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Original German Warwick LX model had flamed maple, as do the German handbuilt “Masterbuilt” basses (plus almost any option you can imagine - basically super-expensive custom shop instruments). This is a cheaper Teambuilt model which is made from US cherry. They’ve substituted model woods in the past - the Korean pro and Rockbass lines mostly.

Not to mention Pau Ferro being used by many high-end bass manufacturers - and Fender in the past!

In both cases you’re stepping down from a higher string to a lower string. Take a couple of notes either side, slow it down and pay attention to what’s happening. If you play it in a loop are you using the same plucking fingers each time? In the second example you need fairly nimble fingers to switch position then rock you fretting finger joint at the Db-Gb. It’s probably a loss of control skipping strings throwing you off.

It’s a teambuilt Streamer LX 4-string - so made in Germany but built by suppliers local to Warwick rather than hand-built in the Warwick factory (which is a bit of a misnomer as Warwick invested millions in computerised manufacture). I’d say the price is OK given new ones are going for around £1,700 new. The LX is a bolt-on vs the Stage 1 being a neck through. There are also other differences in woods (and IIRC the LX has a 2-band preamp vs the Stage 1’s 3-band).

Hmm. I don’t agree with you there. If you only offer collection or meet-up, fair enough, but as a buyer you are relying on the seller to package appropriately and are accepting all the risk, having paid upfront. Easy for the seller. Why should it be unrealistic for it to be delivered? If you’re able to package it well enough to avoid damage and wait in for a courier why not post it? Isn’t this how eBay operates (like it or not)? What is unrealistic is offering a bass with a flimsy gig bag then saying arrange your own courier I understand the point about meeting up if you want it badly enough but not everybody has their own transport or the annual leave/spare time to travel 200-300 miles and back. The other thing some people may not be aware of is that most couriers do not offer insurance, or cover up to the value of the bass, except maybe UPS (but then it must have a hard case and the max cover is £1,000) - not sure about the courier service Basschat has recently advertised. Of course, it’s up to each person to accept the risk. Perhaps it’s better just to stick with collection, it avoids disappointment when something that appears great ends up being average.

I was in Bass Direct a few weeks ago ready to pick up a lovely American Pro P... until I played it. Lots of neck dive, strange smooth finish on the back of the neck that just didn’t feel great and a decidedly average tone. I then noticed a battered Japanese P-bass (I think a 62 reissue). 0.5Kg lighter, balance OK (but now perfect with some ultra lites resulting in a final weight of 3.5Kg), and the tone was amazing. The whole bass feels just like a vintage instrument with real relic’ing, but, with no build quality issues. I’m sure you can guess which one I bought

I’ve noticed an increasing number of listings where the seller states that they’ll package a bass up, but it’s up to the buyer to both arrange for and take the risk on courier delivery. Am I alone in thinking that if I were a buyer I’d give such sales a wide berth? As a buyer I don’t have control over how said bass is packed, I rely on the seller actually being in when the courier calls (having already paid for both instrument and shipping) and then have to fight with the courier should anything go wrong in transit. Furthermore, if the bass doesn’t have a hard case and decent packaging the chances of it turning up unscathed are significantly reduced. I have both bought and sold on here and in every case the seller was responsible for shipping. I have seen at least a couple of basses here that are right up my street and are too far away for me to go and try, but frankly there’s no way I’d pay upfront then sort the shipping myself - the seller should take that responsibility. Interested to hear whether people feel differently.

Well, it’d be a dull world if we all liked the same music. About the only thing you can say with such threads.

Had an Ibanez GWB-1 once upon a time with the ramp fitted. Lovely bass but I could never get on with it, having spent so long digging in a bit more. The concept is to play with a lighter touch and turn the amp up to get a fatter tone - however, for me that approach doesn’t work as well on a fretted bass as it may do on a fretless. It sounds too polite.

Taking the approach that playing any old notes fits is not far off Les Dawson territory it doesn’t have to be top-class players that can spot a faker - even a reasonably proficient player is going to expect to hear something idiomatically correct. A faker may have good time and may even hit the odd root note, but, assuming they can be heard well enough (not always guaranteed with an upright bass), there will undoubtedly be lots of very dissonant notes and no structure behind them to make the line work - plus if the faker doesn’t know the song they probably won’t know the (often written, or accepted based on a classic version of the tune) line that goes under the head or any rhythmic hits, trading fours/eights etc. A player who has put a bit more work into learning walking lines will play the root of the chord on the downbeat and either chord tones or scale tones with the odd chromatic passing note. Better players improve upon this by playing a line that makes sense in of itself - it outlines the harmony so all the other players know where they are (bass is a supporting instrument) but adds something to the music. Walking bass can be learned entirely by ear so it’s not snobbish, you don’t actually have to know all the ins and outs of harmony, but you do need to know what shapes work through chord changes (and what those changes sound like). It also depends on the style - an intimate ballad will probably require long root notes, a fast bebop number may require just scale/chord tones (no time to think!) What’s not been mentioned is a strong knowledge and background in the roots of jazz - blues, ragtime etc. There are many standards built on a blues and the bass parts closely reference blues bass lines. Without this a walking line just becomes a clever threading through chord changes rather than music with meaning in its own right. Whilst you can just walk chromatically it quickly becomes tiring on the ear as there is no sense of the overlying harmony and more importantly, no tension and release. If the changes are Am - D7 - Gmaj7 and you play Bb - Eb -Ab all the way through on the bass you won’t be getting called back Look on the positive side - learning to play walking lines well is immensely rewarding and there are few more creative experiences on bass.

Not that I gig any more, but personally I would take a slightly heavier bass if the weight is in the body rather than a lighter weight overall with a heavy neck and terrible balance. This is where Fender and Musicman, being more traditional in terms of wood, generally get it right, and companies like Ibanez and Warwick don’t. I did once record an album with the classic 70’s ash P-bass boat anchor and I had trouble walking for about a week afterward, due to dead leg syndrome!

I do wonder why anyone would make a bass for sale at this price - there comes a point where you’re just building down to a price. There are many great instruments out there but even something as basic as a P bass only tends to be decent upwards of £150 or so - and in the used market a squirt classic vibe or similar isn’t too far away in price and would probably needs next to none of the fettling required.

I must admit that whilst not being a massive MM fan, I did briefly own a natural SR5. It was impeccably made and sounded excellent, and made a great studio/live instrument. Alas the narrow string spacing, weight and lack of a neck pickup meant I moved it on. The HH versions do look cool with those enormous pickups.

Just sold an Ibanez to Thibault. Great comms and instant payment. Thanks for a smooth transaction!

Apart from the song being in a minor key, the same applies to the 12-bar Blues you already know. V7-I, e.g. D7 to Gmaj (Or D7 to Gmin in a minor key) serves as tension and release. You can wrap a lot of theory around it but that’s all it is. One chord has a grouping of notes that sounds unstable (D7 has F# and C, which form a tritone - or an interval between two notes that is three whole tones apart). The unstable part gets “resolved”, usually by moving up or down a semitone. So F# in D7 moves up one fret to G (root of Gmaj or minor) and C in D7 moves down one fret to B (3rd of Gmaj) or Bb (3rd of Gmin). You end up with a stable chord (Gmaj or Gmin), and on we go to the next verse/chorus etc.

In a big band I’d expect to see slash chord notation with dots for doubled or melody parts, unless a particular voicing was required. Arrangers rarely know what works on a guitar 😀