BillyBass

I think that Guitarguitar ad PMT structure/arrange their 2nd hand deals differently to Bass Direct. GG and PMT will offer you a cut in part exchange for one of their new basses. This difference in price then has to have VAT added to it when they sell it. So it rarely ends up being a good deal for the individual wanting to part ex one of their basses for something shiny in GG or PMT. How the Bass Gallery do it is to act as an intermediary; they sell your bass for you and take a cut (15% in the case of the Bass Gallery). This keeps things cheaper and I guess the only VAT being paid is the 20% they have to pay on the fee they get for selling the bass. I'm guessing Bass Direct do something like this too. I once spoke to someone working in a Guitarguitar branch who told me up front I would be better off selling my old bass on eBay, rather than part exing it with them. I've not bought much with Bass Direct but these few transactions have all gone smoothly. I've bought a fair bit more from Guitarguitar, again all good. PMT I'm wary of. They seem to be box shifters and little more. I have had problems with several orders, which, they have always dealt with well, but it doesn't encourage me to use them if an alternative is available.

I do like the colour. You don't really see many basses in butterscotch blonde, unlike Telecasters of course. You did comment on your 'Gloxy' that the top row of knobs got in the way of your hand sometimes, at least with the passive basses, this shouldn't be a concern. I wonder why MarkBass are trying to capture a position in the pretty full budget F shaped object market? I doubt whether Harley Benton or Squier are too worried.

I use Deezer. It appears that, so far, I am the only one on this site to do so. I got Deezer free for three months when I bought some Sonos stuff about 10 years ago and have kept with them. I paid double to get the higher quality streams (not sure just exactly how 'lossless' this is) and then all the prices came down...and then came down a bit more with a yearly subscription. I use playlists on my iPad to practise along with the songs my covers band(s) play. I haven't actually listened to music at home that wasn't band related for a long time.

Vanderkley make front ported cabs. Bassdirect and the Bass Gallery in London stock them, or at least could order them in for you if stock isn't available. I've never played through them myself but they have a good reputation. https://vanderkleyamp.com/cabinets/

Yeah that Stingray does look lush! But, my budget wouldn't go that far either. I'm waiting to see if the project I've joined has legs. As soon as we get our first gig, I'll get a second fiver.

Hi Dave I've been tempted recently to get one of the Sire P5R fivers, at Andertons. I'll be interested to hear how you get on with this. What was the bass you liked but was too dear? I tried a Reverend Mercalli 5 up in Glasgow when I bought my Decision P, I was mainly focussing on the 4 stringer but I do remember being pleasantly surprised by the B string and the weight. I have to use a fiver for my current project but I'd rather be playing my 4 string basses, I won't be getting rid of mine.

For those interested, Sterling seems to have strengthened a little against the dollar, so it currently £319.00 for the bass and £507.11 including shipping, U.S. taxes and UK customs duties. Looks a bit ordinary to me but I do like the look of the 2 new colours for the short scale Sterling Stingrays.

Nice one! If that was the one on sale here for £750, you've got a bargain there.

I played through @Merton's TE1200 and Barefaced 210s at the SE Bass Bash a couple of years ago. It was a sonic match made in heaven, the colour of the 10s just seemed to fit the TE1200. The best adjectives I could come up with to describe the sound are: rich and creamy. My rig is a GK Legacy through a Super Compact, quite a different sound but perfect for me, but if GK hadn't been invented, I'd be really keen on a TE1200 with, possibly, one of those new BF 310 cabs.

This sounds like a brilliant idea Eli, I would love to do something like this myself, however, for me, at least, there would be quite a steep (but enjoyable) learning curve. The Tony Levin era stuff has some brilliant bass bits, I prefer this to the Larks tongue in Aspic, Court of the Crimson King era stuff. You'll have to post some clips of yourselves when it starts working.

I have the Spectra Drive. The downloading different drives to the pedal from your phone stuff stopped working pretty quickly but as a signal booster, EQ shaper and DI out it does a reasonable job. The MXR has a smaller footprint and sweepable mids, instead of two different mid knobs, but, I thought the bass eq was centred a bit low, 40Hz, I believe? I haven't tried it though.

I don't have a great deal of gigging experience but the best amp I've tried by far is the GK Legacy 800, it allows my bass to be heard and is the amp I used the only time I have had my bass tone complimented (paired with a Super Compact) Honorable mentions to GK Fusion 1200s and TE Elf

I followed a band called Delta 5, back in the day. They were Leeds Uni students, influenced by the Gang of Four and 2 of them (Beth and Jules) had been girlfriends of members of the Mekons. Unfortunately Jules (singer, songwriter, occasional tele player) and Kelvin (drums) have passed away. I don't know what Beth (bass, vocals) and Alan (guitar) are doing now but the other bassist, Ros Allen, is a lecturer at the University of Sunderland; Animation is her thing I believe. Not punk, I know but there's an association.

Are you going to advertise for Toyah Wilcox to complete the line up?

We were lying in bed one Sunday morning, cups of tea and laptops to hand and I was perusing the Reverends on Merchant City Music's website. Mrs BillyBass announces she wants to go on a spa break, so I quickly google spa breaks near Glasgow and found somewhere in exotic East Kilbride. She liked the idea, not having ever visited Scotland and knowing nothing about the place (she's Turkish). I then came clean and told her my ulterior motive and we came to an agreement: I get a bass, she gets a spa break. So on the first day I visited Merchant City Music and GuitarGuitar and bought the Reverend, while she walked around Glasgow. Day 2: Stirling Castle. Day 3: Edinburgh. She also had some sort of pampering session at the East Kilbride spa hotel. Neither of us had ever visited Scotland, and I was the chauffeur and interpreter; she struggled with Scottish accents and I often had to help out.

Latest e-mail from Sire: Hello William. This is Mariano from Sire customer service. Sorry for the late reply. This is the information received from the factory technician. In the case of the Z series, the 4-string is 19mm and the 5-string is 17.5mm. Hope this helps. Thank you for choosing SIRE! That is a little bit disappointing, I was hoping for similar string spacing to their P5R models🙁

Nice collection there. A Duff McKagan PJ is a bass I'd love to add to my collection

On a Saturday morning, leaving at 8:30, it would take me about 1 hour to get to Andertons, arrive just before it opens and park in one of the spaces in front of their shop before they are grabbed by anyone else. Then I can try the basses out; fivers being much more prone to neck dive, weight and string spacing issues than a 4 string bass. Last year I had to bribe Mrs BillyBass with a spa break in East Kilbride so I could try out the Reverends in Merchant City Music. I think its worth driving for 3 hours if I'm definitely looking to buy and a particular shop has several options I'd like to try. But to try one bass only, maybe not

18mm works for me. 16-16.5mm doesn't. My only fiver has a 18.25mm spacing at the bridge and I'm hoping for something close, so that swapping basses is straightforward. The Z7s look like a great option, if they aren't too heavy and the string spacing is at least 18mm. Fingers crossed.

Let me guess, in about 5 years time the old version will be highly sought after 2nd hand, with people waxing lyrical about how much better it is than the future current model. I think I'll keep mine and flog it second hand in 2030 for £700.

Nice one! Does the J stand for Jazz or Japanese?

Latest correspondence, copied and pasted: Hello William. This is Mariano from Sire customer service. Since the Sire Z models are new and in the process of production, let me find out from our factory to make sure the string spacing and nut width. Once I receive the confirmation I will get back to you as soon as possible. Hope this helps. Thank you for choosing SIRE!

Good spot. 2nd email sent.

Sire's response, copied and pasted: Hello Bill. Thank you for contacting Sireguitars and for your inquiry. Sorry for the late response. Below is nut width and string spacing information. 4 String nut width: 38mm 5 String nut width: 46mm 4 String spacing: 20mm 5 String spacing: 18mm Hope this helps. Thank you for choosing SIRE!