kwmlondon

I don't see why the Chinese ones are worse though, I had a Chinese-made Dingwall and that was an epic bass.

I'd love to try a Japanese Sadowsky though. I'd love to try a USA one too. I'm very promiscuous when it comes to instruments!

I'm so sorry, I didn't look but it was a new bass and fairly recent so probably Chinese, but the Lakland was about the same price and made in Korea so I think it fair to compare them. I think sort of about the £1100 mark. Something like.

Could be, I was just passing some time in the store and tried a USA Pro II Jazz, Darryl Jones and Metro Express. The Fender was smooth and felt really premium - the neck was lovely, the sound very rich and balanced and the finish was top-notch. The Metro Express just felt underwhelming, but the Lakland was alive - I may be misremembering but I'm sure the neck had rolled edges, and the tone was more growly and barky, real personality. I was very taken, just not in the market for that kind of instrument.

You are asking for details I'm afraid my old, addled brain barely took in at the time and certainly doesn't have any more. Apologies. What I'm pretty sure of is that they were both new when I tried them in GuitarGuitar Camden, about 2022 but I'm guessing.

This is weird. I tried a Sadowsky Metroexpress and a Lakland Skyline Darryl Jones and I really much preferred the Lakland. I just really loved the feel and the tone, it had a growl and the neck felt so right in the hand. It's so personal isn't it?

Ooh, got a pic?

This is a very, very good point. There are advantages and disadvantages to buying a new or used car/bass. I think the key thing is to be honest with yourself about what you really need, what you would like/make you happy and what you can justify to yourself. I do like Martin Lewis' mantra: If you're broke... Do I need it? Can I afford it? If you're not... Is it worth it? Will I use it?

Weird. I have NO idea where I saw that it had been discontinued. I STAND corrected! See what I did...

I'm sorely tempted by the PMT stand thing. It looks very tidy. Thanks!

I mean, that's just £20 for goodness sake, I'd be hard pushed to buy some hinges and velcro for that...

This is very cool!

They look good but I'm not too keen on the idea of doing that to nice MarkBass cabs. Also, not sure they'd get on with the rat fur cover.

Must admit. I have a weird satisfaction when stuff matches... Though I may have to make my own version.

Cheers, I've seen these but wasn't sure. Are they any good then? ... just looked ... discontinued! Although, it ought to be easy enough to make something like this with a bit of ply and some hinges and a bit of velcro. No?

Hey everyone. I had a lovely little Hartke Kickback for a few weeks and having an angled combo for low-volume practise at home was really nice. Last night the rehearsal rooms we were in had a Behringer with the same cab and probably a very similar amp and it did a really good job. I honestly enjoyed my tone so much more when it was firing up at me and the others were happy with the sound too. I have a MarkBass NY121 that I'd like to angle up at 45 degrees to get the same effect. I could just use a couple of books to wedge it (and probably will do) but I wonder if anyone has any experience of a more elegant way of doing things. Cheers!

This is super-helpful. Okay. So, recapping, despite messing around with EQ you've found that the bass can sound "artificial" at time, wheras the Precision sounded more plucked. Right. Well, I'm not going to suggest different strings as a solution because it'd be fine if you're just recording (flats or groundwounds will completely alter the character of the bass), but not something you can do at a gig between songs! I mean, it'd be good to do to find out how your bass sounds with different string and you can find all sort of used sets on basschat so it's not a big risk. What I think would be a really good experiment for you would be to find a way of trying out different types of preamp and/or cab sim. If you have a Mac you can do this for free with Garage Band - it's got a whole bank of them from Boogie 400+ or Ampeg SVT. If you know someone with a recording setup ask if you can try playing through it as you may find that speaker simulations can alter the attack of the sound that gives you what you want then you could potentially find a pedal that has this feature, maybe a Sansamp or something - people here will be able to give you great advice on this. If you're close to a good guitar store take your bass down and ask if you can try out some of the preamp pedals and ask their advice. Even if this doesn't sort your issue out it'll be interesting and you'll find out a lot about amps, cabs, preamps etc.

That's a fricken' tasty bass!

Like this? https://www.music-man.com/instruments/basses/sterling

Well… I mean… I’m quite impressionable! I love trying things and I am prone to GREAT IDEAS (TM) - I’ve gone on missions to achieve a specific artist’s tone before now. It’s a goose chase but I’ve had a lot of fun!

This is something I should have done many times. I’ve wasted a lot of time and money faffing around with basses I’d have been better just selling to buy something I really got on with. Though I’ve learned a lot and had fun along the way…

I’ve found modding basses is only really worth doing if you fundamentally like the instrument but have a clear, specific understanding of what you want to improve/change. In your case, if you like the way it plays and the fundamentals of the tone but find it too hot/bright/aggressive then I’d say look into an alternative preamp and/or pickup with a tap/split option. Lobster has done an amazing series of YouTube vids demoing different configurations in a ‘Ray.

Is it worth spending £1500 on a new bass? Well… that depends. If the bass you really want costs that much then yes. If you can find something you like that does what you want it to for less then no.

I sold a Hartke Kickback amp to Aaron and this was his first transaction on basschat. Communication was great and as it happened I was passing where he works so I could drop the amp off with him on the very same day - the planets were in alignment for sure! Lovely guy, buying it for his girlfriend so I'm not sure if he'll be doing anything else on basschat but I thought I'd leave positive feedback anyway. All the best!