tuners to through-necks & active circuitry etc...

The far eastern copies (J&D/HB etc..) do currently look ok for the money & at only £100 it's not even a gamble, they don't miss any features the standard fenders have, but I think it's fair to say that they're not as good in fit/finish/sound/looks (nothing to be ashamed of, they're 10% of the price of US Fenders) & they offer nothing above the basics so I don't see how they can possibly be "a lot of bass", when they're really a standard amount of bass.

Again, not picking on them or being snobby - I think they fit well into the good for a beginner/modder category for not much money, just voicing my opinion.

I'm not sure the J&D or Harley Benton basses can really apply to this category as in reality you're not actually getting very much bass - the simple Fender style copies (and most proper Fenders) are as stripped back as a bass can be. I'm not being down on these brands, they look pretty good when you consider they only cost £100 but they're not exactly brimming with features & have a couple of tell-tail signs that indicate their price point.

Some of the mid to high end Ibanez basses can really be called a lot of bass for the money (in my opinion) - exotic woods, neck-through, active - Ibanez are churning these out at half the price some of the other big name brands are doing.

Second hand there are almost too many to name, some real bargains out there - almost any brand that has no association to Leo Fender seems be be having a dip in second hand value at the moment (you can see it when watching the classifieds on here) - if I weren't being strict on myself I could buy 3 or 4 incredible basses for 6/700 each on here that would cover every possible playing requirement.

Peavey make very good affordable basses as do Ibanez but you might get something a bit more special if you look at second hand - there was a really nice look neck-through Warwick in the classifieds recently which could be worth a look (it probably has an active/passive switch on it too so could be more versatile).

Yep, it depends on the genre you're playing but very few actually require fx pedals.

If you go back to punks (as en example) routes - there wasn't anything that technical, just a solid bass and a decent amp. The rest is just a bit of eq'ing and different playing techniques.

This rule of thumb goes across most genres, with a few obvious exceptions.

[quote name='kennyrodg' timestamp='1392492913' post='2369452']
I bought one a couple of months back.
I ordered mine special like as there wasn't one in the spec I wanted, 57 P bass, burst with a gold anodised pickguard and a maple Jazz neck.
Start to finish it was a treat to deal with Mark and the bass arrived a couple of weeks after placing the order.
It was just what I wanted, the bass plays a treat and sounds great. The relic'd thing is not for everyone but I like it and I'm chuffed to bits with the Bass.

[/quote]

Thanks for the response, I don't suppose you've got a recording of it do you? I'd love to see how they compare to their fender counterparts...

Yes they're pretty nice. I'd rather not sell it tbh but my new house is tiny could do with keeping the bass collection down to a minimum & I know I won't play this above my Warwick or hopefully incoming jazz.

Did anyone here buy a limelight in the end?

I'm not really into the relic'd look but have seen an interesting one on their site & was wondering if anyone had any feedback on them?

Has anyone ever had a bridge fall off (a decent bass)? What is the actual logic behind the shocks?