Paolo85

I would reccomend against being attracted to shiny things such as roasted maple necks at that price range. Most of the sound of your bass, setting strings and external factors aside, comes from the pickups. You want one that sounds good and that's hard to detect in rhe specs. Most of the playability of your bass comes from fretwork (assuming you'll do a good setup). There for supercheap basses it's a bit of a lottery but in general I suspect the more the bass comes recommended the more likely fretwork tend to be acceptable more often than not. Roasted maple in theory would improve neck stability. Sometimes cheap basses come with superchunky necks, and for these baseball bats stability is not necessarily the problem. The problem is that they also balance with superchunky body and make 5kg+ basses (eg my Harley Benton JB75fl or my Fazley PJ fl). Among the brands that specialise in supercheap basses, Harley Benton I think is believed to be the best value for money. The jazz basses tend to be great but superheavy. Mine was both superheavy and a neck diver which for me is a no no. They make a few heavy basses, buth other basses they make seem to be normal or in some cases light (eg the cheap P bass with poplar body or even more the actibe B450) and well regarded.

I can't play "properly" myself but as you said, you do have those 4 strings in your bass so even if there was for some reason a rule that one learns better on a 4, you could just use your B to rest your thumb. Unless you want to buy a 4 string bass

Sounds cool but you have double bass strings and presumably an action that if is not as high in a doublebass at least is fairly high for an electric bass. In an instrument that you fret like an electric bass. With the upright to my understanding proper fretting techniques uses the natural weigh of the arm to put pressure on the strings. Squeezing gigantic strings in your hand as you would do on an electric bass would leave me worried about injuries

I'd definitely try a 32" P if there was a cheap option available

I imagine a possible problem with the preamp pedal could be that, as things stand, it would work on top of the existing preamp? This does not necessarily mean ot would not work nicely though

This is absolutely amazing thank you so much! Yes I think the thumb is the issue! I never thought about it but when I fret, my thumb is not behind the index, as it would normally be in a relaxed grip. It is almost behind the ring finger. I think I may have been taught to do that - something along the lines that it gives equal strenght to all fingers. True or not, the price I pay for it may be quite high. Not just the fact that I end up bending the wrist, but also the fact that the thumb works at an unnatural angle. As I try your position, I feel a somewhat weaker grip with the ring and little fingers. But I feel much much less tension on my thumb. In comparison, in my position it feels like the thumb is working even when I am not fretting any note. As it happens, my thumb is one of my weakest point, and pain there stopped me for playing for months at the time some 20 years ago, untill I gave up the bass. Had the had tjis conversation then..maybe... !!!!

I think thee are the Bartolini mk1 at least in current models

I'll follow the discussion with interest. I do like the shape, looks and feel of tje Cort A/B/C. Would you have the tools to measure the distance between the nut and the centre of the pickups for both the Cort and the Sire? That would be helpful info. If they happen to be the same I would be surprised if you couldn't make the Cort sound like a jazz, although I think soapbar replacement pickups are not the cheapest and if you want an active jazz there's also the cost of the preamp

...add two picture to show that in picture 1, with the thumb at the centre, my fingers have plenty of space to move - at the expenses of my wrist. In picture 2, as the thumb slides up, there's certainly less space to move around. But it seems to reduce overall tension

Ha! Scott reccommends both that I don't bend my wrist and that I try to keep the tumb at the centre of the neck all the time. The problem is that I cannot do both. Not sure if it is a small hand thing or something. My strap is definitely not too low. So, the first two pictures are what happens when I leave the thumb at the centre. The second set of pictures is me sliding the thumb up. Looks more natural in picture. Now, I think I remember I was thought not to do that because that reduces my reach on the neck. Chances are I was thaught that when I started on the guitar though. It seems to me it is equally true on the bass in the sense that I feel much more "agile" with my palm not in contact with the neck [EDIT: not really the palm, the "proximal phalanges"]. Also I doubt I could play a 5-string P bass sliding the thumb up (not that I have one but you'll never know :D). However, as I have experimented with sliding the thumb up tonight, it seems to me this reduces effort on the thumb. And I had plenty of issues there so, considering also that the wrist bends less, it is maybe the lesser of two evil?

I have at home a pickup from a Fender Classic 50s. I may be very wrong but I believe that was the "predecessor" of the Vintera. It is a great pickup but at the end of the day the Fender pickup is in a drawer and the Tonerider is in my bass (rigt now I am down to just one fretted P bass 😭 ). Like you, I would not say the Tonerider is better. Just works better for me at this moment.

I did try in a shop a Fender Player and a Squier CV 60 and, while I was not sure 100%, I also was inclined to say that the Squier sounded better. I did prefer the Fender neck though. The Squier's was thicker. But that's by no mean a defect just a choice. I believe Squier CV 70s are thinner. However, I thought than none of the two basses felt and sounded as well as my two Squier Affinity with Tonerider pickups, strings of my choice, setup to my liking and high-quality lightweight tuners. That was a great GAS-reducing experience.

Hi all. So here is my situation: when I play the tip of my thumb is always exactly in the centre of the neck, looking at it vertically. Always. To get to the E string, I bend the wrist forward. Because of that my palm never touches the bottom of the neck. Ever. Before basschat I did not know sharp fret edges were a thing. But apparently they are for most people, so this got me thinking. I have a feeling that somebody at some point in the distant past may have thought me this technique as a good thing. But I am not sure. Thinking about it, it's quite a big twist I give to my wrist to get to the E. That may not be a good thing. Tonight I have tried letting the thumb slide up toward the top of the neck to play the E, so my wrist angle changes less. But that feels awkward in different ways. Maybe just because it's new. What do you think is the "healthiest" option?

I am really not an expert but to be honest, if tone wood was a thing, then I would think that a thick bit of plastic that covers half of the body placed in between the wood and the strings and all around the pickup would also matter. And they would not all be the same

This absolutely. The feel of the neck especially, which I think is big big deal for a bass. None of this is matter of life and that. One can just buy a "sensible" and well reccommended bass that looks nice and everything will be alright. But seeing something in picture or holding it in your hand is different. On that note, while the reccomendation of getting a skinny Ibanez neck as it is more "similar" to a guitar is sensible, I would not worry too much about it because things may play out in ways that are surprising. I switched from guitar to bass when I was a teenager because I bought a P bass (relatively big neck) just for an occasional noodle. But then I had so much fun with that big neck and those big strings that I could not stop playing it

The Trooper is the first song I learned in bass. Not because I am naturally fasr, but because I cheat. Try plucking with three fingers - ring, medium, index. The order is very important, I can't explain why but you'll see when you try. So make sure you start with the ring finger. It is basically a single movement, as if you were to close your fist, with the fingers "falling" on the string but staggered. Try it a little bit and see if you can get a good sound. That's not how Harris does that and maybe in time you'll build the stamina to do it with two fingers. But using three is perfectly legitimate

I must say, I am happy with the piezo. A bit strange to my ears on its own (maybe it's a bit too much with tapes) but it adds some very nice thump to the neck pickup. To be jonest I am a bit wary of modding this one. It's not my usual £150 bass and it's hard to know if it is a keeper given how bad I am at playing fretless! Maybe somethinf discreet and easily reversible at some point!

As @Woodinblack says, @PaulThePlug ... and yes, neck through! I am never going to play anywhere near there but I am loving it as a ramp for the plucking hand. As I expected from an Ibanez, the ergonomics is amazing and the manufscturing is spotless! A joy to hold in your hand and play. I am not over the moon with the pickups and/or preamp. Saying I don't like them would be too much, I have found a good pairing with LaBella tapes and it sounds great. But maybe at that price point (new at least) I was expecting more. Or maybe I just want every bass to sound like a P I don't know

Back to the club!

I would slightly disagree with that. Sires do not have a reputation for being light. They have a reputation for being either "normal" or on the havy side - depending who you ask - with significant variation among units. I had a V5 2gen (admittedly not a P) at 4.6kg! I would not extrapolate much from a single unit. I remember a youtuber BassAdvisor once having a lightweight HBJB75, which normally go at 5kg or over. And as for balance, I understand that their tuners are certainly not lightweight. For what I have seen from LowendLobster reviews, it would appear that the consequences normally are the obvious ones for a P: neck heavy. That would obviously be more or less bad depending on the unit, with lighter basses being more likely to have bad balance. Obviously, there is the possibility that recently Sire has started a process of strict selection of wood for weight (with particular focus on lighter necks). But I would find it unlikely at this price point

Well I'd say a good Sire P5 at 3.75kg and with good balance is a keeper for sure!

That's great but in my opinion, this may say more about your fret levelling job, which must have been excellent, than about the bass. Not to say that it isn't a very good bass. I guess the neck must be a quite stable piece if wood to support such low action (assuming relief is also quite low). That's part of the reason why I don't fully understand very expensive basses, at least for Ps and Js where there is plenty of parts available