bnt

How about Cisco Webex for this? They say:

I think that the number of players who would want a Dingwall P- or J- is smaller than the market for their more modern designs. You have to be really wedded to that look, it seems to me. Lee Sklar was known for his Frankenstein bass (P-body, J-Neck), but now it's 37" B-string all the way with his signature Dingwall.

I've been humming and hawing for a couple of weeks, but today I said "stuff it" and ordered the blue Enhanced. The other colours are months away from being back in stock. I may refinish it eventually, but apart from that I see a lot to like if I get a good one. Sandberg-style 6-bolt neck, zero fret, chunky bridge with through-body stringing, PH (not PJ) with a reverse P and a MM. From the reviews, the MM style humbucker is a bit meh, if I feel the same way I'll consider replacing it with one of these, Wilkinson's version of the Delano Hybrid 4, or maybe even the Delano itself, with switching.

I currently have one eye on a Sire P7 (P/J) which Is on sale at Anderton’s for £369 in White Blonde. No experience with them but I hear good things about them, such as the preamp being very good but that it has a great passive tone too. Thomann are low in stock e.g. the only available Enhanced PJ as mentioned above is either B-Stock or an unattractive (to me) blue. 🥶

A while ago I started this thread looking at the low end, and got a few ideas there. Two more names for you list would by Ormsby and Maruszczyk, and I believe AC Guitars have done some before. Harley Benton (Thomann) used to sell one but have pulled out: I wonder if they’ll be back?

There’s a new EHB1505MS video from Franck Hermanny: a short slap tutorial. Sounds really clean:

I’m strongly considering it, though the old Coronavirus is definitely putting a damper on my willingness to spend money at this time. But there are other opinions out there, such as this guy recently:

Ooh - well, the Vintera in Vintage Blonde is what caught my eye: 😎

Is that the new Vintera 50's Precision? I'm strongly considering one of these for flatwounds and a plectrum. However, I also think I would like a two-pickup configuration, and right now the Sandberg-inspired (heh) Harley Benton Enhanced looks very good to me in the Natural finish:

I get the impression that this first run was a test balloon, sent up to gauge the demand before they order more to be built. Which means that positive reports like the above will have an impact on sales under normal conditions. We're not in normal conditions, though: over the next few months I could end up on reduced wages or even lose my job entirely, so any bass purchase is understandably pushed back until I know my income is secure. 😞

From that video you can really see how light the body is - as lowregisterhead said, it's moving around a little under aggressive playing. I can't say that would be a problem for me, being less aggressive than that in general (though there have been exceptions).

Finally - video of the EHB1505MS in action:

Weird - and only on the 5-string, not the 6-string?

They are hitting stores worldwide e.g. this guy has a few videos of himself noodling in a shop in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur.

The Bass Centre in London offers their Elites strings in double ball ends too. But all of those on the market are fixed 34" scale, so multiscale is off the table straight away. If I get one of these, I'll just trim the strings and feel for any sharp points. If I find any, a couple of taps from a screwdriver handle should sort that out.

Yeah, it must be aimed at the Periphery/Nolly fans with the Darkglass rigs, but I hope it’s more versatile than that. The low B on these is 36.25”, meaning detuning is more feasible. I’m considering the 6, just to challenge myself to get more adventurous.

Video of the Gear4Music RedSub Coliseum 6. Definitely looks interesting, though the video doesn't include any clean tones.

Gear4Music have a new Multiscale out soon, the Coliseum, in 5- and 6=string versions. It looks to me like they've done a much better job with the design overall e.g. I think the shape looks wonky on a stand but makes more sense when being played.

New video review of the EHB1005, Standard and Multiscale: has some answers to the question about weight. No numbers, but “freakin’ light” and “the neck weighs more than the body”. It is chambered basswood, so I’m not surprised. The reviewer, once he settles down, plays it through an unspecified but good amp, and it sounds huge, I have to say.

For any folks interested in Neil's books, Audible has made the audiobook versions free for this month. The list is here, though the Clockwork Angels books are not included. If you're going to try one, I'd recommend Ghost Rider.

If you were willing to have two pickups, Ibanez has the new Mezzo model that doesn't cost a lot.

Thanks. I did look at Maruszczyk (e.g. Paddock 5a looks nice), but the price is well out of mid-range. Ormsby looks interesting, but once you factor in the cost of a case and shipping from Australia, a bit pricey if they make them again. I looked at the ESP LTDs: interesting, but (it seems to me) very expensive for what you get, compared to Ibanez or Schecter. I should have mentioned Mayones and Kiesel too, but that's getting in to expensive custom territory. I see Warwick has just announced a new multiscale RockBass Corvette, around the £1000 mark. Bolt-on, 34-35.5" scale.

I thought I ought to start a thread to see if we can summarise the available options, with their good and bad points. I don't have one, am in the market for a 5- or 6-string this year. I have a wish-list of what I would like to see, which I know I could get from a custom builder, but I don't have that kind of money to drop. Neck-through construction, through-body stringing, small (or no) headstock, at least 35.5" on the low B and less than 34" on the high G. I'm less fussy about electronics because I know I could upgrade that myself if needed. Thomann did one a few years ago, the 5B DLX in this video, but stopped for some reason. It was a single-cut 5-bolt with extended cutaway and 2x humbuckers. Scale length was 33-35". On sevenstring.org, someone asked Thomann if it's coming back, and got the reply "never", but with the recent movements in the market I think they might be tempted to try again. If they made a multiscale version of their BZ-5000 or BZ-6000, that would be very attractive in the low end. Gear4Music have sold their INF5 Fan Fret for about a year now, but apart from their own short video, I can't find any useful reviews online. I didn't really like the geometry or the sound from that short video. So it's interesting to see that they have just added two new "Coliseum" models in 5-string and 6-string, £280 and £300 respectively. Low B is 36.25" on both, they say, with a 34" High C on the 6. 7-bolt single cutaway construction. They seem to be doing the Dingwall NG two-pickups-close-together thing, which I don't really get, especially here where the pickups appear to be identical. Apart from that the design looks pretty original, not a clone. I'll think about it with a view to upgrading the electronics to a P/J soapbar set from someone like EMG. In the mid-range, Ibanez has the existing SRMS 805 and 806 models, which I have been considering, but the new EHB MS models look more interesting since they're lighter and headless. There's a recent thread on those. I have looked at the Cort A5 Plus SCMS, which is kinda funny-looking but gets good reviews. Neck-through, 34-35.5" scale, Bartolini pups and EQ. After the new Ibanez, the most interesting is the Schecter Stiletto Studio-5 FF, which ticks nearly all the boxes for me. 34-36" scale, neck-through, EMG pups and electronics. The "neutral" or perpendicular fret is 11 or 12, which makes for quite a steep fan angle at the low end and less steep on the upper frets. Are there any more low- to mid-range multiscales I've missed? I might also look into a direct order, such as the impossible@bass from Taiwan via reverb.com, despite that awful name. 🤨

I posted about my MIK TWB-43 before, here, with pictures. It’s still my main bass, though I have long term plans to defret it after I go to a 5-string again. It has a kind-of “average” sound that I think would work as a fretless. It wasn’t expensive and I have no qualms about using it as my test bed bass. I had trouble getting it set up the way I like it and ended up sinking the bridge in to the body, which was interesting Combine that with some truss rod adjustment, it’s much closer now. I won’t be selling it, it’s not really worth it.

Thomann has this on sale for €379 or £322. At that kind of price, it's going up against the EBS Microbass 3, which has a similar spec and layout, but also has headphone out and aux in for quiet practicing. The EBS doesn't have separate clean/dirty channels, but it does offer separate inputs (for Rick-O-Sound fans), and the option of stereo FX return to stereo DI outs.