Lw.

Isn't this just a "how much do you earn" thread? 1k for someone on 20k is a very different spend than for someone on 100k. I've only ever spent more than a months salary on a bass once, but that was when I was a teenager & it was only £700. Not sure if I could justify a months salary on a bass now!

In a band situation P's just cut through better than a J. But if playing solo'ed at home, J's are probably nicer sounding when you're practicing. As always, the correct option is to have both!

Nice - they've got the curved body right? I always wanted that on my Corvette. Such great basses Warwick's - very distinctive tone (which can be a blessing & a curse), you can tell when someone's playing one at a gig as soon as you walk in, no need to look at the stage!

Eww - no thanks! Some lessons to be learned; 1 - don't buy blind 2 - never sell your basses

Never heard of Mononeon but I think the bass is cool! Nice to see something different. I wouldn't buy one but do appreciate it's existence.

Oh yes, for sure! I can't afford to stretch to a 4k bass & can completely understand someone being upset if they did stretch to that and it turned out to be a bit of a dud. Even the idea of trying something that's a financial stretch and it then being a bit disappointing would be painful for some people. There's just so much in the price of a [new] bass that isn't driven by quality; not to be talked about on this forum (unless they've changed the rules) but inflation & currency fluctuations are going to lead to higher prices regardless of the bass quality. Then the higher prices leads to less of them being bought, which leads to higher prices again blahblahblah... Sometimes I think you just have to say "Do I like this bass - yes/no", then look at your pile of cash & see if they align. After that it's a sunk cost so you'd may as well forget about it. Incidentally - used Custom Shop basses come up pretty frequently at much more reasonable prices, given most of them are relic'ed anyway there's very little to tell the difference between a new & used one!

And this was your first mistake. It's the same across all price points but you only receive marginal gains on incremental cost increases. Obviously "good" in this instance can mean different things to different people but in the same way the 4k bass wasn't twice as good as your 1.8k bass, your 1.8k bass won't be twice as good as the next persons £900 bass and that bass won't be twice as good as someone elses £450 bass. If you don't like it, fine move on. If you, do buy it. Price tag is pretty meaningless when compared to enjoyment.

When I first started playing bass I was completely against Fenders & P's in particular, I just couldn't understand why anyone would want that boring old design, single coil pickup, passive, BBoT bridge etc... I lusted after Warwick's endlessly until I finally managed to buy one at a heavily discounted rate - they were everything I wanted in a bass for a long time. Been through a lot of basses over the years and now mostly play a P bass, am soon to get myself another J after I sold my last one a few years ago & actually have a Mustang too. There's just something about the Fender shape & sound that I really enjoy at the moment so am a convert! Still not a fan of red P's with white pickguards though - I think that must have been the basic model from Squier at the time I started & I can't shake that impression! I do still have my Warwick & whenever I play it I'm reminded how great it sounds - it's just not my current sound or aesthetic and it's a fiver so it very rarely gets played. Done so many gigs with it I'll never part with it, but she is mostly a case queen now.

Once you get it into your head that at some companies (including Fender) Custom Shop doesn't mean custom made for the end user, it just means the product is made by their best people, a lot of these problems go away. A lot of the FCS instruments are made to order for retailers, others are made as show cases as to what the people working there want to make, the rest are standard models they just churn out. For most I think they're just top end of the peg Fenders. Price can be a very emotive thing but if you put it to the side, I've played lots of FCS basses & an equal number of vintage Fenders - there were stars and dogs among both sets. FWIW - The best two P basses I've played were FCS, I own one of them now. The same with most basses - if you find a good one, buy it if you can.

Saw this the other day - the pull business model is what they should be doing so it's good they've released this, they just don't seem to have implemented it very well. E.g. - why aren't all the colour options available? Matching headstocks, switch of J vs P neck, reverse or lollipop tuners etc... Maybe it'll come in time, in the mean time I think/know I'll be spending my money elsewhere (on a Fender style bass too).

They get absolutely slated every time they try anything new or different. Realistically Fender have two bass products & fortunately for them they're the two basses all players really should have. The wider buying public are generally quite conservative, so unsurprising they often release the same colours - past performance probably tells them that's where the money is. I do agree it's kind of pointless that they keep rereleasing the same product though, I'd much prefer them to move to a pull model rather than push, make everything available and let customers order whatever heritage items they want but change in work flows and investment required would be massive.

So you bought two brand new CS's from a shop and both failed? That's pretty incredible if so and quite damning in the store. All worked out well in the end though - that black one looks great & you saved yourself a few quid!

What's the story with a lot of the more affordable basses coming out with roasted maple necks rather than just normal maple? Does it let them use cheaper woods as the roasting will take it up in hardness or is purely because previously roasting was a higher end option so now the mass producers are adding it too?

The people have spoken, you'll just have to buy both.

What a predicament you've got yourself in! The '57 is a curious description when the nut width, tuners, pickguard, bridge saddles, probably neck shape & I can't quite see but possibly the pick-up all look non-57 spec to me. The '85 - I don't think I've seen that darker patterning on a maple headstock before, it does look kind of cool though. I'd probably go for the 80's one if I had to buy blind as it looks in better condition but if I were spending the best part of a grand on a used bass, I'd really like to go and feel them first.

Journeyman is the level of relic - it's a kind of light to mid relic I'd say. Checking of the paint, a couple of dinks, tarnished metal work & maybe some wear on the fredboard - heavier than a closet classic, not as heavy as say a Sandberg hardcore aged. I've got a CS '57 with flats on & think it's fair to say it does the warm/mellow type sound very well (despite the player), though I have also used it in a hardcore band! No idea how it compares to an original '57 as I've never played one but it's comparable to some later 60's P's I've played.

Tasty. The red looks good! Is that their wood selection in the background?

So many nice basses to be had in that budget range! Nothing growls like a Warwick but their shapes are probably too far away from the Fender derivative for you (assuming that's what you mean by traditional) - they do do a streamer made to look a little more trad though. I'd be getting yourself down to every bass shop within a few hours of you & playing everything they've got - better to take your time than rush. Also consider a ramp/thumb rest if that's what you want. Though depending on what kind of music you play, changing to floating thumb style may also be of use.

They're a solid sheet of aluminium (I guess), similar thickness to the normal pick guards but with 90 degree edges rather than beveled. They have a visibly brushed finish that I thought would feel horrible but actually doesn't. Think I prefer them to plastic now, I'd assume you can get them anodised any colour you want too.

I looks good - I wouldn't be buying one in the hope that they'll be sought after in the future (they won't) but as a fun cheapy they look decent. I've got a gold pick guard on my P - thought I'd hate my thumb nail touching that texture but I've had it for years now and the gold just feels right & has never been a problem!

I can't go on Talkbass but from that thread on here it seems like mostly positive reviews, seems like budget basses have come a long way since I started playing many moons ago!