Muzz

I can concur with the above - the pickups are absolutely standout on these basses (pretty much the only bridge pickup I've played which I'd seriously consider soloing), and I'm sure the niggles/design changes (mostly the neck profile and heel) identified by most of the bassists there will be easily rectified. Massive range of tones (at least a dozen coil selection combinations) and output from a passive bass, and there are some very very nice design touches (like the back contour) which point to a quality instrument. Top marks to Nige for refusing to slap, even when asked to several times!

I've recently traded my RH450 for a Streamliner 900, and it's a much better fit with my Schroeder - the TC's low-mids combined with the Schroeder's low-mid hump to provide too much of it in the end. The Streamliner's a lovely warm amp, although with the Schroeder I have to push the bass to 3 o'clock. The Schroeder and a LM (had one of those, too) is a great combination, I only moved mine on because I wanted a more tubey tone than the LM gave me.

I use Watford Valves, spot on for me.

Yeah, it's not really possible exactly as per the record ( see t'other thread about that around here somewhere), but there's a ton of playthroughs on YouTube which get pretty close to the live version, so it's not as hard as it could be. I was more worried about the overall feel and sound - after all, there's 27 people on stage with Mr Simon on one version, that it worked at all with guitar, bass, keyboard and drums was the biggest surprise.

Ok, so a very occasional function band rehearsal today to run through some new numbers, and the one I'd been wary of was finally dragged into the light: You Can Call Me Al. I'd been wary because I really didn't think a four-piece could pull it off, but Blimey, it worked a treat. A bit of creativity from the keyboards (and a lot of splits for different patches) and some moderate clenching on my part, and by the third run through it sounded good - even the two-bar bass 'solo'. Very pleased. Anyone had misgivings about a cover before the band played it, only to find out they should have had a bit more faith?

I love the Dingwall multi scale, 34 to 36.25, all in four strings! No problems changing mid-gig to a normal 34", either.

Completely agree with playing with EQ in a band setting - I spent years going round and round adjusting backwards and forwards, before I realised that what sounds good in a mix with the rest of the band doesn't always sound as nice when soloed, and vice versa. What really brought it home was using my Schreoder cab - the low mid bump doesn't sound fantastic on its own, but in a band context, it really delivers. Also a big +1 for attenuating issues out rather than adding more in - it's counterintuitive at first (it just feels more natural to add more bass, or mids, or treble to a problem sound to fix it), but it can work a lot better. As someone else said, hours of fun!

Sounds very different, and a really interesting spec, although I was derailed by the phrase 'fancy Thunderbird'...hmmm...

I've got an SX P-Bass body (actually a P/J) with a Mighty Mite Jazz neck (and a Schaller 3D bridge, and Wizards pups, and Hipshot tuners) and it turned out so well I sold both my US P-Basses on the strength of it. It had a MM P-neck first, but I changed it for a J-profile and put the P-neck on my Fenderbird. The P-neck was a bit better than the J-neck out of the box, but nothing a fret dress and setup wouldn't cure. I'd use an MM neck again, for sure - great value for less than £100. I've recently built a Warmoth Explorer bass, and the quality of their gear is top-notch. The necks are definitely chunky, though.

In that case, I'll have two...

Ooooo, that sounds like it'll be affordable... I'd still like a look, tho...

I think I'll try applying some overtension to the neck and leave it for a while to see if that pulls it back - it might work, it might not.