Owno

Sell all of your other basses and go for it! That is what I did to fund my Midwestern. 😄

That is the source of inspiration for this build, indeed.

Lovely basses! I followed this example and just placed an order for a second Midwestern myself (with a Lazenby-B90).This is my current:

This one? The Japanese late 80’s/early 90’s Fenders are great! … and so are the Tokai Jazz basses!

A used Japanese Fender/Squier Precision or Jazz would be perfect for all sorts of old school heavy metal. If you play rock music in standard tuning there is little need for a 5-string.

This is my pedalboard: 1) Shiftline Olympic MK3s 2) WM Smalls Pork & Pickle 3) Diamond Bass Comp Jr 4) Polytune mini 3 Sometimes I use a Mad Professor Silver Spring Reverb and the MXR vintage octave mini instead of the Shiftline preamp: a setup I find much more versatile. Unfortunately, I sold my Z.Vex Basstortion and bought the Pork & Pickle instead. I am totally underwhelmed by the new pedal, which really cuts all the low end in comparison with the Basstortion. 🥺 The two pedals that will remain on my board forever is the tuner and my beloved Diamond bass comp.

I have also used Thomastik Jazz Flats JF324 (?) Short Scale strings on my Mustang for some time. It might be the right choice if you want little tension, but they feel rather rubbery under the fingers. The E-string is also a bit thicker than usual (in comparison to the A-string, but also to other brands such as La Bella or Pyramid etc.). To me, the E felt super stiff and the A rather floppy at first, but I got used to it after a while. I have had Thomastik strings on my full scale basses for years (and they are, indeed, the best you can get for 34'' basses!), but I have to say that Labella's or perhaps even Dunlop flats (32”) are much better on the Mustang because of the gauge on this particular set. The jump from .70 to .106 is really noticable when you play. Eventually, I switched to Labella’s Mustang strings and couldn’t be happier.

I have tried many different set of strings, but the Labella 760FL-MUS (specially made for Mustang basses) are the best by far.

I sold my first bass, a beloved 73 Fender Jazz, to pay for uni tuition abroad. I don’t regret selling it as the sale made it possible for me to finish my MA without worrying too much about money. There are plenty of good basses in this world.

TKS is, as @wateroftyne said, out of action. There are many Swedes that have been waiting for their cabs to be built for years without getting a refund. It is impossible to reach the builder, Tommie, these days as well. My suggestion would be to look out for used cabs (see e.g. the Swedish equivalent of Basschat pratabas.se) or place an order on similar cabs such as Barefaced instead.

This is my number 1.

What a beauty!

Glen Havelock (Axion Custom Works) in Bury, Manchester makes beautiful pickguards. See: https://www.axioncustom.co.uk and Facebook. He doesn’t update his socials and website that often, but responds in no time and the craftsmanship is simply incredible.

That XTC song from Drums & Wires might be recorded with a 60’s Epiphone Newport (with a huge mudbucker) as well. Colin Moulding used to alternate between the Newport and the Musicmaster.

Lovely bass! I was about to buy that one as well, but you must have bought it just minutes before. Congratulations, Clarky!

Yes. I only have my Serek Midwestern these days.

- Active basses. They just don’t do it for me (and yes - I have tried!). - Long scale (35”+) and fanned frets. - Gold hardware. - Exotic wood finishes. - Black, white and sunburst colour. - More knobs than three. - More than four strings. - Weight. Anything over 4kg is a no.

Precision basses/Mustangs and Stratocasters. I thought they were boring when I was young.

Does the journeyman have a truss rod?

All Höfner necks are quite chunky, but broomstick like as they don’t taper. I think the dimensions are the same on the two models you mentioned. If you want a similar, yet thinner, neck I would suggest a 60’s or 70’s Hagström bass.