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One last question guys. I've just put a counter offer in to buy a little more. I've managed to convince myself the MIJ is the right choice but now I'm getting a nagging doubt that it might be fake or put together from parts. I know if I get a Flea from Andertons I'm getting the real deal. Help me out here guys, does everything you see In the photos look kosher?

Thanks for all your input guys, it's much appreciated. Despite the fact that these sort of open ended questions rarely achieve a consensus it's actually been quite useful. I did follow bass bunnies suggestion of compiling a for and against (in my head anyway) and found that useful. To borrow a naff expression from our American cousins I think I'm about to 'pull the trigger' on the MIJ '62. I'm putting my reasons down in print just to make sure they make sense when I read them back to myself but also if any of you think I've missed anything or come to any wrong conclusions your input will still be appreciated (at least for the next couple of hours until I accept the offer). So why do I want a new bass as a beginner first off? Well I'm currently using copy of a Stingray by Vintage. I love the tone of it and the action is great but I don't think it's a particularly accurate copy as the neck is like a baseball bat (I've never played a real Music Man but I'm told the necks are quite slim). I only have medium sized hands and whilst I don't find it impossible to play it could be more comfortable. I don't know how old it is but it's a JHS Encore product made in India, so possibly pre- Trevor Wilkinson. I also find the single pickup frustrating because it's in the wrong place (for me) to use a thumb rest, thus the desire to buy a Jazz bass with a slimmer neck profile and dual pickups. So as far as that goes both basses would answer my requirements. What do I like about the Flea Bass? Well let me say straight away I'm no particular fan of falsely 'aged' finished and I'm not even really a fan of Flea. I think one of the first things I'd have to do is take the cheesy Flea neck plate off and replace it with a plain one. I do LOVE shell pink guitars although from what I've heard it's a very faded almost grey shell pink anyway. I like the dual concentric controls but if i'm honest I think it's only the aesthetics that appeal and the fact that they are a bit different from the norm. I'm just a bedroom player at the moment so the advantage of having extra tone control at my fingertips is largely lost on me. I do like nitro finishes on guitars - I hate over shiny plasticky finishes (I considered a Sire briefly but their over glossy finishes is what disqualified them). And of course, everyone raves about the Flea bass - I'm, in absolutely no doubt it's a brilliant bass. Owning two MIM classic player strats I really don't have any doubts about MIM quality. What don't I like about them? Well that Flea neckplate of course. I'm not a great fan of roadworn finishes although I think this one looks better than most but what I would find very annoying is the fact that they have applied a nice aged patina to the machine heads and control plate but just plonked a shiny new bridge on it. What do I like about the MIJ? Well Olympic white (particularly aged to nice pale yellow) is definitely up there with shell pink as one of my favourite colours. What this guitar has is nice naturally aged patina as it's already over twenty years old. I don't know whether I'm right but I would think those twenty years will have helped season the wood and improve the tone as well. It's also a bit rarer than the flea. There are a lot of Fleas knocking about at the moment but on the whole of Reverb there are only two MIJ '62 RI's in Europe. Resale value isn't that important to me - I tend to not sell equipment on which is why I currently have 19 guitars but it's still a factor to consider. I probably wouldn't ever get less than I've paid for the MIJ whereas Fleas are already available second hand at 30% discount on new. (although that will probably change if Fender discontinue them). So what are my concerns on the MIJ? Well I know very little about it - what the pickups are like for instance although as it's meant to be a 62 reissue I would hope they'd be similar to those on the Flea. I don't know what build quality was like on MIJ basses in the 90s although I've never particularly heard of Japanese Fenders suffering the same dips in quality as American. And I suppose if there were any faults on it when it left the factory, after twenty years they would have been sorted. I suppose the only other slight worry is buying from Spain - will it arrive through the postal system in good nick, what is my redress if it doesn't? In the final analysis the flea doesn't really offer me anything more than the MIJ and the MIJ is nearly £250 cheaper. Saving money is not critical but having said that £250 is not to be sniffed at. I'm currently just using a little Vox Pathfiner for an amp and that £250 could go a long way to buying a decent Class D amp head to go with my new bass. So there you go guys - I'm 95% certain it will be the MIJ but if you think I'll regret speak up now!!

Some good points there Marc and no. you are not being daft. There are three for sale but just from different dealers - the cheap one at £350+ quid is in Japan so attracts import duty and hefty postage and it's quite beat up. The other one is in France. I own a crafted in Japan Tele and have to say it's one of the nicest Fenders I 've ever owned so I'm tempted to put more faith in MIJ quality than MIM but as you say, all the reviews of the Flea I've read rave about it. The one thing I was unsure about was how good MIJ products were in the mid-nineties. I know Fender have gone through low points in quality control over the years but I suspect Japan have always had higher standards.

One thing that has just occurred to me though. Will I be hit with vat/import duties on this as it's in Spain or is it exempt as we are in the EU?

no steve, that's a known. I have tried Jazz basses and know I want a passive jazz bass with a vintage vibe so both tick those boxes, just don't know which one

Ok, I am on the verge of ordering a Fender Flea bass but though I'd take a quick look on Reverb and came across this: https://reverb.com/item/6946987-fender-jazz-bass-ri-62-1995-1996-vintage-white I put in a low ball offer of £650 and they have countered with offer of 750 euros plus 50 euros postage (works out at about £711 total, the Flea is £949). I now have about 12 hours to accept the offer and I'm torn with indecision. I'm relatively new to bass so haven't got a lot of experience to go on and It's not practical to go to Spain to try the MIJ. I like the look of both. They are both vintage re-issues ('61 in the case of the flea, '62 in the case of this MIJ) but I have no idea which is a better instrument. The MIJ is over twenty years old now so would it have developed a better tone as the wood seasons? I'd be saving £238 if I bought the MIJ, but would I regret not spending that little bit extra to get the Flea. What would you go for?

I just ordered one as well. Crazy not to at that price. I know it's designed for guitarists to add drums and bass but I'm wondering if it can be used just as a drum machine to play along to bass. I play guitar anyway so it will get used but I'm learning bass at the moment and it would be good if I could use it as a drum machine for practising bass.

Can't blame the seller for trying. Anyone want to bid...... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263306049274?ul_noapp=true

Hi Guys Antoher question about basses from me, Still looking around trying to decide on what to buy to upgrade from my starter Stingray copy. So far I have been looking at Fender Jazz basses as I've always owned Fender guitars and love the brand. The Jazz bass also appeals with the slimmer neck. However I've just come across the Ibanez SR650. Ibanez isn't a brand I've considered despite owning an Ibanez bass (and liking it) some 40 years ago. The whole package seems almost too good to be true - P &J pickups, great tone wood, slim neck, seemingly extremely well made and at a price that seems almost unbelievable. So any thoughts - positive or negative from people that have owned or played this bass appreciated. Surprisingly there seems to be very few reviews of them on YouTube or elsewhere.

Hi, feel I need some drum patterns to play along to to help my bass learning journey. What are the best apps out there for Android?

just did a quick calculation, guessing the shipping at about £100 plus import duty, vat and customs clearance it would probably come in at about £815. Probably a bit expensive for what it is. shame

Anybody know if the reliability issues that these suffered when first released has now been sorted? Looking to buy one but have heard loads of horror stories about the early ones cutting out.

Still looking around guys and have just come across this little beauty. I would appreciate any thoughts on this. The website doesn't give a lot of info but would I be correct in thinking this guitar is new rather than second hand and a MIJ rather than MIM? Also would I be correct in thinking that the equivalent 60s MIM version is no longer available - I've done a quick search and can't find any available in the UK. Not sure what it would cost once shipping and tax is added on but at just over £500 this seems pretty reasonable.....or is it? https://www.j-guitar.com/eng/product_id29297.html

Hi Looking to upgrade from my cheap learner bass and wondered what collective thoughts on this would be. It's in Spain so can't easily go to look at it. I don't know a lot about Japanese Fenders although I have a MIJ Tele which is drop dead gorgeous. Everything I've heard makes me think quality control on Japanese Fenders is a lot tighter than on Mexican/USA guitars, but does anyone know if they were generally OK in the mid nineties? Also pricewise - cheap, average or over-priced? I'm seriously considering this or a new Fender Flea bass and can't decide between the two https://reverb.com/item/6946987-fender-jazz-bass-ri-62-1995-1996-vintage-white

I've just been flicking trhrough the latest issue of Bass magazine and was stopped in my tracks by the beauty off the Ellio Martina BS4 that they review (www.elliomartina.com) . Talk about damning with faint praise, hardly a paragraph went by without the reviewer referring to it as drab or boring, even likening it to a grey suit at one point. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder; for me this bass had me salivating over it's purity and simplicity and bucket loads of class. I can't justify spending two grand on a bass at the start of my bass learning journey but I'm sure at some time in the future when I think I've reached a competent enough level to justify it I'll be travelling down the road to Bass Direct to try one out. Anyone have any experience of them? Anyone else of the opinion they are extremely beautiful or am I in a very small minority?

Ok, I've returned to bass after many years. I've continued to play guitar at home for most of my life but the last time i played bass was in a college band forty years ago. Back then the Vox ac30 was still fairly new kit and PA meant putting a mic in front of your combo to a larger amp at the front of the stage. And that's where I am frozen in time. I'm not a Ludite, I'm computer savvy but I'm seriously behind on sound technology. I'm trying to catch up by reading posts on this forum but things like DI, xlr and pre-amps continue to confuse me. In an effort to find out what a pre-amp is I've been searching youtube and came across The Palmer pocket amp. Can someone explain how these work as I've a feeling this might be perfect for me to practise at home without taking up the space of a full amp. Could I for instance use this entirely by itself with headphones for silent practise. Can it be used in tandem with something like a zoom b3n for more flexibility? Can it be linked to a computer to play through computer monitors with backing tracks? Further to that I get the impression some people use these pre-amps with a physical amp. What is the thinking behind that? Surely that user already has full eq on the amp itself? Sorry if these are daft questions but ya gotta learn somehow. Finally, if pre-amps are indeed suitable for home practise situations are there other altetnatives to the palmer that people would recommend

Start light and build up, take the plunge with heavies or happy balance of mediums? Also roundwound, flatwound or tapewound? Confused I am.

That's a real shame. From looking at the YouTube vids the boss unit looks better than the zoom. What puts me off the zoom is I had a zoom guitar multi-fx a few years back and it was a pile of junk, but like i said yhat was a few years back. Just throwing a curve ball in, if you wanted multi-fx and drums would you just get he zoom unit or the boss unit and add something like a mooer micro drummer?

Does anyone know if this unit features drum patterns. Looking at getting a multi fx and decided on the zoom B3n as it seems to offer all the features I want plus drum patterns but I like the look of the Boss unit better. I Can't see any mention of drums though on any of the reviews I've read do I'm guessing it doesn't. Are there any other units other than the zoom that have drums?

If anyone does go to Digbeth Dining Club I run the pan-Asian stall there called Canoodle. We are there next October 20/21. Drop in and say hi!

thanks Al, all useful info. I'm currently working though the lessons on Talking Bass but also thinking of joining Scotts Bass Academy - really like his style of delivery from the lessons I've seen on youtube.

thanks Paul, I will explore those options. I'm hitting 60 and haven't really kept up with technology. I'm currently using a little vox pathfinder amp with no connectivity but I was thinking of upgrading to an Ampeg PF-500. That has an 'Audio in' which I presume is the same as an aux in and would allow the same connectivity?

Hi Guys So i'm returning to bass after 40 years and enjoying learning the instrument properly through structured lessons (I only ever 'played' in a student band before where nothing but simple bass lines played very loudly were required). However occasionally I'd still like to let my (imaginary) hair down, turn the amp up and rock out. In the intervening years I've played guitar and always found a wealth of resources out there for the solo guitarist playing at home - backing tracks, 'band in a box' type pedals etc but there doesn't seem to be much out there for bassists. I know a lot of you guys are in bands but for those who aren't or even if you are, what do you use to make playing at home more interesting? If you know of any particularly good sources for backing tracks a link would be great as well as any recommendations for any pedals you know of if there are any.