Best and worst bass gear purchases for 2017?

[Al Krow]

Hey fellow BCers - 2 months to go before the year end and...

Not really having bought anything for a couple of years (since 2014 in fact) I've had a bit of a splurge on new gear this year. Thought it might be both [b]fun[/b] and [b]informative[/b] to share thoughts on what our best and worst buys (and why?) during the year have been. I'm happy to get the ball rolling!

[b]Best purchase:[/b] (what still brings the biggest smile to your face?) - Ibanez SR 1800 Premium, it's just a wonderful bass to play, light weight, fast neck, gorgeous tone from its big single Nordstrand pups

[b]Runner up[/b]:[s] Zoom B3n Multifx - introduced me to the murky world of bass pedals with its easy to use interface and some excellent sims, but has meant I've quickly fallen down a slippery GAS ridden slope of tonal exuberance[/s] Vanderkley 210 MNT cab - incoming (I just know this is going to trump the B3n for big bass grin status - I wasn't expecting to be getting the VK this until 2018, but hey when a fellow BCer puts a mint condition one up for sale at a fair price you gotta jump, right?)

[b]Best value purchase[/b]: a brand new end of line Yamaha BB425 for just £280!

[b]Worst purchase[/b]: Warwick Rockbass Streamer Standard 'Carolena' (i.e. pine!) I only realised how disappointing this was for such a great brand when I heard the 'real thing'. Underpowered pots, bland pups, an easily damaged softwood body and generally 'meh'. Fortunately it was in its 30 day return period and I managed to get a full refund. I found an excellent German made Warwick $$ Corvette 5 string to replace it with, for not much more.

Looking forward to hearing your stories!

AK

Edited November 3, 2017 by Al Krow

[Chris2112]

Best - my Cort Rithimic. Still brings a smile to my face every day. But the Pedulla Pentabuzz I picked up last week is a close runner up.

I've signed up for Jeff Berlin's new reading instruction course that starts on the first of November, which could well end up being the best purchase in the end.

[Osiris]

I haven't made too many purchases this year as I'm really happy with my gear setup, my basses, amps and cabs all give me exactly what I want and what works with my band. Admitedly it took me years to get here though!

[b]Best purchase:[/b][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] Genzler Magellan 800. The best bass amp I have ever used or heard. Infinitely flexible, bags of heft. Seriously. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/314013-genzler-magellan-800-and-350-bass-amplifiers/page__pid__3395611#entry3395611"]More of my thoughts on it here[/url]. [/font][/color]

[b]Runner up[/b][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]: Genzler Magellan 350. As above. [/font][/color]

[b]Best value purchase[/b][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][color=#282828]: TC Electronic Spectracomp. Jaw droppingly brilliantly versatile compression that is both stupidly simple to use and infinitely tweak-able if you want it to be. [/color][/font]

[b]Worst purchase[/b][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][color=#282828]: Haven't made a duff purchase myself. [/color][/font]

Edited November 1, 2017 by Osiris

[ricksterphil]

Best Mike Lull Custom M4V.......I knew it would be good but I have to say it's exceptional and the range of tones available is also right up there

Worst Sire Marcus Miller v7 5 string....fab guitar, but I could not get on with the neck of a 5 string...I only had it 2 weeks before moving it on (thanks to Basschat)

[TheGreek]

[b]My best:[/b] The Psilos Bass I commissioned with Andyjr1515 - plays like a dream, weighs nothing, looks beautiful.

[b]Close second:[/b] would be the Glockenklang Soul combo which covers all bases.

[b]Best value:[/b] the Korean Spector 4NT which surprised me how good it was considering how inexpensive they are.

[b]Worst: [/b]Can't say I've bought anything that was particularly bad, though the GK Backline 115 I had for about a couple of months was a bit middling.

Edited October 30, 2017 by TheGreek

[franzbassist]

Best purchase: My Sirius DC 5 by Franz Basses. Custom made for me and topped with a piece of chestnut from my parent's garden. Just stunning



Runner up: My new Markbass CMD Super Combo K1 stack. Also stunning



Best value purchase: The CTS pots I used to convert my Franz fretless back to passive. Sounds [i]so[/i] much better!

Worst purchase: Yet another pedal board purchase that was assembled in a matter of weeks and sold off just as quickly

Edited October 30, 2017 by walbassist

[Lozz196]

Best purchase - Tech21 Sansamp Para Driver
Worst purchase - none

So why am I selling so much then, easy, I`ve just gone mad and over-bought, realised this as my spare room is now much smaller than before, so selling off pretty much all that I don`t need.

Edit - Purchase found to be be unsuitable - a double gig bag that made me realise I`m a weakling as I stuggled to carry it once loaded with 2 Precisions. Bah!

Edited October 30, 2017 by Lozz196

[Hellzero]

Best purchase : AER BassCube, simply the best amp to my ears and needs.

Best surprise : LeFay Herr Schwarz 5 strings fretted, never had such an ergonomic and so well sounding passive bass, would be my best purchase if it were a 6 strings.

Best value : MTD 635-24 Fretless, terrific fretless.

Best discovery : I love 6 strings basses with 36 inches scale.

Worst purchase : an 8 EBS pedals pedalboard that I got this Saturday, it's not bad at all, but I really have no use for this, will be for sale very soon.

[LeftyP]

I bought a [b]SubZero 35 watt bass combo [/b]for use at home which is working well. I also bought a [b]Tascam GB-10 Trainer/Recorder[/b] which is great for playing along to backing tracks and learning songs. It may sound boring but I think my best purchase was a set of [b]La Bella Flat wound strings[/b] designed to fit my Hofner violin bass copy. They are so smooth and comfortable to play that I don't get any of the squeaks when sliding up and down the frets.

[spectoremg]

TE Elf; tiny, functional and lovable.

[jezzaboy]

Best purchase: Yamaha BB 1024 in sunburst. Got it for £500 along with a quality gig bag.

Worst purchase: Boss OD 1 distortion pedal. What did I buy this for? God only knows. Moved on swiftly to my guitarist mate at a £20 loss.

[Chris2112]

[quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1509383305' post='3398496']
Best purchase: My Siri
Runner up: My new Markbass CMD Super Combo K1 stack. Also stunning



[/quote]

A tremendous amp. I bought a Markbass CMD 151P Jeff Berlin combo earlier this year and it's tremendous. I don't think I've bought anything sh*t this year at all.

[lojo]

Best - setup of my Jazz bass with new dimarzio and kIOgon loom

Worst - Fender A/B switch for bass / synth into my rig , awefull buzz on it

[gs_triumph]

Best purchase : Cog Knightfall is just got today from tonyxtiger... Great drive pedal!

Runner up : EBS Reidmar 750... Got it in a head swap.

Best value : EBS Fuzzmo... For £50 you ain't going to get a better fuzz

Worst : boss oc-3 super octave. Bought then sold in the same week

[TheGreek]

Seems that, in general, people are happy with what they bought this year. Nice to know that collectively we're getting better at wasting our money on GAS.

[jonnythenotes]

Best..... Ibanez Grooveline 4 string... (Made even better by the fact it was reduced from £1600 to £800.) Close second.... DB Embee 2x10 cab. Worst....Aguilar TH500....

[SimonEdward]

spending spare cash on **New** Bass gear was something I used to do 20 years ago, but... always room for one or two new accessories: -

[b]Best value purchase :[/b][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] I will only buy new power supplies for my pedal boards - so bought a new FAME DC-8 from UK supplier for less than 50 quid![/font][/color]



[b]Runner up[/b][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]:[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] The decision to switch back to Rotosound for my strings... so Rotobass medium gauge it is (again) until temptation lures me away (again) [/font][/color]

[GarethFlatlands]

Best - The Japanese Fender P I posted about elsewhere. Black with a maple neck, SD Quarter Pounder pickup and Badass bridge. Like with the Mexican Strat I got a few years ago, I wish I'd been playing Fender for much longer.

Worst - Not a bad buy but it was a bit "impulse", the Maya Jazz I have a mod/repair thread on. A decent bass but I lack the skill, time and inclination to do a really good job fixing her up, and I was £200 down in initial outlay and bits when the Fender above came up, so that was an expensive time. I'll slowly finish getting it to a nice state and then probably just end up selling it on for a loss.

[ped]

Best:

My Wingbass. Its a completely inspiring and fun instrument, the ultimate ‘around the house’ bass and I love it.
[url=https://ibb.co/dMutbR][/url]

Worst:

I bought a Korg Pandora PX4D as a mini practice headphone amp to go with the wing but after playing with it for a week or so and getting a sweet sounding clean patch, it stopped working and the seller on eBay basically told me to do one!

Runner up worst:

I bought an iRig again, after disliking the first. Ok this was the first version and was about a fiver but it’s so noisy, has a lot of latency and the build quality is shocking. It now lives in the bin with the Korg.

Bonus:

I’ve never found a filter I liked as much as the DOD FX25 so I bought another, having never been able to recreate the squelchy low end with anything else. Within about a day of reviving it I thought ‘I wonder what it’ll sound like if I select BPF and zero the ‘range’ control on my VB99’, and copied the exact sound I wanted after about 20 mins. So it was kind of a waste but kind of really useful. Sold it here after.

[goblin]

Nightmare post for me haha. I've bought erm, a lot!

Top three purchases: My new Aguilar SL410x / AG700 rig (endorsement deal sweetened that, too!), my Ultimate Ears UE11 Pro come a very close second, followed by my Fender Jazz Elite V

Most pointless purchase: Probably having my Pedaltrain recoated in piano black with purple glitter (my IEMs match it). A totally pointless exercise, but it looks cool XD

Most underrated purchase: Cioks DC10, it's fantastic and I need a power supply that won't let me down on the road, but it's one that you forget how important it is. Especially as it's mounted under the board and all I occasionally see of it is the pulsing LED light it has.

Worst purchase: A £100 Warwick Rockcase for my Alien acoustic. Best option I could find as the likes of Hiscox don't do cases for acoustic basses, and let's say it's really struggling with life on the road! It's already missing a foot and the covering has various marks / tears, and I'm pretty careful with gear... It's sh*te!

[goblin]

Oh, I'll add my MarkBass CMD121p to the best purchases list too, bloody great for pubs and functions, and when I don't wanna take the big car, I can get my gig rig in the boot of my mum's Yaris Hybrid which probably has the tiniest boot known to man!

[Maude]

I've had a think and I don't think I've bought anything this year, apart from strings and things, so can mine be imaginary?

Best - The Ashdown LB-30 Drophead for sale on here a while ago. One of the coolest amps I've ever seen and sounds amazing.

Worst - The Ashdown LB-30 Drophead for sale on here a while ago. In one band I play doublebass and a dirty valve amp really isn't the sound I'm after. In the other band I play electric bass and this sound would really suit but I always DI and use a floor wedge, no amp, so it just wouldn't get used.

Would make a lovely object dart though.

[Painy]

Best purchase:
Ashdown ABM500rc head. Had a bad experience with a MAG head years ago that put me off for ages but saw this for sale on here with its shiny chrome face-plate and decided to give Ashdown another go.
So glad I did, I'm absolutely loving it!

Close second:
Trace Elliot AH350SMX. I had an AH400SMX years ago which I stupidly sold (and even more stupidly replaced it with the afore mentioned MAG head) and then missed it ever since. Getting this was like reuniting with an old, long absent friend.

Best value:
Again the ABM500. Straight trade of what was my backup head against what has become my main head.

Worst purchase:
A COG Knightfall. Such a cool looking little pedal and all the online demos I heard sounded amazing but unfortunately I couldn't get a usable sound of of it.
On the plus side I managed to sell it on very quickly for exactly what I paid for it so shouldn't really complain.

[Chris2112]

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1509397451' post='3398651']
Best:

My Wingbass. Its a completely inspiring and fun instrument, the ultimate ‘around the house’ bass and I love it.
[url=https://ibb.co/dMutbR][/url]


[/quote]

That is very cool. Did you order direct from Wing Instruments in America?

[Graham]

Best - my Lakland Skyline DJ5, I'm still finding it a really inspiring instrument, sounds great, light and has a very comfy neck - I think I've come to the conclusion 35" scale 5 strings are right for me.

Runner up - EBS Microsbass II, no amp on stage, but still get EBS tone through the PA, great bit of kit, need to work out a way of affording in-ears now.

Worst - Source Audio Sound Blox 2 OFD, I can't fault the sounds, really good distortion models, which are very tweakable, but I found the programmbale interface far too fiddly for live use, could never quite get the levels right. That got sold fairly quickly and replaced with a Deluxe Big Muff and Joyo Orange Juice.