80Hz

A quick glance at the big US retailers (i.e. Sweetwater, Guitar Center) suggests slim pickings in the budget bass sector outside of Squier and Ibanez. So I would assume there is still space in the market for alternatives in the low end, especially for comparatively exciting brands such as Jet, etc. However this doesn't seem to be in evidence from any of the big retailers, nor does there seem to be a big push to exploit their buying power into developing a cheap house brand such as Andertons have done with East Coast (or, indeed, Thomann/Harley Benton). Or is there some big selling budget line that I'm missing? In terms of consumer sentiment in the US, the sense I get from the news etc is that it's not great, but it's difficult to know how that translates into consumer behaviour. If you have, say, $300 to spend on a bass, do you seek out the best new value, buy used, or save up for something with the F logo? The last observation I'd make is that HB only ever seemed to dip a toe into direct US sales - it was all done through Reverb, so they weren't even operating their own storefront, and I think they only warehoused a selection of models there (that's the sense I get from some of the big YouTubers, anyway). It'll be interesting to see what comes out of NAMM in a few days in terms of budget brands.

Yes the Adagios do seem to come up often as good affordable flats. Another one on my list to try 🙂

PM'd.. thanks

Funny, I was thinking about posting some love for HB flats and searched first! Basically I concur with all of the above 😄 They have a mid forward sound which I found close to TI jazz flats - albeit a bit more mellow. Not much in the way of thump or low bass, very different from LaBella DTF voicing - possibly a result of being light gauge? They feel smooth but not highly polished. No “grabiness” like I’ve experienced with TIs. Basically an affordable, easy to play flat with low-ish tension and a general purpose voicing that sits right where you’d expect. I read somewhere (not sure if it was here) that they might be rebadged Olympias. Olympia do sell a 45-100 flatwound set for £19.99 on eBay but I’m too tight to risk the extra £7.89 to find out whether they’re the same! Anyway on the back of these I tried HB “HQS” steels and they went straight in the bin.

Well the Picato trademark is still owned by Strings and Things Ltd, so no new owner per se. There seems to be a re-brand in progress with the tag line "Musicians Strings Since 1953", with no British or "Made in UK" branding (at least from what I can see - could be wrong!) The Strings and Things site shows packs of strings with both new and old branding, so maybe it's just that they haven't updated some of the old brand collateral yet, or there is plenty of British made NOS they have yet to shift.

** GONE ** I'm having a clearout of stuff for hobbies that I no longer have time for and/or lack ability! I don't want the hassle of dealing with splitting all of this up and selling bits individually here and there for a few quid, so I'd like to pass it on as a single lot to someone who's interested in film photography. You can either collect it all from Skipton, North Yorkshire or I can box it up and send it to you for the cost of postage (postage payable by bank transfer, UK postage only). I can't guarantee that all of the accessories are compatible with the cameras you see as there's lots of bits I've collected over the years - but most should be 😀 Here's a partial list: Minolta X-300 with MD Zoom Rokkor-X f35-70mm f3.5 lens Minolta Dynax 505 si Super with 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 lens Nikon F65 with AF Nikkor 28-80mm f3.3-5.6 lens Minolta MC Rokkor SG 28mm f3.5 prime lens Light seal replacement kit for the X-300 (light seal is okay at present but will need replacing eventually) Neewer Speedlite 750iii All of the cameras were working fine but have been stored for a while, so I'd recommend running a test roll of film through them before shooting anything important. Any questions please DM but I'm not keen to waste time splitting it up.

Yes that's the plan. Re-route for the L-1000 position. I'm new to wood working, but I think I can knock together a routing template. It shouldn't be too difficult to calculate the edge radius of the MFDs and get it neat (he says, with confidence 😆). I'm hoping to share info and measurements as I go, as there doesn't seem to be a lot out there. Let's see how far I get and I'll let you know if the spare MFD is up for sale 😀

A few months ago I moved to a house with a cellar, so I finally have a space where I can use some tools that's not a) my work desk, or b) the kitchen 😆 This gives me an opportunity to try some of those DIY things I've always wanted to have a go at, and I decided to start with learning to prep and oil finish a guitar body. I figured a good way would be to get a cheapy body to mess around with and worst case it's firewood. Gear4Music had a sale on natural precision bodies for about £35, so I bought one - keeping my expectations low! Although listed as "finished" I assumed it would be finish sanded or some kind of light sealer coat for that money, anyway turns out it's got a poly coat 😳 In case anyone has looked at these, I can say that nothing looks like it lines up, the blank was cut at an angle, and it may be an optical illusion but I don't think the neck pocket and pickup route are on the same plane!! Still, it was £35. And it's not a bad colour. I have no desire to sand off the poly but I'm keeping the body to try out another idea: For a while I've been thinking about a cheap hybrid Fender/G&L bitsa. There's something about trying to cross-pollinate the two that appeals. I snagged some MFD humbuckers recently so this seems like a good opportunity. Basically I want to try L-1000 electronics in a P body, implementing the parallel/single coil/OMG switching. A poor man's Wunkay, if you like. I have two MFDs so I could try a different arrangement if I felt more ambitious - perhaps add a bridge bucker in the L-1500 (i.e. roughly Stingray) position, rather than the conventional J position in the L-2000. To source a neck I may just buy a Harley Benton P kit. That would give me another body I can have a swing at an oil finish, and also attempt to carve an early 80s G&L headstock 🙂 These fellas on YouTube make it look so easy 🫣 I was measuring string spacing on the MFD today and as best as I can tell the poles are 23/32 apart (18.25mm), so 2" 5/32 from E to G. So something to ponder will be an inexpensive 18mm spaced bridge. (I think a genuine Saddle Lock bridge is out of scope for this budget!!) Or maybe it will be okay to fudge it with a standard 19mm bridge. Anyway, this is probably a bad idea for reasons I have yet to realise, but we'll see.. what have I missed? Why will this be doomed? Experienced builders please look away now!

I used to have a Hakko FX-888D and it was a great unit. I can definitely recommend a Hakko if budget allows but beware that there's a lot of fakes around. For the occasional soldering I do now I bought a Yihua 939D station and it's been good. I'd recommend getting something with a decent amount of power - with a hot iron you can work quickly, and I think this gives less time for heat to dissipate into surrounding components.

I completely left Facebook a few years ago. I don't miss it. Aside from an occasional life update from a friend I found it very little use for anything music related, aside from maybe brands etc announcing new products. Specialist forums like these, as well as YouTube, are of much greater value to me mainly because of search. If a question pops into my mind I can usually have it answered, or at least some tidbits to point me in a direction, by searching old threads. YouTube obviously can vary, but I've been able to curate content that's genuinely interesting and relevant to my interests. As an example, last night I was watching some of Manton Custom's videos (pretty sure he's a forum member). A goldmine of useful info. Same with Dave's World of Fun Stuff etc. I'm also active on Mastodon. I'd recommend anyone to check out the Fediverse as an alternative to corporate social media. Yes, it's very tech oriented (it helps that I'm interested in Linux 🐧), and you'll find lots politics if you go looking for it, but there's also plenty of artists, photographers, etc. The potential is absolutely there to grow a community, but it requires you to do that actively, as there is no "algorithm" pushing recommendations or sponsored content. [Feel free to say hi if you're on Mastodon: @[email protected]]

This is good news, I've been a fan of their designs since I saw the first "New Islington" guitar a few years ago. Retro flavoured but quite distinctive I think. I see they're making the bass range at 32" inch scale - a smart move perhaps seeing the popularity of short scale instruments these days? Definitely something I'd check out if the opportunity arose. Also, their blog says they're offering an intro discount - no idea if this is still in effect though: https://www.ancoatsguitars.co.uk/blog/introducing-the-new-ancoats-bass-range

I like it. You used to be able to be able to get matching bathroom mats and toilet seat covers in this color back in the 90s. I’d perfume mine like a Victorian love letter.

Nice one - the colour combo of the body and the red/orange hues in the wenge work well together.

I'll throw in my £0.02. If the Yamahas are doing what you need them to do, great. There's nothing that beats auditioning something in your own space. Otherwise the marketplace is pretty crowded around your budget level, so options abound. I'd throw Focal into the mix if you're looking for brands to consider - I just switched away from Genelecs to a used pair of Solo6 Be's (a model from few years ago). I'm impressed enough that I'd consider what Focal have to offer in their less expensive models. My dream is to own something from the PSI Audio lineup, so I don't have as expensive taste as your ATCs 😆

This sounds like a lot of fun.. great band name too. A few years ago I played synths/keys in an 80's inspired originals duo. We had a couple of covers sprinkled in, one of which was "What Is Love?" by Howard Jones. I had a great time trying to capture the production style and translate it to a live performance, building those gigantic drum tracks and trying to make a convincing imitation of a Roland Jupiter 80!

Great finish - looks like it's got a subtle metallic pearlesence to it. Love it. Enjoy 😄 Edit: ah yes, as you mention the finish is white pearl!

Yeah I'm not worried about collectable value as such, there's too many of them out there for that. At the moment the stock pickup is no slouch - maybe the only slight weak spot is a lack super low thump, although normally I don't want too much of that anyway. I also have a Bill Lawrence / Wilde P pickup that along with the G&L might form and interesting comparison.

Bass hopes for this year: 1. Increase the rate at which I pick music to learn - it's easy to have a set of tracks in rotation and keep going through familiar material expecting it to get better 2. Try to nail down why when I attempt slap all that comes out are harmonics and other strings ringing 3. Do more sight reading, get back to reading music other than my own transcriptions 4. Always know what note is under my finger across the fretboard rather than relying on ear and relative intervals/spatial relationships. 5. Practice always with a metronome 😄 6. Possibly take a few lessons to get some outside perspective on what to focus on

I'm aware of a couple of folks in a band who have integrated psychedelics into their creative process. But the thing is, they're all talented players who are committed to experimentation. Better music isn't the emergent outcome - I don't think the mushrooms make them magically better players! But perhaps it opens up certain avenues of thought that otherwise might be elusive. My friends found that it wasn't so much the trip itself, but the reflection afterwards where any creatively potent insights took place. Now as for me, I need to be fully in control of my faculties to play even at the best of times, so we can't have anything which interferes with the synapses. What use is a bass if your hands might refuse to work?

Fair play to them - they say they're responding to feedback, and they seem to have addressed many of the criticisms I've read and seen on YT etc. Obviously improved and more consistent weight is welcome. Looking at the V7s, I particularly like the new lighter (?) roasted maple look. I really like the Tide Pool, Mercury and Candy Apple Red finishes, also the V7 Vintage in Tobacco Sunburst (the yellow/off white fretboard dots are a nice aesthetic refinement). Also it could be my eyes but the binding looks slimmer on a lot of the new necks - almost more in proportion to the width of the frets. Interesting also we now have a V1 series, presumably to complete with Squier Affinity series, Fazley, HB, etc. All that seems to imply - and justify - price rises, in the same way as the Fender Standards paved the way for the MIMs to increase in price.

Very nice. While I generally prefer a darker fretboard the grain on this one is very attractive, and it pairs well with the Sherwood green. Classy and understated!

Might be better to see what it would cost direct from Musiclily: https://musiclily.com/collections/precision-bass-style-pickguards/products/musiclily-pro-13-hole-p-bass-pickguard-for-fender-american-mexican-standard-precision-bass-1-3-4ply-mx0355p These days I often see if Amazon sellers sell direct.

Just throwing my hat in the ring for this year too. Last year was a really fun day. Any of those dates are options for me.

Yeah nothing is lacking, for sure. Any potential pickup swap would only need to be for “voicing” preferences.

Yes I’m impressed with the build quality. It’s nice hunk of maple - perhaps they were a bit more selective on woods for the anniversary series.