ZXRRDave

One thing just popped into my mind, since you like the chunkier neck profile. When I was researching my new bass I was working on the opposite criteria (I like the slimmer jazz neck equipped instruments) so ruled out from my list one that may be of interest to you, although it could be difficult to find one to try out. Something that stood out in my research was how well regarded and reviewed the MIM signature series models are - I played a duff mckagan sig, as well as considering a nate mendel too - and the reason I discounted the Roger Waters one was because it has a P neck with an extra depth 70's profile to it. On top of that, it's by far the most reasonable sig series price wise at a shade under £700. Still a lot of money, but 100 less than the nate mendel and 300 less than the duff. Damn good looking instrument too. Could be worth a little looking into.

I tried about 15-20 basses whilst deciding on my new one and if I'm honest I have to say that the difference in build quality between an American standard and an mim/mij is almost imperceptible. The mim Duff signature was a wonderfully put together piece of kit and easily on a par with any other bass on the shelf in pmt. Saying that, everyone who has seen and played my mij aerodyne has been literally blown away by it. Basically, if you spend over a certain price point on any Fender it doesn't really matter where they were made build quality wise and it just comes down to equipment.

I played one a few weeks ago as Dood has one which he uses whilst teaching. It's a wonderful, wonderful instrument and if they were still available would have been a serious contender for my new bass with my aerodyne. Pics will be necessary when it arrives

Well, after a few months with my Epi T'bird I decided that the 'special' present I would get for myself for my 40th (tomorrow ) would be a really top quality bass. I did a fair bit of playing of various models and worked out a few requirements. Firstly it had to have a 38mm Nut, as I felt most comfortable and confident with that neck width, as well as trying out a selection of makes and models showing the Fender Jazz neck profile to be the most comfortable and suited to my hand. Secondly I found the sound selection available from a P/J pickup combination through the Orange amp I'm now set up with to be the tones I'm happiest with too. I narrowed my selection down to a few models, with various pro's and con's to each. It was between a Nate Mendel Sig which had no J pickup and was roadworn with a scratchplate (I'm not a fan of roadworn finishes or scratchplates) but was universally well reviewed and I'm a big Foo's fan. Then there was a Duff McKagan Sig which ticked pretty much all the boxes but was a little expensive (at £950-£960 ish) and I really wasnt sure on the black painted gloss neck and pearl white body. Fortunately the local branch of PMT got one in not long ago and I gave it a try. I loved the sound and it had some nice SD pickups, but I was right about the neck and body finish, as it just didn't 'Grab' me. This left the bass that was pretty much the favourite from the start, the Aerodyne special. The problem was that I'd be ordering blind, as although there isn't any problem with supply they aren't actually that common. Decision made I took the plunge and placed the order with local store Cookes in Norwich last week and got a message from Ben (BC member angercat) to say it was in yesterday. Pro's over the other basses are that it's a MIJ (the Nate and Duff being MIM's) which was over £100 cheaper than the Duff at £838 (albeit about £80 more than the Nate) it has the P/J pickups, no scratchplate, Jazz neck in a spectacularly well finished satin maple. On top of that the body contoured with a 39" radius arch top and rear chamfered and shaped with a belly cut is tremendously attractive. I was unsure on the cream binding to the top of the body before seeing it, however in combination with the contoured body it gives a stunning look to the body. Then I got to play it. Its awesome. The strings just seem to fall under your fingers perfectly and the finish on the neck allows your hand to move between positions without even the slightest drag or resistance. I took it to see a mate last night who is the bassist/singer in a local covers band and he was blown away by it. Some 40th birthday present. Boxed Unboxed

Well, being still a proper newb bass wise, its not exactly spectacular but I'm chuffed. Last Sunday my Ashdown Tourbus 10w developed a fault which manifested in a crackling noise through the speaker which meant any note played was accompanied by the sound of a rustling crisp bag (not a light tinkly bag of space raiders, we're talking heavy duty Kettle chips type bags here). So as it was only 4 months old I took it back to PMT, who were happy to accept a handful of 20 pound notes and credit the value of the Ashdown towards an upgrade..... I got a call yesterday so nipped out at lunch and picked up a big box done up with orange tape. [url="https://flic.kr/p/nddGXw"][/url] Which contained another box. [url="https://flic.kr/p/nb93z7"][/url] Which contained a very nice amp [url="https://flic.kr/p/ndbGax"][/url] Which sounds good enough that the bloke downstairs started banging on the floor after about a half dozen notes.

Is any of it to do with the prevailing characteristics of bass players vs guitarist? Ie a guitarist is more flamboyant in many respects and therefore prefer a more ostentatious finish and then there is sufficient market for the more expensive finish on the product, whereas the ostentation isn't necessarily a saleable quantity on basses. Not saying that there aren't plenty of people out there who'd love a deep quilted maple dyed finish on the bass, there's possibly just a smaller demographic which renders the demand insufficient for mass production. As well as the sales figures for guitar vs bass. I quite like a lot of the prs styles finishes (and look up a company called 'Knaggs guitars' for even more spectacular finishing) but quite often they do cross over the line into being just a little bit on the vulgar side.

Well there's already been one of these in here, which I didnt actually expect. Here's my 79' Westbury Deluxe which I bought when I was 12 from a kid in my class at school.There's some dings in the outside edge of the body where the strap button pulled out of the body and the guitar fell onto a brass plug socket on the stage. There's some wear on the frets and its probably long overdue an overhaul. I last played it when I was 17 (so 23 years ago!) when I had a nasty motorcycle accident which caused serious nerve damage in my left shoulder and affected teh movement and co-ordination in my left hand badly enough that I had to quit. A mate has just started learning (using rocksmith) so We sat down and restored her to working order. The jack plug was shot, and the three way selector switch was intermittent too. New top quality items were purchased and fitted and now she makes noise again. Makes an awesome noise with the solid maple body and Dimarzio Pickups (Super distortion at the neck and dual sound super distortion at the bridge, with a microswitch to select a 'clean tone' between the knobs, which (along with the three way switch) are setup LP style as 2 volume and 2 tone. [url="https://flic.kr/p/m9TGTB"][/url] Extra Photo as that one is a bit crap... [url=https://flic.kr/p/mCU9N6][/url]

[quote name='Johnm93' timestamp='1396121306' post='2410210'] That gravel trap looks comfy. Brands...? [/quote] Yep, Paddock hill Was having a little scrap with a ducati and the last lap flag caused me to go in a gear too high and about 20mph too fast. Bounced off the tyre wall.

Had a play with a Dingwall 5 string Fan fret this afternoon. Now want one, but can't afford it and certainly going to have to learn for a couple more years before I can play the bloody thing so it can wait.

I have just the two pressing needs GAS wise currently. Firstly it'll be a premium bass, and since I really like the 38mm nut on my Epiphone T'bird that means something like a J Bass. In fact it means a J bass. I was undecided between the Duff signature model and the Aerodyne special, but fortunately the local PMT have a Duff in currently and, although it plays beautifully, the looks just weren't what I was looking for. Combine that with the fact the Duff is a MIM and is over a hundred quid more than the MIJ Aerodyne. The only benefit I can see with the Duff is that it has some nice Seymour Duncan pups, which in all honesty I can probably get hold of and retro fit to the aerodyne further down the line should I feel it necessary. Secondly I'll be needing to upgrade my amp from the current little 10w Ashdown Tourbus sooner or later and I have to hold my hand up to a serious fondness for Orange amps. I'd say (bearing in mind my beginners status) that I'll not be needing something with enough poke to get a sympathetic resonance from the tubes on the organ in the albert hall for quite some time and as such I'm strongly leaning towards the Crush Pix 50 solid state combo. If I get a bit more cash together that may become the 100w model.

Just a quick thread on the Strap I picked up at the Great British Guitar Show. It's a leather item made by an Australian company called 'DSL'. The leather is a nice close grain and the strap is well made with the stitching and finish even and no blemishes in the hide. I got the strap for my Epiphone thunderbird in an effort to counteract the two disadvantages of the bass - firstly, it's bloomin heavy and the basic nylon webbing strap which came with it isn't cushioned so after a little while practicing my shoulder begins to ache (it doesn't help that my left shoulder was crushed in a motorcycle accident when I was younger so is susceptible to this anyway). The strap isn't what you'd call heavily padded, however it is wider and there is a small degree of padding there, which is sufficient to overcome the primary issue. Secondly, the thunderbird is prone to a certain amount of nose dive due to it's shape and the position of the strap buttons. The strap is a fair bit 'grippier' than the nylon one, which secures the position of the bass in normal playing circumstances, meaning you can play more naturally without supporting the bass with the left hand whilst trying to navigate the fretboard. The strap wasn't cheap, however at £40 it certainly wasn't the price of some straps I've seen of a lower quality. Finally, it came with a little added extra which is one of those 'why hasn't anyone thought of that before' things. It's a small leather clip which you put through one of the spare strap button holes of the tail end with the keyring element, you then have a pop fastener that holds your lead rather than tucking it through the strap itself. when you want to unplug, pop and it's clear. I know a strap isn't the most important thing in the world, but since I've started using the strap the instrument has been in a better position and more stable, allowing me to concentrate on the learning process. It's well worth the money I paid for it.

It does play a part, as well as some minor discomfort. [/url]

Thanks for the welcome guys, I've been doing some lurking in the various subforums and will pop up a few things here and there now I've got a feel for the place. I'll start with a little accessories review thread on a nice custom strap I picked up at the Great British Guitar show in Birmingham a few weeks ago.

I've been using a Lava Sports headcam on my race bike. In a few sessions at Snetterton hitting 160mph plus and up to 1.8g on the brakes (according to the telemetry) it stayed clear and watchable, so being plonked on the end of a bass should be well within it's capabilities. They are usually about a hundred quid (so about a third of the cost of a gopro) but I paid 30 as ex display. I'll be giving it a try at some point on the bass too to check my form whilst learning.

Shouldn't be a problem, the bike racing has reached the stage where there's nothing left to sell and I'm not allowed to bump the mortgage up any further. My bank manager isn't my biggest fan, but it seems that capital one really like me.

Evening all, I'm Dave from Norwich. Just started playing after a couple of months plunking along to rocksmith. Had my first lesson with Dood last night so sorted my sign in on here and am taking the time to say hello whilst mindlessly churning away on the exercise bike at the gym. For the last few years I've been building and racing motorbikes so, having run out of money entirely, have taken up the far cheaper pastime of bass playing. Enjoying it immensely so far and have a basic rig of an epiphone thunderbird iv with a little ashdown tourbus 10w. Having visited the Birmingham guitar show a few weeks ago and tried out some options I should be picking up an orange crush pix 50w in a few weeks and when I get the chance I'll be getting my hands on an aerodyne jazz special. As an example of why this is a cheaper hobby, the new amp and Fender equate to less than two weekends of racing bikes I played lead when I was a teenager, but a bike crash that left me under an oncoming car damaged my shoulder and nerves in my left arm badly enough that I quit playing, however the intervening 20+ years appear to have recovered enough that I'm getting stuck into the lower ranges with gusto and having a ball. That's probably more info than any of you needed so I'll call it there and start surfing the tide of tone through the other forum sections. Dave