itu

Of course there's wear, just like with fretless basses. The question is whether you bought the bass for playing or do you just want to keep it in mint condition?

One day the pots start to crack. Nitro finish will look yellowish, maybe even crackled. Belt will make a scratch. Headstock hits the drummer.

Use your instrument. It loves to be played.

Try nickel strings on fretless. SS is harsher in sound.

If you worry about the fretboard, try halfrounds (or sell the bass). It was built for playing.

Just wondering what kind of a selection you have if this is leaving? This is a steal, wish my bank account was alive.

23 hours ago, Poacher said:

...and I use active bass guitars so the input signal is that bit higher than passive guitars.

You sure? Have you dialled a smiley eq from your bass (B&T @11)? If not, the output can be higher or lower than a hi-Z output bass ("passive").

52 minutes ago, Matt P said:

...my rule is that if a quirc squirt of servisol doesn't work then the pot is replaced with a new good quality one (usually CTS)

Quality and a carbon track pot in the same sentence? They are contradictory terms. You want quality, why not buy a plastic track Bourns instead? Or a cermet?

5-string needs an amp which is able to produce 50 Hz i.e. the important  first harmonic. Very common.

Problems start with cabs, they need to be able to reproduce that 60 Hz with ease.

The first bass is nice looking, and similar to the player's that you admire. The second is an interesting one. The third is the one that fits you.

We can suggest anything to you, just like car or shoes. But if you do not test drive anything, your choice will be a chore. Now take a walk or a drive to the nearest music shop. Test everything they have, trust your ears and hands.

1 hour ago, basshead56 said:

Looks like the leftmost is for short scale basses, and...

My modest testing (around ten units a few years ago) and understanding is that you need to test the pedal with your basses. Hi-Z ("passive") output of a bass produces different response compared to a Lo-Z output. My feel is that there's of course difference because of the output level. Remember: a battery powered preamp may have higher or lower output level compared to a "passive". Still the impedance seems to have an effect on the behaviour.

Some compressors tend to have similar behaviour. Other effects are less prone to the output Z of the bass. Envelope filters can be easily tweaked with level/gain, time-based units from chorus to reverb do not seem to care about Z.

A friend of mine hasn't played this very much, and because of certain family affairs he asked me to take care of this all original neck through Musician (serial starting B86...).

Addition:

I suppose this is 1987 MC2940AM

- MC is Musician

- 29 ???

- 40 may mean fretless, because 24 seems to equal frets

- AMber

https://ibanez.fandom.com/wiki/1987_Japan_catalog?file=1987_Japan_catalog_p20-21.jpg

I think I told this earlier somewhere, but... I had played piano for +10 yrs, but wanted to try the g-word. Bought an old, red Hagström. My schoolmate was an avid g-word player at that time and looked at me and said: "You're so big and ugly, why wouldn't you play bass?"

My voice is low, and bass actually felt like mine. Bought an old 4001, then went to a music school to learn jazz and pop. My playing is not very flashy, although I try to overplay too often... so far I have played maybe 2000 gigs. Not very much compared to pros, but enjoying every opportunity.

I checked the picture of the cab and read Rihanna instead of Piranha. It is time to go to bed.

FX loop tested with a cable? Older amp may have some oxidized contacts.

On 22/11/2023 at 16:35, tauzero said:

I do not know where did you find this, but acoustics lecturers told me 120 dB is the threshold of pain. I have seen something like this in some American materials. Scale is based on 5 dB steps which is awkward. 3 dB is based on hearing.

0 dB is approximately the threshold of hearing, but some people can hear -3 dB levels.

I found these two threads:

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/286315-arthritis-in-neck-vertebrae-arm-neck-hand-chest-pain-vertigo-advice-needed/

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/326376-back-ache-any-tips-to-avoid/

I was playing a gig, and forgot that my right hand does not like the body shape of the J bass. I had to shorten the strap a bit and then my right hand started to lie on top of the body. That affects the circulation in my hand, and at the end of the gig my hand felt like a log. I really need a muscle hammer now.

What issues you've had that have prevented or hindered your playing? How did you survive?

Some words mentioned earlier:

CTS = carpal tunnel syndrome

back, or neck pain

arthritis

ischias

bursitis

"The sound" is made in the mixer boards in the 60's and 70's, when it was placed under all other instruments. Things haven't changed that much, because the bass is still in the same place under similar other instruments and voices.

P bass has enough low end to sound decent in the mix. Compared to a SS strung Status, I find a P one very dull sounding instrument by itself. But again, I am not King, and my sound is low pass filtered in the final mix, thus I could play a P.

Ergonomics, well, many, maybe most of the Precisions are bulky and heavy to my taste. Vigier Passion on the other hand... I just happen to love French design over an American 50's ice cream bar that has stripes, and funny paint.

2 hours ago, Bass Wielder said:

...On close monitoring I can hear the difference...

Exactly. Though you may be a studio star, me just a gigging bassist.

@Baloney Balderdash already said it, but it's true: you will use one or two options only. Therefore I suggest you do trials with the options before closing the bonnet. Sounds you get are probably something like:

- series is THE sound

- parallel gives a bit different sound

- single is lower in level and a tad brighter

If you do soloing, the level and sound difference of series/single may be usable, otherwise your choice is series/parallel.

5 minutes ago, dclaassen said:

I’m thinking about only have 2..fretted and Fretless.

But if that's 4-, 5-, and 6-string basses, you already have six!

49 minutes ago, SumOne said:

...although in an ideal world I'd like one for each special task: one for slap (stingray with low action light and bright roundwounds), one for Reggae (Jazz with tapewound), one for soul (Precision with flatwounds), one for punk (Precision with roundwounds), and perhaps a fretless, an acoustic, and 5 & 6...

A red Status 4 with 30-90 set for slap (no gigs, just for fun), Vigier 4 and Modulus Genesis 5 for gigs, fretless 4 and 5 for fun, maybe gigs, a double bass for jazz and classical, electronic upright for jazz... some modern 36" lightweight bass for noodling around, what else? An Alembic, and...

So many good players are mentioned already. One of my favourites is the late Victor Bailey playing his koa Pensa-Suhr.

So, what are those numbers?

A bamboo chopstick is a good tool to tap components, if there's a cold joint.

I'd like to be as young as the fire engine red Status I saw in the 90's.