Paul S

I have one and love it to bits - but with some reservations. It does the buzz thing - softly - unless you are touching metal, but it isn't very loud (and for some reason both the guitards in our band make more buzzing noise from their effects) I did a playoff between the Jag and a USA Jazz when I was buying - none of the cheaper Jazzes I tried came close. In terms of playability I found it to be the same as a USA jazz - same kind of neck, same feel. In terms of build quality I think the USA Jazz had the edge but there wasn't a huge amount in it. What did it for me at the time were the range of tones available and, yes, the looks. As Jezzaboy says, you can't blend the two pups. When passive you can do bridge on/off, neck on/off, series/parallel for each or both together. I'm not sure why this should make a difference when using a pup singly but it does. All controlled with a single tone pot. When active you have exactly the same range of combinatons and tone pot control but with a basic two-band equaliser that cuts and/or boosts the lower and upper ends. This was all discovered in the shop. Having lived with the Jag for a while now I have discovered that certain things aren't quite so important. I am new to the whole gigging situation and my inexperience led me to put more weight on the tonal variety thing. In reality I wouldn't want to keep swapping from active to passive, it isn't practical. Had I been able to play them both together in a performing situation before buying I might have gone for the Jazz - it is difficult to make absolute judgements. Even though it was around £150 more I think the USA Jazz probably represents better value for money. You can't help getting the impression that the extra money spent on a much more straightforward instrument (none of those fancy electrics) is a good investment. Also the Jags don't hold their value like a Jazz - if you do want a Jag they can be picked up second hand for a steal. At the time I was reluctant to spend the extra money and the Jag was the more attractive package. All of which I can easily live with. The bottom line for me is that I love the Jag. I get a sound from it that I am really pleased with and I find it a joy to play. And it looks drop dead gorgeous - shallow, I know, but there you are - the more unusual styling I find immensely appealing - especially since I retro fitted a BWB scratchplate. I see no reason why it shouldn't be my #1 bass for many years. [attachment=24732:jaguarblacksp3.jpg]

How good are the hipshot detuners for this?

For good driving 3-some blues how about Dr Feelgood? Any era, though the vintage Lee Brilleaux vocals/Wilko Johnson is the iconic sound most go for. Edit, Free seem to have been missed off too. Not pure blues but, hey.

You are a star, sir.

Thought I'd bump this one up. It must be approaching time for it to be sent off to me but I am away for a bit soon - can the next on the list have it before me and I'll jump in afterwards? Not sure who that is.

Hocus Pocus - does it for me big time. Does the new guitarist hack it? Jan would be a hard act to follow!

Hi Skank Yes, I do actually keep tuned into the Shergold discussion forum as well as this one, a left over from my Hayman 4040 owning days. There are a couple of top quality build diaries going on there that are quite fascinating including one that is for an interchangeable 6/4, 6/12 double neck (or any as a single) built entirely from scratch materials. Anyway, yes, because I have one I keep an eye on eBay when they crop up and good Masqueraders can indeed go for around that - sadly mine is a bit tatty (but with a provenance - owned by the guitarist in The Pratts, an Irish punk band of the 80s) having gone the way many of the Shergold/Hayman stuff goes with bad cracking on the finish plus, perhaps more worrying, a small dink out of the fretboard. Still worth approaching £200 though I think. As I said one option for me would be to get it set up, frets stoned and (purists look away now) a tremelo system stuck on it that doesn't involved routing out most of the back. They are certainly well made guitars and, with all those pick-up tones at your finger tips, extremely versatile. Single coil/humbucker, in/out of phase in any combination. Heck I might even have just talked myself into doing that very thing

Classic Vibe and Vintage Modified all look good. Budget? I hadn't really considered that as it is more of an idle thought than a burning desire. Not a lot - couple of hundred or so? I'd have to offload the Shergold, too. Like everything else there is too much choice! For example I like the look of the jagmaster, which Squier do a version of, and which would match my Jaguar bass (so important!). £200 ish new.

Thanks all. I suppose the short answer is you've got to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. I'll hang on and see what appears, I think, without pursuing the issue - it is only for noodling around at home, after all. Meanwhile I have a slightly tatty but fully functional Shergold Masquerader which, if I invested the money I am thinking of spending on a strat getting it set up and maybe fret dressed, would probably end up being a better guitar anyway (but no whammy bar!).

Hi all - someone is bound to know on here. In the Squier bass range there are believed to be some particularly fine models - VMJ etc. There are squillions of posts about them on here. So I am wondering which of the 6 string models, and strats particularly, are whispered about in guitar circles. I have read great things of the Squier telecaster custom II with p90 pickups, for example. But I quite fancy a strat with tremelo etc so I can do a proper air guitar mime to Comfortably Numb. Any ideas, please? ta.

Whatever bass he was playing I think the band sounded absolutely great. Fantastic arrangement on that first tune, which my wife tells me is called 'Chant number one (I don't need this pressure on)'. If my lot sounded a fifth as professional and good as they did on Wossy I'd be a happy chap.

Another one

A few days back I was the only bidder on a whole pre-Gibson Trace Elliot rig - AH300-12, 1153 and 2103H cabs - and got it for a steal at £650. It is in near immaculate condition despite being 10 yrs old. I couldn't believe it. That's the good news. The bad news is that I have to try and shift my Ashdown kit which, even though only 4 months old, I suspect I will have to take a massive loss on it. When balanced out I guess what I didn't have to pay out for the Trace Elliot gear tips the balance on what I will lose on the Ashdown but it is never nice. Buyer's market on pretty much anything at the moment.

From one mediocre bass player to another - keep at it until you find the spark. Nothing better than connecting with a band of guys and making some noise. Even mediocre noise! Ever since I moved from bedroom to ballroom I have felt like I found a small bit of me that has been missing all these years. Pin a card in music shop board?

[quote name='The Burpster' post='470147' date='Apr 22 2009, 10:42 PM']My advice FWIW is DONT RUSH! Unless you urgently need a bass for an upcoming gig then dont be rushed into the 'got to get one this weekend, money burning hole in pocket trip"..... You want to get one that you HAVE to pick up and noodle everytime you go near it rather than something that makes it feel like a chore. It sounds with your g'tar experience that you should have a fairly good sense of what you're after, so dont settle for 'its near enough' just because its in stock at your local shop. There is LOADS of really good 2ndhand stuff around at the min and thats all teh more reason for getting it right 1st time. From your quick bit in the OP, sounds to me that a Highway One would tick your boxes and they are very capable basses but it could be a Jazz or a P...... theres soooo much choice.... Welcome aboard..... [/quote] +1 on that. I was in a similar position in that I drifted from guitar to bass and had no idea how different the various basses are to play. For me it is in the neck - there is a world of difference in the way necks feel and play - width, depth, finish. I recommend going to a large music shop, try all they have hanging on the wall then buy secondhand via here (sorry large music shops). I did the first but got carried away and bought the one I liked the best new. I do still love it but could have got so much more for my dollar had I been patient. I think this is particularly the case with amps, too, not just the instruments. I was advised to try as many as I could, and not in the shop environment as it is impossible to tell at shop volume levels. I was in too much of a rush, ignored the advice and, again, bought new without trying more and different things. Just 4 months later I am looking at taking a hit of a couple of hundred pounds on the value of my amp as I have now got something several miles better and need to sell the hastily bought one. Generally speaking the guys here know tons and it is too valuable a resource to ignore. Even if it often degenerates into a bunfight over the detail...

Yes, I am chuffed to bits. To be honest it was a little out of my price range - potentially a [i]lot [/i]out of my price range. But in the end no-one else bid so I got them for £650 which I reckon for a whole new rig of that quality is a steal. Well, hopefully. I'll report back once I have put it through it's paces a bit.

Well, in a rush of blood I just won this lot on eBay (I'm sure the seller won't mind my using his pic): [attachment=24175:TErig.JPG] AH300-12 head, 1153 plus 2103h cabs, all pre-Gibson and apparently in great nick. Like buses - suddenly a load come along together. That was the easy bit. Now I need to get myself over the the other side of these isles to Wales, make sure it all works and bring it back. Assuming it exists... Wish me luck!

Someone said loud - +10 on that, when active - I can only imagine the weedy tones were from the passive version because this thing sounds huge. I did a side by side with my Fender Jaguar - the jag had a greater output on passive but, flick on the preamp and I had to turn the amp up a mark or two it up to get the same volume out of the jag. Though a better tone for my ears, mind. Something else - I moved the front strap button to the upper 'horn' instead of the centre of the back. Sits a lot better now, though there isn't a lot of space on there so wide (not that you'd need a wide one) or rigid straps would struggle to fit on.

I have a B2A, not sure what vintage, that I bought from a fellow BCer a couple of months back and can't say enough about them - fantastic little thing. Especially as I am nursing a bad back at the moment. Mine is the active 4 string model, it has a lovely skinny neck, silky smooth rosewood fretboard, you can switch active/passive although the passive has no tone control. Active you get 2 band boost/cut. It REALLY punches out a big sound for such a tiny thing and is a joy to play. Even nicer to drag round to rehearsals etc as it is as light as a feather and takes up no room at all. The tone is a bit harsh and growly - well, compared to my Fender anyway - but as a rehearsal/second bass I couldn't recommend one highly enough. There are various models - B2B is passive only, B2ADB has a detuneable E-to-D string arrangement at the bridge. There are 5 string and fretless, too.

Dusty Springfield. has anyone ever sung a song better than this? Chaka Khan - the melody still lingers on:

51, so just a youngster. Still got my own hair and teeth (but my ears are totally wrecked) [attachment=24077:me.jpg]

Thanks again for the input. I need to decide what I want to do (which i think I have) and then make the right choices after maybe being a little hasty last time. At the moment I'm thinking head + cab(s) would allow an intrinsically heavy piece of kit to become a lot more portable than a giant combo - my Ashdown 210 combo weighs in at around 35Kg I think so I may even shed a few kg by going down this route. Even if it means one more trip to and from the boot.

Well, the place we use is cheaper at £11 an hour but it is split between 5 of us. Thought of getting a brass section? A dedicated guiro player? Mind you, we are fortunate enough to normally use a place for nowt - one of our guys (selfish b@stard is on holiday for two weeks so we have to shell out!) works at a large company with their own lecture theatre that is 'bookable' out of hours, so as long as the annual marbles competition isn't running we are fine.