Jonrh98

That is the biggest pull towards the US model for me by far - my Sire P7 fretless has rolled edges and it feels amazing, and my brothers Pro II strat neck feels like butter. It's just the question of that neck being worth 700 quid haha!

Yeah, fair enough - and the fact that the US Fenders are so expensive is what's pushing me away from that choice. The thing is, I do definitely want a passive, p-style bass - I've played plenty of basses in my time, and moved from active, 18v five strings to piezo electric fretlesses and everywhere inbetween - a passive p is where I feel at home, and 99% of the time it's delivers the sound I'm after. With that in mind, I'm pushed towards a mexi fender model because it can be very easily upgraded to match my needs. I have also considered offerings from Sandberg, but their California series are pretty damn expensive too. Are there any other passive p-style models you'd recommend? I've not considered smaller brands like maruszcsyk, so there may be recommendations there that could be worth looking at.

I've just qualified as a teacher, which means I'm getting a full time wage for the first time in September - living at home (even after parents' wage!) leaves me with a fair amount of spare cash, and for the first (and probably last!) time I can afford to buy myself a high-quality, workhorse bass, rather than flit between budget and mid range models, selling as I buy each time. I will be getting a passive p bass (black, maple fretboard, with a replacement black pickguard), but I'm stuck between two options: - All stock American Pro II, nice rolled fretboard edges, V-Mod pup, high mass bridge as stock. Lovely tuners and feel too, but would set me back about 1600 quid all told. OR - Mexi player, sent straight to my tech to have a hi-mass installed, plus a set of SD quarter pounders or a Delano split pickup. I may also replace the tuners at a later date, but this would set me back around 900ish with the work and new parts included. Opinions: what would you go for? I can afford either really, but the American is over a month's wages when you include a fresh set of flats and the pickguard, and I don't know if the extra 700 quid is really worth it, considering how much money it really is. I'd love to hear what people reckon. Cheers!

Posting my query here as well as TB as UK-specific input (particularly around Ashdown) could be useful. I'm starting with a 20 piece big band soon and I need to upgrade my old Rumble 30 to something capable of managing in rehearsals and providing monitoring to myself on stage when DI'd to FOH. As a studio musician, amp sizes/requirements have never been a massive concern, so I'm pretty lost, and as you would imagine my advice so far has been incredibly mixed. Essentially, I would like some recommendations up to the 400 quid mark on what could work. Lightweight/combo is a plus, but not everything. How would something like the 300W Ashdown Studio 15 do? The MAG C115-300 looks nice, but only puts out 180w ish without an ext cab, and offerings from brands like GK in that range seem like they won't be powerful enough. My Uncle's old 150w Trace was mega loud, but I can't imagine the Ashdown competing. The TC electronic BAM200 and paired 208 looks great, but I can't imagine 8s supporting strong enough lows. Any other ideas are more than welcome. As I've said, this rig is never going to be used on its own for gigging, it simply needs to deliver enough for rehearsals and be DI'd on stage. FYI I'm running a passive fretless pj with flats, so a pretty flat and focused tone.