Wylie

His playing on "Edith and the Kingpin" is superb.

For serious contemporary music, try Mary Halvorson (guitarist and composer) and Reinier Baas (guitarist and composer; can be found on YouTube playing with the WDR Big Band).

I like this idea also. Having said that, our trio has, or at least seems to have, three leaders; each of us leads in his own way due to differing tastes in music, though jazz is home ground. We end up playing material I wouldn't always have chosen, but then, they don't always like my choices, either. This slides into band-ocracy at times, but things work out well quite often.

That is a gorgeous bass, congrats!

I do see the advantage of buying in the USA. But in a private buy, I lucked onto a new Geddy Lee Japan-made jazz for $750, with case.

$800 tops.

There are few music stores within a fifty-mile radius of where I live, and decent instruments are hard to come by, as noted. Craigslist has been great for me, though. Online buying, not so much. Setups on guitars and basses are often insufficient (or exaggerated at the source) and then much money can be spent correcting the "factory" settings.

Thanks, Dave!

Nick Seymour's (Crowded House) Geddy Lee Fender Jazz. Liked his playing so much I bought one. Strangely, I haven't come up to his level of playing . . .

Very cool looking bass. Active?

Bit late to the party here. After reading a good many replies, my advice, as both guitar and bass player, is, first: commit to using all four fingers; you will definitely be limited playing only 3-finger/3-note chords (unless you are doubling on some strings or using barre chords exclusively?; not sure what you mean by 3-fingered guitarists). I would doubt that your hand is really weak, but because you will be using it differently, it will initially be frustrating, no getting around it. Second, figuring out tunes on guitar depends largely on knowing chords and keys, not so much following root notes or the outlines of chords, as with bass. You will learn melodies, of course, but that also develops out of chords, keys, and scales. Finally, and most important, find a good teacher, someone with solid teaching experience, not just a guitar player who can show you a few things, and commit to the learning experience, whether that is chord study; reading, and playing from written music; or what have you. Of course, you can learn on your own, but why put up with the frustration that comes with trying to follow a book (to which you can't address the many questions you will have) or what are usually very slow, and also unresponsive, online/video courses that are, most often, trying to sell you something. A teacher sitting in the same room with you is essential. Learning to play guitar is challenging--but definitely rewarding. I hope this helps.

I agree. I liked my Contemporary Club a lot, though I did have to have the action lowered substantially--via bridge and nut reduction--to make it playable. Very good instrument with a distinctive tone. $850 US.

I agree with what was said above: people are discovering they don't need to pay Fender-USA prices for a good, decent bass. And maybe fewer players today are attracted to whatever bling Fender is currently providing.

I only have one . . . (sob)

There are those who chat--with one another--while you play at, say, the farmers' market (our main gigs all summer, where we don't expect riveted attention), and there are those who come up and talk to you while you play. These chatheads are always very enthusiastic, and would tell you more about it if you'd just stop what you're doing and listen! I expect at some point a chathead will try to find a button to turn me off . . . Anyone out there dealing with this phenomenon?