gjones

I've now got 10 basses (including a DB) and 5 amps. Many of them bought via Basschat. I justify the basses, to myself, by seeing them as an investment - as they were mostly bought secondhand, are sought after makes, and will hold their value well. I've got all my bass needs met, for the music I play, and I really don't need another bass. But I still find myself scanning basschat or Ebay for the perfect, olympic white, Precision. Why???

Paul Weller''s bassist plays one. It sounds very woolly to my ears. Almost as if the bass player's amp is covered with a huge mound of pillows. Not a good sound.

I bought a Jazz from bass direct recently and the action was so low, it was if the strings were painted on. I can get my action pretty low but whoever set up that Jazz really knew their stuff. For £65 I would hope you'd get a pro setup that will really make a difference to playability.

Techs I see setting up basses on youtube, set up the action firstly by adjusting the truss rod then, if needed, fine tuning it by adjusting the bridge. Many don't bother loosening the strings.

I bought one of these cheap, when my bass was nicked, back in the late 80s. Same colour too. It had the Jazz pickup as well as the P one. I loved the sound - so punchy. But eventually I managed to save for a Yamaha and the Charvel had to go (too much headstock pointiness).

I have just purchased a 5 string and am getting used to an extra string and the narrower string spacing. This post is very useful in persuading me to stick with it.

I recommend the new Fender Rumble 100. I have played with an acoustic drummer and decently loud guitarist and it kept up. It's loud, light and cheap. I got mine, secondhand for £165. I own, much louder amps and cabs, but the Fender is fine for the pub type gigs I do.

Don't be afraid of your truss rod. Give it a tweak now and then, or it will seize up. Because, over the years, mine did.

The wider they are the better the weight distribution. I have a comfort strap but my Levys 3.5 strap is much more comfortable over a long gig.

I own a bitsa P bass, consisting of a Classic vibe body, a Korean Jazz Bass neck and an unknown brand pickup (it came from the second bass I owned, bought used, in1984). I also own a 2018 Fender Precision Elite. Despite the fact that the Elite cost me more than my last car, to be totally honest, I prefer the sound and playability of the cheapo P bass. So to answer your question, play a whole lot of P basses first and then make your decision.

What I'm going to have for my tea.....

Just in case you decide to do further pickup swapping, remember to take a photo of the original wiring for reference. I always do.

She said that Lenny Kravitz 'insisted' that she played his vintage Jazz. She would have preferred to have taken her Stingray on tour with her, if given the choice. edit: Duh....I see this has already been mentioned.

I have a friend who is thinking about buying a 72 Jazz Bass. The seller is looking for £2500 (a price based on a quick look at andy Baxter's webpage) but my experience of seeing basses, of a similar vintage for sale on basschat, makes me think a price around £1500 to £1800 is nearer to the mark? Here's some pictures.

This bypasses the preamp doesn't it? It allows a preamp pedal to be used to replace the ashdown one - assuming the problem is with the preamp?.

Maybe youve just been spoiled by all the top quality gear youve owned over the years. What are you playing through these days - a Carlsbro Stingray head through a homemade 18 inch cab? 😁

I had my bass nicked after, yes you guessed, leaving it in the car overnight. Luckily I found it again, a year later, in my local pawnshop. But I don't leave gear in my car overnight anymore. Once bitten, twice shy.

I used to own a TC Classic 450 but but disliked the low mid control, as for about 33% of it's rotation, there was no discernible change in the sound coming out of the speaker. I even went into a shop and checked the demo model, which sounded exactly the same. So if you like a bit of low mid in your sound, you'd be better off trying the BH550 before you buy one.

I listened to your video. It' sounds very much like my own band in the 80s. Maybe we should get back together

It took me a while to realise, that bass players (and this is true of drummers too) are supporting musicians. We're there to make the song and soloists sound good, not to take the centre stage ourselves. We're there to provide the groove.

I occasionally play with a excellent young drummer, who keeps on playing triplets on the hi hat, during solos, in songs with a simple 4/4 beat (think of a ZZ top grinder with the drummer playing triplets, it just doesn't work). It adds absolutely nothing to the song and I have no idea why he does it, other than to show other drummers in the audience that he can. I would normally accuse a drummer like that of being unprofessional but he is a pro drummer who is trying to make a name for himself as a session guy in Nashville Another drummer I play with, loves to invert the beat (as your drummer does too). He does it as a laugh to p*ss me off...............and it works.

Weeelll.....up until recently I owned 3 - 2 Jazzes and a P bass. But recently my finances improved and I decided to buy back all the basses I regretted selling over the last 5 or 6 years. I've ended up with 3 Jazzes, 2 precisions, a Stingray and a double bass. And a Partridge in a Pear Tree P.S. I might be interested in a G&L tribute L2500, if anybody has one going cheap?