WHUFC BASS

Still going strong mate. No noise issues whatsoever. Still trying to get a drum kit in there but have resigned myself to the fact an electronic drum kit is the only viable option.

Agreed but it's not just Dingwall who've done this. Spector's fanfret Dimension bass, which is a similar price has similar individual bridge mounts which although not as extreme as the Dingwall offering, aren't as high quality as the Payson or even their own standard bridges.

I did look at the Bass Direct Payson bridges and I must admit that it is tempting.

Has anybody done a Payson bridge conversion on a Chinese Dingwall bass? These bridges are standard fitment on the Canadian build basses but on the Chinese basses the individual saddles tend to be sharp and obtrusive for some playing styles. Is it a straight swap? Is there any drilling required at all and was it worth the money? (they ain't cheap!)

The tailift is a biggie if you want it kept all original. Any heavy gauge strings will make that worse. Other things to check are the frets, they were notoriously soft and roundwound strings would just eat them up. Also, check the fretboard and binding near the body. Occasionally this would separate or the truss rod would poke through on the older 4001s. The 4003 had a much more substantial neck to address this issue. Then you have the dreaded double truss rod which can be a real pain for those not experienced in using them. Special wrenches are needed for them too due to the lack of space in the headstock. There's also that unbelievable crap bridge system which belongs in the stone age imo. The strings need to be loosened to intonate them and it's trial and error for the best part. The strap pins are another thing. Rickenbacker in their wisdom decided to use pins with a thread designed for metal and not wood. The result is that they would occasionally come loose and would need to have all manner of bodges to fix them, although the previous owner appears to have replaced them with straplock pins on this one. I get that it's a lovely colour but imo the latest Rics are a whole lot better. All these issues that plagued the early 4001s have now been addressed with a much better bridge, more tonal options and better hardware all round. I love mine and it cost less than the one you have your eye on too.

All this talk of Peavey's and me wanting an early TL5 has prompted me to pull the trigger on this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/286396469030 I've already got one ( from @lonestar on here) in natural and I love them, however I've always wanted to try the Super Ferrite early versions and saw this one for sale. Price is pretty reasonable compared to some of the ones available on Reverb which are £1000 plus import duties which didn't really appeal to me.

I've not heard of the Synergy amp but they look pretty similar to the Randall RM 100 MTS which allowed the use of three modules in a single amp. It's a novel idea and I'm surprised there hasn't been a bass equivelant made by someone.

I can't see them taking off to be honest. Not sure people will pay the same money for a Peavey Cirrus from the Czech Republic for what I'd estimate would be the same price as a Spector Euro.

Peavey amplification for me back in the 80s and 90s always seemed to weigh about a ton, be rock solid and be ultra reliable. I had a TKO 75 which I ran a 76 Jazz bass through and it sounded immense. I sold the pair for £250 in 1991 to fund a Trace Elliot stack. Yes, I've been kicking myself ever since. I still use Peavey guitar amps though, I have a 5150 block letter 2x12 combo as well as a JSX 120w head and a 6505 II héad. For me, Peavey amps were the dominant force in the 90s when it came to hi gain metal. Bands like Van Halen, Machine Head, In Flames, Arch Enemy, Black Stone Cherries, Opeth, Alice In Chains, Carcass, Skid Row, Killswitch Engage, Soulfly, Corrosion of Conformity and countless other hardcore and metalcore bands used their amps. They really did knock Marshall off their perch in the world of metal around this time.

Some great looking basses there, I love the TL5 in black, looks sublime.