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Your number one and why


marcus bell
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Well, bit of a dilemma here. Right now I'd say the bass I play most is definitely my Warwick Streamer LX5. It's got a very agressive, bright, growly tone with lots of punch and supertight fat lows which works perfectly in my metalband. But "the One" would probably be my Ellio Martina Forza 5. It's been with me for about 7 years now and has been my go-to bass for most of the time. It can do all: it's basically a Jazz Bass on steroids, but the versatile electronics and the amazing pickups (homemade by the luthier who built it) make it capable of almost anything you throw at it. If I could only keep one, this would be it.

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I guess it has to be my LTD ESP Surveyor 405 because its my go to bass both for live work and recording. Thats despite having owned some very nice basses.
Love the sound, I hit sounds I like simply by flicking between the pups, they are nice but not so expensive that I worry about them

At one with my bass :)

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My go to bass at present is my Vintage V4 Icon I have modded it a bit and it is pretty much all that I need in a bass and it is the cheapest bass I have ever owned it is certainly not the best bass I have owned but it is just so comfy to play and sounds pretty damn good too and I am not worried about it getting scratched and stuff like I am with other basses I own or have owned

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Lakland 55-60. Bought when I wasn't even looking to buy as it blew me away so much. I try not to play it too much as it makes my other basses look bad.

Perfect neck, amazing vintage Jazz bass tones and unusual colour means I will never let it go.

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My Warwick SS1.
I had it for years and didn't get on with it. Every time I thought of selling it I couldn't get away from it's niceness to play.
Sounded like a machine gun though. So swapped the pups to barts, stuck a few different preamps in there ending up on the ACG-EQ01.
So now it sounded good - then took it to Alpher guars to get the frets sorted and set up... what a job and suddenly my bass sounds great and is a joy to play

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Can I have two please? :D

My Dingwall's just the best fit for me in a bass I've ever played: play-all-day-light, all the tones I want, plays beautifully (great string tension for pick playing), and it looks very understated. I do love my Thunderland, tho - it's unique, I built it, it's exactly what I want in a rock bass, and it looks exactly as I had it in my head before I started. I couldn't sell either of them, and that's me speaking as a total gear-tart... :blush:

Edited by Muzz
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My G&L SB2, a joy to play - neck is somewhere between a J and a P, though closer to a J and the tone is fantastic - distinctly "precisiony" but with more clarity and evenness across the strings. With the pickup volumes turned all the way up it really grinds, but will do Motown thud too if you turn right down and then turn your amp up.

It's light too, which is great - the under-sized body really helps there.

Would I change anything? In an ideal world I'd maybe have the neck a little wider, though not much and I'd probably pick a different colour if I was buying from new, nothing wrong with the colour it has, but probably not my first choice.

Edited by Graham
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My 2011 Gibson Thunderbird.

I bought it off Billy Apple two months ago tomorrow. (The same evening our singer decided to resign, in fact, but that's a different story...) At the time, I had a strong sense of GAS for either a T-bird or a US Std Precision - and by "either," I of course meant "both of them." Oddly enough, this one bass has cured my GAS completely.

I still look at some of the specimens on the BC Marketplace - some of you have some gorgeous-looking instruments up for sale, I have to say - but they just aren't having the same effect on me. Previously I would have lusted and pined for most of them, but now I can just look at them and appreciate their beauty. I am satisfied with my Gibson. It's quite possibly the nicest bass I've ever played.

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The bass I feel most comfortable with is a bitsa Precision I have gradually put together to make the best bass for my own purposes. Black MIJ Fender Precision body, natural maple Mighty Mite Jazz neck, Wizard trad pickup, P-Retro, Hipshot A style bridge, La Bella Deep Talkin' flats, Hipshot detuner. All bought on here, I might add! Weighs in at 8.5lbs, the neck is just right, it sounds exactly like the P-Bass tone I carry in my head and I can use it in any situation for any band.

A close second is the JV0 Squier Precision I bought recently - with no tinkering it is simply superb.

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Its a toss up between two at the moment and potentially between three.

My main go to bass has been a Spector NS5CR - just the right amount of warmth and lots of growl. However, thats in NZ, so my real go to bass has been the Shuker Headless 6 which I brought over from NZ because it needed some work doing to it. Now that work has been done, it feels like its a part of me. Really nice action and string spacing and the neck since 2009 has relaxed a little so the thing growls a bit more. In the future, my self build may take over but we'll have to wait and see.

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Easy answer, number 1 is always the current bass. At the moment a Lull PJ5.

I've only gigged 4 basses in the last 20 years. The aim is always to buy something better so the last bass (Lakland 55-94) becomes the backup and the one before that (Wal Mk3 Custom) get's sold.

Same philosophy with amps and cabs.

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As with discreet I only really play my bass doc built 74 precision replica. Lots of people mistake it for the real thing with the nitro paint and tinted varnish.
I only wish I had had it reliced as I don't get the time to play the wear into it

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The more basses I play, the more I realise that there is no one instrument that does everything (for me).

I love my Status. I have had it for 27 years and it is like an old comfy pair of trainers. It is also incredibly versatile. It sustains for ever, never goes out of tune and is silent in use. Well, obviously not silent - or it wouldn't be much use, but you know what I mean. No buzz, hum or any extraneous noise. The only thing it lacks is a mid boost.

I have a bog-standard MIM Jazz that I really like. It fits me and suits me, and I like the sound it makes. If only it had 24 (or even 22) frets.

My new (to me!) Marcus Miller Jazz is a lovely instrument. It has the three-band EQ, which makes it even more tonally versatile than the Status and the MIM. It is made from gorgeous wood and looks really classy. Shame about that fugly control plate cover though, and I wish it was a [i]bit[/i] less heavy...

Out of the three of them I would probably still say that the Status was my "favourite"... but at the moment I play the Jazzes far more. They just suit the sound of my current band better.

I would hate to lose any of them, but at the end of the day they are just "things" and they can be replaced. There are more important things in life.

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