chickenjames

I confess I've never heard of Sire! Do you mean something like this? http://www.thomann.de/gb/marcus_miller_v7_swamp_ash_4_ts.htm Are they any good?

Squier is an interesting idea. I was in a large shop in Guildford yesterday and I played a few. The natural finished VM was probably the nicest, but there wasn't a 'proper' Fender to compare it with. They had a MIM active natural wood thing Fender Jazz with no scratchplate but it was horrid. I really don't want another active one (I love mine 'Ray but I'm looking for something different). Loose knobs, tired strings. A lot of the basses in there are like that :-(

hello all ok, I have a complex and poorly defined need for another bass - perhaps you can help me out. Current stable: EBMM Stingray 4H 2EQ with flats (US) black, black scratchplate, RW neck Spector Legend 5 with rounds (Korea) slate grey quilted maple, RW neck Amps Markbass CMP112 combo with NY112 extension cab MB 801 micro combo at home I play in a couple of bands - pop/soul/funk covers - big band I mostly do fingerstyle funk. I generally get called 'busy' which is a polite way of saying that I play too many notes. I'm finding that I barely use the 5er at all, it's the Stingray that comes out for everything. I had a MIM P which I quite liked, but I traded it in for the Stingray (+£££) Now - I'm looking for something to add as follows - my 14 y o daughter is learning, and I'd like something that I would mind her borrowing and taking to school. This means it shouldn't be too fragile or expensive. I don't really want the Stingray going off unattended to school and also I often need it in the evenings. - not too hard to play. Light would be good. Daughter has small hands. - nice smooth sound would be good. Both my current basses are a bit in-your-face = aggressive - as different as possible to my current sound and feel - suitable for indie rock which is what daughter wants to play - I'd like it to be a good name, should be a keeper So what I'm thinking about is - budget up to about £500 (but could go a little higher) - second hand would be fine - I fancy a Fender or something classic - I like the idea of a MIM Jazz - also thinking about Sandberg, cheaper Lakland maybe - should I be looking at something short scale for daughter? - I like the idea of a used Japanese Fender - I like block inlays and bound fingerboards - don't like boring scratchplates (white) with boring colours - definitely don't want active I suppose my ideal would be a very tired US Jazz, sunburst, with block inlays for £300 but I am well aware that this can't be done! Help me refine my ideas a bit please :-)

I've had my Ray (EBMM 4H, 2EQ) for about a year, and I recently moved to flats. Previously I had DR Hi beams, and now I have d'Addario chromes. They're completely awesome - I'd never go back. I play fingerstyle funk/pop/rock with a tiny bit of slapping. I just love the clean thump that you get - it's unbeatable and cuts through the mix so easily without needing to be loud. As commented earlier, you _will_ need to adjust the setup - flats are denser than rounds and therefore you'll need more tension for the same note. I had to tweak the truss rod a little (about a half turn, from memory, but obviously YMMV).