TheLowDown

It appears to be around 19% VAT that we add on to get the final price we pay minus shipping costs(it used to be free above £100 but now it's £135), which is the VAT rate of Germany.

Some people have been known to fuss over having to have audiophile type quality. Above an mp3 of 320bps(some people say 192), very few people can tell the difference in the quality anyway. A lot of people have vivid imaginations. Just enjoy the music.

I remember reading an article about vinyl from a record engineer who worked on vinyl, cassette, 4 track, and other formats for years.. He was saying that the warmth that people talk about when listening to vinyl is not something to be sought after, but is actually an artefact of a lossy recording. It's the same with valve amps. They don't reproduce the sound very well, even though their sound is popular. It would be much better to just simulate it in a normal amp. I can totally understand vinyl becoming more popular though because they provide a more tangible and tactile owning experience than CDs. They're larger, often have those lyric booklets rather than the tiny things with CDs. They're more involving. I believe that it's the millennials who are largely responsible for buying the vinyl, even though few of them play the record. They just want something solid to own in the days of digital. I used to have a minidisk player as part of my hifi at one time that was sold to me as the next big thing to replace CDs. I don't think I ever used it for the minidisk.

I always thought that in those cases it's because they're collecting history rather than paying for quality as there's lots of people who collect basses around. At this stage it doesn't appeal to me, but I can definitely see the appeal. I'm strictly a bass user rather than collector.

When you've tried several of the Harley Benton and other less expensive brands, the question should be why many of the other brands - such as Fender and Warwick and others - charge so much. I'm sure there are many people who still want to believe that they're getting better quality when they pay more, almost like it provides comfort and reassurance that they spent wisely, but that's quite clearly not true in this day and age.

I always use one finger per fret and it works for me, but the rule is that you should use the best method for different types of playing. Simandl feels very alien to me now.

I think the neck of the 1 pickup model is quite chunky, definitely more so than the HB B-450. That's put me off the 2 pickup model.

I'm sure there must be a joke in there, to join all the other bass solo jokes.

Looks great. What's the neck profile like (C or D shaped)? I think a D profile is the most comfortable for a 5 and 6 string.

Good idea! I think it would be useful to keep a gig journal of how the gig went, equipment used, audience response, and if there was anything to be learned from it. The act of writing it down helps to make the gig more memorable for in future.

I bought one of those Snark ones so that I could tune the fretless to a drone, but so far I haven't found it very accurate or useful". It jumps around too much and isn't that responsive.

Lots of Thomann prices have been going up by around £10 in the last few days. The HB MB-5, lots of the HB progressive series have all increased suddenly. Wonder if it's the VAT added in preparation or what seeing that I ate some of grandma's cookies so she knows I live in the UK.

So what differentiates someone who can recall lyrics from someone who can't so easily?

I don't tend to listen to lyrics much nowadays.

I don't see where I've stated anything as a fact. I've made clear what I've heard from other people and also my own experience of playing 4, 5 and 6 string. I play all of them, but I made a lot of effort to become familiar with the fretboard, but regularly switching means that it's advantageous to. The opinion of some 5 string players is not my own. All 3 are fun to play and are used for different purposes.

It depends. Except for a small number of modern genres that make use of the 5 extra notes, almost everything can be played on the 4 string. Many people who switched to become 5 string only players and then went back to 4 string said that they ended up becoming lazy and uninspired bassists. Because of the economy of motion they found themselves playing only in a small box which gave them an excuse not to know the fretboard and to rely too much on fixed patterns. They also ended up playing the 5th string only because it was there. Not because they needed to. One problem I found with 5 and 6 strings is that they complicate things unnecessarily. For example when it comes to walking basslines it's far easier to play them on a 4 string because there are less options, but having less options is much more of an advantage because you can be more focused. So, no you don't need a 5 string. Only if you think you do. Having said that, if you're a 4 string player then I recommend buying a 5 string if only because it forces you to think differently and to reconfigure where the notes are on the fretboard each time. The best bassists are those who can easily switch.

I think the HBs are made at the fair price, and the Hofners are charging much more than they're worth.

The Harley Benton one is decent https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_beatbass.htm

There's going to be lots of problems with deliveries in the run up to Christmas and possibly New year as the Royal mail and couriers clear the backlog, according to a friend who works with the RM. This verifies it. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55364955 People are also sending loads more parcels from an increase in online shopping due to covid.

Damn good price that 👍

No, on the desktop with FF. I always use a popup blocker but it has no effect. The only way around it is to allow granny's cookies.

My bass came through last Monday after I ordered it the week before. The postal system is going to be overwhelmed with people buying gifts rather than going to the shops, so I think I may leave it til the new year when i order something next.

I know, I'll make a special effort to like her cookies for Christmas 😉

Don't worry, the one you'll get is as in the OP and not on the website picture.

The website has some disadvantages though. It's frequently glitchy, often doesn't load at all, and the huge pop up granny asking if I want cookies is quite annoying.