Bettencourt

Thank you. Fair enough, proper is a subjective term. It's been two years since I last played and had completely forgotten how difficult it can be, my technique is shocking.

Absolutely, prices on eBay for quite a range of bridges don't seem to be too extravagant. Thanks, I was just curious if anybody knew, whilst waiting on an answer from the Bass Centre.

I went for the Squire as it was well under budget, seemed to fit my needs and could be delivered in 24 hours (can't go anywhere waiting around for a plumber and builders). Sadly, I'm not too impressed. With a few adjustments to compensate for the current heat wave, it plays nicely enough, although there are some quality control issues; I now wish I'd gone with a Jive. At the very leat, I managed to get some recording done. A Babicz bridge would put me over budget, so I'm quite happy to replace the vintage style when ready. That's tolerable, so long as it plays well. May I ask what the fingerboard radius is on Bass Collection?

Thank you for your responses. I had tried Gumtree to no avail. There were one or two that took my interest, but replies from the owners seemed sketchy and the ads have since been removed. One never can be too careful. Interestingly enough, upon learning of the new MIM prices I considered a Marcus Miller V3 or V7, then promptly demurred over the active electronics and flatter fingerboard radius. In different circumstances I would have bought one immediately, but at the moment, its electronics might cause more headaches than they'll remedy. Definitely a future prospect, though. It does have to be a Jazz or something very similar, I need the honky back-pickup sound; also, I know them well and familiarity is crucial at the moment. I wish I''d been looking at the classifieds section much earlier today, this would have been just the ticket. Good to know. The Bass Centre was the placed I looked to first, though as it's closed to normal trade, far from ideal. Although incidental to anything really, I am quite taken by Windermere Blue — always wanted something in a Lake Placid Blue-like finish, with matching headstock. I didn't want to delay any further and managed to find a Squier VM Jazz (searches seem to suggest Squier has a fairly decent reputation on here), advertised with a rosewood board for £250 new from a reputable shop. Pending any hiccoughs, it should be here in the morning — I'll let you know how it is.

Hello, Not a proper bass player like people here, but I have always enjoyed playing whenever there is one around and really ought to make the effort to play more often. That said, I have been a musician for 30ish years and play several other instruments, so something has to give. Julian

Hi, I tried searching but haven't come up with any real answer for this one, so apologies if this is an annoying query, or indeed if the answer really is buried somewhere on the site. I need a bass quite soon for not much more than £320 for some work. A MIM Jazz was first choice, but of course they far exceed my budget; as such I'm now looking at either a Squier VM Jazz (non-70s) or Bass Collection Jive. Is either better than the other or are they equal in quality e.g. fit, finish, hardware, sound? Thank you!