Hutton

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1372256506' post='2123451'] Fender were at the top of their game around then, with a small workforce turning out a lesser amount of instruments. [/quote] Yes, yes, and yes again.

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' timestamp='1372255189' post='2123427'] I agree with you actually, my post was badly written. When I meant periods of ups and down, I didn't express myself properly infact I should have said that in that period of time their quality has been up and down and not that it was ALL bad, but the Fender Special series (the active ones in lake placid blue and candy apple red, remember them?) that came out in 1983 I remember that they were pretty bad. [/quote] Fair enough my friend!

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' timestamp='1372253669' post='2123401'] I believe Fender have gone through various periods of ups and downs, generally speaking, their qc has been all over the place from the late 70's and failed to impress during the 80's-90's however, in the year 2000 something must have imploded in their head offices, their Big Cheeses must have hired new dedicated staff that allowed the "concept" back to the drawing board, and caused them to shake up the entire company ethic from the foundation up. I guess they must have reached a point where they were faced with the question "Do we go ahead and keep on manufacturing the same below average crap that no one will buy and lose business to the copycat market or are we going to come up with a product that will be both in line with the former glory years and at the same time be something that the punters will find to be of excellent quality sound and perfect for gigging. [b]The American Standard series meant exactly that.[/b] I can't fault them, and I don't just buy a bass because of the name on the headstock, but being of a mature age and having known what a P bass was like all that time ago, when I first tried an AM Standard P I knew I was holding a fantastic piece of kit that I would buy without hesitation, now I have 2 of them a P and a J and I have the Fender gas fully under control until something better comes along... [/quote] Nice to see the same old dreary quality control argument rearing its head again. My 83 & 84 p basses ooze quality. I'll give you that some stuff in the late 70s was poor but it's just ridiculous to claim that 20 years of Fenders were poor. Do you honestly think that professional players would have used Fenders throughout these decades if they had been of questionable quality? There has already been criticism of the OP making generalisations but it works both ways.

Not only did Andy respond to a post regarding a problem I was having but he also solved the problem by selling me a great wee gadget (Vox amplug) which did the trick nicely. Nice guy and a credit to basschat.

Thanks for the replies everybody. Much appreciated. Andy has sorted me out with an Amplug. You post up a problem and two hours later it's dealt with. Gotta love basschat!

Sorry, I should have said that it was for solo practice.

Can anyone recommend any gadgets/headphones/wee amps which will allow silent or low volume practice. Before anyone says turn your amp down I should say that whatever is used has to be reasonably small. Thanks peeps!

At last it has finally happened! [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/sh*t-o-Caster-fretless-4-string-bass-/251291077220?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3a821d8a64"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/sh*t-o-Caster-fretless-4-string-bass-/251291077220?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3a821d8a64[/url]

Are Fender decals used? It's a bit difficult to see from the pics.

Sound. Tension. Longevity. I have them on all four of my precisions. I've had one set on now for seven years and they are the best sounding set.

Chris just sold me a cracking gig bag. A thoroughly nice chap and a pleasure to deal with. A credit to basschat!

TI Jazz Flats are all I use. I love em. I've had a set on one of my precisions for over six years and they sound glorious. Once you have got used to the tension of the strings you won't want to use anything else. Good choice my friend!

The Highway Ones as has already been said are US made. They are cracking basses for the money. The first series had a nitro satin finish and standard bridge. My son has one of the first highway one strats and he won't part with it.