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I wonder how many of these items will still turn up on the end of 2018 thread, 'stuff I shouldn't have bought, but still did'!

I didn't say it was a good deal.

I think the key is the fact that the chap was an "older gentleman". I'm 64 and I can remember when I was in my teens/early twenties, a "real" Fender was a pretty rare beast in Blighty, unless you were a pro'. Now, they're everywhere and you can choose between US, Mexican, Korean, Japanese, etc instruments, all Fender branded, at varying price points. The guitar hero at the school I went to was the only bloke for miles around with a genuine Strat' and the copies hadn't started appearing yet. When I finally got my first "proper" Fender ('72 jazz, which I still have), it cost me several months wages and was a real red letter day.

On this evidence, she has a cracking pair of lungs . . .great voice.

Absolutely. Just wondering how many on here can honestly say that out in the audience they could tell the difference between a P and a J for eg. Ive been to a few concerts this year and the myriad of diff basses might have well been wash tubs for the difference each instrument made.

I found the Ultimate Drive quite lacking in bass for me... The American Sound has tons on tap though due to it's 3 band EQ that still has decent low end without having to boost the bass. It's pretty versatile too, just at home with a mellow Precision and flats or a more aggressive Jazz with rounds. I think I got mine for £15 used! I've yet to try the Orange Juice though but will probably get one to try soon - might order the out-of-stock one on sold by Amazon for £38 delivered (normally £50 everywhere else) as they would have to honour that price when it came back in stock!

My objection is to actively forcing people to do something they don't need to do. I'm not a fan of making superfluous rules.

I actually think it helps the debate a lot in that there is no set perspective, one can have one's own taste and preferences about an instrument but I think if this thread has highlighted anything it is that there is no definitive set of criteria that make a vintage bass superior to a modern one or vice versa. There may be something about the materials used in construction, the manner of it's manufacture, but in the end personal preference seems to hugely outweigh any other factor, somehow that pleases me a lot. One thing I do know is that the reasoned arguments and totally friendly discussion on this thread has kind of warmed an old misanthrope's heart! If I were ever attracted to a bass that was considered vintage I'd be straight on here asking for advice, that's for sure.

At the risk of sounding like a utter fool, can someone explain to me why people like older instruments, vintage basses and the like? I’ll tell you for why. Years and years ago I was sitting in on a Killing Joke rehearsal, I’d just been to a West End music shop with a friend of mine and he’d purchased a cheap Washburn semi-acoustic. Geordie (KJ’s guitarist) asked to look at the guitar and plugged it into his rig “It won’t sound any different to mine” he said, laughing and gesturing with his head towards his beautiful 1952 Gibson ES-295. And guess what? It didn’t sound any different, not at all. So what’s the point of vintage instruments other than a display of what you can afford? I’m not knocking anyone who owns such instruments, I’m just trying to understand it, not least in case I’m missing out somehow! Surely modern instruments benefit from being designed and built using modern methods and technology? I have played vintage basses and very expensive modern hand built basses and none of them have sounded or played any better than any of my sub £1000 (and in a couple of cases sub £500) basses. I have talked with the luthier who sets up my guitars and basses about that and he speculated that most instruments simply aren’t set up correctly and that makes so much difference to the playability and tone (I have to agree here, I think I realised the first time he set up one of my basses that I had simply never played a correctly set up bass before). So, in summary, how or why are vintage instruments any better than modern, current models? I have never found this to be the case, is it just a myth or a marketing ploy, is it just peacock strutting with the most expensive or rare items? Or is there something I’m missing or just don’t know or understand, is there an old Jazz bass out there that I’d play and have the vintage revelation? I am mindful here of the story about the chap who only discovered his second-hand $35 violin was, in fact, a Stradivarius after it was run over by a bus, only then did he realise it was worth a million dollars, nothing in the playability or the tone led him to think it was anything special before he saw the name.

I'd get them looked at, if I were you... On another note, our daughter is a paediatric nurse at the equivalent Paris hospital (Port Royal...), specialising in neonatal extensive care. It's absolutely amazing the stuff they can (and do...) do, these days, with, unfortunately, the occasional heart-rending story of impossible odds, too. Their work (and the St Mary's staff, of course...) is beyond value; the progress that has been made, in many fields, is remarkable. Best wishes for a positive outcome for the mite; be sure to post coordinates and links when you get your charity single out (a current link to the charity concerned wouldn't go amiss, either...). Well..? Don't just sit there..! Get writing..! ...

An excellent and pragmatic approach. I don't necessarily agree there is a widespread obsession with resale value. Certainly with regard to vintage purchases, I never buy with any anticipation or purpose of potential future profit. I just like playing and having permanent unrestricted access to fabulous vintage basses and guitars. The notion that you might not lose money in the unpalatable event that you might need to part with them is at best a fringe benefit. Others may feel differently, but it is none of my business if they do.

Just beaten to the post here by Lozz........I'm afraid to say if you already have a 4 ohm cabinet already, you can't pair it with any other cab as the Markbass amp will only run a total load of 4 ohms. If you had two cabs of 8ohms each, then your amp will 'read' a 4 ohm load and give its full 500 watts power out into two cabs, bigger and better sound. I would have to say sell the present 4 ohm cab and get two of the 8 ohm cabs.

Some great Qs. To get the ball rolling for you... I'm a fan of their older no longer in production amps - in particular the M series. Class A/B mosfet power amp with a 12Ax7 valve preamp. Somewhat similar architecture, in that sense, to the Aguilar DB751 (another awesome amp). Delivers a warm, creamy, gorgeous tone through a Mesa 2x12 cab with a Jazz bass. I tend to play all my basses in passive mode and my goto basses are a Sandberg TM4 (Delano pups) and Ibanez SR1800 (Nordstrand pups). I'm personally less enamoured with the Subway D800 series, although I hear that the D800+ with it's semi parametric EQ is a step up from its baby bro - they just seemed to lack the warmth and lovely colour of the M6 Carbine I play through. I've not had the pleasure of trying out one of their valve amps so I'll leave others to comment on those. If you can get hold of a second hand Mesa Walkabout Scout that would be a great place to start in terms of delivering on the Mesa sound but in a package that is relatively easily to take to gigs.

Sorry about the S on the end. I am wondering if a lot of musicians are unlucky. Instead of enjoying a show, musicians are seem to be looking to find fault. I don't tend to be too critical as I am not a good enough musician.

Yes, @stingrayPete1977 I did get to thinking, "if you can't find the £175 to buy it outright, are you the right kind of person to borrow this, and keep it in good nick?"

How are you not over 40?! Well at least that is a decent party to look forward to, then. I know a couple of bands with a shady bass player that would be delighted to traipse over to the West Country to help you see your 5th decade in...

It’s cracking Mike, really good for the money and size! Hopefully can get a loud rock rehearsal under its belt this week to see what the prospects are for those sorts of gigs...

I thought they had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances.

All basses sound different when played on their own. And they all sound like bass guitars in the band mix.

I've been using 2 SC's for 2 years and they create a massive bass sound with either my Aguilar TH500 or AG700. I also have a Two10 which has only done 1 small-ish gig, maybe a comparison with the SC's is soon, but again it was a great sound. Where are you? Anywhere near SW London/Surrey? You could hear mine. I'd drop Alex at Barefaced an email and ask his advice. He's pretty good at working out which of his cabs would do the best job.

Oh yes, I get that. But if the seller is not bothered by that, why force them? I think having the location displayed is useful and I have no problem displaying mine. I'm just against making it compulsory when there's no better reason than "but I often search the marketplace and sometimes I don't know if an item I might like is local to me or not". edit: I said 'displaying mice' when I meant 'displaying mine'... but if I had pet mice I'd happily display them too. I used to have rats and they were a lot of fun.

Why did you post that when I was drinking coffee? Will need to get a fresh shirt out now and receive statutory reprimand from SWMBO

Just bought a TE 15" cab from Clive. The cab is in great condition and at a great price. Excellent communication, prompt responses and very helpful and friendly. Have no qualms dealing with Clive.

No, it's fine for you to buy a fake bass yourself - just be a control freak and complain like an idiot on the forums when it comes to people doing what they like with their own property.

Yamaha BB5000? I don't have one but it's the first that sprung to mind, and may be of interest since you have a modern bolt-on equivalent! Narrower string spacing than the current gen BBs though, as I understand.

I love my 1966 Gibson EB2 partly because it's 50 years old, and it's been part of such a long history of music and makes me feel part of it too. It's slightly faded and worn and rubbed, as you'd expect, mostly on the back, but just enough to feel comfortable and genuine. From the front and from not very far away it looks immaculate. But I mostly love it because it's a joy to play and sounds wonderful. The only other EB2 I tried, also a 1966, was just dead wood. The down side is that I can't gig it - it's too fragile (and valuable, and hard to replace) to take anyplace I'm likely to be able to play. I do gig my 1992 Jazz Aerodyne, which is visibly better finished than the 2005 Aerodyne I saw for sale recently (and didn't try, so I can't speak for any other comparison). Ok, can't resist a bit of a brag:

Great thread this ☺ And with some very well-constructed, well-reasoned points about 'vintage' versus 'modern' instruments that have really got me thinking. Having thought about it, my 2p worth is this.. I'm kind of with Shaggy on this (as in his original post) in that I just enjoy the whole aesthetic of older, over-engineered instruments that look like they've been used a lot over time to make music with... So, 'Bass Nirvana' for me is when I find an instrument that fits with how I like it to look, but also so that it fits with how I like it to feel and sound when I'm using it. All three of those determining factors are completely subjective to me and are undermined by my poor hearing and tinnitus in my right ear, my lack of good (or proper) playing technique and my own quirky sense of what looks good and what doesn't. Having said all that, one of my favourite basses that I really enjoy playing is a 5 year old Schecter Diamond P5 that doesn't look at all like my other basses, is way too big for me and will never gain any kind of classic status I expect. But I just love the way it plays in my hands and the sound I make when using it. What's it worth? Probably about £300. Yet it's outlasted some much more expensive basses that I've had over the last 5 years. I remember having a '66 Fender Jazz in the early nineties that I never really bonded with, much preferring an '80s Tokai Jazz Sound that I had for three years, which I then rather foolishly traded for a Music Man 5 string with a John East preamp that I never liked at all and which I sold on quite quickly... Hence my conclusion is that I have no set perspective on this topic that I could reasonably offer to anyone that will be of any objective value, and that in the end, my preference for any particular bass I buy will be based on my mood and my finances at the time I'm buying it. I doubt that all this will help move the debate along much though, but I'm looking forward to reading more comments as the debate continues. ☺

There’s also the Markbass Traveller series cabs too (something in the name).

What about the children..? Who's going to think of the children..? ...

I'm sure you can get some cream for that....

He may be disappointed if he was expecting Lynda Carter..!

I couldn't agree more, it's very enjoyable and rewarding. I'm ain a band that I think is a success, because we get a lot of fun out of it and we're producing recordings etc. (see the video below). I have also been in 3 or 4 other projects which have not shown much if anything in the way of results. The reasons for this are all covered somewhere in the origonal post. Making this was fun, satisfying and non commercial. I also know of some great more mainstream bands that seem to be getting nowhere very slowly:

Hoping to match 5 numbers & the bonus ball !! 😂😂

The 2018 Gibson SG Std. Walnut.

An Ampeg V-4B / SVT-212AV.

The 2018 Gibson SG Std., with an Ampeg V-4B / SVT-212AV.

So, anyone want to buy the ultimate in shims; the Grangur Foam-shim! It fits the pocket and acts to stop unwanted sustain. Place your orders now.

Happy New Year to all Basschat members. Ok, so I’ve been dipping in and out of the site for the past month or so to see what’s what (and to read some very interesting / funny threads) but there's nothing new been added to the thread about the Wal and with no news from anywhere else I think it’s time I can actually call it my own. So, as promised (if anyone is still interested) here are some pics. As soon as you see them you may understand why I didn’t want to just post pics etc but rather wanted someone to come forward and say “is it serial number $%^$&* and is it such and such a finish?”. Being such a distinctive bass nobody could have guessed the details i don’t think so it would have been pretty apparent that they actually knew the instrument! I can’t imagine there are many like it out there?!!! as I haven’t heard a thing from anyone about it or even a hint of a mention of it anywhere I’m really hoping that I’ll be it’s new custodian from now on but if these pics throw up any new leads i’ll follow them up for sure. A little bit about the instrument. It was virtually unplayable when I found it; action was through the roof and the neck was so loose in the pocket it would move from side to side with little effort. I appreciate some people may have liked and played a set up like that (apart from the loose neck perhaps) but I got the feeling it hadn't been played for a while. It all just needed a little tweaking though and now it plays wonderfully, though it does still have some electrical problems. a quick once over by electric wood at some point will sort that I’m sure. Ok, so over to the pictures to tell the rest of the story. Not a beautifully exotic wood faced instrument and perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea (or glass of banana milk?) but…it’s….a….wonderful…..WAL (and definitely not something you ever expect to find at a bootsale so keep your eyes peeled!).

I saw what you did there, just like that.

It's not like you can just pull one out of a hat I guess :).

I tried many times to use Geoff's fretting hand position, and TBH, its impossible for me due to some hand shape / size I have to use my normal shape fretting hand. I find its working ok. I'm never going to be Danny Thompson, but it'll be fun

Mr Apple in unilateral tidying-up shock

This place is becoming really odd.

That's a great choice. I'm sure this will be perfect for you. I'll be gigging a one10 and Quilter Bass block tonight. The one10 is a marvelous little cab. Frank.

When you go to Hell can I have the Lindisfarne gig?

I have a BS40, too. And I love it! What a great little amp. I put it in a custom tweed case to match my tweed 1x12" cabs.