Musicman20

Agree with Bubinga 5. 34" scale, no massive feat of engineering, just well designed to give a good even range all across the strings, but I certainly LOVE the Musicman B; it is tight, punch and defined.

I have a Classic Ray 5 (alnico), two Ray's (2008 onwards so alnico - a HS and HH) and a Sterling 5 HS (ceramic - basically the original Ray 5 elecs in a different bass). The Classic Ray 5 is IT for me...I love it. I'd say it is the best bass guitar I have ever seen or played in my 20 or so years playing. I do still love the other for their own different tones. The Sterling is more aggressive and modern sounding, which makes sense. The normal Ray 5's sound like a Ray should. All of them have super clear B's.

Great value from Thomann!

The Cribs are a legendary band in the indie scene. Good enough for Marr to join them for a while.

Absolutely. To be fair, no matter what amp I've used/borrowed/bought etc, I've never hit the limits as I'm too sensible to try pushing it. I used to practice in a room in Newcastle with a 4 piece punk band and the Ampeg combo they had in the room was way loud enough. It was more than likely 200W, 1x15. I bet that Ray kills through those setups. One thing to test is that the Markbass amps have the classic 'omg this is loud' when you use the master vol, but don't actually get much louder past half way. The Genz is the opposite, and uses the entire dial to gradually raise the volume up to full tilt. I owned a LM3 some time back and it was great though.

Decent spec and decent price! Is it me or do Ashdown constantly revise certain products?

I'm tempted to get a P bass from him. However, this is my take on Musicman tones; if you want a Stingray tone you need a Stingray. I've seen and heard lots of basses with the H in the sweetspot but it doesn't sound the same to me. Often, it is too clinical (like the Sandberg Basic) and not enough grit and growl. I don't have a Stealth Musicman but the Ray 5's I have converted me to using 5 string basses a lot of the time.

Hmmm....the amount of times I think about asking Overwater or Shuker to make me a really slick P bass, possibly even a 5er, I come back to these....

When I first wanted to try out 5'ers, I tried a lot of Lakland basses, well before they changed hands and some of those were the higher spec'd models. I personally found a lot of 'rushed' areas with the QC, but this was some time ago now. Things may have picked up by now. The necks are nice, but I don't personally need a 35" scale for a good B string. They sounded great, I'll give them that. One issue was weight. Whilst Musicman basses can be heavy, the JO5/55-60/DJ5 basses I tried tended to all be the extreme end.... It seems like Sire build a very similar spec'd bass for a lot less. I personally think the Lakland pricing of £1000+ new without any kind of case is quite expensive.

DrTStingray - you never know! My Classic Ray 5 in Natural/Birdseye Maple is my favourite bass....simple as that! I'd love to try the 40th.

It doesn't let me quote for some reason (might be the work PC) but I also agree with you! If they hit the price of around £1100-1200 they could compete...hmmm.

Great work.

I just popped in to take a look, but that finish is stunning! What a great job.

[url="http://www.andertons.co.uk/compact-pedals/pid42867/cid692/electro-harmonix-720-stereo-looper-pedal.asp?LGWCODE=42867;56375;6335&gclid=CK6IoPGVzMoCFQYTwwoduBcKCQ"]http://www.andertons.co.uk/compact-pedals/pid42867/cid692/electro-harmonix-720-stereo-looper-pedal.asp?LGWCODE=42867;56375;6335&gclid=CK6IoPGVzMoCFQYTwwoduBcKCQ[/url]

EHX have a new model at a good price coming out...

Makes me want to just go for a Shuker P bass to satisfy my craving for a perfect P.

Nice work....the second isn't my style but I appreciate the work that has gone into that!

Still a big fan of the RH450/750 and the cabs (more so the RS210) are excellent IMO. I don't know if they are planning an upgrade to the RH line, (I imagine they have a brand new amp in the works) but it would be a shame if they ever stopped working on bass amps.

I have more 5 string basses, starting to feel more comfortable on them, therefore voted 5, but I'll never stop playing 4 string basses as well.

Zoom B3 + headphones.

I've had a fairly lengthy break of mainly learning guitar a little more and not needing any bass gear whatsoever. It was also a very busy and stressful year last year, and it is only since December/this month that things have started to get back to normal. I have always checked in with just reading topics but since NAMM I've started posting again. Unfortunately, every band I have worked with or attempted to start has been a waste of my time the past few years.

I don't personally notice a lot of difference, but we all notice things in our own way. However, I imagine the latest Mesa amp probably nails it better than the competition.

Ghost Bass - it won't let me quote! Might be the browser. Essentially, they are quite different to the normal pickups/pre-amp. I think the main difference is the pickup. I very much doubt it sounds like a normal Ray 5 pickup as they know people would 'pick up' on it and ask why.

The Bass Driver can have mids if you don't whack up the bass and treble (eg back them off)....and/or use the amp if using it as an 'effect'...or if straight into the PA, just bump the mids. Personally I love low mids but the BDDI is still a classic.

Another P bass! I'm sure it is fantastic, but a little plain for me.