jontywisp

how does the sound compare with the better known Violin or Club hofner basses? does the VeryThin have that deep thump of the true hollows, or is it a very different flavour? as you can probably tell, I'm thinking of buying one but being housebound at the moment, I can't really try before I buy, hence my questions I always liked the 60s originals, and to the eye at least the reissues capture some of that; but how about to the ears?

What flats did you string her up with? Although the neck is shortscale, the tailpiece looks much smaller than on the original 60s Verithins, meaning you can probably use a longer string (medium or even full length?) Any thoughts on how this Verythin reissue compares with Epiphone Rivoli reissue (or the harder-to-find Guild Starfire 90s reissue)? To me it looks nicer and more unusual, but I've not heard the Hofner in action yet. A plus with the Chinese Hofners is it's straightforward to upgrade most of the fittings to full german hofner spec if desired (the pups already are german of course). Finally you mention no case is available. I wonder if it's worth trying out an Epi Jack Casady case for size? Or one of the Ibanez semi-bass cases?

I just bumped into my dream bass tone, largely by chance. I've played bass for over 3 decades now (getting old), but without ever obsessing too much about gear or tone. I always just used a well-established mainstream combination (e.g. Fender P with LaBella flats through old valve amp; or J with rounds through modern cleaner amps). On a whim after a nasty motorbike crash, to cheer myself I just bought a Rick 4003 (thanks Slazman!). Put on some new TI flats, plugged it into a borrowed Mesa Walkabout set flat, selected both pickups with neck backed off a bit ... Instantly the best bass sound (for me) I've ever heard! The perfect mixture of warm yet clear, deep yet with highs, distinctive but not intrusive, musical rather than bland. It's not just the Walkabout, nor the strings, as Fenders, Musicmen and Sadowskys can't quite do it. The moral : while obsessing over gear can become a distraction from music, ignoring gear issues (as I've done for >30 years) is also a mistake, it's definitely worth trying out different combinations to find the perfect brew.

Wonderful to deal with, a true gent, keeps his word. Drove the bass all the way to my house when he learned I had a smashed leg after a recent motorbike crash. I'm thrilled with the Rick; many thanks! Jon

anybody know if the Norstrand P4 pup will make as much difference to an old P bass as these folks are reporting for their J? passive rather than active

thanks folks; lots of useful advice and leads, including several I'd never heard of before. Basschat is great!

I've given up on old-school heavy valve amps, and now use clear-sounding modern heads, like EBS TD650 and markbass LM-II. while these sound fine with modern basses and roundwounds, the new amps tend to sound a bit thin and sterile for my 70s P-bass with La Bella flats so what's the best pedal to put in front of the new digital amps, to add some tube-like warm fatness? (think Duck Dunn's Stax sound). I'm guessing this might be a common question, but can't find the relevant thread Some options I'm thinking of are the Sansamp DI box with drive function; or EBS valvedrive; or the newer Sansamp VT - so how do these compare for my particular purpose? I'm not looking for major distortion and nasties, just for warm fatness a la Stax bass sound thanks for any advice

when I am recently came back to bass after 20 years off I replaced my ancient valve amp (Selmer!) with a LM II plus Markbass cabs. Light, reliable, and basically the sound of your bass loud. I've now bought a secondhand EBS TD650, and the improvement in sound quality and flexibility is massive, with the same basses through the same MB cabs. While the TD 650 is best known for slapping and clarity, it really does everything superbly, including warm old school P bass much better than the LM II. while markbass does what it promises very competently, and is an innovative company, there are definitely better sounding albeit heavier heads out there but maybe an EBS microbass and/or EBS valvedrive into the LM II would bring some of the same sound improvements and flexibility, at a fraction of the weight ? for sure the many choices available now seem a lot better than most of what was available 20 years ago (incidentally, the Markbass cabs sound great with the EBS TD650, despite rarely being praised)

best bass shop in the world! great service, great stock, great people, very knowledgeable and within reason, advertised prices can usually be discussed further