franzbassist

I like the Rotosound .96mm triangle picks for bass, as and when required.

Sold some pots to Steff. Very smooth deal.

I love La Bella white nylon flats, the tension is low and they sustain for days. Also recently discovered the new Galli synthesis flats, which have a synthetic core, they are a class above anything else I've played.

Beech can provide great facings, for example on this Wal I had made many moons ago.

Well, if nothing else this thread has highlighted that the world would be a boring place if we all liked the same things!

I didn't buy the bass new. Even with the new parts it came in at well under the cost of a new stock Player Series P

I think D5 is the cleaner and the first choice. F5 the lubricant.

I think that would make it too vanilla for my tastes Mick!

It's weighs twice as much as the standard bridge. It's a really excellent lump of metal. You can also change the brass inserts for steel if you want more attack (not included though) , and Hipshot supply two spare brass ones as well so you can vary the height to personal taste.

It looks worse than it is in that picture. Here’s a better angle.

Some more thoughts after a few days playing - I love these strings! The flats are the smoothest I've ever used and have little to no stickiness. The synthetic core to the string means that they are pretty low tension for a flat and can be strung through the body of a bass no problem, as indeed they are on my Franz. They could be the perfect flat. The rounds feel lighter than a 45 set: the winding is done with a very fine wire (so virtually no noise when sliding) which could be something to do with it. The rounds are also really defined and clear. Both sets just feel so good under the fingers. Amplified, they sound really good. The flats are warm but with good definition, while the rounds are punchy and articulate all the way down to the low B. I am really impressed with these strings.

I sold a bass to John. His communication was top notch throughout the process, and he paid upfront too. I wouldn't hesitate to deal with him again. He's one of the good guys!

Storing upright is a good shout. Apart from the space needing to be dry, you also want to avoid sudden changes in temperature too: admittedly unlikely in a temperate climate like ours, but worth noting.

I tend to go for triangle ones, on the rare occasion that I need to use a pick, simply because there's more meat to them and they slip around less. My preferred pick is the tort Rotosound 1mm, which is the same one Bruce Foxton uses.

Update: I purchased a set of their Synthesis nickel rounds for my fretted 5 and the new Synthesis flats for my fretless. I am very impressed! They have a lovely soft feel, very low finger noise, great tension. They sent me a 4 string set of flats by mistake, but I have emailed to ask for a low B to be sent ASAP!

I recently picked up a very nice Player Series P Bass in a lovely butterscotch finish. Weighing in at 8.5lbs the bass is super-resonant and sounds great. The previous owner had put a white pearl scratchplate on it, but other than that it was stock and in very good condition. However, as an eternal tinkerer, I decided to pimp the bass up and made a few basic modifications: Hipshot HB7 tuners - much more stable and accurate tuning with these Hipshot Kickass bridge - a new interpretation of the classic Badass bridge, very impressive! Dunlop straplocks - these go on all my basses Fender pickup and scratchplate screws - all changed just to get rid of some rusted screws Fender thumbrest - I don't use them, but I love how they look on a P bass in the tugbar position CTS 250k Mojotone vintage taper pots - the original Korean pots were nasty .047 orange drop capacitor I did toy with the idea of changing the pickup, but it sounds pretty good so I have left it alone for now. I'm really pleased with how it's turned out.