SumOne

I'd probably check out what players I am into play, check online for review videos of those Basses, spend a day going to a few Bass guitar shops to see what feels and sounds best (ideally with a small headphone amp so you are comparing like-for-like and don't fee self-concious playing to a shop audience!). Perhaps I'd buy from the shop as it has certain guarentees and is easy but you'll save some ££ buying 2nd hand from Basschat, you won't go far wrong with something like a Squier Jazz or Precision to start with. I wouldn't plan on my first Bass being my 'bass for life' (I haven't found 'the one' yet!). It takes time to realise if you want 4 or 5 strings, or a more specific look or sound, fretted/fretless, active or passive, if weight is a big issue, what string spacing, neck shape, scale length etc. I see it a bit like owning cars - different ones are better for different times of your life/different uses, apart from nostalgia I wouldn't still want my 1st car.

My smutty opinion is that I get put off due to the look: (Warwick Corvetter and Gus Bass are the winners on that front though)

I'd probably say the C4. It can do things like sound like an upright bass (thanks to patches by @Quatschmacher), which encouraged me to play Jazzy DnB stuff that I wouldn't usually do with the Bass Guitar, or things like a droning synth or Rave stabs which encouraged me to use the Bass Guitar to play along with House and Techno beats and play in ways that I wouldn't usually do. I've owned and then sold C4s twice as the lack of hardware control frustrates me for anything other than home use.....tempted to get another one though!

I tend to use the OptComp most but feel like all the Zoom compressors are basically the same thing but with diferent parameters being available so I wish Zoom would give the option of all the available parameters being available in one 'Super Zoom!' compressor. Through the vartious comps it can potentially have all of these adjustable parameters, all in one place would be great: Input/Detect/Sensitivity/Threshold Lo Comp & Hi Comp/ Lo Threshold & Hi Threshold Ratio/Comp Drive Attack/Release Tone/High/Low Knee Dry mix Volume/Output Lots seem to be the same thing but labelled differently depending on the compressor they are emulating (e.g. Detect & Sensitivity, Volume & Output), it seems to be an unnecessry added bit of complexity. It is frustrating the parameters aren't all available in one place, e.g. it is only 'GlamComp' that has the dry mix - but that comp doesn't have control over Attack and Release. So I tend to swop and change whether I want a comp with a dry mix, or if I wantcontrol of Attack and Release etc. Likewise for the different Drives. It sound to me like they are all basically the same thing but with different adjustable parameters available e.g. EQ, sustain, mix, maximum amount of gain available etc. so it would be good to have one 'Super Drive' that just puts all of the behind the scenes Drive parameters in on adjustable place.

After owning literally 100s of Pedals this is my current pedalboard! Obviously most individual pedals are better at their individual jobs, but most individual pedals on their own cost more than the Zoom, and played through an amp & cab competing with a band of other musicians it is difficult to hear much difference. All things considered for home practice and band practice this is convenient and sounds fine - fits in gig bag and runs off batteries, aux in, drum loops, looper, overdrive, effects (and option to quickly re-order them), eq, comp, tuner. Cheap but reasonably tough and reliable enough. My biggest issues with it are how difficult it is to see what the logos of effects represent in stomp mode - this photo is roughly what it looks like stood over it. It needs something like a big 'O' for overdrive, 'C' for chorus etc. And as with most multi fx it isn't obvious how the parameters of each effect are set without a bit of button pressing. Those two things mean there is potential for mistakes that are less likely with individual pedals. It's mostly for those reasons that I'd prefer a more surefire individual pedal setup for live stuff. If I had the spare £ and didn't mind dealing with the bulk/transport hassles this is the full pedalboard I'd want (I have owned almost all of these at some point): Board: Gator G-Tour Large £190 Power: Strymon Zuma £240 Tuner: D'Addario £60 Octave: Aguilar Octamizer £120 Phaser/Flanger/Chorus: Source Audio Gemini £150 Synth: Source Audio C4 £270 + Disaster Area Micro controller £150 Preamp/Overdrive - Distortion: Creation Audio Grizzly Bass £200 Preamp: One Control Crimson Red £110 Fuzz: MXR Brown Acid £130 Envelope Filters: MXR M82 £110 & Moog MF 101 £300 Compressor: Cali 76 £270 Delay & Reverb: Boss RE 202 £330 Switcher: Boss ES 5 £420 Looper/Drums: Boss RC 5 £200 EQ/DI: Tech 21 Q-Strip £300 .........nothing particularaly exotic there, but total cost (new) = £3,440 vs £65 for the Zoom B1-Four which does an alright aproximation of most of those pedals so the Zoom wins for the time being.

If just Headphone practice I'd stick with the Zoom. Nux has more outputs including DI, and headphones (no individual volume control to them though), and more hands on control so I'd probably go with that for live stuff if I didn't want the effects and Tuner drum loops etc. from the Zoom.

Cheers! That gives me confidence to buy a neck without needing to factor in buying tools and learning how to level frets (hopefully!) (I'll be sure to blame the frets when I knacker them via trussrod mis-use though! 😀)

Ah yeah, not having a go at you at all, I appreciate the information. I understand there being a disclaimer for fitting the neck properly to the body and sizing the nut to match strings but it seems annoying to me that companies have managed to set the industry standard as 'disclaimer: this product might not do its intended job properly as we haven't done sufficient QC, that's not on us though - it's on you'. Washing machine manufacturers might have disclaimers that people need to plumb them in correctly and set them level but they don't get away with 'Disclaimer: You need a professional to check the motor is mounted properly before using this waching machine - we might not have checked it works properly, if you don't get a professional to check it and it doesn't work properly then that's on you, no refunds'.

Rustins grain filler (needed as the Korina wood has a lot of big open pores), then sanding: Filler/primer (Jenolite), a whole can done in a few layers. It seems a downside of light wood like Korina is that it can be a bit of a sponge for paint. Matte Black base coat, a whole can (and some glitter creeping on) Clear coat with glitter sprinked onto it while it is wet (purple, and a bit of blue and silver) It is much more sparkly looking than the photo shows - all that purple and blue colour is from glitter. It'll now need lots of layers of clear coat to fully encase the glitter to then be sanded and polished to a smooth surface. Unfortunately, the clear coat I have seems to dull the effect of the glitter (it says it is transparent gloss, but it is uv resistant - possibly that's not a good thing if you want as much light as possible going through to the glitter and bouncing back out?). Any recommendations for clear coat that is very transparent and glossy to let the glitter shine? some laquer sprays have a selling point of giving a vintage aged/tarnished look, I need the opposite of that. Edit: With clear coat and sanding it has lost the 3D and sparkly impact. From a distance under normal room lighting looks like a blotchy dark purple/blue bruise! I'm thinking I might eventually go back to the original plan of a shoddy/roadworn white, I'm not looking forward to removing the glitter though!

I prefer passive, volume and tone controls are enough for me to have on hand. No battery to die, fewer dials to accidentally have in the wrong position, and a front facing jack socket (possible with active but not common), and don't have to unplug to save battery. I leave it to pedals and amp for the EQ and preamp/amp tone, it gives more control and is easier to swop around.

For a £200+ neck can't Fender put in the effort to guarantee that the product with their name on has had QC to check the frets are level though? It seems a fairly major part of a fretted neck for it to be fit for purpose, and if they haven't done if properly then it seems like a reasonably skilled job to fix. It strikes me it's like buying a new bike where I accept I'll need to bolt on the handlebars (as it is a simple job to do with just an allen key) and do other minor things like pump the tyres to desired pressure, but it wouldn't really be acceptable for the bike manufacturer to say 'the frame might be bent, and some frame welding might need checking and re-doing, we don't take any responsibility for frames that don't work and haven't been checked by a professional before you ride'.

I understand the need to cut the nut slots depending on gauge of strings, and the disclaimer that you need to mount to the body properly and do setup, but it seems a disclaimer about frets potentially not being level is a bit slack for an expensive neck.

Nice one, and I like the logo! Are there side dot markers?

Has anyone had any better experiences from Northwest Guitars for Jazz necks in the last year? Ideally I'd get a cheaper second hand Jazz neck (£40 was my initial budget!) but it looks like I need to get in the queue as there's plenty of competition from fellow Basschatters! .......or eBay has plenty of new necks from China for £80 but I'm assuming quite a risk of low quality and returns/refunds will be difficult. At least Northwest are a UK company that seem to give refunds/replacements if it isn't a good one. £130 from Northwest hopefully indicates higher quality (or are they just importing those £80 ones from China and taking a £50 cut?!). Or other new alternatives are quite pricey but might be worth it in the long-run. £218 from Thomann for a Player series one, or Allparts have un-finished licensed ones for £231. It seems that the genuine Fender finished one from Thomann is is the better deal being cheaper, finished, and genuine Fender. And I'd rather not have to buy tools to do fret levelling if it can be avoided but Allparts states "All necks may require fret leveling and polish".

Using just the headstock and horn strap buttons is the winning move.

The best thing with digital multi fx is the convenience and cost effectiveness and versatility. But the best thing about individual analogue pedals is they are foolproof: click the switch to turn the effect on/off and the light goes on/off, glance at it and you can instantly see where the controls are set and can turn the dials if you want to change them, and 90% of the time I only need the basics (Tuner, EQ, Compression, Drive, DI) but not many multi-fx do them all or do them as well as individual pedals. I find that most multi-fx fall down on the foolproof factor so after owning three different Helix multi-fx and two Zoom multi-fx units I am now back to individual pedals. It is too easy to have a hidden effect/EQ/IR etc. lurking in the background without knowing it and doing a simple thing like turning on a chorus can be a minefield of menu diving and footswitch/preset asigning. So my preferance for a multi-fx is one that has individual footswitches for each effect and each with their settings clearly on display at all times. The TC Plethora seems the closest to that, but the effect setting displays seem tiny and for the cost I'd also want it to do all of the basics as well as the more exotic effects.

I've got wood! From G&B. Arrived quickly and is all looking high quality. I expected I'd need to sand it down a bit but it is all done already very smoothly. Compared against my Fender CIJ bass it seems almost identical in dimensions. If I was being picky then there is that small knot in the wood at the neck pocket that goes all the way through and seems to have had some filler to stabalise it - perhaps one of the worst places to have an inconsistency in the wood but I guess it won't really matter. And I know this is petty but it was advertised as 1.9kg and is actually closer to 2kg (could be my kitchen scales that are wrong though).

Yeah, if I need to save ££ then that is one of the first things that'll change. Apart from easily changing straps over (one is set higher for slap) one of the main reasons I like the Schaller locks is that they are an easy way of extending the horn by a couple of cm to help balance the neck angle up a bit. I tend to add a washer between the bass/strap button, and another rubber washer between the lock on the strap and the strap, it adds perhaps 2-3cm distance which does make a small difference:

Overall I now think I want: P Bass body, lightweight. I've bought a new one from G&B for £148 incl postage, it is Korina wood and is light at 1.9kg. Jazz bass neck. Ideally Rosewood fingerboard with no front facing inlays (what's the point of inlays on the front of the fingerboard - you don't really see them when playing? Just need good visible side dots - which many basses do not have), but I'm not too fussed though. Northwest Guitars do new Jazz necks from £130 which seems an alright price for new (main benefit being no holes drilled - so it'll line up with no faff). I'll wait a while to see if any suitable second hand necks become available though as my budget was £40 second hand. If I feel ambitious perhaps I'll reshape the headstock to be 3+1 like a stingray. It would reduce the length and weight and make it more unique. And up to about £200 for these second hand: Black scratchplate. Passive P bass pickups (I'd probably add white covers, just for the look). Pre-wired loom. Hipshot ultralite black tuners. Black Pickguard. Black bridge. Neck plate. Black schaller straplocks. ....so basically P Bass body and pickups etc, Jazz neck, Stingray type 3+1 headstock shape. All black and white, probably quite a scruffy, lightweight, Frankenbass. Apart from the fun of putting it together I think that it is unique enough that it makes it worth doing as it is very unlikely I'd be able to get all those things in a pre-made Bass. My budget of £355 has risen to over £400 as I've already spent £60 more than expected on the body and that's the first thing I've bought so I guess the cost could keep creeping up if I'm not careful and patient.

Cheers. I'm not sure yet but I think if I go for a scruffy/roadworn white paint job on the body then I'll go for a black pickguard. This sort of thing: Bonus of that option being that I don't need to do a good job of the painting. Or, I am a fan of purple sparkle. It's not something that's easy to find on a P bass so doing it myself seems to make sense if I want to put together something fairly unique (although I imagine it's quite hard to do well and I wouldn't be able to do metal flake but just some rattle can glittery spray might be easy enough). Again though, that'd probably suit a black pickguard:

On sound alone: I'd prefer an OC5 (fat synthy sound) over a sub n up (slightly odd organ sound). But an Octamizer beats both (although isn't as good at tracking low notes).

Ah yeah, I forgot about the Stingray. So that sort of layout works in principle.... In practice (with my lack of skills) probably not, might give it a go though. How hard can it be to cut the end off and drill a new hole?!