6feet7

I was never a massive fan of Motorhead but Lemmy dying absolutely hit me. It was one of those things that after a nuclear war, the only things surviving would be cockroaches, Keith Richards and Lemmy. He wasn't supposed to go.

I thought that for over 40 years but have succumbed.

Totally agree - I bought the AV Basses PJ5 because of its bright bright bright green paintwork. Nahhhh. Don't like anything with batteries onboard (and definitely not LED's - urggggghhhhhhh) I was thinking that, but then the whole bass will become invisible. Think I'll leave it 'stock' (the first time ever I've ever not 'improved' a design that people far more knowledgable than me had missed out doing when designing it).

I've been playing bass for about 15 years now (and guitar for 30 years before then) and have steadfastedly refused to ever play a Fender (because everyone plays either a bloody Fender or something that looks like a Fender), so I've bought (and usually lost financially - because no one else had my taste in guitars and basses) everything from a 1964 Gibson EBO to several carbon fibre GUS G1's and G3's, Yamaha's, a Tokai Hard Puncher (I know, a Precision copy, but it didn't say Fender on the headstock, so that was almost OK), Warwick's, a Spector, a couple of Patrick Eggle's, several bitsas with Status graphite necks and several others I can't remember, but then I saw Scott Devine's piece about you only really need a good P bass, and even though I didn't totally agree (I prefer a more modern sound) I understood what he meant, so when I saw an AV Basses PJ5 for sale at the Gallery I thought I'd found my perfect bass (lightweight, both P and J Nordstrand pickups, and, even though it looked Fenderish, it didn't say Fender of the headstock). Perfect. But, GAS was now ignited, and I saw a 2001 Fender American Standard 5 string Jazz for sale with the right headstock (5 smaller sized tuners in a row, not the 4 + 1 massive ears that looks like the 1 was an afterthought). It weighed 8 1/2 lbs (anything more than that and I wont play it), was in almost as new condition (unheard of for an 18 year old bass) and came with a Fender hardcase. It also turned out that I'd bought some french windows from the same guy 2 years ago on ebay (who knocked £150 off the price for me). Well, first gig last Saturday. I thought I'd start with this rather than my 'favourite' AV Basses PJ5, and then swap over after a couple of songs. 2 hours later, AV PJ5 untouched, I packed away with comments about how great I sounded that night. I have finally conceded defeat to Fender. Perhaps he did get it right straight away (well, apart from I was playing a Jazz and not a Precision, and I was playing 5 strings instead of 4). I love it

I already use markbass stuff for my electric band but wanted something very small to counteract the size of my double bass might just sell the briefcase and use the markbass stuff I’ve already got Anyone interested in a briefcase?

I play 5 string (low B) double bass in an instrumental restaurant/bar/garden music type band through a Phil Jones Briefcase but I was wondering whether the Suitcase might be a better bet. I've read the difference in watts (100 vs 350) but what I really want to know is real world reviews. Is the suitcase much heavier/awkward to carry? Is the real world volume much better/more? Is it worth the extra cost? Should I just stick with the Briefcase? I'm happy to have alternatives to the Suitcase, but they have to be affordable (I can get a secondhand Suitcase for £600 with the briefcase worth £350 towards it as a part-ex - so has to be ballpark that kind of price), lightweight and easily manageable to carry in and out of the gig. Any help gratefully received

I only use Sunbeams (5 string basses) and wont buy anything else now. Easy on the fingers and sound great for absolutely ages. I don't even consider any other make nowadays.

This.

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac Followed by something 12 bar bluesy.

I've immediately started looking for a 5 string after watching Yolanda Charles raving about hers. Got to be the passive version though.