Al Krow

But you do have a fantastic bass collection! I dread to think what the total spend on your current collection is, but I'm guessing it starts with a "2"... Yup, given that strings are an allowed 'consumable' (aka nicotine patch) this could be the year we become world experts on different types of string - haha!

Day 2. Anyone else breaking into a cold sweat and suffering shakes? 😁

What are folks' thoughts on the difference between the Euro LX vs US NS models? Are these essentially the same? Any real differences? Just seen this thread from a decade ago. Dunno if views have moved on since? One of the posters commented "My NS quality wise IS worth twice the money to me. Sound wise there not that much in it though." Given just how lovely I'm finding my Euro 5LX, must admit I'm struggling to work out how Spector improve on that to provide something worth twice the money!

Fair enough. But would you consider £899 for this one? I suspect will come down in price over the course of the year and maybe one or two used ones might start finding their way into the FS by then also.

Ibanez have gotta be in the top 3 design innovators of basses in the past decade. It no longer surprises me that they are coming up something new and fresh each year. Or that they outnumber any of the other brands in my herd currently! Btw I have no idea who would take the other 2 top slots for design innovation - Schecter plus another maybe?

You're gonna have to spill the beans! What is it about Strandberg basses that don't cut it?

I like the sound of the Nords on the 1500 range a lot, particularly if it does deliver the promised hybrid P/J tone. From their website: Nordstrand™ Big Split custom pickups The single-coil Nordstrand™ Big Split pickups feature split coils with hum cancelling construction for less noise. Its tone character is a hybrid P/J style and provides a rich and strong, yet well-balanced tone, which fits well with various kinds of playing styles. Shame that I prefer the simpler white / black finish of the 1000 range!

Been a long time since Ibanez could be fairly accused of churning out Fender clones! They seem to be switching from Nords to Barts BH2 and Aggie pups with their more recent line ups. Was it a different model of the Bart pups that got a bad rep in the older SR Standard range?

PS first dibs on yours please when you move it on... you know I'll show up in person at Gatwick at the prescribed time 😁)

I look forward to your in depth review Mark! (Although I suspect it's not going to be "helpful"! 😄)

Boss SY-1 anyone? (Sorry fretmeister couldn't resist...)

Whilst Dave is on the naughty step I'm feeling safe 😁 Besides these won't likley be available in stores for several months yet, by which time I'll just be another nameless casualty of GAC 2020...

What on earth are Ibanez doing releasing pics of this chambered body, 18mm spaced, semi-para mid enabled headless bass?! Haven't they heard about our GAC 2020, or are they just trying to make life difficult? 😁

And this mine. Would have also loved it in white, but still damn tasty in black!! What's additionally cute about this range is the new EQ set up. Previously Ibbys had a selector switch to choose between 3 mid EQ centres (250Hz, 450Hz and 700Hz). That's been swapped for a continuously variable mid EQ. "Full" semi-parametric mids on the bass itself - nice upgrade! 18mm string spacing on the 5 string rather than the more traditional 16.5mm, which again for many of us will be welcome. Headless with its chambered body: I'm blushing to think what this is going to tip the scales at! Looking forward to a trip to Wunjos in the Spring when they start appearing in stock!

So the results are in! @Sibob - do we know if anyone who signed up actually made it through successfully the whole of 2019 without any gear purchases?!

Agreed that anything prearranged in 2019 is "ok". But trades wouldn't have qualified in the 2019 thread. (No different really to selling something for more than you buy the next piece of gear for, in that both routes don't "cost" you anything). I think the point of the challenge is not about 1 in 1 out or breaking-even on gear sales. It's about making the most of the gear you already have and not replacing it with other stuff. That's my take on it anyway. But it's your thread Paul - you set the rules, mate! Maybe just worth making clear what is / isn't allowed in your OP?

PM me.

Just to clarify - have you taken off the 11 hours (most) of us managed to get through so far without any gear purchases? 😁 @dave_bass5fess up mate, have you cracked already?

Haha! Still a free country, so we can do what we like. But as bassfan has just said, sadly I don't think selling gear to replace it qualifies for this thread anymore than doing a paid gig to get new gear or going to work to buy new gear or, better still, sending Mrs Krow out to work to fund new bass gear...

Agreed (and nice journey back to school physics!) Must admit I've not see too many "power" ratings expressed in volts. I would have thought that watts was far more usual, given that it's a measure of power rather than potential difference? But maybe that's just a lay person rather than an engineer's perspective? But surely you and I are missing the really important point of whether this amp is any good for... ... metal.

Aha - thanks, in which case @LukeFRC I stand corrected re volts vs watts!

Agreed! Consumables, repairs, servicing ≠ new gear. New gear = new gear! Simples Blimey after this year's gear fest, it's gonna feel very virtuous not buying any new gear! Although if I said I was up just one bass, down a cab, and down 3 pedals for 2019 you might consider me to have been very restrained? But if I explained that was the net result of 9 basses , 6 amps and cabs and 43 pedals or pedal-gear being bought, sold or traded you'd get a better feel why @bassfan's 2020 challenge is going to be (a) very cathartic (a good word) and (b) almost impossible 😁

Haha - black is not too shabby either! I guess I marginally prefer a rich gloss black to the more anaemic matt black of the 735A - although I know that finish has a lot of fans. Now, on the other hand, orange? Somehow that never made it to be the 'new black' for me! 😁

With you on the white for my Yammy basses!

I presume you meant watts rather than volts? I thought RMS was industry standard - AFIK only Bugera and Trickfish use the non standard peak power rating for their amps. Pretty much everyone else provides an RMS output.