gjones

Yes, the red light is a cruel mistress.

A friend of mine ordered a Sire V3 from Andertons, in October, he still hasn't got it. So be prepared for a looooooong wait, if you order one of these.

I bought a Elite Precision, new in 2018, and when it was delivered I was distinctly underwhelmed. I own a couple of other USA Fenders, a deluxe Jazz and a 75 reissue Jazz and they felt much better to play than the new bass. The neck felt chunkier than previous precisions I'd owned and although the action could be set up pretty low, I didn't like the tension of the Fender strings, so changed them to Rotosounds. I still wasn't convinced and after a few gigs, although I liked the sound and versatility of the Elite, I didn't like the feel and playability. My MIJ Precision has a set of Elixir lights on it and I really like the feel of them, so bought a set for the Elite. What a difference! The bass has come to life and the feel and playability is now where I like it. I think it could now be my favourite bass in the herd and all it took was a change of strings. So don't write off your USA Jazz. Maybe all it also needs is a few tweaks and a change of strings?

I just plug my tv into my hi fi. I also bought a bluetooth sound converter, for not much money, which also allows me to send the signal from my laptop, or phone, to my hi fi too. I feel the average hi fi is cheaper and more versatile than your average tv sound box.

10 years ago I replaced a 200 watt 8 ohm driver, with a 400 watt 4 ohm driver, in an old Ashdown cab. I had no technical knowledge and it shouldn't have worked but sounded great and was a big improvement on the original, in both tone and volume. The only way you'll know if you've been sold a pup, is to play it at band levels. You may be pleasantly surprised.

A local fan has put a few of our full gigs on youtube. When it's time to get back to playing, I'll just play along to those a few times. Hopefully it will all come flooding back....

I own a P bass in Olympic white. In bright light it can look very white. In dimmer light it can look creamy. It depends on the light.

True but I'm sure there will be a hell of a demand for live music, when this thing is over. People will be desperate to party like it's 1999. I know I will be.

That's Homer Simpson's philosophy is it not? If at first you don't succeed..........give up.

Same with me, I liked the sound but couldn't get the level I needed with loud drummers and guitarists. In retrospect I think it was the cab not the amp that was at fault. I was playing it through a ABM 1x15. I now have a Barefaced compact, which is very efficient, and forked out £134 for another ABM 500, that I found on ebay. This time around I doubt the amp will run out of gas as the Barefaced is a lot louder than the old ABM. Just need a gig to test my theory. I'm still waiting.....

Looks like 'Marilyn', Gail Ann Dorsey's Stingray. Same era too.

I plug my laptop into my Barefaced. Sounds great 😀

One of the things I like about Bowie, is that he rarely wrote about cliched subjects.

Ahhhh, but could you pick the TE cab up with a finger?

10 years ago I felt I needed a Jazz Bass in my life. I bought a secondhand standard Squier from Basschat, for £95. I liked it so much that I then went on to buy many more, both MIJ and USA. I recommend that you don't spend silly money, when you don't even know if you will like the Precision sound and feel. I would recommend you dip your toe in the water with a Classic Vibe, or something similar first. Then if you decide you like P basses you can flash the cash.

There's a topic on that as well.

Non UK artists won't bother touring in the UK either, if they have to jump through multiple, expensive hoops. Festivals will have to make do with UK artists, which may not appeal to the punters. I do know that when the pound went down the toilet, after the referendum, festivals were struggling to afford decent overseas acts. This is another nail in the coffin.

Maybe that's why my old SUBs sounded different from my present Stingray (see my last post).

I've had two, about 10 years ago. Back then they were pretty cheap used. I think the first one was about £350 and the second about £400. They were both two band EQ models, which sounded great. I have a 2014 MM Stingray, with the 3 band EQ and it doesn't have quite the same thump as the SUBs I used to have (still sounds good, just different).

Bass brings body to music, at the lower end of the sonic spectrum, and can provide movement, counter rhythms and sometimes melody, beneath the chords that polyphonic instruments play. Interestingly, the bass line in God Save the Queen, illustrates many of the above points.

I used to wear a really colourful shirt when I gigged and I was usually the only one in the band anybody recognised, off stage. But only when I was wearing the shirt.

The one I played through, in my local rehearsal room, sounded excellent. I was very impressed.

You're completely right, only an idiot would buy an amp in the middle of a pandemic. Cue guilty look as he hides his newly acquired Markbass combo.

Last year I joined a band with two guitarists and my Precision, sonically, fits nicely in the mix without getting lost and definitely gives a really good solid platform to the band. One of the guitarists is a big Pretenders fan and we play 'Back On The Chain gang' in the set, which has a great bassline. The P bass sounds great on that one.

I see Dave Swift had his vibrating platform with him, to give him the 8x10 experience without the volume.