kwmlondon

So the risk is you get an empty box delivered but cant prove it? Unfortunately, it's the other side of the country from me...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/167755787665?mkevt=1&mkpid=2&emsid=e90001.m161799.l174484&plmtId=700008&mesgId=3015&mkcid=8&ch=osgood&bu=43159798607&trkId=1f2b853f-e21d-30c5-9897-0597a2265912&cnvId=700003&recoId=167755787665&recoPos=1

That’s jaw-dropping

This is a good point. I honestly think the best solution at the moment would be a long-term swap with someone who wanted to try out a Stingray for a few months and left another bass with me in the meantime. That would be just about perfect.

I have a rule though. I have to spend more time practising and playing than I do looking at gear online!

I think I paid the same back in 1993 for my beaten-up trans red maple 4h 2EQ! I got it in a store in Cardiff, if I remember right, along with a Peavy 160w combo. Honestly though, I am very much starting to feel that I want to move it on. At last.

I needed to hear this.

UPDATE: This has focused my mind a bit. I had to call into the nice people at Bass Direct today to sort out an issue with the Dingwall (it's a minor problem but it had Mark properly stumped). While I was there I showed them my Stingray and asked how much they'd put it on for and how much comission to sell it. They said £1500 and 20%. No criticism of the team in Bass Direc, but I don't think it'd be worth my selling if £1,200 is all I'd get for it.

Thanks. That's very interesting and great to know.

You see, I don't have that. When I get my 'ray out it's a bass. It's a nice bass but it's a bass. It's a MusicMan Stingray like hundreds, thousands of others and while it's a very fine instrument it doesn't feel irreplacable in any way, I just look at all the wear it's had and think "some of that is from me onstage!" and that's the nice thing, but I do think maybe I'm not as attached to it as I thought I was.

I have never ever seen one of these in the flesh and I can't imagine you'd get one for less than £2k... but wow. I mean... WOW! I have drooled over these for years https://reverb.com/p/ernie-ball-music-man-caprice-bass

No. I can relate. This would have me shaking my fist at the clouds too.

Well, you see, the lovely thing about the Fender USA high-mass bridge is the saddles are cut with grooves so you can change the spacing. I KNOW!!! I've never seen the like before or since. Well. Maybe on something I don't know but I remember being very impressed indeed.

I put a bitsa together a few years ago and bought a MIM roasted maple Jazz neck from Fender and it was sublime. Everyone who has played it has commented on how slick and comfy it is. The fretwork was top-notch and it looked gorgous too. Going by that I'd have no worries getting a MIM bass in the future, but the USA hardware is very nice - the tuners and bridge on the USA Pro range feels lovely in the hand.

This is very wise indeed. I shall give this suggestion a very big think. The great thing is I'd see how I felt when the bass isn't with me any longer. If I don't actually miss it then we will have an answer. Good call.

Thanks for your interest. I will let you know when I make a decision but I’m not in a hurry. It’s a good question, why don’t I play 4 strings any more? I just feel like an extended range suits me. I like being able to play a D below E without having to bend my brain around drop tuning. I like being able to play in F without pivoting so much. When I play a 4 string it’s like getting into a car that has 4 gears or watching a film on an old 4:3 screen. It’s very personal but it just feels more me.

I attended a fantastic wedding a few years ago and the band was all in ear. They set up quickly and got the sound sorted with an iPad and they were amazing. Slick, fun, funky, dancy. I changed my opinion on the whole iem thing that day.

Hmm.

I think it’s just that it’d limit the appeal of the instrument - the chances of a bass having the exact distortion I want are very low… but that all changes with modelling because you can have whatever you want. I think we’ll see more of these in the future.

Well. I’m glad a big player like Fender can still make something that would shame a boutique builder in terms of nuttiness. I would take a whole day to travel to a store to try that slab of fruit cake lunacy! The price makes me feel much better about my own meagre, frugal purchases.

That’s flipping lovely!

I’d definitely be shortlisting Sandberg. Any G&L P-J basses fit the bill?

Okay! That's good to know! Let me sleep on it, and you have a think as well and maybe we can discuss it. Cheers!

I don't think I want to sell it outright. I think what really appeals is the idea of doing a long-term swap for something that I'd use so it could be with someone who would get good use out of it while I had something that I'd enjoy getting to know.