chickenjames

I mostly play clean fingerstyle and IMO flats are the best for this. The feel is nice and you get that lovely controlled thump when you play hard. But I'm going to put some good rounds (the DR hi beams) on the P and see how I get on with them.

I'm happy, cost to trade from the Spector (which I traded in because I don't like 5ers any more :-( ) was about the same as a second hand US Std, and now I have a new one. The new P is amazing. It's the first P I've played that has that proper 'thick' sound. Even through my tiny Markbass 801 it sounds enormous. Just having a much-needed polish of the EBMM and then I have to decide what strings to put on them all. I think that - to avoid needing to change the setups - I'm going to keep rounds on the P for now, so that means Ray gets d'Addario flats P gets DR Hi Beams Sire keeps flats but I'm going to have fun going through the combinations. I suspect I'll end up with flats on all of them! [quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1484445054' post='3215558'] Congrats, I have a similar bass and am just back from gigging it (again). Black with black scratchplate and a maple neck & board, makes for a very good looking P bass. [/quote] This is black with a white scratchplate. I'm going to keep it that way as my StingRay is also black on black (but RW), so I think it would be good if they looked a bit different. Also I prefer to keep things stock if possible, maybe that's silly.

I did it! I am now the proud owner of an Am Std, black, maple :-) It's not actually the one I expected to go for - I had my eye on a white/tort one but when I played the two back to back there was no comparison. The feel was about the same on both but the sound was miles better on the black one. I guess it must have been NOS based on the reduction - it definitely has the Custom Shop pickups as that's what the sticker says. So I'm a happy bunny. The neck is nice, shiny top (with tiger stripes) and satin back. All I need to do is put some flats on now... The serial number checker says it was made in either 2015 or 2016. thanks for all the comments....

looks amazing! I think I would have sent the first one back. The scratch alone is enough reason to do that. The second one looks really good. What are/were they like to play? any differences at all in feel or sound?

thanks guys, this is really helpful. Currently I'm favouring the NOS US Ps. I've played the one in Hickies and it's niiiiiiiice. I do appreciate that there are some great basses on here, and I hope I'm not offending anyone by preferring new if I can get it. Is there anywhere in the south that has stock of the MIM 50s P? I'd quite like to get my hands on one.

ok. sorry if this is well trodden but I will try to make it topical. SO. I'm GASsing for a nice Precision. Current stable is EBMM StingRay, MM Sire v7 J-bass, and Spector Classic Legend 5 (which sadly I never play, don't like 5ers any more and also it feels lovely it is too middy for my liking). Previously I had a 2006 MIM P, which I quite liked, but the sound was a bit, well, thin and I couldn't make it work in a band setting. Here are my thoughts, please share wisdom I'd like something with 'Fender' on the headstock (I realise that not everyone will agree with this!) 2nd hand is fine don't want to spend than about £800 if possible Don't like selling things privately i.e. I'd much prefer a trade in on the Spector Won't buy a Fender without trying it in person (they're extremely variable IMO, but a good one is GREAT) Prefer US, maybe Japanese. Don't really fancy another MIM. Prefer to buy from a shop Prefer something in the south of England (I live in Wiltshire). Guildford, Epsom, Warwick, all possible. So the options seem to be 2nd hand MIJ. Bassdirect have lots of them at the moment for around £700 New US standard. Quite a few places (e.g. Hickies in Reading, Hogans in Newbury) have new.old.stock 2012 models for around £999 US special? <<< not sure about the pickups in these What are the more exotic MIMs like? e.g. 50s style etc. Any other ideas? Not many shops seem to carry 2nd hand US Precisions. What would you do? thanks for ideas!

my £0.02 I have a modern 2EQ 4 string like this, RW fboard, all black Both controls are progressive. I always have the bass on full, and I vary the treble from all-off (mostly) to all-on (rarely). I believe that it will run passive if you take the battery out, but I've never tried this. Hope you get it sorted, that's a GREAT bass.

Sterling HS sounds like it would have a faster neck than the Stingray - but what does it sound like? where would you look for a smooth sound?

I play in a couple of bands, one is electric folk (very fast) and the other is soul/funk/pop.

I think a short summary would be - smooth sound with fast neck.... any ideas?

ok. here goes. Current stable and reference points EBMM StingRay 4 2EQ Sire MM V7 4 string Spector Legend Classic 5) <- hardly play this :-( (used to own MIM P) Sire and EBMM both have flats I've played this lot plenty over the years, and I think my ideal bass/sound would be like this: - fast neck as seen on the Sire (and probably typical of Jazzes generally). Sire feels a lot quicker than Stingray - touch sensitivity and punch as seen on Stingray - a SMOOTH round sound. Sometimes like the mids on the Jazz (and the Spector) but today I'm thinking about something smooth and punchy with no 'growl' - ability to be heard in the mix without turning up - classic look would be good What would you do? Options that have occurred to me: - perhaps I have the EQ wrong on the Sire? - perhaps I need a J neck on P body? - perhaps I need a super J with both J and P pups? - EBMM Sterling? - I'd like the answer to be some kind of oldish Fender but not sure if that's realistic. Is there any sort of proper Fender P with a fast neck? comments welcome! I think I'm trying to get the best of all worlds and that usually leads to disappointment...

What's it like?

EBMM Stingray 4 or MM Sire into Polytune Boss EQ Lots of specials eg phaser, flanger, BEF, Big Muff Pi deluxe. All usually off MXR compressor (always on, mild) Markbass CMD121P and NY121P I usually run with quite a bit of VLE and flat apart from that Stingray 2EQ is set with vol and bass 100% always and I vary the treble Both basses have D'add flats <<<<<< important

guys, thanks so much for the ideas, here's where I'm at Options. in no particular order assume £120 trade in for MB801 1/ get another CMD 121P - cost about £490 after trade in 2/ get a 121H to replace the 121P in the big rig, and use 121P as portable and home combo. Cost £555 3/ Fender Rumble 100. use instead of MB801. Cost £140 4/ Fender Rumble 200. ditto. Cost £320 5/ MB 300W Nano. Use it with NY121P for practice, use CMD121P+NY for big gigs and CMD121P on its own for small ones cost £200. 6/ MB LMIII (or something else 500W). Use it with NY121P for practice, use CMD121P+NY for big gigs and CMD121P on its own for small ones cost £300. Add another NY121P later. 7/ do nothing, cost £0 1/ is sensible but boring I'm struggling to choose between the others! I tried a Fender 100W today, liked it. Quite loud and very light. Trouble is it doesn't sound as nice as the MB801 at low volume! heeeeeeeeeeeeeelp

Well I thought about another CMD121P but then it occurred that it might be nice to try the 121H instead - or am I just being greedy?

What about other really lightweight loud options? I'd prefer to keep the big rig and small rig separate

Sorry, should have been clearer about arrangements. I leave my big rig in the rehearsal room and take it to big gigs. I keep the small rig at home for personal practice and would like to take it to small gigs. So what I'm trying to do is replace the little Markbass with something that's man enough for small gigs but is still super light. As a secondary option I would -consider- using the 121P for home practice and small gigs.

Hello all Need some ideas please. My main rig is a MB CMD121P+NY121P For practice I have a Minimark 801. Recently I got caught out and had to use the Minimark for a small gig - and it wasn't loud enough. I borrowed a Roland bass amp, quite new, 120W I think and it sounded nice but weighs a ton. So what I'm looking for is options to get a louder practice amp that I could use for small gigs but is still super portable. I'm going to be lazy and use watts as equivalent to volume but please feel free to correct this if you can see amps where this doesn't apply. MInimark 801 weighs 5kg and has 45W I notice that MB do a Minimark 802 with 150w - but it costs £509. And then I thought, well, for £610 I could get another CMD121P which is 13kg vs 11kg and it's 350W. And then I thought well what about replacing the CMD121P in my main rig with a 121H? And then I noticed that TC do lots of lightweight combos like BG250 with two 8" or two 10". I play funk soul pop in one band and folk in the other - through both rigs. And now I'm boggled for options so I've come here for ideas :-) What would you do? Are there any other super lightweight (sub 10kg) and loud (at least 150w) combos that I should be looking at? Or would you prefer I just bit the bullet and upgraded the big rig? Obviously the cmd121p is loud enough for any small gig :-)

I have a regular Legend Classic 5, and the pups have SSD on them rather than EMG HZ.

I'd vote very much in favour of BD. I've bought a Spector bass and a Markbass rig there, including a part exchange. Stock in the shop is exceptional, world class. Trade in was pain free, agreed price immediately by email, no fuss about handover. Yes Mark has quick opinions and can be a tiny bit abrasive - he can be quite clear in saying no if you try to haggle, for example - but clearly knows his stuff and cares a lot about getting people lined up with good gear. Take this as a strong positive recommendation!

thanks guys - I particularly enjoyed the BC Rich suggestions :-) Good point re flats - I should have said that I use these all time already on both the basses in question. You've encouraged me to try it with the Stingray next time - I'll do this and report back. I also splashed out on an MXR M81 pre amp today, and I think I'll be in tone heaven now :-) Perhaps I should use my Spector 5, that might be funny.

hello gang the topic is intended to be ironic - please bear with me. So, my usual band is a soul/funk/pop outfit - I normally use my EBMM Ray and everyone's happy. Sometimes my Sire MM gets an outing as well but it's not quite as _rude_ as the 'Ray. Now - I just joined an Irish band. Think Dubliners, Pogues, Saw Doctors. Needs driving electric bass - it's all the up tempo numbers and I love it. Part of me is thinking that it would be amusing to get a U Bass or something like that but I'm not sure. Mostly I've been using the MM and it's going good so far. What would you do?

I've got the CMD121P + NY121P - very pleased with it. Agreed that you don't get as much flexibility as a separate head, but really, how much do you need? The extension cab is a very good idea - it seems to make the low end a lot more solid even if you don't turn it up. Possibly this is because the top speaker ends up being higher. The whole thing can go plenty loud enough on the backline. It's easily capable of drowning our drummer, but he's technical and quiet so YMMV. The two 'weird' EQ knobs are very important - the VLE in particular makes a huge difference. For small gigs I can just use the combo on its own, and I also have a Micromark 801 which is my home practice amp.

[quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1454267513' post='2968094'] It sounds like the neck just fits your hand better on the quicker bass, often slimmer is confused with faster/better but it's all personal preference, one persons fast is another persons slow. Fretboard radius can come into it also, the Sire has a more pronounced 7.25" radius which you must prefer! Another contributing factor can be the finish...more satin/matte=faster, glossier=stickier. [/quote] [quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1454268480' post='2968114'] Quite a big difference between the two, so this could well be the "fast" factor. [/quote] I hadn't thought of that - what do you think the radius on my Stingray is ? Again, this is not a major worry for me, I'm interested in understanding, that's all

That's interesting about the finish - the Ray has matte gun oil, and the MM is super glossy... But I think you're probably right about the hand thing. I have fairly big hands with the classic sausage-style fingers.