itu

Don't worry @Sean, I fixed my bass teacher's 5-string Tobias (yes, the original, and when it was brand new). There were issues with sound, and the electronics most likely worked by accident. After just a couple of minutes (*) of fixing the preamp, wires, contacts etc., I was confident that it would work for years to come, as it did. *) When something takes at least 3 hours, I've heard Australians say: "Just a couple of minutes."

Your choices are chinese crap and those mentioned earlier. It may be so that Weller et al. produce their stuff in China (bad) but at least their QC should be better than those no name chinooks. I know, they are able to make quality products, too.

A teacher, maybe?

I had a Sessionette with a 15" element, but boy when I connected the amp to a Marshall 4x12" slanted guitar cab! That was bass! (We didn't play very loudly. TE was way too expensive.) The next (or the next) amp was a Peavey Databass (15", 450 W), but as it was much louder, it was also very heavy and cumbersome to carry. I liked that Sessionette: never had any issue with it.

If you want to drill some more holes, that German T-shop sells both Göldö and ABM single bridges. You need to check if their width enables the spacing you are after.

The plate can be easily drilled...

That bridge is very flexible and technical: if you want you can use only two saddles. But what I didn't like was the adjustments. Take care of the Allen keys, any mismatch with sizes may result in a worn screw. I am pretty sure that the parts are not metric. The plate is aluminium. It is relatively soft. Tighten the sideway adjustment screws only after you have found exact places for individual saddles. Strings can be put to two different slots. String angle and length are different, if that helps. I messed with one bass' bridge position, and had to remove springs. One of those strange screws on top of the saddles anchor the intonation adjustments. All in all the bridge is functional and very flexible, but not my favourite. Nowadays I like Hipshot A style bridge better (19 mm, top loader, no sharp corners).

If that wasn't the case, the preamp would make a loud pop, when powered on. If I remember correctly Philip Kubicki made a preamp to his Ex-Factor basses where rotational switch has a stand-by (and mute) position before the sound is turned on. This removes pops.

On a rare side, alusonic 212 with a tweeter. Around 18 kg.

Dear @Hellzero, I do not know anything about that. I have only seen that publication, and pictures of his various basses.

I would take a look on this: https://www.jerzydrozdbasses.com/akcndfr54jdhrei567/Ultimate_Guide_ver100.pdf

It's a Sony, and definitely does not have 3 dB steps in vol. Do I have to turn on my B&K and measure the steps? No no... now you @Stub Mandrel have planted the seed... bugger.

I set the vol of the TV to 0, 3, 6, 9, 12... why on earth I decided to study acoustics?

(Boss) dist/reverb/X-over pedal for bass. Very small footprint vol/exp pedal that you can push down with your feet instead of those big rocker pedals. A spring loaded unit.

A shop full of headphones. Start from the most expensive. When you hear a difference in sound, take one step back. There you go. But hey, an emphasized bass? Maybe you should start from the cheapest, and when you don't hear that exaggerated bass, take one step back?

12AX7 = ECC83.

As you said you play a lot, use quality batteries. Duracell may cost a bit more, but it has more chemically packed electrons than most other brands. Cheapo batteries are a total waste just like cheapo basses.

Good intonation: - pro setup - (at least relatively) new strings - good touch (behind the fret, even pressure) If you want to dictate the accuracy of the intonation, buy a fretless. If you want minimal noise, remove instrument's pots and caps from the signal path. Use your recording equipment to make adjustments to the sound.

What I have seen through the years I'd say that for most the drugs and booze didn't do good. I knew very few that could be stoned and creative but very very few. Most of the users had serious problems after some time. Even the ones who survived hard use, seem to be teetotallers more or less. This creative thing has some sort of aura in many art circles, although the hardest working successful groups did really much work, ABBA, Beatles, Rolling Stones... The drug use has been, shall I say, glorified like creativity, but are the amounts that big after all? Can you do lots of work if you are stoned all the time, I doubt that. One record is most likely a nice accident, but five or more requires organized work for a long time.

The board pushes out lo-Z (low impedance) signal which is less prone to interference. The bass is naturally the first antenna in line. Is it shielded?

These suggestions are only common practises. May help, but not guaranteed.

Berry (Gordy - Motown).