BillyBass

My parents had very little interest in music. The first music I liked as a primary school kid was glam rock; Slade, Sweet, Alice Cooper etc. This was followed by Status Quo and then punk rock. I left school as a 16 year old in 1979 and being lucky enough to be from London and having a job, I could go to loads of gigs, which I did; starting with Buzzcocks and Joy Division at the Rainbow in November 1979. My tastes have broadened considerably now but I still love Glam rock, Quo, Punk and (what later became known as) Post Punk. Most people I meet that are into music still like the stuff they liked as a teenager.

The Triad looks very tempting. They had twin stock, a green one and a 'Korina burst' one. The green Triad has disappeared from their Ebay page, would that be your doing by any chance? I just happen to be driving up to Northumberland next week, I'm tempted to come back to London via Glasgow; Peach Guitars in Essex doesn't have any Triads.

Did you try the 'Triad' while you were there?

Where did you get it? Essex or Glasgow?

Hi @sPiKi Have your views on the Mercalli and Decision P changed over time? My 60th is approaching and Peach guitars in Essex has both the Mercalli 4 and the Decision P in stock and I am very tempted. My current band plays punk, so its P bass and pick at the moment but I always like the added versatility of something else down nearer the bridge. Do you still prefer the Mercalli?

Basses with split coils or humbuckers can have noise. It could be RFI or from the amp. Poor earthing/shielding is a common cause. I have picked up radio stations from really bad instrument cables.

Mexican standard P bass (2013). Fender Player Jazz, Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas PJ 4string and a Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas 5 string J bass (2xsingle coils). Since I posted the above comment about the lack of shielding needed with my Squier, I have been noticing noise, but not much, not enough for me to spend an afternoon shielding it.

Everything is in its right place

Lovely bass, congrats. I bought the Lake Placid blue version of the P bass. But, gents, please, leave the gold pick guards on, they are lovely.

My Precisions My current band does punk covers so a P bass and pick is what is needed. I alternate between these three. The red one is a Mexican standard with an EMG Geezer Butler split coil. Sounds lush The blue and gold is one of the recent Squier 40th anniversary gold editions. The metallic blue PJ on the right is a Charvel pro-Mod with a John East pre amp. The Charvel PJ feels nicest in my hands, the neck is more jazz bass sized and it has rolled edges and a satin finish on the back. The red MIM probably sounds the best but all three are great and I'm keeping them all.

My only bike was a Honda CB250RS. 4 stroke single. It thumped along, pretty much like my P basses. I wonder if there is a correlation between bikes and basses? The last time I rode the Honda we ended up in a mangled heap on the A10 in Enfield. Hopefully me and my basses will part on better terms.

I'm very interested. I was tempted to treat my self to their r/eq pedal, mainly for the high pass filter but wished it had a DI out...and now Genzler have produced this. Yes, the input jack is in a weird place but never mind

Congrats on the new acquisitions. Jam pedals fanboi here. I have the Ripply Fall along with the Rattler distortion and Lucy Dreamer overdrive pedals.

I would have called up the BBC and asked for my money back.

At one time he was playing a Charvel 5 string, which was surprising. I have one, and they cost between £700-£850 new (mine was £699)I would have though pro bassists on the telly would have very expensive kit.

I would too

Likewise, I'd be keen to see your band play, to see how it's done properly!

'Sneaky Lizard'. Not really competition 😉we haven't had our first gig yet. We are ready to go but our lead guitarist is a bit of a perfectionist and wants more rehearsals before we are unleashed onto the unsuspecting public. Our first gig will probably be in a pub in Buckinghamshire, our singer knows the landlord.

looks like we have some competition. My band is local to you, drummer lives in Hemel, and 13 of there songs in your setlist are in ours!

Ah yes. I have the '3' which has dip switches to change from buffered to true bypass

I love the look of these: shell pink, Reverend style body shape/knob placement, roasted maple neck and matching headstock and body. If they had top quality hardware and were made in Korea I would not see £850 as expensive.

I take it you have the Polytune set for 'buffer' and not 'true bypass' then?

Hi all, I know the Radial SB-2 is a passive DI and would be suitable for use with active instruments and that something like the SB-1 48v phantom powered DI box would be advised for passive instruments. However, could I get good results from the SB-2 with a passive P bass, if I upped the gain on any of the other pedals in the signal chain, the Cali76 CB compressor, for example?

I got the Lake Placid blue P bass for Christmas. My initial impressions are very good. This is my first Squier. I have two MIM Fenders and two MIM Charvels to compare it to. all of my Mexican made basses have needed shielding and I was assuming this would be the case with the Squier too, but no. No unwanted noise with this one. The finish is superb. The binding looks great and it makes the black dot fret markers really stand out. The gold anodised pick guard looks classy and the other gold hardware and pearloid inlays really make this bass stand out. The neck has a glossy finish, which some won't like but I'm fine with it. A couple of minor negatives. It is a bit neck divey but not enough to make me want to swap out the tuners (I have a good strap for it) the jack socket doesn't really hold the jack in as firmly as my other basses but as long as you wrap your lead behind the strap in use, it won't come out. I have heard better split coil P pick ups. Unusually for a P bass, I am adding a bit of low mid via my amp's EQ section. However, the D and G strings sound great, better than my Charvel PJ4, which is my go to bass at the moment. I could swap the pup for something better, but I could also just boost the low mids from my head or an EQ pedal, so I'm not sure whether to bother. I'll see how it is in use. I would say this is a keeper. I see no obvious signs it is inferior to a MIM Fender P bass and it looks gorgeous.