S.F.Sorrow

Judging by the pics I've seen far worse bridge/string alignment on current MIA Fenders (with the 5 string Ultras being the consistently worst). But then I've had extremely poor luck with MIA Fenders lately.

The hardware is very poor on Player series basses in my experience. I've seen several reports about failing tuners + dropping saddles and that's exactly what happened with mine (Buttercream P-bass). Except for the poor hardware they are very nice. In many ways I like them better than current MIA Fenders. Well, at least the maple neck ones. I'm not a big fan of the pao ferro versions. Not that I don't like pao ferro. I actually think it's a very nice wood for fretboards. But when Fender does pao ferro it often ends up very bland/pale looking and with a rough 'dry cardboard' feel to it.

There are lots of basses with a P-style split coil pickups that won't sound even remotely like a classic P-bass. Especially if they're active. If you want the classic P-bass sound the safest choice is a passive bass. The resonant peak from the passive tone control is a HUGE part of the P-bass sound IMO. Most passive basses with a split coil pickup in the P-bass position will sound reasonably close to a P-bass. Personally I will also recommend basses with alnico pickups if you're looking for the classic P-bass sound. Ceramic P-bass pickups can be very hit-or-miss if you don't know what to look for. Alnico P-bass pickups are usually decent and closer to the classic, vintage P-bass sound.

Like others have said: Sandberg. I don't have my basses in front of me right now but from memory I think Sandberg necks are slightly narrower at the nut than Ibanez SR but also have a SLIGHTLY chunkier feel to the front-to-back profile. Don't get me wrong, Sandbergs are VERY slim. The necks are probably the closest I've played to Ibanez SR. In my experience Sandbergs are also considerably more stable to differences in temperature/humidity than SRs. I often have to tweak the truss rods on my SRs when the weather changes. I've never EVER had to touch the truss rod on my Sandberg after I set it up with my preferred strings. Stock Sandbergs are ULTRA bright though. I love the build quality and 'feel' of Sandbergs but I don't like the sound of their stock pickups/electronics. Far too bright for my taste. I custom ordered a passive California VS with Kloppmann PB63 pickups for a FAR more classic P-bass tone. A stock, active Sandberg VS doesn't sound even remotely like a P-bass IMO, even though it may look like one with the split coil. I'm not saying stock Sandbergs are bad but if you're looking for a classic P (or J) tone they're probably not the best choice.

Are they long scale? I ask because as far as I know the only short scale strings Fender sell separately are 40-95 (the extremely floppy ones they install on Broncos and everyone seem to hate). I've never seen any short scale 45-105 strings from Fender. Using long scale strings on a 28.5" bass seems a bit weird to me. I know Fender use long scale strings on the 30" Vintera Mustangs (and it works fine) but on a 28.5" bass? That would leave a LOT of the fully wound strings around the tuning peg. Will it even start to taper off before the part you stick into the tuning peg hole? I guess it doesn't matter as long as it works. And like you said, Fender NPS rounds are definitely not junk. They're not my personal favorites but very good allrounders, which is probably why Fender install them on everything from Affinity to Custom Shop. As long as it works for you: GREAT!!!👍 Unfortunately I tend to prefer thumpy old school flats on short scale basses, which probably won't be a very good idea with these Mini Ps. At least not unless someone starts offering flats for 28.5" scale.

Yes, Roto short scale strings are totally useless IMO. I really like their long scale strings though.

I massively prefer valve amps. I've never played a Class D amp that I really liked. It's not necessarily about the sound but the 'feel' and response. I find Class D a bit uninspiring. Don't get me wrong, I don't think all Class D amps are junk. They they keep getting better and their size/weight is a lot more convenient of course. But I still prefer old school valve amps. If I had to use solid state I would probably prefer an old Peavey head from the 70s over modern Class D amps. I just like how they 'feel' a lot more. It's probably related to what type of amps I started out with. Valve amps just feel more 'familiar' too me. With Class D I always feel like I have to slightly adapt the dynamics of my playing or even use a pedal compressor more aggressively but it's not quite the same as the natural compression from a valve amp and how it interacts with the speakers.

Beautiful! I love Sherwood Green and it looks really nice with a gold pickguard.

Yeah, TI flats work fine that way. Like I said in my previous post I've even had them on a string through body Mustang with no issues. But TI flats are constructed differently from old school flats like LaBellas. Having the wound part of LaBella flats around the tuning is risky at best. There's a reason LaBella have billions of different versions of these strings to make them fit perfectly on pretty much any bass out there (except mini basses). Quote from the LaBella website: "For flat wounds, make sure the wound portion of the string does NOT wrap around thetuning post (or else they will break)."

I just remembered I got a tip about strings for the Mini P on a different forum. It completely slipped my mind in my previous post. Apparently Newtone strings will make custom sets in any scale/gauge. I have never tried them so I have no idea if they're any good but at least they could be an option for the Mini P. No flats though, only rounds. I've also seen some speculation that D'Addario Chromes might fit but no 100% confirmation. I'm not a fan of Chromes so they wouldn't be an option for me personally but lots of people like them and they MIGHT work.

Lets hope it stays that way. I've certainly had LaBellas break this way. Fender flats might work though. I think it's mostly the "old school" type of flats that (may) unravel when installed like this. "Modern" flats are different. I've even had TI flats on string through body basses with no issues. But LaBellas? Seems a bit risky to be. Are you sure it's 28.5"? I thought the E-string looked VERY close to what I would find acceptable so I checked the specs for the J&D mini J. It said 29". At least for the ones currently for sale. Maybe they changed the specs?

I have not tried the Mini-P but I have measured the strings on my own short scale basses and/or checked the specs I could find for short scale strings from several manufacturers. They are all minimum 32 inch winding length (ball end to taper). Some are even more than 33 inch winding length.This means that they will 100% definitely be too long for the Mini P unless you can accept having the wound part of the string around the tuning post on at least the E-string. I know this is supposed to be ok with roundwounds but it's not something I would personally do. With many flats (at least the old school types like LaBella) it will definitely break the string and I usually prefer flats on short scale basses. I won't completely rule out the possibility that there might be a short scale set somewhere that will fit the Mini-P but definitely not any from GHS, DR, Pyramid, Ernie Ball or Thomastik. They are all around 32-33" winding length. I didn't check Fender or Rotosound because their short scale sets are garbage, far too thin and floppy (I like Rotosound's longs scale strings though). Elixir doesn't make any short scale sets to my knowledge. I couldn't find any winding length specs for D'Addario, Optima or Dunlop but I would be surprised if they differ a lot from the rest. Any shorter than 32" winding length and they would be too short for many regular 30" short scale basses. And I don't like D'Addarios much anyway so they wouldn't have been an option for me. As for the Ibanez Micro strings I think it's pretty evident just by looking at pics of the headstock of an Ibanez Micro and compare it to a Mini P that that they won't fit the Mini-P without getting the wound part of the E-string around the tuning peg. I'm a huge fan of short scale basses (and I own lots of them) so I was very excited about the Mini P until I realized there aren't any replacement strings that will fit properly. At least not to my knowledge. I think it's very poor from Fender to release this bass without replacement strings available for this scale. Not that I'm a huge fan of Fender strings but still very, very poor IMO.

They won't. Most short scale strings are around 32-33 inch winding length. I don't think even the Ibanez Micro strings will fit because of the shorter distance from the nut to the E-string tuning peg on the Mini-P. In fact I don't think there is a single set of strings that will fit this bass unless you don't mind having the wound part of the string around the tuning post. Probably not a big deal with most roundwounds but it won't be a good idea with old school flats like LaBellas. I think it's poor from Fender to release a bass without being able to supply spare strings for it. What strings do they ship these basses with? The specs say 45-105 but Fender does not sell any 45-105 short scale sets (which would be too long anyway). Do they put LONG scale strings on these 28 inch basses???

I own both and the Talman is actually a lot chunkier than the Vintera Mustang. Like I said: Surprisingly chunky for a short scale. It's actually not that chunky at the nut but the neck is extremely tapered. It starts out more or less like a "modern" P-bass at the nut and gets more like a vintage P-bass or maybe even slightly wider at the upper frets. It actually felt a bit strange the first time I tried it but I've gotten used to it. And yeah, the Vintera Mustang is a very cool bass. My Talman is really nice after I upgraded the pickups and sorted out a couple of high frets but the Mustang is a class above (but obviously in a completely different price range). QC seems poor on the Vinteras though. I had to return two before I got a good one. The first one I got had a crooked neck and the second had a crack in the headstock around one of the tuning pegs. But that's Fender in a nutshell. The good ones are great but their QC seems to be absolutely shocking at the moment (I've had other poor experiences with their current basses too, mainly with their American Pro and Original series).

I've got a TMB30. It has a surprisingly chunky neck for a short scale. Probably not the best choice for someone looking for a slim J-style neck. I also think the stock 'Dynamix' pickups were a bit sterile/harsh sounding so I ended up replacing them. Maybe the stock pickups work better in the active models? And then there's of course the even more expensive ones with Nordstrands. But the neck is definitely on the chunky side and the bass is also a bit heavier than I had expected. I like it but it feels very bulky compared to say a Bronco/Mustang.

If you don't like chunky necks you should definitely avoid any of the Harley Benton P or J clones. The Harley Benton P-basses are even chunkier. If you want something really cheap with a slim neck a Bronco might be fun. It's not a J-bass but they have lovely necks and short scale might be convenient in the office. The stock bridge and pickup are absolute rubbish but it can always be modded into something really cool later if you like how it feels. The stock strings are garbage too. Extremely thin gauge and floppy. It's not even worth trying them. If you get a Bronco make sure to get a decent set of short scale strings. I've never ever heard anyone say a single nice thing about the stock strings on a Bronco. Just be aware that there has been a recent batch of Broncos with faulty bridge saddles. The string spacing is WAY off. Huge gap between A and D, much narrower between the two outer pairs of strings. You might want to try (or at least see a pic) before you buy. Fender is aware of the problem but they don't seem to care. Broncos are very fun basses though. It's my favorite "TV bass" because of the convenient size, weight and nice, slim neck. I actually liked it so much that I have now replaced the bridge, shielded it better and installed a wonderful sounding replacement pickup from Jaime at The Creamery. It sounds absolutely amazing and I often use it for recording instead of my MUCH more expensive basses.

I've had some very disappointing experiences with Harley Benton but my JB-75 (natural finish) was a huge positive surprise. I'm actually shocked how good it is for such a ridiculously low price. If you're looking for a cheap NEW J-bass I don't think it gets much better than this. At least not unless you're prepared to pay at least 2-3 times more. I'm sure they can vary a lot in this price range but I'm very happy with mine. The hardware is very decent. Better than Fender Player series IMO. I was expecting to replace the Roswell pickups but they are actually quite good. Maybe just a tiny bit harsher in the highs than the best J-bass pickups out there but those pickups would cost more than this entire bass! I ended up keeping the Roswells. The general craftsmanship is surprisingly good. At least on mine. Very nicely matched two-piece ash body. The fretwork out of the box was pretty good. I expected it to need a bit of work but it was close to perfect out of the box and easily as good as anything out there after just a tiny bit of spot levelling/recrowning/polish. But it was absolutely 100% playable out of the box too. Just some very minor buzz when setup for low action. The neck pocket on mine is extremely tight. If it was any tighter the neck wouldn't have fit in there! The stock strings were ok too. I think they were D'Addarios. Not my personal favorites but certainly better than the junk they put on the (even) cheaper Harley Benton Standard Series. The pots feel nice. Seems like good quality. It even has a double action truss rod. You won't find that on a Fender below £1500. Of course there's some bad stuff too at this ridiculously low price: There is absolutely no shielding inside. Unless you run both pickups at full there WILL be hum. I mostly use the neck pickup soloed (or just a tiny hint of the bridge pickup) so I had to bring out the copper foil and shield it properly. The setup wasn't the best. Action/relief were surprisingly good but the saddles were set in a straight line so the intonation was WAY off. Weight... This thing is heavy. But so are 70s Fender Jazz Basses and it's supposed to be a "JB-75" so I guess they got it pretty much spot on.😁 But it really is HEAVY. The neck feels slightly chunky for a J-bass. Not the width but the front to back profile. If you're looking for a classic, slim J-bass neck you might be disappointed. Personally I like it a lot but I'm used to vintage P-basses and compared to those it's obviously a lot slimmer. The binding is fake. Just painted. I think the block "inlays" are fake to. I mean, they LOOK like they're painted but they also feel slightly recessed into the fretboard so I'm not sure what to make of it to be honest...??? But it looks nice and at this price... who cares if they're fake? Based on my experience with other Harley Benton models I can only assume they must vary a lot in quality. Some of the others I've played have been HORRIBLE but Thomann has a very good return policy. As long as you're prepared to deal with all the hassle (customs paperwork etc.) there isn't much of a risk. Of course it's not rosewood but you would have to pay considerably more for a NEW rosewood bass these days. If you can handle the weight and you're prepared to do a bit of shielding I honestly don't you will find a better new J-bass anywhere near this price range. If you're looking for something used the obvious answer would be the first generation (made in China) Squier Classic Vibe basses. Shockingly good instruments (in some respects better than MIA Fenders IMO) but it's not easy to find them used. They totally blew the scales for price/performance. I've got some REALLY expensive basses in my collection but I will NEVER sell my Chinese CVs. There's also the discontinued Vintage Modified series. Not quite as astonishingly good as the Chinese CVs but still very good J-basses for cheap and unlike the current Squiers they had rosewood fingerboards. The VMs should also be easier to find used than the Chinese CVs.

They are certainly cheap but I believe they're copies of the older version of the SansAmp Bass Driver DI without the mid control. The mid control on the SansAmp V2 makes all the difference. The older version without the mid control was too scooped sounding to be very useful for most genres IMO. The V2 is much more versatile. I use mine a lot more than I had expected. It's great for a quick and easy way to a very decent recorded tone when I'm feeling lazy and don't want to spend a lot of time on setup.

Perhaps not ideal but I don't see it as a problem really. Many highly respected DIs (like the REDDI) have adjustable gain to be able to push it into the sweetspot so not really that different from using the LB as a DI in that respect. Just set the volume where the LB sounds great and adjust the input gain at the mixing desk/micpre. You would have to do the same with a miked cab too. The LB doesn't have a preamp gain control so the sweetspot for the required level of saturation/dirt will only be found at one specific output volume anyway. And I don't see how it would be possible to get the DI signal off the output transformer and NOT be affected by the volume of the amp. Personally I think it's a much bigger problem that the DI signal is also affected by the tone controls. A cab will color the sound and ideally require different tone control settings than a DI signal. Which means that the LB isn't ideal for recording amp+DI. But as a (sort of) standalone DI it sounds absolutely superb and the reason for this is that you get all the good stuff from the output tubes/transformer. Actually, I sometimes use it as a DI only and get the miked signal from a different amp. It requires quite a bit of setup but I still do it sometimes because of the superb DI tone from the LB. The LB may not be the most practical (or powerful) amp but the DI output is really good if you're willing to go through all the hassle of using it. I actually like to think of it as the best DI I've ever tried with a little amp thrown in for free. I just wish they had found a way to mute the speaker signal without muting the DI output. Or even equipped it with a built in load box to allow silent DI recording. That would have been absolutely amazing.

No the DI output on the Little Bastard is actually tapped off the output transformer. Which means you can get output tube/transformer saturation and distortion from the DI signal when you push it hard. This is a very unusual feature and very cool IMO. The LB is actually my favorite bass "DI" and I've got some other pretty high end DIs like the Zod DI (REDDI clone) and the Radial JDV. Unfortunately this also means that there won't be any signal from the DI output with the volume all the way down. Any tone control settings will also affect both the signal going to the cab and the DI output, which isn't always ideal. The mute switch won't work either as it shuts down the DI signal. I use my LB for home recording with an iso cab and an attenuator. This works great but probably not for everyone. A load box would require less space/setup and I'm sure it would sound great. But taking the signal from the effects loop should also work fine. You won't get the output section but neither will the DI output on an Ampeg SVT which is preamp only and people use them all the time. The SVT will provide a balanced XLR output of course, which the effects loop won't, but I don't think that should be a huge problem for home recording? But you won't get that fat output transformer/tube sound unless you use the DI output.

I love it!!! But it's a bit expensive. The pickups in MIJs aren't always the best (ceramics in the current Traditional series but US alnicos in the Hybrid series). The specs just say "vintage style" with no mention of alnico so I'm guessing they're ceramics. I didn't like the ceramic pickup in my Traditional P very much and replaced it. That MIGHT be an extra cost if you want to bring out the best out of some MIJ Fenders. The craftsmanship and QC is usually VERY good with MIJs though. With the exception of the ceramic pickups (in some models) I personally think current MIJs are far better and more consistent than current MIAs as long as you don't mind basswood and bog standard hardware without gimmicks like fluted tuning posts etc.

Is it just for home practice or for playing with a full band? A 200w head is a bit overkill for home practice IMO but if he's already got the cab I guess it makes sense rather than buying a small, cheap practice combo. If it's for a full band I would strongly recommend more than 250w solid state. Around 450-500w minimum, depending on the cab and how loud the band is. If he is a beginner, are you sure it's even a proper bass cab and not just a PA/guitar cab of some kind? Personally I would avoid any of the Music Tribe/Behringer brands (like TC, Bugera) but that's mostly because I'm not a fan of Behringer's business ethics. Their products seem to be decent quality these days and there's not much else in that price range. Warwick have a couple of heads in the "Behringer price range" but I have never tested them so I have no idea if they're any good. Markbass is very nice but slightly more expensive. Maybe look for a used Markbass head? Or something else around 4-500w? It could be cheaper in the long run to get a decent quality head with enough wattage. A 250w TC head will probably need to be upgraded the moment he starts playing in a band.

That's an impressive looking instrument! I've always been fascinated by the Chapman Sticks but I've never tried one. How long does it take to learn it properly? I imagine it must be so different from bass that you are starting pretty much from scratch even if you're a decent bass player?

38 (plus a baritone guitar that I sometimes use to double bass parts so I like to think of it as a bass rather than a guitar). It's embarrassing really. My excuse is that I have recording studio and mostly do studio work these days so I need basses that will cover different sounds/genres. To be honest I don't really NEED them. A decent passive P-bass can work for pretty much anything and music is only a part time thing for me with very little money in it. But a P-bass is not always the BEST choice. And I'm a total gear nut so although I don't really need all these basses I still WANT them! 😁 Back when I was a "one band bassist" and played a lot more gigs I mostly just had a modded Squier Affinity P and a MIM Fender J as backup. They both sounded great and were cheap enough not to worry about damage or being stolen.