Mrbigstuff

I got a MIM P bass for my 16th birthday. I upgraded the P/Us a long while ago but since I've had it i've been through at least 10 other basses but I've still got and use the P bass daily. Oh, and I got the Gallery to do a fret dress which made a big difference and was pretty cheap. It's fairly light, sounds beefy, stays in tune and plays well. Simple.

I know all about being sozzled 😂

Hey bilbo, the links not working. I can’t see anything on Laurence’s Facebook, where was it advertised?

How weird, I found the biggest difference with tone open (clip one) and struggled more with the tone closed. To my ears there is more bottom end to the 71 with the bite, and I find with modern passive basses when you add bite (tone) it often takes out some of the depth. I don't own a vintage fender to compare it to but I do have a MIM p bass with the same strings (about a month old) and Lindy Fralin PU's and I would say the tone (especially open) is not far off the Moollon which surprised me. Obviously the Moollon will be a superior instrument in every other way.

Annoyingly (or thankfully) the bass I want is currently way out of my price range which forces we to be happy with what I’ve got.

Funky Hofner

If I had the money I’d currently be on route to Blyth.

If you want a wal I would just save and wait for a Wal to show up in your price range. The pro series are a bit cheaper.

If you want similar sound to the 70's Jazz then the Sire V7 has it in spades plus the option of active EQ. The V7 I had was as well built as any other bass I have owned too although I don't know if QA may have dipped since the popularity has increased.

Fair enough. I’ve owned Warwicks and had a NT thumb which had to have the truss rod replaced but was a beautifully crafted instrument. I’d say on the whole they are quite unique. As for Mayones, I’ve only tried one of their Jabba basses (jazz bass copy) so it really is like chalk and cheese. It was a good jazz bass and build quality seemed solid. Not much more to say about it though really.

Why have you chosen those two?

That it’s easy to replicate and pretty standard ideas that have been executed well. The guy Pratt vid explains the techniques and ideas well for anyone inspired by this track or SEB (which I hope people are).

It's a good groove but it's built just using octaves and chromatic runs. Guy Pratt uses similar stuff in this song:

Yep! It’s an Overwater. There’s a lot of fretless on this thread, maybe they are easier to fall in love with?

Tough because I have two of sentimental value but this build is probably more so and a fantastic bass.

My issue with tapping is, in the main you lose a lot of tone, ie. it often sounds weak and timid.

Sitting here playing my P bass i agree with this although I do try and share the load of practice at home between my 3 but it basically comes down to: P bass 90% of the time, Fretless when I feel fancy and the jazz for when I'm learning a slap tune because it nails the MM tone.

I’m guessing it’s easy to take the arms off?

I have 20+ physical bass books and another 10 or so digital. I always seem to revert to standing in the shadows of James Jameson

I need to change my answer. Just seen Andy Baxter Bass post this 1964 Jazz 😍

1. Ken Smith BSR Black tiger 5 string 2. Warwick thumb NT 5 string 3. A decent 70’s jazz bass - either black or natural or LPB

They have a new thin line semi hollow body which you would think would be lighter. Not a conventional looking bass but I really like it. I can’t remember the body wood on my J4 but it is lighter than alder and they suggested it was a lighter price in their stockpile. Unfortunately I don’t have any scales. Edit: added a pic because I think it looks great.

Another happy Overwater customer here. I had a fretless J built for only a tad more than a standard Fender Jaco artist bass. It’s my second Overwater after I sold the J5 due to not getting on with 35” scale and needing the money. i think they drop so much in value due to the fact they are custom made to someone’s preferences.

Trying to remember exactly what I have used on that bass. I know I’ve used Overwater’s own strings on it, a set of D’addarios, Thomastik flats and I think there might have been a set of Dunlop’s. I haven’t used DR sunbeams on that bass but remember liking them on a different fretless.

So how’s everyone getting on? I’ve put the nickels through quite a bit of bedroom playing over lockdown and really enjoy the feel and vintage tone. There is a lot of warmth but also clarity and I would say they are more characterful than what I was using before. they’re still going for now but I reckon I’ll be buying again when they eventually die off.