Oomo

I've had pretty good luck with both of those places (though only used the Bass Gallery once for a setup, nothing too taxing). But had the opposite experience to you with Charlie Chandler (almost literally...) - brought a bass in for something (it was a poorly put together 2nd hand one of some sort), he realised that the pickups were wired out of phase, and re-wired it for me. Sounded so much better after that fix, never noticed what was missing before. I guess a problem with anywhere that employs more than one person is that you never know who's going to be doing the actual work (e.g. the "master" who started the business, or some employees that are either still learning, or have variable work quality). I've definitely had more luck with one-person operations.

Only one I've used in London is https://guitarhospital.co.uk/about.php He did a preamp replacement for me which involved some extra cavity routing, did a great job (but he was fairly busy with work, so had to wait a few weeks). He was super nice and easy to chat to though, and does all the work himself.

Am treating myself to a new jazz bass soon, and really taken with the looks, sound, and construction of the Vincent Metropol basses (https://vincent-bassguitars.de/en/). Anyone had any experience playing these? I can't find much info, but heard generally good things, and like the few videos and sound clips I've heard. However I've heard a lot more about his precision style basses (the Akkurat model I think), not so much about the j-style ones, which is why I'm hesitant.

Yeah, I used to, but in the middle of re-organising my practice space so haven't got it set up yet. Think I've got: https://www.amazon.co.uk/INFINITY-USB-FOOT-PEDAL-IN-USB-2/dp/B002MY6I7G (or maybe an older version, something that looks like it anyway!)

I've used Transcribe for 13 years now for hundreds of transcriptions, couldn't be happier with it. Mostly like the slowdown capability, but also the ability to pitch shift, and change EQ to make bass clearer. It's also useful as it lets you loop bits of songs, so helpful for learning sections. There's even foot pedal support so you can start/stop playback without having to hit the keyboard/mouse. The maintainer is also really nice, he's responded personally to questions/problems I've had in the past.

Looks nice (and way more than I'd ever spend on a bass even if I had the money), but seems a bit odd to photograph such a rare/expensive bass standing on some mud/stones and leaning against a bush outdoors 🤷‍♂️

I own some nice custom instruments (not just basses), but in all cases it's not really about chasing a certain tone or thinking they're 2x better than an instrument half their price. For a lot of them, it's a mix of enjoying owning finely crafted things made by an individual, and wanting to support luthiery in general. I'm happy supporting independent builders, and want to encourage more of that than mass factory produced goods. So I guess I see custom instruments less as just a tool to get the job done at a gig (I agree the audience probably doesn't care), and more of something that makes me happy to both play and own, knowing I'm support small builders. I probably feel the same about other things too, e.g. I'd prefer a nice handmade or antique table to a mass produced Ikea plastic one, even though they both do the same job of keeping things from falling on the floor.

Usually the same way as a fretted bass for intonation, though it's slightly trickier (even on lined), since the finger you press down is broader than a fret, so can be easy to be a bit sharp/flat depending on finger angle, etc. (I've heard some pros use a thin capo or metal ruler to press down at exactly the point they want, but haven't tried that). I'm no expert, but I think it's a mix of string height and neck relief - I've usually got less relief that my fretted basses (i.e. as flat a neck as possible without buzzing), and enough to get enough buzz to give it a mwah sound. But I often screw it up

I'd never talk you out of it, definitely worth a go! A few things I found after playing a while that I hadn't initially considered though: * the mwah type sound is great, but can feel a bit gimmicky after a while and not a good fit for many types of music * better my intonation got, the less different it started sounding from my fretted bass (so I started wondering why I was bothering...) * I found setups a bit more painful to do myself (getting the right level of buzz, avoiding dead spots, etc.) * needs regular playing to keep intonation good (if I don't play mine for a week, I really notice how sloppy I sound...) but they are great fun

Noticed they also have the Fender American Vintage II 1966 Jazz Bass for lefties too (as well the the American pro II). No idea about how it differs though to be honest.

Always a good idea I think - I've definitely noticed a difference doing that even on the PBJ I use. My basic signal chain is tuner->Empress compressor->preamp->Broughton HPF/LPF, and pretty happy with it overall.

Reminds me of talking to an older traditional Irish musician I met some years ago. He talked about how when he was young, there was no recorded music in the small village he lived in, so most people there played something . Musicians were welcome in every pub, and anytime there was a party or event (like the end of harvest season), all the music would be provided by local musicians playing live. He's still in the same village now, and says that music at pubs and parties is now pretty much all just played from CDs/streaming etc. He thinks it's a bit of a shame, but was fairly zen about it, and figured that what people really want is to listen to music and dance and sing (which he says hasn't changed over the years), but when it comes down to it, they don't care so much where the music comes from (live vs. recorded vs. CD vs. streaming etc.) as long as they can still socialise and dance.

I'd considered that, but wasn't sure it'd be enough of a step up from the PJB combo I've already got compared to some of the other options. I mostly use the PJB double four for convenience, its sound is great, but not something I'm particularly attached to or aiming for (I'm definitely going more for convenience that any particular tone, since this is just for practice/jamming rather than gigging).

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. Both the Barefaced 1x10 and the GR Bass Aero 1x10 look like they have the right combination of sound/volume/portability. Will do some more research on each of those... So far the GR seems to be lighter, but the BF seems to get more positive reviews from people, but that's just what I found after ~5mins of googling

Thanks, will take a look at those too. I hadn't actually considered going down the trolley route for transport, I'll have a think on that too (double 4 has always been stashed nicely in a rucksack or held with one arm).

I've been using a PJB double 4 for when I've been trekking across London to play with a friend. The journey takes about 1h, and involves a mix of trains/tube (or bus occasionally). So far it's been perfect, and easy enough to carry along with my bass. There's a chance we'll be joined by a drummer/guitar soon, so expect the PJB will no longer cut it. Question is whether there's anything more powerful that also has at least a reasonable chance of being transportable using public transport? Not so worried about cost if there's something fantastic out there, and willing to compromise on sound quality for convenience/portability - just needs to be loud enough to not get drowned out by other instruments (drummer/guitar aren't crazy loud or anything).

Another contributing factor I've noticed is that checking out gear is something I can do when I can't play. E.g. travelling to/from work, checking forums during lunch breaks, watching review videos while cooking, etc. If I had more time I'd be far too busy playing/practicing to worry about acquiring more gear (at least that's what I keep telling myself ).

There's also something to be said for learning more from a greater variety of tools/basses/equipment etc. E.g. learning how different pickup combinations sound, how different neck profiles feel, how amps respond to active/passive basses, learning how different effects work, learning how compressors respond, etc. I've always learnt something new from each piece of gear I've used, so even if I've sold it afterwards, I always feel I've gained something.

Now I'm really regretting not picking up one of those lefty ACGs that were up for sale a while back...

That's a really great point. If someone mentions some of those US builders, I can instantly picture a tone and look for the basses. For a lot of UK makers, some have distinctive looks, but I can't really say what any of them sound like without video/audio clips.

Ah, how could I forget Wal...for some reason I keep thinking they're based in the US...

Wow, lovely basses, hadn't seen those before!

Just wondering who the top bass builders in the UK are considered too be these days? E.g. the UK equivalents at a similar level to Sadowsky, Alembic, MTD, Fodera etc., i.e. high quality non-mass produced instruments that are much in demand. Mostly just out of curiosity - it dawned on me that I really don't know much about UK builders at all... The only names that sprang to mind were ACG up in Scotland, and Wilcock down in London.

As a lefty, was so nice to see someone playing upright bass left handed. I've always wanted to give it a try, but been a bit put off by the lack of lefty uprights, and the number of people telling me to suck it up and learn right handed. So the more people get used to seeing left handed uprights the better 😁

Decided to treat myself to a short scale bass about a year ago, so got in touch with https://www.wilcocklondon.com/ to ask if he'd make basses for lefties, and turns out that he did... So after a bit of wait and choosing specs (alder body with sherwood green finish, roasted maple neck with rosewood fretboard), it finally arrived. Looks and sounds fantastic so far, surprising versatile range of sounds, considering its simplicity (passive, 3-way pickup toggle, tone and volume controls).