TrevorR

Monday was a first one back after the summer break so it expected it to be a busy one but there weren’t many bass players there this week - which was a nice bonus. Also a number of the regular singers weren’t there either. Meant that I got to play quite a few times. Bass on Love Shack, Hey Joe, Smoke on the Water (yes really!) and It’s Probably Me by Sting. The lack of male singers meant that I also got roped in to do lead vocals on Bohemian Like You and Long Train Running - I pity the audience, I really do!

It was a nice way to blow off the cobwebs after the summer break and a treat to be able to play on so many of the tunes!

That’s the write up on the Sweetwater page in the US. They really have gone to town on what (for me at least) is an overpriced, “meh” bass at best. Even Jackson’s own webpage text (while its a bit groan-worthy) isn’t half as cringy! https://uk.jacksonguitars.com/products/pro-plus-limited-edition-pure-metal-concert-bass-cb1a?variant=43871163645986

11 hours ago, SimonK said:

Is there a 2025 thread?

It tends to pop up in December as there’re are still 3 months of temptation add good/bad decisions to go…

On 02/09/2025 at 13:53, JohnR said:

Every time I see Ian King play I go straight to the Overwater website and start planning a build.

Every time I see Ian playing I go straight to the Mayo Clinic website and start planning a hand or talent transplant!!! 👍🤔🤣 

As with all Ian’s videos incredibly interesting, engaging and insightful. Those bass lines don’t leave any places to hide and just show what a talented and skilled player he is!

On 27/08/2025 at 19:57, Lozz196 said:

Loving my Sandberg TT Superlight, have now used it in both my classic rock band and my street punk band, radically different sounds for each and it delivers for both really well. And being a Superlight it’s so easy on my back & shoulders too.

@Lozz196 I would like to make it clear that I entirely hold you to blame with all this enthusing about how great your SL is to play, and how good it sounds… so with the years  advancing and all my long term basses being heavy (if wonderful) lumps I’ve been eyeing up Sandberg SLs given how much I love my new VM4. I think your posts were what finally pushed me over the edge. So there was a rather nice TT SL in Blackburst on the Musicstore (AKA DV247 or Digital Village if you’re old) and I’ve pulled the trigger on it. Should be here around April next year or hopefully a bit sooner. I had been looking at the red sunburst one on Thomann, which is very pretty, but being a VM4 that seemed a bit redundant. The bass should look a bit like the following but with ordinary pickups rather than Delanos. Can’t wait…

Of course this means I ought to get rid of one of my other boat anchor basses. I suspect the time may be right to realise the capital in my Mk1 Wal Custom since I’ve just not been using it in the last year or so. Gulp. Still, that will pay for the Sandberg and also bolster the retirement fund!

Earliest would be these ones on me playing in a university rock opera in about 1988 - party scene where we roped in audience members. Still got and play that Aria SB700.

Most recent would be this one of me with my new Sandberg at a jam night a couple of months back…

Well, I still love and play my first ever bass - an Aria SB700 - and have and play the basses I bought 33 and 24 years ago and my 20 year old Frankenjazz, I guess not.

That said I bought a Sandberg this year, which I love. But that doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned the others.

5 hours ago, Owen said:

Sad times. I had a preamp of theirs which had a variable z (impedance) switch on it. I have no idea what it did technically, but it made my bass roar. I should have left that bass exactly as it was. 

That’s what I’ve got in my Frankenjazz. Flippin’ amazing preamp!

Had a surprisingly fun gig at Wembley Stadium last Friday watching K-pop sensations Blackpink. Not my preferred musical style (I was taking the teenager) but have to admit that it was a fantastic show. 
 

PS since it’s apparently obligatory to have preferences, my favourites are Lisa and Rosé

This is so sad, I’ve just been reading that Audere are shutting up shop citing rising costs and availability of vital components. I’ve got one of their preamps in my Frankenjazz and it is absolutely fantastic.  There is more info here on their website: https://www.audereaudio.com

The landing page now just reads as follows…

Audere Audio is Closing

Audere Audio has stopped taking new orders for preamps and accessories. We are struggling with too many electronic and mechanical part availibility and pricing issues which means we can not build the affordable quality preamp we have traditionally offered. Instead of offering a sub par product we are closing the business.

If you have already placed an order then you can expect it will be completed and shipped as normal. In some cases we might not be able to build the order due to part availibabiity in which case we will be contacting you as soon as possible to discuss what alternative configurations are available. If a subsitution is not possible then your order will be cancelled and a refund issued through PayPal.

The audereaudio.com website will be expanded to contain support information for current owners of Audere products with links for each product type we offered.

Thanks for your trust in our products and support of our business over the years
David

13 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Just got in from a rehearsal with my classic rock band, using my new Sandberg California TT SL. Went well though as it’s a jazz bass configuration I struggled a bit with the sound as am so used to a Precision type sound. However at the end the band said how good they thought the sound had been, with better separation on the instruments as my bass was lower/deeper. Was a dream to play though, and being 6lbs it was so easy on my back, don’t even feel like I’ve been at a band practice, was def a good purchase.

I’m a firm believer that with a Jazz type the last place you should default to is the traditional both pickups on full / centre detent… since I’ve never liked that scoopy sound and prefer some punch I’ve much preferred the neck pickup with some bridge blended in as required for some bite. Or somewhere around 75% neck for a more biting sound. The both on only ever gets used for some ballads… But that’s just me.

A few weeks ago i was chatting to the house bassist at our jam night who was complaining she couldn’t get enough punch for some rockier stuff (she’s a jazzer at heart) and lo and behold, she pretty much always just had both pickups full up and never used the neck pickup much. 

On 30/07/2025 at 10:35, BabyBlueSound said:

Do check out Thomann every now and then. Sometimes they get models you might want and the waiting time is in the months, not years. Not fully customisable but still lots of options.

 

I ordered mine with a 3-4 month wait time from Thomann and got it in like 2 months.

Just had a look and, yes, there are some lovely SLs listed there. I was particularly taken with the cherry sunburst VM4… yum yum yum… Not a fan of black ones but there were some nice ones there @Lozz196, hint hint… 😉🤣🤣🤣

On 04/07/2025 at 20:00, dmccombe7 said:

I'm not sure whether that's good or bad news @Lozz196 😂

Looking forward to hearing your review on it if i'm still around by then. 😂

Dave

Good ish… I was quoted 18-24 months for mine. Which is why I just went back to Wunjos and got the one they had hanging on the wall and which I’d played and loved!!!  Not an SL, of course, though. 

On 23/07/2025 at 23:44, Lozz196 said:

Thanks chaps, I know it’s New Bass Honeymoon at the moment but it’s one of those basses you don’t have to convince yourself about, you just play it - it virtually plays itself - and find yourself immersed in the playing, rather than thinking about the bass, this to me is the sign of an instrument you “get”.

For me the Fender US Standard Precision is king but this bass, like Musicman Stingrays, is a notch above in quality imo, it just feels ergonomically more thought out. The neck at 40mm feels like a very comfortable Precision/Stingray, again very well thought out.

 

Sound-wise, well I’m using it passive, 90% front pickup/10% bridge, with tone halfway which will most likely change when I put a set of Elixir nickels on it, as these are warmer and less toppy than the Elites steels it’s come with. Puts me in Precisiony territory. But being active, with bass and treble controls it has a lot more versatility to it, though I doubt I’ll be making much use of this aspect.

 

 

I’ll be honest… I’ve never played a Sandberg that I didn’t love the feel of. So I completely understand what you’re saying about the neck and it feeling so effortless there is nothing to distract you from your playing. Since I got my VM4 at the start of the year none of my other basses have had a look in!

15 hours ago, TrevorR said:

Paul, a chum of mine runs https://www.elitestringworks.com I could see if he’d be interested in coming along to do set ups and other straightforward tech work at the event. We had a friend of Nicks do that some years ago and it went down well.

Rats, he’s gigging oop north with DS:UK all weekend.

On 22/07/2025 at 15:21, SimonK said:

...would inviting a youtuber or two be too much? Someone like Danny Sapko would be an interesting addition, and Andertons is very close...

Might Dan Veall be free and willing? He’s one of the more sensible and authoritative bass ‘Toobers’…

Paul, a chum of mine runs https://www.elitestringworks.com I could see if he’d be interested in coming along to do set ups and other straightforward tech work at the event. We had a friend of Nicks do that some years ago and it went down well.

1 hour ago, WalMan said:

Stray Kids at White Hart Lane last night accompanying my granddaughter. 
 

Felt louder than Dream Theater but that may have just been that we were in direct line to one of the side arrays.

 

Tight band wheeled out in parts and they even got their own section to wig out with in what I presume was the first major costume change with guitar and bass heading out down the runway, and the whole band getting introductions and a brief solo on the big screens later on.

 

A large proportion of the crowd had LED light sticks (£65 a pop on the merch stand) but pretty cool in that they had Bluetooth and connected to the light show automatically so were all running in sync to colour and pulsing with the main lights.

 

Very polished show, but some interminable crowd interaction sections where each member of the Kids spoke at length with the fans.

 

But good lord the screaming … I really should apologise to those nearby for that 🤣

I’ll be off to Wemberley in August to see Blackpink on parental chaperone duties.Hmmm… can’t wait. 
 

Friday at the O2 Arena watching the Doobie Brothers was much preferable and a fabulous evening. Proper quality country rock, yacht rock and blue eyed soul. Treat to have Michael McDonald back in the fold too. Lad had a great time so there’s hope for him yet 🤞.

Prefer Saturday 8th but can do Sunday 9th.

Maybe avoid half term weekends? 25/26 October and 1/2 November. But that’s not really a deal breaker. Otherwise no preference.

On 14/07/2025 at 15:49, Itamar said:

Those guitars are massive, and the sound was so overwhelming, too much low-end, and I couldn't bear that until they gave me a shortscale.

 

But still, I couldn't see how to use that instrument, how to blend it into my songs.

 

I’m a bit surprised. There’s nothing about either bass that would make them over massively bassy. P-basses are pretty much the standard bass in terms of tone.  You might find this review of the hybrid useful to compare to what you were hearing in the shop. Could it have been an amp setting thing or just not being used to hearing bass outside of a mix? Your recording doesn’t sound that different from a proper bass tone - and remember EQ settings will be important both on a bass amp or on a recording.

I reckon that either bass would probably work really well and give you a great sound. I do like the Japanese basses - really good quality, especially for the price. I don’t know the other one. The difference that does it might just be which ever one feels right to you - personally I suspect the Hybrid’s neck might be a bit too chunky for me but others might love it.

On 12/07/2025 at 09:07, Doctor J said:

There hasn't been a bad era of Japanese instruments, they have been consistently excellent since the late 70's.

Yup!

Wasn’t around on Basschat in 2011 so here goes…

First Bass Owned:  Aria SB700 (still have it)
'Go To' Bass: Currently my new Sandberg VM4
'Your' Bass:  My 1985 Mk1 Wal Custom (my main bass since ~1992ish)

39 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

I hope they aren’t guitards who “ can play a bit of bass but only with a pick” 

Oh no no no… bass first, of course!

I’m in. Sure that we could get Barry along to tell anecdotes about his time at Wapping and Farringdon. He has lots of stories! With Lol and Guy he timed out at the last bash!
 

#1 - Paul @NancyJohnson

#2 - Paul #2 @prowla

#3 - Martin @Merton

#4 - Matt @Wombat

#5 - Andy @Wolverinebass

#6 - Stevie @stevie
#7 - Lozz @Lozz196

#8 - Matt @neepheid

#9 - @bassace97

#10 - Robert @bass_dinger

#11 - Christopher @chyc

#12 - jaco @Geek99 **

#13 - Alan @WalMan

#14 - Trevor @TrevorR

I also have a couple of non-Basschat “vouch-forable“ bass chums who might also want to come if they are free on whatever date.