Paolo85

35 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

It works for Sean Hurley…

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sean+hurley+charcoal+frost&client=safari&hl=en-gb&prmd=sinv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjA5oTzvMr4AhUUSkEAHZjaCwUQ_AUoAnoECAIQAg&biw=414&bih=719&dpr=3

Wow! It does actually! I know I shoukd not be trusted around a photo editing app!

8 hours ago, Hydra19 said:

They look very similar, but i somehow prefer the look of the 2nd photo, but i think it's because of the angle.

Thanks! It is the same tort pattern but taken from a different place, plus in one of the pictures it is stretched a bit more. It was not very deliberate, I just wanted to make sense of whether tort of some sort works in the first place. My impression is yes it does but it gives the bass a somewhat metal vibe which is not what I was after. I have tried to paint the bass black here and suddenly it makes much more sense and looks more vintage than metal. So probably no, grey bass with tort pickguard is not what I am after. But I may still make an attempt as I do not trust my sloppy photo editing much😁

May I take advantage of this topic to get some feedback on the idea of putting a tortoiseshell pickguard of some sorts on a charcoal grey PJ?

Here some pics that may give an idea, apologies for the ridiculously sloppy editing job

Agree on the stock pickups! If I wasn't about to move house I would probably buy this. 70 is a great price to take a risk and gain some fret-dressing experience! 

I see, many thanks!

May I ask you what you did not like about it?

Many thanks for the kind words! It has been a pleasure for me as well. I am totally enjoing the Squier, I have spent all my free time playing it since!

Looking forward to October!

14 minutes ago, shoulderpet said:

If it is the Alnico Wilkinson that is a really good pickup that way exceeds what you would expect from such an inexpensive pickup. 

Based on my admittedly limited experience of alnico vs ceramic I believe this should be the alnico!

15 minutes ago, shoulderpet said:

Good call on replacing the J pickup, if it is anything like most stock j pickups on PJ basses then it is probably only wound to 4 or 5k which usually means the tone really thins out when the j pickup is on.

Thanks! Yes thin is definitely the right word

Well, in the end I have bought a Squier P with Wilkinson pickup already on here in the classifieds instead of upgrading my PJ. I am extremely happy with it, it plays the part exactly as I wanted and GAS has now subdued.

At this point I will probably keep the ceramic P pickup in the PJ for differentiation (on top of flats vs rounds) and replace only the J bridge pickup which is dreadful.

Bought a Squire P from Nik, very nice guy. God communication, he drove near London so we could avoid postage. It was a pleasure to deal with him

I was just considering a pickup change for a Squier Affinity PJ so I am reading with interest.

I personally was considering doing it in stages: start with affordable pickups and see if I am happy. Ultimately the bass is making me happy even as it is, although it is maybe a bit muddy.

I'll take the opportunity to ask a question: what do people think of the Wilkinson alnico 5? How do they compare with Toneriders?

If you want to spend money, I suggest also checking some sound samples of the Aguilar 60s. I have only heard them on Youtube, never tried them, but if I wanted to invest more I personally think I would go for those

8 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

So what you are saying is it could be likely as the Guns part was related to someone who wasn't in the band when they made it big, like if axl had been replaced by someone good?

I guess that's a way of seeing it!

4 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

They would have been guns and roses with someone else, as you would have never known them any different. Maybe they would be better, I doubt they would be worse and maybe they would have got nowhere, but they would have been guns and roses.

 

 

Same here, best thing for me that ever happened to genesis was PG leaving, I think they were both better afterwards.

I believe technically it is unlikely they would have been "Guns and Roses" as "Roses" stands for Axl Rose (Guns stands for Tracii Guns, co-founder and later on member of LA Guns). Or so I heard somewhere at some point, I did not google this one to check it is true

I started playing again in January after many many many many many years of stop and I am a couch player. No plans to join a band in the short term as my one year old is very good at filling free time. In a way, for me any purchase is "irrational" and I could do with one bass. But I have been affected by severe GAS from the outset. Since January, I have bought six basses and one EUB. Luckily there are limits to my madness so two of the basses (including the EUB) have been returned, one was sold, one is for sale, one soon for sale.
The fact is that I am finding learning about basses, strings, setups, machine heads, what string spacing I Iove and why, etc.. almost as fun as playing, a hobby in itself. When I was playing years ago buying multiple basses was not an option, funancially. Continuing to buy at this pace is not an option either but I believe I am getting there (or maybe I am there) in terms of having the right basses for what I like to play.
Luckily, in a way I am stingy so all of my basses cost me well under £300 (two were over 400 tbh but I returned them both as the value-for-money equation did not work for me). 

Postage now available. Price reduced again given lack of interest as my wife has a strict one-out-one-in-maybe policy so I am stuck until I sell!

4 hours ago, JoeMischief said:

 

I am leaning a bit towards a j neck. Thought that might be a bit more manageable. Also let's be honest IF she at a later date wants to a p neck and finds it manageable she can at a later date once she's commited more to bass.

Some in-depth reviews of mainstream J basses within your budget. Good reviews in that I do not agree with the guy's conclusions (eg Sire V7 here is probably my favourite) but they matter less than the explainers and the sound tests.
Warning: lots of people here hate the guy, so you might too

Squier CV 70's (this is a 5 string so a bit more issues with neck heaviness than the 4 string you would buy. A Squier CV 60's would be a very similar bass)

https://youtu.be/NBpKtOhW8aM

Squier Paranormal Jazz
https://youtu.be/XOQ42Qrpkgw

Sire V5
https://youtu.be/aIgwvN_zmo8

Sire V3 (active)
https://youtu.be/rqugcRuNU3A

Sire V7 (active)
https://youtu.be/suqGYGrwyCs

Very nice!

1 hour ago, rasher80 said:

I've got a fretted 5 string version of the same bass, for the price I paid for it I can't fault it (not being a 5 string player - it's my first one!)

 

Happy NBD - hopefully!

Hi @rasher80 may I ask you out of curiosity how is the neck in terms of chubbiness and what is the string spacing at the bridge?

1 hour ago, JoeMischief said:

 

 

I tried that cunning ploy and it's a complete range of p and j bassists. To be fair she may not know exactly what she'll want to play until she explores the bass. If she just liked a few bands or whatever it'd be pretty simple. Nice idea though. Thinking along the same lines as me.

If bassists in her favourite bands often have P or J basses then you are lucky because you can get a precision or a jazz bass, or a precision with an additional J pickup (a PJ). They are the safest bet in terms of sound and aesthetics. To date they are the most commomly used basses, and you can pretty much make them work in any kind of music, they come in many brands and many versions, you can get great value for money, and I believe they sell fairly quickly if need be.

The only risk was if she specifically did not like the traditional aesthetic (as in my case when I started at 15 as a metalhead).

Other people are probably better than me for advice. For a beginner I would much rather get a passive bass as you do not want to have to deal with five knobs. And it's not like an advanced player then does need active. Passive is fine, possibly better according to many. On the other hand, many active basses within the budget have an option to switch to passive, as well as a passive tone control, so one can start from there and keep the pream (the "active" part that leads to knob moltiplication) sitting there as a nice to have.

I have tried some jazz basses. They are very flexible in terms of sound and I love them. Still, they are more snappy and less fat and rounf than a precision. Theytend to have slimmer necks which for beginners may be helpful unless they have big hands. I currently have a £150 fretless Harley Benton J that is great but stupidly heavy and you can do better, and a Sire V5 which gets amazing reviews, is just within your budget (I believe some 400something  new) but I never managed to fall in love with it (too much high mids and very chunky frets with which you never touch the wood - not that it is a difect, just not my thing). I also had a Sire V7 fretless for a few days, also super appreciated by bass players, also within your budget and comes fretted as well. I like it more than the V5 (but is active - although with passive switch, and a somewhat weak passive tone control for what I have seen).

Then you have the Squier basses. You can get a Classic Vibe jazz bas 60s (I suggest 60s over 70s as 70s has a slightly more peculiar sound and as we are not even 100% she's a jazz bass person maybe better 60s). Squier is a Fender brand. Fender invented P and J basses. Squer CV are really loved but reportedly quality is inconsistent. I tried one in a shop and I did not like it: lacquered neck and something was not right I am not sure what, I am no expert. But I would give it a second chance.

I would second the reccomendation for a Jaguar CV (looks like a classic Fender bass, is PJ so superversatile, and 32" size is easy to start). On the other hand I personally would feel very unconfortable giving an adult as a first bass a bass that was not "standard" (so 34" scale), unless they asked for it.

As for precision basses, other people can help more than me. Even there though my impression is tah Squier CV  and Sire are the most recurrent names for a P within your budget (for new), unless you want to go for a different aesthetic.

Hope this has been helpful. Finally: the advice I wish someone had given me when I started: budget some £50 a professional setup. That could make a big difference. And if the tech/luthier strongly reccommends, have the strings changed as well.

Any idea about specific bands she may like a lot, or even better she may like the bass player?

Say for example her three favourite bands have a bass player with a precision, then you definitely wanto to go for a P bass. Once you have narrowed down that way it is much easier to help

I have seen them in the new Andertons video. It seems the body is Nyatoh. Has anyone tried them?

I have a Nyatoh Ibanez and it is superlight, although the body is way smaller than a J. Could this be a rare example of lightweight jazz bass on a budget?

6 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

I have ‘em on a few basses. My JMJ mustang even came with one in the right place. I also fitted them to some basses on the treble side, but that’s more an affectation to be vintage correct rather than for practical use as I never use those as a tug bar.

 

Can anyone briefly outline the finer points of the floating thumb technique? Or is it just a fancy name for playing without a thumb rest?

In a way yes it just means you play without a thumb rest. But it has specific advantages the most visible and from my point of view helpful is that as the thumb floats up and down it can mute the strings you are not playing

Right, I am in shock for how good it is for the price. Many people said that but it is hard to put your mind around it before you try it.

It is a fretless jazz bass. Sounds like a fretless jazz bass. You can play your Jaco stuff (or try unsuccesfully as in my case) and get the sound.

There is no cardboard effect from weak pickups or anything like that. There is no bridge in the wrong position preventing intonation. The tone control does what it's meant to do. The neck is chunkier than a normal j (but with the same nut width so it's not like playing a precision), but it is still confortable. Fingerboard is well done, I pretty much achieved the same action as with the Sire. Tuners are cheap but eventually you do get that E in tune.

I would say the Sire gives definitely better results with the bridge pickup. Could be the pickup themselves or maybe also the ebony fingerboard of the Sire, I am no expert. With the HB when you switch from neck to bridge you feel the bottom end going away quite a bit, but it does not mean that looked at in isolation the bridge pickup is not good. You get a good snappy Jaco sound which I am having lots of fun with.

Obviously passive only (which is ok for me, I prefer it), you do not get treats such as the roasted maple neck or coated fretboard so I guess more frequent setups and, in time, my fingerboard will be eaten by the strings.

On that note, I was planning to switch to flatwounds but the roundwounds the bass came with are surprisingly good and are a perfect match with the bass so they are staying.

The problem with this bass is the weight. My scale is not precise but we may be talking 5.4kg. Certainly very heavy even for a jazz bass. I would not buy it if I had to gig with it.

I'd reccomend Bass Advisor for reviews of cheap basses. It's in Spanish but most videos have subtitles. Although the guy seem to be sponsored by a shop, he's very frank. I love how blunt he is in pointing out things that do not work in a bass such as fretwork being "frankly bad" or pickups that he "honestly do not like the sound" of. That's all normal stuff for cheap basses but surprisingly you do not hear that very much in other channels.

I'll keep you posted!