Paul S

We bought it a couple of years ago and have been using it, as far as lockdowns have allowed, ever since and couldn't be happier with the sound. At the moment we use it for vocals, bass and occasionally drums. Probably drums more often in future as our drummer got a guy in to set it all up properly last week. Guitar doesn't go through because guitarist thinks it sounds better cranked through his Fender twin I am sure if we knew how to set it up properly it would come out of the pa exactly how it went in but there we are But it is totally liberating. No more constant GAS about this amp or that cab and setting up is uber fast. I don't use many effects, just plug into a TC Spectradrive for tone shaping, job done. You could come and check it out one time, Bas. Mostly we gig in Suffolk but we have a couple booked in Old Leigh, one in April, not too far east from you.

I remember that one, @Andyjr1515did the top.

Leaving aside playing ability, which to me is irrelevant, I see it then becomes an aspirational thing. Lucky me, I am comfortably placed financially and could buy myself any bass on the market. But do I want a Fodera? No I don't. If I won one in a competition I would sell it. I get pleasure from tinkering with cheaper basses rather than buying myself an expensive one. Same applies, for me, to clothes/cars/watches/cameras/jewellery/home elctronics etc etc. That is not to disparage anyone who wants or likes these things, just saying that they aren't for me and I don't aspire to owning such things. Horses for courses, YMMV etc

Yes! Fabulous thing. Lighter in weight and an extra fret! What more do you need It's possible that one might pop up in my current weight range, too.

I went through a phase where I couldn't get enough of them. Marvellous things, guitars and basses. I find them way too heavy now, which is a shame. Here a brief snapshot trio

I know nothing about Encore basses, whether they are all created equal or if there are stars amongst the brand, but I bought a really cheap double cutaway short scale one. £65. Headstock sported a mother-of-toilet seat decal so perhaps it was a posh model It was incredibly lightweight, 3kg on the nose if I recall, which was great. Pickup was a bit meh so I swapped it for an Entiwistle PBXN and, well, wow. I wanted to 'stealth' it so swapped the bridge and tuners for Wilkinson jobs, stained the fretboard with black leather dye. It was half decent, really. There was a slight twist to the neck, though, so in the end I used the body to marry with a nice maple neck from a Hondo II H1015 to make a bitsa that I still have and use. But I'd probably get another of these if it was cheap enough.

To a lot of us on here 1993 seems like last week, sadly

Solid black, none of your fancy 'bursts. [/thread]

Got a clutch of gigs coming up in March. Go West at the Cliffs Pavilion in Westcliff on 16th, Curtis Stigers somewhere in Eastbourne on 19th, Simple Minds at Wembley on 31st. Looking forward to all of those very much.

That's reassuring to know, thanks.

Are there any complications with returns with Thomann now or are they are simple as before? Anyone had to send anything back?

If you have a ki0gon loom with its screw terminal connectors you can use the bass as a test bed really easily for different types of pickups. It takes just a few minutes to do this. You can pick them up secondhand cheaply, usually, and this gives you the opportunity to try the various ones until you find what you like. Those you don't care for can be moved on for very little/no loss. By way of a starter maybe find a song that has the type of P bass tone you like and ask on here which pickup is likely to give you that tone.

Pickguard is smoky but clear perspex so that is the body of the screw going through it, I reckon. I had one, my first 'proper' bass. At the time I preferred skinnier neck, plus it was a boat anchor, so I moved it on.

I'd add Hamish Stuart to the list - he used to play bass occasionally, Still does, in fact. Martin Turner, also.

Yup, that's me.

+1 for compression gloves. I bought some as I am getting a spot of arthritis in my fingers and it really does help that. Keeping hands warm is a bonus side issue 😊

I have had it explained to me as 'brain boredom'. If you keep busy and keep your brain occupied it doesn't manage to make the noise 'cos it is doing something more important. To a large extent this has worked for me. Another thing that helped, which was more of a cloud bearing a silver lining, was when I had hearing aids fitted. All the extra sounds I can now hear need to be dealt with and the ringing/whooshing etc only really distracts me at night when I am trying to get to sleep (having taken out the hearing aids, obvs).

The headstock is a great job. Looks really nice like that to my eyes - I don't think all basses suit a matching headstock but that is brill. Did you stain the fingerboard black, too, or is it just the way the pic came out?

That black one is gorgeous. What model is it?

I think how much an instrument costs and ability to play it is a non-issue. 'Cost' is a relative thing anyway. The price of a Fodera would be off the scale for some of us, for others just loose change. When it comes to buying anything at all my mantra is if I can afford it, will enjoy it and want it I will buy it and I see it as no-one's business other than my own. Well, apart from my wife

That's a good way to regard it, I think. My desert island bass would be a Precision. Doesn't stop me enjoying (and hankering after) a whole lot more, though.

I really dislike overplaying. I once shared a gig with a soul band and the bass player overplayed his way through the entire set. Huge player and technically miles better than I could ever hope to be but, for me, his eagerness to show off his chops ruined the gig. My own playing is rather 'agricultural'. I don't understand very much music theory, can just about read tab and, as an absolute last resort (and given enough time) could eventually decipher some dots. Nor do I have too many chops to show off - I play well with a pick but my fingerstyle is ragged beyond 8th notes - anything else just forget it. But I've learnt that these deficiences can actually work in my favour. Generally speaking I have always played covers and so I learn the bass lines I need to. I always play for the song because the song is all I know and, as a general rule, the people I play with like that. Within my limitations I've a decent enough touch, even if technically incompetent If I need to come up with an original line I just think back to other runs etc I have used in similar music that work well then cut and paste them all together. A kind of Blue Peter approach. I keep thinking that one day someone will find me out

Well done Lozz. Genuinely heart warming story from a genuinely nice guy.

I know exactly what you mean. I do find the 3 point clunky but, then again, can live with it. The Vintage pro/Embassy one looks like a more efficient solution even if it isn't quite as appealing. Also I rest my hand on the bridge when I palm mute and it looks like it would be more comfy than the 3 point. At the end of the day I think it will boil down to weight. As soon as either a Classic or Vintage turns up that is under 8.5lbs that will chest the tape.