prowla

Well, I went. Saw Stu Hamm, met Stu Hamm, gave Stu Hamm a tenner for a signed Stu Hamm CD, saw Stu Hamm outside as I was leaving and said bye, Stu! Played some basses, including a couple of fanned fret ones (surprisingly easy to adapt to). Tried a pocket-sized 200W Trace Elliot amp. Got a real headache from lots of bunched together stands playing loud (which on occasion made my skull resonate!). Had a quick chat with a nice bloke about Moog Minitaur & Roland bass pedals. Dropped by the basschat stand, but the folks there didn't seem too chatty. Saw lots of varied basses - very few Fender derivatives. Saw Phil from Bass Gear, who was there helping out on a stand. Bought a raffle ticket but didn't win. Got a free bag from Markbass.

Well, it certainly brings a new angle to the proceedings.

Another thing is these "Signature" instruments - are they what the musician really plays on tour, or just a marketing tick-box?

Affinity are the bottom end (haha!) of the range. I've got a partsblaster which started as a box of Affinity P-bass parts, but only the body is left now (until I replace that too); I have to say that it is really good. I've also got an Affinity Strat and it plays and sounds like a Strat, except all of the parts are noticeably cheaper and less well finished than my USA Standard. I was going to sell it, but ebay suggested a price of £40, so I couldn't be bothered to go to the effort of listing it! I've also got a partscaster I built on a budget and it's got a Squier Affinity neck on it (cost me a tenner); it's a decent guitar. But I would never go out with the intention of buying a Squier.

I think I need to open a "Please stop me spending money" thread; today I've bought a Space Echo and a Markbass head.

[quote name='Naetharu' timestamp='1487939231' post='3244344'] I'd be a bit wary of one of those for a 1st bass. They look cool and sound nice, but they're notoriously bad when it comes to balancing. You could end up spending a lot of time holding the neck up with your left hand, which is not what you want when you're learning to play. [/quote] Well, it's not the bass for me, but the OP said he wanted to do metal and doom stuff, and it would fit right in!

i was just browsing around and an Epiphone Thunderbird Gotic is £260. [url="https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/EBTBPBBH1/electric-basses/epiphone-gothic-thunderbird-iv-bass-in-plain-black"]https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/EBTBPBBH1/electric-basses/epiphone-gothic-thunderbird-iv-bass-in-plain-black[/url]

[quote name='crompers' timestamp='1487859532' post='3243624'] OK I will check out that video, I guess I just always associated Squier with the Argos catalogue but I have an open mind! I like a lot of guitar based music but my starting points are Zeppelin and Sabbath, I also like some prog King Crimson etc and a lot of the new wave psych rock that is coming out at the moment (King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, All Them Witches) If I was to say one sound that I would like to emulate at the moment its Jack Donovan from Elder who uses a Jazz. Massive sound and quite growly in the low end. In the end I would like to join a band and play Stoner/Doom. Thanks for suggestions so far I will check them out. Budget £300-400 (£400 for something special), I should say that I wont be buying an amp just yet and will be running it through my PC soundcard (Asus Essence STX) and monitors (Presonus Eris 4.5) [/quote] If you shop around, you can get something good in that price range.

I would suggest buying 2nd hand, not least because you can likely sell it for a similar price to you've paid if it doesn't work out for you. I also tend to think if it's a few years old, then anything going to go wrong probably will have.

That is definitely a nice piece of wood you have there, sir!

The Hohners have a narrow spacing anyway, so I don't reckon they would convert. They did do a 5-banger model though.

I'm not seeing it, though there do appear to be some kind of marks there. Maybe it had tape or stickers at the fret positions?

I thought fanned frets were really cool the first time I noticed them. But they're just a fad.

I used to have an Aria Pro II bass in the 70s (I think it was an SB700) it was quite nice, but rather large. It was fretted but could sound rather fretless-like. I bought it new and sold it at some point I don't precisely recall when.

All said, however, I do like being in a world where Gibson guitars exist; it's just a shame that these models are so uninspiring. Contrast that with the LP; every guitarist in the world would like a '59 Les Paul.

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1487667721' post='3241570'] Tell you what I'm bored of, repeated comments such as - how can a roadworn bass be described as 'pristine' or 'like new'? It's not just on this thread either, just seen it on a Flea Jazz for sale post. YAWN. We all know what those statements [i]actually [/i]mean, i.e., in the same condition as when bought from the shop. [/quote]reminds me of ripped jeans; just like new!

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1487671373' post='3241612'] I'm getting bored of anything Dingwall and Darkglass orientated. It's apparently a dream combination... If you think a relic'd bass or guitar is a fad, then fanned frets are right up there as a fad. [/quote] Well, they do have their fans!

The top edge of those basses (especially the black one) look not unlike a Ric.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1487626417' post='3241380'] Which is why MS is playing a Dean! [/quote] (Aye - I was meaning back when I saw him in the 80s...)

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1487622672' post='3241328'] Y'see that's not even a Gibson... :/ And yeah, he's erm, chunked out a bit... :/ [/quote] I saw them back on the first UK tour, twice! The V is another classic Gibson, showing imagination.

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1487616179' post='3241254'] Anyone remember the E2 Explorers? Binding and nice wood? A Tbird or even better an Explorer bass in that...lovely... [/quote] Chris Glen has put on some weight... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoA2vudHFi0

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1487604206' post='3241107'] And this really is the problem. There will be the odd endorser here and there, but the only model they're really going to sell in spades is the Thunderbird, it's the most recognisable and has been used by a fair few famous names. If it were me, I'd go with that, and making the standard Epiphone Tbird available in more than one colour would be a good start.. Nothing wrong with that IMHO, Fender have been doing it with 2 Bass models since the 60's. Musicman/EB with the Stingray. Sure there have been other Fender Basses and other EBMM Basses, but it's those models that have always been on the production line, regardless of what else might be.... [/quote] They could do something with the Thunderbirdy - maybe a deluxe model with binding which exudes quality. An Explorer (though Hamer did one). Maybe a 5-string only, designed from the ground up, rather than a 4-string with an afterthought. A doubleneck bass/lead. Seems like they have no imagination.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1487587609' post='3240874'] I would imagine the first instruction to the designers was, "This can't look anything like a Fender". That's one hand tied behind their backs right there. The next was probably, "This can't look like anything we already designed". That's the other hand tied! The designers were probably pointed in the direction of "safe". This is a first step in a comeback for Gibson. The next bass will probably be a better one. I'm no Gibson fan and my instructions to the designers would have been, "Take the most popular bass we have ever made and come up with a great version 2". It's a first step, but this design makes me think that Gibson are competing with Asian made basses in the US. I would expect Americans to lap them up. That looks like a good starting point for Gibson, but what do I know. Both Fender and Gibson have been (and maybe still are) on the verge of bankruptcy so have to make big moves to stay in business. Neither seem to have been very bold or adventurous with their new models, but if these basses play well and sound good then people will accept the looks. GAK have them in stock for £844. That's not a bad price for a USA made instrument, and the deluxe version will probably make more people happy. [/quote] I just have to believe that they could have drawn on their heritage and come up with something classy and new, but which is also identifiable as their brand. Instead what they've done is plonk a couple of mismatched parts together and produce something which looks like a T-bird neck on a Peavey bass body with tweaked Music Man pickups. They might turn out to be decent quality, but I doubt that those models will turn out to be on many people's wish lists.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1487547191' post='3240735'] I don't know. Fender get slagged off for sticking with the same 4 designs and Gibson get slagged off for coming up with something different. If these basses sounded good enough I'd play one. Hanging around my neck they wouldn't look generic, boring, horrid, zzzzzzzzz or weird. I've got enough of that to spare whatever bass I'm playing. [/quote] The issue with these new Gibbos is that they look a bit generic; I'm sure they could come up with a good design if they really wanted to. I mean, if they didn't have "Gibson" on them, would anybody have given them a second look?

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1487530232' post='3240512'] I much prefer 4-1 to 5 in a row Si [/quote] Well, perhaps, especially since my arms aren't that long! But it just looks like the 5th string is a lazy afterthought, like they went "We'll just put the extra on the other side on it's own; nobody'll mind!"; 3+2 is more balanced.