FDC484950

For me it’s white pickup with black guard and black pickup with pearloid guard for the contrast.

IMHO one of the issues with Fender 5s is the bridge. The gap from saddle to the back of the bridge is so short, because the B saddle is usually the furthest back for intonation, the string can’t move freely when stringing up, so it’s quite tricky to avoid twisting the string. The Music Man bridge is similar in design but a bit longer and the holes the strings go through are a bit bigger. Models that string through the bridge are even worse as the low B is bent at quite a sharp angle. I would look for a set with a tapered low B. Also ensure the string is pressed over the saddle so there is a distinct break angle (and the same at the nut). As a Dingwall owner I’m a big fan of their strings - the medium scale set, designed for their 35” scale models, also fit 34” scale basses so maybe worth a try, and come in either stainless steel or nickel.

I gather he will be at the Liverpool bass and guitar show this weekend on the Bass Direct stand.

Definitely better. My charging green special 5H doesn’t work with the plain white guard (although the black one supplied as well is growing on me as the nut and side dots are also black). I went with an OEM MM Pearloid pickguard - it will be a few weeks from the US according to Strings & Things. I still can’t believe how light it is, and there’s no neck dive not need to replace the tuners with lighter version as I have had to with my USA Sterlings in the past.

They have plenty of basses below £1500. I was quite shocked at how good the Sadowsky MetroExpress models are and they’re half your max budget. Worth a look I think?

Shout out for the RST series. I had a look the other day - ridiculously lightweight (nor par for the course with Spector 5s), top notch finishing and punchy Aguilar electronics at just over £2K new. What’s not to like 😀

Depends on your budget. What is “unattainable”? Most stores like GG, Anderton’s, PMT, GAK etc can cobble together some 5ers at the lower end of the price bracket. it’s possibly simpler to decide what you’re looking for and take it from there?

And this, ladies and gentleman, is why I will never entertain alternate tunings, unless it is my one and only tuning 😃

The 1506MS seems out of stock everywhere but the 1505MS in blue appears to be in stock in Gear4Music (are they actually UK?), GAK and PMT if their websites are to be believed. The solid colour models seem to be more available generally.

Seems like availability is still very limited - most shops have both the 5 and 6 as out of stock or pre-order only. Is this due to the general supply issues at the moment or is it particular to the EHB models?

Get a decent compressor and configure it properly. Studios have been recording bass for decades with finger style, pick, slap, tap and pop

I would caution that if you do get one, make sure it’s sought after enough to make your money back. Genuine 70s Fenders are rare enough to sell so long as they’re not a boat anchor and/or wrecked. It’s a finish that you can fall in love with and quite easily fall rather heavily out of love with

I’d love to see a Bongo 6 under 9lbs. When I was on the lookout I saw more than 20 of all different eras and not one was under 10lbs. Pro Music Tools in Germany has a new one in harvest orange - just over 10lbs. My lightest 5s are my Stingray Special (8lb 7oz) and Dingwall ABZ5 (8lbs). I don’t really need anything lighter.

Many players are comfortable where they are, and don’t want/need more. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, most players at some point in their life feel a sense of being limited, and the need to expand their knowledge. This may just a burst that never happens again (the fallacy that understanding why something works stops you from being able to do it), you may have plateaus, some times for years, where you would like to get better, but don’t, and a small minority of players are never content and always seek to improve (Allan Holdsworth was a classic example). And this need to I,prove doesn’t necessarily mean taking theory or reading sessions - for example, if you play in a studio/recording situation for the first time you may well find your technique and timing aren’t good enough. What sounds good when you play it often comes back when recorded totally differently. There’s nothing inherently wrong with either theory knowledge or learning to read music. It’s people’s application of it that results in some musicians being labelled too technical, too busy or lacking feel. It’s sometimes said that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, so if you are going to do it, make a fair go of it as initially the value of it might seem a bit hard to judge, and in the very short term it’s unlikely to make you play better

Oh, it’s Les’s fault for that? Good to know. Sounds awful.

So… basically a covers band?

The vault has isn’t quite working for me - showing all the older sold out basses as well as the few still for sale.

No, so if you contact Ernie Ball UK for spares not available on the shop and EB will sell it to you, it ends up being routed to S&T. I’ve got a few accessories off of the, and my pickguard quote is S&T on the top.

At the moment the EBMM site has the same 9 colours for both 4- and 5-string Stingray.