Osiris

Cheers, I don't suppose you're anywhere close to sunny Wellingborough are you, so I could pop round for a cheeky test drive

I think that Punk was and is still musically significant, at least as much so as any other genre. I still like a lot of punk music that has been made over the past 40 years as well as much that has been influenced by it. But I do think a more pertinent question is whether Danny Baker is significant or not? He certainly isn't from where I'm looking, the cockney gobshyte. And what's with his hair?

I currently gig a variety of basses the cheapest of which was £150 and two others that each cost 10 times as much. While the more expensive ones have noticeably more attention to detail in their construction, the cheap and cheerful one (which has had a pickup upgrade and a new bridge but is otherwise stock) still holds its own. And I'm less precious over it on the odd rowdy gig. As @dmccombe7 has already said, there are some seriously good cheap basses available these days. I have also played some expensive basses that were simply terrible, e.g. I once tried a Fender custom should jazz that was up for £2800. The neck pocket had a noticeable gap of 2 to 3 mm and the logo on the head stock was wonky. For me, I'll judge an instruments suitability on how it plays, feels and sounds and not by its price. In my experience there's good and bad gear available at a variety of price points.

@JohnDaBass Cheers for the heads up on the LP junior, I haven't com across that yet, I'll check it out. I like the idea of an SG shorty too.

According to my battered old Oxford English dictionary the literal definition of Multi is more than one. While it is often understood to mean loads in terms of multi-fx units that offer dozens or even hundreds of effects, it is still a perfectly apt and reasonable description to this single pedal that offers 3 different effects. Yes, pre-amp would probably have been a term that would have sat well with more us than multi effects, but it is still literally and grammatically correct. The argument about cheaper multi-fx doing way more for much less money also applies to things like your beloved future impact too. Just sayin'

I like the design of the Nordstarnd, the body shape is more to my tastes but finish was an affront to all that is decent and holy - the one I saw was blue with a nasty turdashell scratch plate and gold hardware. Really fugly 🤮 If they do it in some more sensible colour schemes (natural and black always works for me) then it could well be a serious contender. As for the Stingray, interesting but I personally can't get on with that nasal Stingray sound, it works great in a mix but I find it irritating when it's just the bass on its own!

What do you think of the MIJ Mustang? I have the Mexican PJ Mustang and love it, the stock pickups sound good enough to not warrant considering replacing them and the neck is fast and comfortable. The only mod I have made was to ditch the 3 way pickup selector switch and swap it out for a blend pot as this makes the bass so much more versatile. But in truth I spend 90% of the time just on the P pup

As @krispn says, this looks to be based on the dbx 160, down to even using the same (?) THAT chipset of the dbx. Assuming it has the legendary punch of the dbx it could make for an awesome bass compressor. I'll reserve judgement until I can get my hands on one.

At least the combos' gaudy aesthetics are in keeping with the offensive carpet and the rug draped over the drum riser.

And not forgetting ...

Cheers guys. I'm veering more towards classic Fender body shapes over the semi acoustic and single cut styles at the minute, but all options are open For the record I currently have a P/J Mustang which I'm more than happy with and an Ibanez Talman short scale that has had some new pups and is regularly gigged alongside a couple of other basses that cost 10 times as much. I'm happy with both but I've got the itch for something more expensive. You know how it is I briefly had a Chowny SWB and although it was a well made bass with a fantastic sound, the way it sat on a strap meant that the first fret was in more or less the same position as the first fret on a 34" bass which defeated the object of a shorty for me! There's a couple of shouts for the Gretsch, the one I tried a while ago had a neck that was so sticky that it was difficult to play, but looking on the thread above it seems that others haven't experienced that issue which suggests the one I tried was a Friday afternoon special. @Merton Cheers for the link to the white Marusczcyk, I reckon with a change of scratch plate (3 ply black/white/black?) and some black pickup covers that could well be a serious contender, although I find pickup selector switches quite limiting in comparison to a blend pot. Jeez I'm hard work, I think I must be turning into my dearly beloved! Right, I'm off to play with that Marusczcyk configurator (Thanks @crunchman)

Cheers guys, there's some good suggestions coming out, I'm particularly intrigued by the Maruskything one, although I'd have to have one in a different colour scheme as I just can't cope with turdburst and tort finishes 🤢 Keep 'em coming!

Is that the Bantam? From the YouTube clips I've seen it's a very modern sounding beast which isn't really what I'm after but I'd need to get my hands on one to try to see if it's something I could live with.

I'm on the lookout for a new 30" short scale and have a maximum budget of about a grand (or at least I will have once I've sold my Sandberg TT) but looking online there doesn't seem to be much choice in that price range. There's loads of entry level shorties and some well above my budget. There's the JMJ Mustang (although I'm not sure about the Thomas the tank engine blue finish) and the Supro range (although I'm not really a big fan of the aesthetics) and that's about it as far as I can find. Used is also an option too (I just missed out on the cracking ACG short scale on the market place!) Does anyone else know of anything else in this sort of price range? Generally speaking I'm into a more traditional design and prefer passive to active but they're only guidelines in terms of ideas.

No. Sunflowers.

Never mind the Marmite design of the Richard Bona, that gold monstrosity has made my eyes bleed.

I use a Gator GM-1W (Line 6 G55 for the bass) and Gator In ear monitor bag for my IEM system (LD MEI 1000 G2 for IEM's). Both are well made and have decent zips and loads of storage for odds and sods. If anything I prefer the smaller In ear monitor bag but the rear cut away when it's unzipped was in the wrong place for the G55 antennae (but spot on for the IEM transmitter) so I picked up the GM-1W which is a better fit for the Line 6 unit. Both bags also allow you to leave the units in a semi set up state too with the power supply still connected and the antennae still in place.

Me too. I tend to be a bit hamfisted when it comes to jobs like that but if it's pretty straightforward then I might give it a go, pending a successful test drive that is 😀

It may have been that they were a little over zealous with the gloss on the one I tried but it sounds like it's not common issue, so if it can easily be resolved with a little wire wool...

Thanks, is there an art to doing that or just a lightweight touch and take your time?

Thanks, sounds like the one I tried wasn't duff in that case. Because of the sticky neck I didn't get as far as plugging it in to see what it sounds like at volume but if it's half as good as you guys are claiming I might be tempted to give one another go sometime. Agreed, something other than a high gloss finish would have been preferable, to me at least. Something like a satin finish would have been the bass more playable, IMO.

How do you guys that own, or have played the Gretsch find the finish on the neck? I tried one in my local PMT a few weeks ago and although the neck profile felt slim and comfortable, it was really sticky and there was a noticeable resistance to my left hand as I was playing up and down the neck. I'm not sure what the neck is finished with but it put me off the bass straight away. Is this normal for this model? Or was the one I played a duffer?

I wear my belt with the buckle to the side so it's over my hip rather than above my gentlemen area. It probably looks a bit daft if you've got your shirt tucked in but with the shirt untucked the buckle isn't visible.

Surely Mark Bass have missed a trick by not calling it the STU HAMMP ? 😊 As has already been said it's not pretty, even by Mark Bass standards. Having just checked out the 2019 Ibanez range it seems this year's new bass gear is all about hideous aesthetics.