Paolo85

I look at the classfield regularly for basses in the £100-£300 range. Never bought anything more expensive here. You'll find that most adverts say something like "pickup xx but I have a box and I can ship". Thst being said, I also agree that the neck off is a goid idea in principle. With some concwrns. With an old battered Squier taking it off and putting it back on, carefully, caused a crack in the poly finish near the screw. It was probably a latent issue, the finish had many other cracks already. Personally I could not care less but these would be embarassing conversations to have at point of sale/purchase. Sure, less embarassing than a brocken neck. I remember somebody selling a Squier body here with a big chip in the paint, he said it came off with the neck removal. Maybe there's something with Squier's poly finishes?

I would not be that harsh. I do not think the economics of selling Squiers in hard cases add up. I have not looked into insurance yet (I have not shipped a bass yet) but I suspect it's the same. Last year I bought a Thomann hard case, proper crap, and it cost me some £90 all included if I remember correctly. If I buy a Squire I expect to receive it in a cardboard box and ship it in a cardboard box. We are talking stuff that cost 400 new and most of the time is on offer somewhere at 350 or less. Buying used already means giving up on free returns for no good reason and multi-year guarantees, so the price needs to be competitive.

...on second thought, I would also argue that in most cases, having maybe 2, three max basses if you play very different genres, and sticking to them your whole life is perfectly fine unless you're a pro gigging musician who needs top end gear, and most of us are not that It's all about having fun in the end

For LowEndLobster that's a specific hobby and the angle of his channel. I guess in general that's part of the point in modding. If one considers all the trial and error, cost of tools, zero resale valie, and time spent on it, just buying a bass that suit you makes more sense. But it's not the same. Personally, I have swapped pickups quite a bit and I am a big believer in that. I tend to buy bottom-of-the range basses with cheap ceramic pickups. This does not mean they are bad per se, but I cannot see why I wouldn't drop in something like a £20 Wilkinson P If I prefer it, or some higher end pickups that often come out here at very good prices. As per the tuners, there are a few aspects of it. Some ar hard, and I could not care less. Some do not keep in tune for very long, and this bothers me a bit. While I never got to replace tuners just for that, I get a special satisfaction from one of my basses when I play it, pick it up the next day, and it'a still in tune. Is it worth say £50? For a bass that I play an awful lot, I would say yes, regardless of wether it cost me £100 or £500. Then there is the weigh issue. Most basses I have got were at least a bit neck heavy, and could always do with some less weight. I have some hipshot licensed ultralitesthat I bought here for cheap. But again, for a bass that I play an awful lot, I think they are worth full prices, even if the bass I put them on is worth £100 Bridges? So far I do not care as long as they work. Maybe one day I'll think differently

I think I like both the sound and the looks. Not the price though, but atm my most expensive bass cost me ~€275 (admittedly 20 years or so ago's money) so please ignore me I like that it's a shortscale that does not look too small. I guess it's the wide body, like many semihollows

Right, so glad I did this post earlier today. I was just thinking recently that I really wanted the bass in the link just it was priced a bit higher than I wanted to pay. Now with the price reduction, I was literally about to buy the third bass in a month, then I remembered.. https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/475623-2000-1-squier-affinity-precision-bass-and-rockbag-gig-bag-price-drop-£135-ono/

I thought I'd try this one and see if anybody is interested. This thread should be for people that, like me, failed the 2023 Gear Abstinence thread, or did not even try, but still want to commit to a period of abstinence. Or maybe, delaying their next purchase not for a set period of time, but until some objectives have been reached. Like other basschatters who tried the Gear Abstinence game, I didn't even make it through February without buying a bass. Three weeks have passed and obviously, not being in it anymore, and after two months of abstinence, I have bought another bass, a pedal and a practice amp. But now I miss the abstinence. In that thread I said I wouldn't buy gear before having done a few things including learning 30 songs and finishing an online course. Saying that publicly, even if in a forum where just a couple of people have seen me in person, had an unexpectedly positive effect. I was doing more learning, less noodling. More attention to how I play, less to whether bass X or string set Y come out better than bass Z and string set K, which objectively at my (extremely basic) level of playing does not matter. So here I am again! I am not going to buy any gear unless -I have learnt 30 songs since the start of 2023, well for my level of playing -I have finished a Talkingbass online course (chords for bass or walking bass) -I have done a full fret dressing For the purpose of this, I would also abstain from trying new types of strings!

In the end, they have given me a £25 voucher. I think this is very fair, especially considering I could have also returned at no cost. This brings the total cost of the bass, including postage and future postage of whatever I'll buy with the voucher (I am never short of ideas unfortunately :D) to around £85, which is half the HB B450 I was also considering. I have fiddled with the bass more. A couple of considerations -Weigh is worse than I initially though. Can't spend an evening with it on the shoulder. The positive first impression was probably linked to the great balance -As for the pickups, after changing the strings I would agree there is nothing wrong with them. For a ~£100 bass, it does not sound bad at all. From memory, I would say it compares well with a Squier Affinity PJ (disclaimer: not a fan of their pickups). Pickup height as said cannot be adjusted correctly so maybe they have even more potential. -On that note, initially I was thinking it would be a massive job (expanding the pickup cavity) and it put me off a lot. I am now thinking a neck shim (maybe a flat neck shim, not creating an angle but raising the neck altogether?) may do the trick at least to an extent. The bridge may need to be raised as well by putting something underneath. Btw it all may be even simpler, depending how thick is the foam under the pickups. Either way, not a massive job if it works Is the bass worth thr money in the end? Well, it is worth £85 for sure. The nameplate price would be £166, and at that price I guess it depends. I certainly think this should be considered as an alternative to Harley Bentons. I would prefer it over a JB75fl as it balances better. With the HBZ 2004 it is a tough call. The HBZ is more versatile, but it costs £266 and is not a good mod platform as pickups are non-standard. Probably the Fazley wins for me. On paper, without having tried it though, I would prefer the HB B450fl to a Fazley at £166

Right, so the bass has arrived. I must say, the neck feels very nice, plenty of mwah, I would say as good as the HB JB75fl I had. Also, while it is definitely heavy, it is not ridiculously heavy, and it balances very well, unlike the HB. BUT - looks and feels cheap. Mine has glue marks here and there. Given the cost I would not hold it against the bass though -More importantly, the pickup cavity is not deep enough. With a conservative setup (3mm E string height at the 15th position, "standard" for fretted but fretless tend to go lower) the P pickup pole is just 2mm away from the string. I doubt this is ok for the stock pickups. Certainly it is not ok for my plan to replace pickups - why would I put good pickups in if I cannot have them set up right? I regret not ordering an HB B450fl, which is a bit more expensive but it is reportedly featherlight, sounds good, and is active with active-passive switch I have asked Bax for a price reduction. I doubt they will be up for it. If they are not, this is likely going back

Somebody in another forum suggested that if you want your new flats sound like very old flats you can leave them soaking in eucerine cream overnight. I tried a couple of times and it works. I cannot say if the result is better or worse than playing them heavily for a year. I suppose, if at all different, it would be a matter of taste anyway

As said in the other thread, I am really loving the TIs. I may have been unlucky with my set of LTF, or more likely it a matter of taste, but I found that each strings was producing quite a different tone and I did not like it much. E extremely thumpy, maybe even not enough mids for my taste, G a bit tinny to my ears. It all improved as they broke in - and even more after I treated the D and the G with Eucerine cream! I liked them but I wasn't fully satisfied. I eventually moved on to strings with unbalanced tension to get a fatter G (eg GHS 45-95, which feel as soft as the LTFs except for the G. I still have to put my head around what I think of them, or GHS 55-105, which sound amazing but are hard work). With the TIs, I do not get any of this problems. Obviously, the E is not as thumpy as in other flats, but the G is certainly not tinny. Still they can thump if played in the right place and with the right touch (a "relaxed" touch, I find). And if I play hard near the bridge I get a proper funky snap, which is great to be able to do with flats

Is it heavy? That 9.2kg in the description scares me a bit 😁 I may have accidentally ordered one yesterday in a moment of weakness. It was £99 and not even b-stock, and I have a Wilkinson P and a Tonerider J lying around which work well together. But I am getting buyer's remorse!

I had an HB JB75. The HBZ might have been slightly lighter but still in the ballpark. Also, not as good as the J, for which weigh was literally the only issue.

I had one. Pros: you get a 5 string with a good frettles fingerboard, tons of mwah and an interesting sound for not much money Cons: -Mine weighed a ton and I understand it's not an exception -The edges of the fingerboard were sharp as a blade -They do not put foam under the pickups so they are not adjustable. Obscene choice. Easily fixed except in my case screws were stuck so I had to sweat for it -The sound is peculiar. I would say it lacks definition, especially noticeable when playing in isolation, but at the same time there is something inspiring about it. Not everyone's cup of tea I imagine -Pickups are non-standard size so not a great mod platform -I had to push saddles really to the floor to get the action I wanted. Considering I cound not shim a neck-through, I was a bit unease about it -Tuning/neck stability I would say is ok for the standards of very cheap bass. No positively surprised on that front -The body is made with whatever piece of wood they have at hand, so in my case it was quite visible the difference between pieces. Still, my wife thinks it was the best looking bass I have ever had What I would say is watch these two videos This is what this bass does best. If you like the vibe and can get over the issues it may have then I believe it's a good option

Just bought P from Gerry. Quick delivery, great communication, a pleasure to deal with him!

I cannot help but I can say I had experiences similar to yours last year and I got into my head that next time I'll go outside London

That's rather cool! You only measure the relief under the E string so you go on the neck for some 3mm or less but I guess a bit of curve would help even then

Right, I am officially out. I am a weak person, I know. But how is this my fault? I was drooling over this bass the first time it went for sale. Then the second. At least, I thought, ot will go to a good home. But then I saw this!! 😁

Ha! That's a beautiful thing! If you can print gauges that's amazing. I tjink I bought a set on Amazon for some £15 but I cannot tell hiw precise they are. As said, Fender measurements are a starting point, then everything is adjusted based on preference and what the bass allows, so being spot on matters bit to a point

If this helps, this is Fender's setup guide https://support.fender.com/en-us/knowledgebase/article/KA-01903 I am not an expert so when I do a first setup, I pretty much follow the guide to the letter (setting shimming aside unless it turns out there is a problem there). Once I get to those measurements for everything, then I adjust further. If the bass has very good fretwork it may allow for lower action (so less relief, or lower string heith at the bridge - less relief is my preference). If the bass has bumpy frets and it buzzes, then it is a balancing act. If it buzzes at the first five frets then you need to add relief. If it buzzes after that you need to raise the strings. Sometimes, if there are one of two spots where it buzzes indicating that there is a significant bump, I'd consider keeping a bit of buzz rather than having to set action extremely high. EDIT: note that things can spiral down, if you add relief the neck is more bowed so implicitly requires more string height to avoid buzz around the 9th-12th frets, so I found myself going up a lot with both relief and string height to run after specific bumps. Even better, frets can be filed, I was quite scared about doing it at first but now I do it regularly on cheap basses if needed. If done with care and decent tools doing damage is unlikely. One can argue that if there is a significant bump the bass is already "damaged" to start with and will only get better.