Steve Browning

As there are many threads around this topic (and some very recently) here, it would be a bit insulting to rehash any of those arguments here. If your decision is made and you're happy with it then I can only wish you well, and hope I can resist the basses when they turn up!!

I'm a bit of a fraud really. My board carries just my switcher (choosing between a passive fretted and active fretless - though not on this gig) and the tuner. No effects I'm afraid.

Next gig is Midge Ure at Portsmouth Guildhall. Looking forward to it.

Steve Hampton. Good player and a mate. Gigs solo around Pompey when not globe trotting.

That's what I thought. I've got 12 and still hanker after a number of them in the classifieds!

If it's a Japanese bass you want, I'd again shout out for the Fernandes. In many instances, they were made in the same factory as the Fenders.

I'm with the Darester(!!). If you're happy with the sound, then it's the right choice for you.

I see @FinnDave has reduced his 60s Vintera Jazz to £550. Slap bang in the middle of your budget, and a very fine chap to deal with to boot.

I'd be looking at the Fernandes JB55 in the classifieds. The quality of the basses of this era is exceptional. Great value IMHO.

I guess Swiss Tony was right!!

Should I ask what your signature guitarist looks like?

This is exactly what I was after. The gouges on my '66 are really quite deep. One of the reasons I semi-retired it - to prevent the gouges getting any deeper.

I haven't seen a thread on specific wear patterns. I was asking about any marks your playing leaves on the instrument. Weirdly, I also bite my nails and generally the two guilty fingers are bent over. The pattern is a bit of a mystery to me, but there it is.

No apology needed.

Does your playing style result in any particular pattern of wear? It's this aspect that is the subject of this thread. I guess it's more likely on nitro finished instruments.

Mine are probably traumatised, but I have managed to fool some people all of the time!

Quite clearly, Fender are not going to be making the Steve Browning signature bass any time soon. If they are tempted, however, they would need to recreate a pretty distinctive pattern of wear - where the nails of the 3rd and little fingers of my right hand dig grooves into the wood of the body. This can be seen on the basses below, showing the effect after (l to r) 1, 5 and 40 years of playing. Anyone else leaving obvious signs of unique wear on their basses? What scars do your basses carry (from your style of playing)?

This is the truth of it. If the 50 watt combo was a sensible choice then I'd use it. A drummer is immune from the consequences of his gear choices because his kit is a finite size. Maybe he could ditch the floor toms in a small pub. Give him some real world consequences.

I think that if life has taught me anything, it's that things can turn in an instant. You may not see an opportunity now, but you really never know what's round the corner. Not very profound, but it has been my experience.

Appropriate feedback is important. Leave an honest account of your interaction so that other members can make informed choices when using the classified ads here. I have suffered a bad transaction here and left accurate feedback of the experience. I urge you to do the same. I should also add that I contacted the admins and they did their best to resolve the issue. In my case, the other party was hooky. It happens.

Those are my exact choices, too. The nickel rounds are lovely sounding strings.

As you will see, from my signature, I am fortunate to be a Rotosound endorsee. In anticipation of a new string order, I asked if I could collect the strings from the factory, and have a look around. That request was granted. Accordingly, me and @Rumblefish braved Junction 10 of the M25 and the M25 itself to head to Sevenoaks, to meet up with the artist rep and have a look around. I have to say, we were both fascinated to see the process from wire store to the smoothing of the (flatwound) strings. What was also fascinating was the lervel of a) hand operation, and b) the machines that had been designed by previous members of the Howe family, and that were still in use. Additionally, as well as working on designs for new machines, James is the man to undertake the maintenance of the machines in the factory. Some of them dated back to the very beginnings of the factory, and original machines were still in use today. We were both impressed by the whole process and the sheer skill of the folk who guide the windings onto the core by hand, and by eye. Even the ladies in the packing room were hand coiling the strings to go into the packets. How they produced bundles of strings with the same diameter was astounding to watch. I know not everyone here is a fan, but the sheer amount of manual intervention in the production of the strings was reassuring, and the 'British' ethos of the company was very evident. The core steel of the strings may be sourced externally, but everything else is done in-house, and on machines that had been designed and built in-house. A truly wonderful operation. I didn't want to disturb people by taking pictures, but I promise we did go!!

I'm pretty sure Roger Glover used one in Rainbow. Yes. In the video for I Surrender.