Your best (and worst!) bass gear purchases of 2025?

[Mudpup]

The stuff I've picked up this year has all been brilliant. After stopping gigging late last year I've changed loads of stuff out (Barefaced cabs, GR amps and a cab and a MarkBass 5 string) and I've been really happy with all of the replacements.

 

I can't pick a winner between one of @stevie's LfSys Monaco cabs or a purple Spector Pulse 2 5 string with an Lhz preamp fitted. The second hand Bugera Veyron BV1001M that cost buttons gets an honourable mention too.

Edited November 2 by Mudpup

[Bagman]

I read up on power supplies and went with Vitoos DD-12 , very good 

 

Boss OC-5 

I still haven’t given it a full run through but I think a good option from

Boss considering the scarcity and price of OC-2 by the look of it 

 

FKT AUDIO - “ The Fretless” 

think it’s a dumb name but this is an excellent pedal.  I’m looking at other pedals in their range given how good this one is 

[police squad]

Earlier this year, in my quest for U2 basses came these Warwicks

Then came a Harry White 4003

Found myself buying a Ric bridge pickup and the bloke played me some stuff he recorded with his Ric thru an Ampeg V4B. So I had to buy one of those too

Wow, ussed the HW thru the Ampeg last week at a Total Jam gig. Awesome. Total Jam are a Jam tribute

 

not able to get everything lined up but what a year I've had

Ampeg has given me the best sound I've had in 38 years of gigging

Edited November 5 by police squad

[Elfrasho]

One of these. Cort a5. Absolutely astonishing bass. So comfortable to play and sounds tremendous. It's quickly became my #1!

[Elfrasho]

worst piece of kit: LEKATO In-Ear Monitor System MS-1

 

Bought on an impulse to test against my xvive system, and as a back up. Really flimsy, and every connection crackled on even the slightest bit of movement. Dont send many things back. I returned this.

[YellowLedBetterBass]

3 hours ago, Elfrasho said:

worst piece of kit: LEKATO In-Ear Monitor System MS-1

 

Bought on an impulse to test against my xvive system, and as a back up. Really flimsy, and every connection crackled on even the slightest bit of movement. Dont send many things back. I returned this.

Similarly, the worst bit of kit I bought was their "upgraded" MS-02. Connection quality at anything further than about 6 feet was awful, sound quality awful and distorted, and the push button volume controls meant it was either too quiet or too loud with no inbetween. Couldn't be in the same room as my laptop or one of the two would lose connection.

 

I bought mine discounted on eBay for £32, and when I tried to return it the seller gave me a full refund and told me to keep it as he'd sold half a dozen that week that were all returned and he didn't want the hassle with them any more. Awful.

[Woodinblack]

4 hours ago, Elfrasho said:

worst piece of kit: LEKATO In-Ear Monitor System MS-1

 

I got the MS-1 and still use them, in place of my xvives. they are flimsy but they have worked really well well.

[Mrbigstuff]

On 01/11/2025 at 13:19, chris_b said:

I bought some batteries, but that's it.

I thought I might have bought some strings this year but looked at the email receipt and they were from 2023. Time flies!

[Rayman]

Easily my best acquisition was this Hohner fretless jazz, used, from a BCer, I’ve upgraded the electrics to CTS etc and put a Fender high mass bridge on it, everything is as it was. The pickups are awesome, stock I presume, and the neck is lovely….

 

 

Its for a specific album track we’re recording, and I haven’t put it down since.

 

The worst thing I bought was an Ibanez SR506 that doesn’t work, but possibly my own fault to be fair. It’ll be the first project of 2026.

[cetera]

Best purchases:

 

Two beautiful limited edition colour poplar burl topped Spector Euro CSTs. A purple/black burst (1 of 3) from Bass Freaks and a Japanese only desert island blueburst, imported from Japan with the assistance of Bass Japan Direct.

 

 

 

My old Charvel 3B, which I bought back after stupidly selling 15 years ago... and now upgraded with EMG-X pickups.

 

 

 

The fantastic LHZ HL-1 HAZard LAMPS preamp pedal. The sound of a classic US Spector Haz Labs preamp in pedal form. Brings all non-Haz loaded basses to life, particularly passive basses!

 

 

 

and last, but certainly not least(!!) the amazing LFSys Monaco 600W 8ohm bass cab courtesy of @stevie. Lightweight, punchy, authoritative and loud... with wonderful dispersion.

 

 

 

Worst purchases.... none that I can think of. I like to do my research before parting with moolah.... 😉👍

Edited yesterday at 09:20 by cetera
Updated with 2nd Euro CST

[Rich]

By far the best bang-per-buck money I've spent this year was the <£100 I spent on my TC Electronic BG250-115 combo. Loud, portable and stupidly cheap. Scruffy, but who cares.

[la bam]

Best purchase, hands down the tonex one. Can't tell you how good it is when you get the right sound. 

 

Never really any bad purchases. 

[jezzaboy]

Worst purchase this years was a Markbass 4 x 10 one of the new ones that weigh sod all. Band didn`t like the look of the yellow speakers and I wasn`t keen on the sound having mostly used Ashdown and Fender amps. So between selling that and the Laney head that was bought to power it, I lost a few quid but hey ho.

 

Best buy is the Fender Rumble 800 that I got from Andertons on a black Friday deal for £150 off the price to replace the above. Not like me to grab a bargain!

[HeadlessBassist]

On 05/11/2025 at 08:04, Elfrasho said:

One of these. Cort a5. Absolutely astonishing bass. So comfortable to play and sounds tremendous. It's quickly became my #1!

 

I hung my nose over one of these in the GuitarGuitar sale when they were down to £695. I listened to videos of people playing them and they sound fantastic. Should've bought it...

[HeadlessBassist]

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly of '25, eh?

 

The Good - Ecstatic over buying one of the last 5 Status Stealths, my Fender Elite Jazz, my 95 Stingray and most of all, my 1998 GB Spitfire. Mostly all solid keepers. An honorable mention has to go to my Cort Artisan Space 5 (the third one I've owned), which continuously amazes me for it's sheer value for money, playability and great sound. Also, hopefully arriving before the end of '25 is my Walnut/Graphite 66 Modern/Classic Jazz, with a single piece body by @Silky999 and one of @Kiwi's AUROK™️ Graphite Necks.

 

 

The Bad - There weren't really any bad instruments per se, mainly some that went out of the door as I traded up to other things. If there were any disappointments, it was the sheer weight of my KingBass Mk-II (now up for commission sale at Andy Baxter's), whose mass could easily generate it's own gravity, and my beautiful Stingray 5 Special, which was left in the dust by my old Aguilar equipped '95 Stingray. But that was entirely predictable.

 

The Ugly - Only one £150 no name Precision that I bought on a whim from Gumtree, which was recently donated to a school I teach at.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 11 by HeadlessBassist

[Al Krow]

15 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly of '25, eh?

 

The Good - Ecstatic over buying one of the last 5 Status Stealths, my Fender Elite Jazz, my 95 Stingray and most of all, my 1998 GB Spitfire. Mostly all solid keepers. An honorable mention has to go to my Cort Artisan Space 5 (the third one I've owned), which continuously amazes me for it's sheer value for money, playability and great sound. Also, hopefully arriving before the end of '25 is my Walnut/Graphite 66 Modern/Classic Jazz, with a single piece body by @Silky999 and one of @Kiwi's AUROK™️ Graphite Necks.

 

 

The Bad - There weren't really any bad instruments per se, mainly some that went out of the door as I traded up to other things. If there were any disappointments, it was the sheer weight of my KingBass Mk-II (now up for commission sale at Andy Baxter's), whose mass could easily generate it's own gravity, and my beautiful Stingray 5 Special, which was left in the dust by my old Aguilar equipped '95 Stingray. But that was entirely predictable.

 

The Ugly - Only one £150 no name Precision that I bought on a whim from Gumtree, which was recently donated to a school I teach at.

 

So in the spirit of the thread, if you had to save one of your 2025 purchases from the proverbial fire ie your "best", which would it be and why?

 

Edited November 11 by Al Krow

[HeadlessBassist]

3 hours ago, Al Krow said:

 

So in the spirit of the thread, if you had to save one of your 2025 purchases from the proverbial fire ie your "best", which would it be and why?

 

 

Simple. The Status Stealth. It's a Status. 'Nuff said  

[Al Krow]

Anything expected from Santa that's accidentally arrived early and turned out to be great?

[bassfan]

On 11/11/2025 at 14:27, Al Krow said:

 

So in the spirit of the thread, if you had to save one of your 2025 purchases from the proverbial fire ie your "best", which would it be and why?

 

MXR Synth. It’s all I have bought this year. 😂 but was well worth the money. 

[jazzyvee]

Another barefaced BBII and Reidmar 250 head. Sounds a great combination though the head sounds compressed. The amp and single cab make a nice lightweight rig. When I get some time I plan to compare the two cabs with my BTII.

Edited 23 hours ago by jazzyvee
Spelling mistake

[police squad]

Probably my best ever purchase was the 3 day Crimson guitars course to refret and fret level (and set up but I was already ok with set ups)

so good in fact, that I'm going back next year for the 2 week (10 days) build a guitar course

My HW 4003 and Ampeg V4B are also up there with very good

Haven't really bought anything else (IIRC)

Edited yesterday at 14:39 by police squad

[LeftyJ]

I can't recall any bass gear purchases in 2025. The sad truth is I've barely touched my basses all year, I've decided to leave my doom band and I've had a renewed interest in guitar.

 

Because boy did I make some guitar purchases! I have long been interested in Fender's offset offerings, and have had lurking GAS for a lefty Jazzmaster for years now, and a short stint with an Ibanez ORM-1 left me madly in love with te 24" scale but hankering for something that also had a neck pickup. So lo and behold when in February both a Jazzmaster and a Jaguar popped up used for fair prices! Of course I did the sensible thing and bought both of them, and I've been playing both a lot but especially the Jaguar. The Jazzmaster is an American Professional II from 2023, and the Jaguar is a Mod Shop instrument from 2020 that had its electronics slightly (and badly) modded. I had the electronics tidied up and added the classic "strangle switch".

 

And then a few weeks ago the same seller I got the Jaguar from offered a MIC Danelectro DC for sale, that I also really wanted to try. At just €150 I couldn't resist. And I've been having a ridiculous load of fun with it so far! It looks like a toy, it feels like a toy, it's built like a toy, but it's REALLY fun to play (even unplugged, as the hollow construction makes it surprisingly loud) and the amplified tone is fantastic. The lipstick pickups by themselves are nothing impressive, but they have great clarity. The real surprise was the middle position of the switch, because as it turns out both pickups are then wired in series and sound surprisingly powerful and wonderfully chimey. 

[casapete]

The Dano sounds a bargain, enjoy! 

[BassAgent]

On 02/11/2025 at 10:15, BassAgent said:

Well, best gear is an ex aequo between a childhood dream and a vintage gem. First off a bass I've wanted to own since I was 12 (which is over 20 years ago): a walnut JB5 Custom by André van der End, a Dutch luthier. It popped up on a Belgian website and shortly after New Year I drove there to pick it up. It's heavy, it doesn't play as smoothly as my Lakland JO5 but I love it. Amazing feeling to own that bass now. I've replaced the black hardware with chrome since buying it.

 

The other one is the 1973 Mustang I bought from the original owner. Excellent condition, excellent sound. Took it on tour to Germany in May and it fit perfectly into the Northern soul band sound.

 

I don't think I've bought bad gear this year. Maybe the Optogate that I still haven't figured out how to use yet.

 

I have to correct myself. I just received new Hipshot lollipops for my old De Gier bass and two of them are broken. The slot for the allen key doesn't...fit? No allen key fits on 2 out of 5 tuners. The rest is fine. But two of them are not.

[AlexDelores]

Best - It was very close between my Cort Fusion 5 and my Zoom B6. But I’d say the Zoom takes it because it’s already earned its cost back tenfold, and it’s got me out of a few terrible sounding rooms already. 
 

Honourable mention also goes to the 2 1x15 homemade Eminence powered bass cabs I got from my local shop for the disgusting price of £40. They’re fantastic. 
 

Worst - Snugs custom moulded IEM sleeves..

 

I unfortunately dropped my £1k 64 Audio  CIEMS and shattered the shell, in the middle of wedding season. So, I anticipated a long repair time having to be shipped out etc.

 

I bought the snugs to go on to a second hand set of Shure 535s I picked up off eBay to get me through until I got the good ones back. 
 

Well, they do the job of isolation, but other than that they’re rubbish. Big, bulky, uncomfortable, and I’m fairly certain that at times made the wires on my headphones cause cutouts. And they cut my ears to bits for the first week or so.
 

Still, I’ve got the 64s back now which are amazing!