Conan

Further research indicates it may well be a Mayones...

As used by Mariusz Duda in this clip. I don't recognise it at all. Sounds a bit like a cross between an Ibanez Soundgear and a Wal to my ears... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiEyhg6eYjw&feature=player_embedded"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiEyhg6eYjw&feature=player_embedded[/url]#!

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1331906873' post='1580755'] Hi I'd like a low b five string, I will probably have to buy used to get best value. I have at most £275. What can people recommend based on their own experience? [/quote] You don't want my Cort?

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1331833814' post='1579705'] Don't fall into the trap of camping out in the lower range. Too many people do when first moving to a 5 string and rather than making the music sound 'heavy',it can end up sounding a lot emptier,depending on the instrumentation of the music. [/quote] Spot on!! That's exactly why I am now moving away from five and back to four. I think that, somehow, a four encourages you to be a bit more creative.

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1331887417' post='1580297'] I've never got over excited about gear. I'm a player , not a collector. I can get attached to an instrument because it's such a tactile thing but not amps. Black boxes with knobs on. I want them to sound OK in 'neutral' and not break - nothing more. [/quote] Good point! Isn't it interesting how people use very different words to describe their amplification rather than their guitars? There is a lot less emotional attachment to the electrical stuff then there is for the bass itself. Why is that I wonder? Is it because we aren't physically connected to the amps? You rarely hear anyone say "I could never get rid of this amp - she and I go back a long way and have many shared memories... etc, etc" Discuss

[quote name='garethfriend' timestamp='1331846075' post='1579934'] Barefaced vintage - so long as I can manage the size and don't need smaller cabs it's definitely a keeper. [/quote] What are these "smaller cabs" of which you speak?? My Vintage is definitely a keeper. Yes, it's big (but smaller than the two 410s it replaced) but it's easily transportable. The tone is right for me and the volume on tap is just incredible. Ampwise? Well, I like the simplicity of the LH500. It's loud and clean, which is what I like. It could have more mid-boost available though. I know why, but I do miss a graphic EQ sometimes. There are amps that I haven't tried and one day I would like to try them. So, at the minute the Hartke does all I ask of it but I may try something else. If the "something else" is something I prefer I would happily move the Hartke on.

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1331816129' post='1579313'] If you buy a ready-made bass for £100, remember that a proportion of that cost is for the time of someone building it. So the materials will have cost far less, and the quality of them should reflect this. [/quote] True - but because materials can vary, and humans are not machines, the end result will (and does) vary. Fender are well known for this variability and the cheap basses show it too. That's why it's so important that you try the actual bass that you want to buy, as two made from the same materials by the same person may be different. I've played awful Fenders and brilliant copies costing under £200. It's all a bit of a lottery really. But it happens in pretty much all manufactured goods, so I don't know why we are surprised...

[quote name='Icarus_147' timestamp='1331765572' post='1578707'] Haha, thanks for the offer man.[/quote] Well the offer is still there - as it is to any North-East based Basschatters who fancy a play!

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1331637607' post='1576177'] Pimping bridges, nut and tuners are all small positive changes which can be done, but for amplified sound the biggest one by a country mile is the pickup, pots and wiring. I'm not a believer in 'tonewood' as far as the end product (an amplified bass in a band setting) goes. [/quote] You are talkin' my crack-a-lackin' language!!

To the OP... I see you are in Newcastle. If you like, you could pop round and try my "Fecker" jazz bass. I bought it as a no-name J-copy a year or so ago. It plays REALLY well. The only upgrade it has is a pair of Wizard Hammer pickups. I love it. Not only does it play beautifully, but it now sounds fantastic too! I also make a mean cappuccino Bass cost £100. Pickups £60. I now also have a Fender Geddy Lee Jazz. The neck is very different. Not necessarily better, but different in that it is so slim and has far less lacquer on it. I love both basses. Does it feel or sound like there is a £700 difference in price? No. Not even close!! The key with buying a "cheap" bass (which in itself is a subjective term!) is to play it. Some cheapo basses play very well but (as others have already said) are let down by poor quality parts and sound cheap. Replacing the neck is pointless IMO, as it is the neck that makes a good one playable. Replacing the body is also pretty pointless at this price point. I'm also not convinced about this "tonewoods" argument either.... to me, the wood of the body is there to look good. If it is going to be painted, what does it matter? The pickups have a far bigger influence on the sound anyway. As do the STRINGS!! Everyone forgets about the strings and rushes to upgrade this and that part. Try some decent strings first! Remember too that any bass body can be repainted in whatever colour or finish you choose! And if you are struggling to do it yourself, the Bass Doc is local to you too!! Have a go!

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1331733053' post='1577898'] I don't think the Geddy Lee existed in 1994/5. [/quote] From Wiki: "The [b]Geddy Lee Jazz Bass[/b] is a Japanese Artist Signature bass guitar, [b][i]made since 1998 [/i][/b]by [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Musical_Instruments_Corporation"]Fender[/url] in honor of [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_(band)"]Rush[/url] bassist/vocalist [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geddy_Lee"]Geddy Lee[/url]."

Done!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1331626275' post='1575903'] I use the right bass for the job. It's age is irrelevant. [/quote] Yeah. Any bass that has stood thirty years of proper use is unlikely to fail on you and was probably a "good 'un" in the first place. Buy a new one and who is to say that it won't prove to be a friday afternoon special? Go with your feelings, not your head.

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1331573759' post='1575113']Being technically very good is only any use if it enables you to say make an interesting artistic statement. Music is about art, about creativity. Technique is just an aid to that.. It's quite possible to be technically very good and have little or nothing to say...[/quote] A colleague of mine is an English teacher. He knows all about sentences, grammar and stuff like that. In other words, he has great technique. When he speaks though, nothing but dull monologues come out. Nobody wants to listen to him... Is this relevant?

Over-rating bass players is over-rated.

Is he after a Wal? I didn't like to ask - but maybe he'll take a fence...