Jonesy

Hope the band meeting went terribly and you're sick of the bunch of bum holes. Did you hear though, the prices of vintage Gibson Ripper's have plummeted in the last few days. Terrible timing and all that. I'll give you a ton for it. On a more serious note, whatever you decide to do, keep the Ripper and some sort of music in your life. Sounds like you just might need a change of scenery rather than leaving the planet.

Heya and welcome to the wonderful (and expensive!) world of bass playing! Where abouts are you in London? I'm sure there'll be someone here nearby who would be willing to meet up and take a look at the setup of your bass. Starter packs are great for getting going, but the bass will almost 100% need to be setup properly to eliminate fret buzz and get a decent action. Even if no one is near to you, a decent setup is worth paying for when you're looking at budget guitars. Or, like @neepheid mentioned, there are loads of handy videos on YouTube walking you through what you need to do (if you're handy. Word of warning if you do give it a go yourself - don't give the truss rod more than a quarter turn at a time). If you still fancy an upgrade though, there are 2 ways to look at it as to which you should do first... - Guitar first. If you're just learning and playing at home then I'd upgrade the bass first. It'll feels loads better, encourage you to pick it up more and just play the thing. Most basses still need a setup to suit the player, but if you go second hand and get from here you'll almost certainly get something that doesn't need to be tinkered with. - Amp first. Do this if you're gigging. A bad bass through a good amp will sound loads better than a good bass through a bad amp. However, bear in mind that the increase in size and volume doesn't make a gig worth amp too convenient to play at home. Most of the time I'm practicing at home I use headphones and Zoom B1Four or a 15w Fender practice amp - even with this I have the volume at roughly at 7/8 o clock and it's plenty loud enough.

What do your Ric's wear? There's nothing else wrong with mine apart from the few mm tail lift after using 45s for 15+ years. Mine currently has the 43-100 TI Jazz flats, so I'm hoping the low tension doesn't do much more harm, or at least slows down any further damage.

Mostly 45-105, so nothing outrageous. Somewhere, a long time ago I thought I read something about Ric recommending low tension strings (maybe even TI Jazz flats?) to avoid the tail lift. I could well be wrong, but that's probably what put the strings causing the tail lift I to my head

I got fairly clanky with........ Roto swing stainless steels Sansamp BDDI (though I imagine any tubey pre will do) Both pups max Tone fully open And then playing with fingers and quite a low action, but just over the fretboard and quite aggressively (ala John Entwistle) so I can whack the strings off the board. I don't know what the HW bridges are like, but I have a few mm of the dreaded Ric tail lift nowadays. I can't be sure, but I put that down to the Roto's. I had them on it for 15+ years though and it's nothing that impacts playing.

Thought you were gonna post a pic of you from your early days when I first read that 😂

I really like his playing on this cover of Running up that hill by Kate Bush - loads better than plodding along on C for 4 mins! There's also a vid of him and Ian from SBL talking through it that is worth a watch.

Congrats on the new bass! I loved my classic pro and it's the only bass I regret selling. Those pups are just the epitome of a Gibson bass tone - mean and massive with a dark growl that'll put hair on your ball sack. Love em. That purple vintage pro is gorgeous too, what a fine flock you have there!

Would something like these help you see the pedal board better? https://www.gear4music.com/orchestral/accessories/music-stands/lights

Andertons has them as being in stock on July 7th........not that I'm longingly looking at the Bristol Fog finish and thinking about selling a bass to make room or anything..........

As a newb to Spector this could be a silly question, but here goes... Why do a lot of 4 string models come with PJ pups and then you get to the 5 string of the same model and they have humbuckers?

I was asking a similar sort of thing in another thread recently and the general consensus seemed to be, if you want that Spector sound then a Pulse is a good mixture of price point/tone/quality. Especially if you whack a Haz preamp clone in it. I'm not sure what the differences are between the I and II apart from the finish and QMT though. And no idea if it's worth paying extra for the Euro.

That does look gorgeous, really like the finish on it. Aaaand I'll be down in Gunnislake visiting Chris over the summer...... I think I've got a Pulse on my brain now though, unless having a go on your Warwick changes my mind!

You don't see much MIJ G&L gear, unfortunately. I saw an ASAT last year and was gutted to miss out on it.

100% agree that ultra violet is the correct colour for a Pulse! Yeah, but maybe its that cheap because they forgot to include the headstock. How much are they to pick up as an aftermarket accessory? They do look cool, but I'm not sure I'm ready for headless just yet!

Ah, I thought only the Warwick and the Zon survived your cull! That sound like a plan, lemme know what biscuits you want and lets sort a date 😃 I almost gave you a shout about the Cort after you raving about it, then I saw in the classifieds that you moved it on and it has since changed hands again.

Ah, I think you answered my question as I was typing it! If a Pulse II is the sweet spot for best value/most spector sounding out of the non US models then I'll keep an eye out. What's the difference between the Pulse I and II? They both look to have the same pups, pre amp and woods for the body, neck and fingerboard. Is it just the finish and QM top? That does look pretty - have added it to the list!

I've seen that Spector video loads and would be lying if I said it's not partially responsible for said GAS attack! The only issue is I'm not sure how close the Spectors within my budget will sound to the full fat USA ones. So, I guess my question to any Spector aficionados is - what's the model to look out for within my budget that sounds the best/most like the US ones?

Very true, the problem is I have no idea where to start! Thanks for those suggestions, I'll check them out 😃

Yammy's are OK to look at, my brain will just have to get over the fact that they also make calculators and boat engines! I haven't got anything against the Precision shape, it's just bonus points will be awarded for something that didn't look too traditional. I'd look at the Player Plus PJ and Charvel San Dimas, although from reading around I'd be better off with a Sire. Only issue there is their PJ's look fairly trad and no funky colours are available. Ah cool! Which one did you have? I'm trying to figure out what the best ones in this series are. Some seem to come with Bart's and different preamps etc. Are the early ones made on Korea? Do you know if they're any better? Yeah, completely agree there. Odd isn't it, when I say modern I mean something that sounds like it's 40 year old, not 70! Good point. I suppose it started off the back of listening to Alice in Chains, Pantera and Fugazi - so Spector PJ or MM humbuckers are the general wheelhouse I'm after, although I'd be happy with other humbuckers.

I don't really have any preference when it comes how the neck is attached. I'm fairly flexible on profile too, not to fussed on radius. I'm happy on my Jazz with its 38mm neck and Rick with its 44mm neck. If it is on the chunkier side at the nut then ideally it'd be slimmer back to front, rather than a baseball bat, just to keep things manageable. In an ideal world the neck will be glossed or painted, but it's not a deal breaker. I've seen a Fender Player Plus PJ, which very much looks like a P bass, but is acceptable as it's a metallic snot green. No idea what they're like though and I've read mixed things. I've also seen a Sterling 34 in seafoam sparkle that is pretty tempting. Headless might be a bit too far, one step at a time, eh?

I've had an eye out for a Decade for ages and they don't come up too often. There's Skyline on FB now, but it's the active model. I think that's the first one I've seen in about 7-8 years

Well, GAS being GAS and all....... I think it may be time for a change in the stable and I've got a hankering for something active and modern sounding/looking. All of my basses have been traditional looking and passive and I've got a bit of a GAS driven inclination to try something new. I've just got a hold of a fretless Aria SB1000 and (although it's not really modern in the whole grand scheme of things) I'm starting to change my mind on active basses, so am on the look out for something active. Problem is I've never really looked into brands like Ibanez, Warwick, Spector, even Music Man etc because I've always thought they weren't for me, so I know nout about them. And this is where you guys come in 😃 So, I'm asking the collective brain of BC to help me find a new bass. Budget wise I'd say somewhere in-between £300-800 Happy to go 2nd hand Zero preference on pups/preamp 4 strings Fretted Ideally it won't look like a P bass In my head I'm thinking of a Spector, but don't really know enough about their product range to know what to look out for and what's the best bet when looking for budget vs features etc. Is the performer line worth looking at - I know it doesn't have the reverse P's and will have a cheaper preamp etc. The Legend line has some older models that are classic and customs, newer ones have reverse P's - any recommendations there? Happy to look outside of Spector's too, so feel free to chuck some recommendations my way!

And another one for the 2nd hand Harley Benton idea. They're decent basses, less of a lottery and you wouldn't need to upgrade anything. Just had a look on FB and there's one in Shotts listed as a Harley Brenton for £80. There's about 4 others within 40km of Edinburgh, all under £90, but the HB would be my pick.

Hullo! That sort of thing def goes on (who doesn't love nerding out over gear and a cuppa?) and I'm sure a Warwick fan will be along to help out sooner or later. It might be worth asking, or linking to this thread in the Warwick thread over in the gear gallery..... Good luck!