Muzz

Yep, I learn them fully, but then I'll make the line suit the band and how we play the song if it's different to the original. Couple of cases in point for the function band: just done This Charming Man note for note, but I play Sweet Child o Mine (apart from the iconic first lines) to fit the vibe/groove on the day.

I'm a fan of Wizards - I've put a Thumper in a few basses now, I like the sound. As far as bridges go, my favourite is the Schaller 3D, which allows side-to-side string adjustment to line up with pole pieces, etc, but the main reason I like it is it's comfier for my hand to rest on. As far as sustain goes, never noticed any real difference, and I've replaced a lot of BBOT bridges. I'd say the Badass is currently very expensive for what it is.

Love my Dingwall ABZ (even better than my AB1), it's survived several new basses coming and going, which is a pretty good sign of a keeper. Most of my remaining basses these days (other than the Overwater and the AB1, which I'm selling) are keepers, too, mainly because I've either built or extensively modded them myself, which brings a certain emotional attachment. None of them are what you'd call high-value, boutique basses (I've sold most of those that I've owned), but they suit me now I've learned what I like in a bass.

I fit them as a matter of course on just about all my keeper basses. Great piece of kit.

My first bass was one of these, back in, erm, probably 77. Utter pile of, but it got me started. I think it was £22.

Dingwall!

Got a bit of time this morning (on shifts 12pm - 8pm) to work on new set songs for the function band - Rosanna, You Can Call Me Al, and the latest song shoehorned into the funk section of the set - the Starsky and Hutch theme. The last one's the most fun by a long way... Anyway, a bit of playing to set me up for a day of mither in work...

I had a 78 Jazz, and that was horrible, too. Looked the part, weighed a ton (2oz under 12lbs!) and sounded...brown.

It really is horrible - although there's a whole thread elsewhere about just this bass, and how horrible it is. Or isn't, in some cases...

I've never done it, but I'd imagine a Dingwall 4 would suit this sort of tuning - the extra scale length helps a lot with the tension - I've just dropped my 105 from E to C to see how it feels (the drop D is great), and it's not bad at all, so I'd imagine a 110 would be perfect down to C.

Back in the 80s (never a good start to a sentence about decorating basses, I know, but...) I had an Aria ZZB which was half black and half white on the long explorer diagonal. I went for an EVH 'Women and Children First' stripe job with adhesive, white on the black half and black on the white. I used adhesive in case I wanted to put it back stock, but I got so many offers I could have sold it a dozen times over. This was the 80s, tho...

In the function band I play in, I've played with four different drummers in the last six gigs, none of whom I'd met before. We don't rehearse. If he's a good drummer (and his rep suggests he is), you'll all be fine. The four I've played with have ranged from good to really good, and one of them I really clicked with, I'm looking forward to playing with him again.

10lbs? That'd be me out, if I wasn't already thanks to the shape. Not for me - I'd be chucking Mark the money for the Mike Lull TBird, and trousering the £99 difference...

Might Mite? I've got a couple on bitsa builds here, and although one is better than the other (nothing serious, just the frets aren't quite as well finished), they're both very very good for the money. To put it in perspective, the good one is on a P-Bass which made me sell my two US Ps once I'd finished it. IMHO, YMMV, etc, etc, natch...

I'd love one of them, just not in a J format. Really, really interesting.

I think the 49.5Kg bit is what puts a lot of people off...

It's the new David Dickinson signature models...

Yup, looks like A.N.Other Jazzalike...

Without wanting to side with any particular seller, I can say from experience that the Roland D-Bass combos are very very capable amps, not heavy either. I've never understood why they aren't more popular. I had one and it was plenty loud, I added the 115X extension cabinet and it was ridiculous. Never sold mine, unfortunately it was stolen.