msb

Bands are temporary things at best. I wish you luck on the rebound.

For years all I used was a 72 Pbass , standard 3tone , rosewood, tort. Now I play just about anything but. Still have 3 Pbasses though.

But aside from that unacceptable bit at the end , the rest of them is quite lovely …

Pbasses are all over the map , and all the same. Play some Squiers , Mexican and Japanese models. Some Squiers turn out perfect , for some only a Custom Shop will do. Just play as many different ones as you can and you’ll form an opinion about what you need or want. You may decide the expensive ones have an edge worth paying for , you may decide that cheaper is the route to take. But play as many different ones as you can.

The Mesa gear they’re making right now is absolutely wonderful. Truth is they’ve all made incredible advances in cab and amp design in the last fifteen years , but the Mesa gear is really great. I went Bergantino , but love Mesa too.

I’m retired , and sometimes it’s lovely to buy shiny new (or old) stuff. Finding kijiji deals seems to have become a hobby. More often than not I’ll message someone about a good deal , but sometimes I drag ‘em home.

Kijijii find , a three instrument Gator tweed stand. And it doesn’t reek of cat fosters! Happy camper. I strongly suspect that G&G actually make these , I ‘ve seen Rickenbacker , Fender , and Gator brands on what looks like the identical case/stand.

I think stereo would work best with fresh rounds , to get as much distinction from the two sources as possible , my old Ric has a set of ancient lot TI flats that make it thump , I think I’ll be looking at a string change too. Be interesting to hear that one with some clank , they’re kinda famous for that sound. I’m mostly a shortscale guy now , but that 4001 feels like home every time I pick it up. Beautiful thing!

Congratulations , finding that sound is quite the trip , oddly enough it was a Dano Longhorn that got me . Gorgeous looking bass too … bonus ! I still can’t decide if my Dano is cool as heck or butt ugly.

Fascinating set up! I’ve got an old 4001 and always been stereo curious , have the amps I just need a stereo cable and splitter. Somehow never gotten around to it.

Geezer

That’s a good looking bag!

Levy make a traditional looking vintage style strap.

I have the original Forte with the compressor , not the new drive version. And use Bergantino HDN cabs. This is only 700 watts at 4 ohms , but I’ve never come remotely close to maxing it out , tons of headrooom. It’s a simple , clean , fairly transparent amp , with some serious slam. It was easy to dial in , and sounds gorgeous. I think my stage sound is the best it’s ever been. I’ve become a complete fan.

On kijiji again and a seller has a Gator tweed case/stand for three instruments. The seller is slightly out of the city but might be in town in the next day or so , so I might get it. The Gator stand/case looks exactly like the Fender branded one (Fender has red plush interior , Gator is a dark pink) so I suspect both were made by K&K. So I’m hoping it will come my way … Now it’s not something I really need … however …

I remember Duck Dunn recommending a bucket of fried chicken for new strings.

Lovely bunch! I didn’t really plan on buying any last year , but things came up , and I wondered why not ? … I’m in the twenty somethings.

Calexico

well , that’s one obscure variant

There’s always a couple in Tokyo. I looked at them for some years , didn’t want the bother of international shipping. I was also seeing the odd one in the UK , and Australia. Well worth picking up if you happen upon one. I was bugging the local Yamaha rep , they’re around , but don’t surface very often.

Some of the usual suspects at the local blues dive.

I’ve been waiting for the Space Ranger to show up.

I think Woody did a similar thing but wanted to recreate the Epi New Yorker mini humbucker pickup for bass.

Many flats are springy sounding when you first put them on , it can take a couple of weeks of solid playing for them to settle down. TIs are a very low tension string , but have a nice middle , they project well in a mix. Some find them too flimsy , I love them on 34 in basses but like something stiffer on the short scales I favour these days.

Always check out the hinges on those , if they have a long piano hinge you’re ok , but if it’s two little inch long hinges they’re probably going to give out if they’re subjected to any abuse , like putting too much stuff in the case …