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Walnut one almost ready to assemble. Lots and lots of tru oil and it’s looking bloody lovely. The other is primed, grain filled and mist coated ready for wet coats and lacquer starting tomorrow. Ending up Candy Apple Red 😁

Agnesi: (speaking in tones of hushed reverence) "The one I got in my hands. The big daddy of them all. The Les Paul." Ah, yes. A Gold Top with a visibly squint bridge pick-up. Screengrab from Agnesi video

In fairness, hiring the normally reliable Mark Agnesi from Norm's is a bit of a coup. Shame that the new hedge fund wonks at Gibson decided to put him out there as a bizarre cross between an awestruck muppet and an Obergruppenfuhrer with piles.

That's not Porky Pig. That's an imposter. ^^ This is Porky Pig. He's about 20 years younger and three foot shorter than the bogus Porky. And what's with Axl Rose? He's dropped three decades and fifteen stone from the lardy geriatric last seen out with AC / DC. So two imposters. Someone should f*cking sue someone about this. Edit: ... and the fake Porky's wearing a blue neck tie like some kind of wage slave gimp. The real Porky wears a red bow tie. I'm so furious I could sh*t.

I wouldn't be too bothered if there were no more Rics or Gibsons fake or real tbh

Well I revived my new P34 today. Got it from Kenny’s in Glasgow for a good price. Very happy with it, or rather happy that I’m not disappointed lol. Just got home and tuned it up. Seems nice (bare with me). Just need to get my own strings on it. I think the ones it comes with are a bit thinner than i normally use. I was expecting XL’s but all the ball ends are brass coloured, not sure if they are stock or not. There is a bit or tarnishing on one of the neck washers, but now I’m being very picky and too OCD. Not an issue at all. Set up is as good as i need. Action is just over 2mm at the 12th, my preferred height, and neck is almost straight. I always shim my necks, i like the action to stay constant above the 12th fret. Not sure I’ll bother with the P3 or 425. Seems like it might be a bit harder due to the way the bolts go in. Not a bit deal though, and the P34 definitely wont get shimmed. The neck is very similar to the Lakland JO neck i have. Flat and narrow. A very good thing and it feels very fast. Not quite as comfortable (yet) as my Squier CV Jazz, but a neck i will definitely come to prefer. I do wish it was a good backed neck though. It feels spacious, more than my CV Jazz neck, even though the string spacing is the same at the bridge. Tone through my B1 and headphones sounds good. Having just got used to the more aggressive 425, the P34 sounds a bit plain, and while not lacking power certainly lacks a bit of punch the 425 has. I was aware of this before getting it so its not a negative, just an observation on first play. Its certainly a good P bass, as good as my Fender Sandblasted P, and will put my other P basses out of a job. Expect the 425 though, as its a 5 string so i may need it one day. I love the body shape and size, it seems smaller than my other P basses, which is great. It doesn't feel too heavy when i hold it, ive not strapped it on yet but i know it wont cause any problems even on longer gigs. Now, all the above hopefully shows i love the new bass, but i still feel the 425 has it place. The bridge pup on the 425 can easily holds its own against the neck pup. Ive already started to use it on its own for a few songs, and its the most useable neck pup ive every owned. The neck pup on the 425 seems to be perfect for me without needing any effects, not something ive found in any of my other P bass (inc the P34). All in all I’m happy with my 2 new Yamahas, but more so the 425.....for now.

He also appears to play upside-down lefty, a major faux pas... 😂😮

Gibson… Sponsored by Rickenbacker

I think they tried this with Paul Reed Smith a few years ago and they didn`t win that one. Does Gibson`s legacy and copyright of shapes extend to the Gibson/Epi Stratocasters they made a few years back? Hi my name is Mark Agnesi and no I`m not reading this corporate BS off an autocue.

No, only got the P34 today. Ill get some taken of both basses tomorrow when the light is better 🙂

When was the last time you updated Safari or your OS? You may be running an older version of Safari, so things might be not running properly.

It's pronounced LESS Paul now, apparently.

It’s pretty straight forward. If your unlikely to use the Native software then it’s not really of any value to you. If it’s something you can integrate into your normal workflow/music making/home rehearsal/practice then it might be worth the cost. I don’t see how it gets much more complicated. Personally I do all my music rehearsal/practice at home via laptop/headphones and as I noodle on guitar and some keys too this would be quite a tempting deal. I can see how it might not appeal to someone with an already heaving pedal hoard and a couple of existing multi fx units.

Does Mickey Mouse know Gibson have got his ears?

Myself and Porky have much in common.

Like I said in a later posting, five of the number being advertised are by two sellers. Not all music, or all players require the use of a six string instrument; I think most players would actually get away with a three string bass and just four frets. I think Tony Levin had a three string Stingray built for him? I mostly play solo, and I tend to use a lot of chords, so for me the high C string is really a necessity, as is having 24 frets. It all depends on what you do. I remember one of tutors at uni kept asking if I wanted him to remove one of my strings. He was d**k though, his thing was playing like Victor Wooten, totally different to my thing.

Meanwhile, in a bar in south London, 500 Superdry tee wearers enjoy a quiet natter over a pint.

I thought the the two extra strings were spares in case summat snapped on stage ?

I went from a 4-string to a 6-string after a lot of research, back and forth, worry about the additional strings, etc., etc. and many conversations with @ambient. This was 2015/16 and now I'm down to just one bass - a 6-string. Ultimately it's been fine. You just adapt and get used to it. Never say never but I can't see myself moving away from a 6-string now.

If you can, solder it in such a way that it will run around the socket to the lug it is pointing at, not over the socket where it can be interfered with by the lead being plugged in and out, which could have caused this. Use a cable tie or something similar to get that other lead away from where it will be moved by the lead also.

I spent a lot of money over the years chasing tone in different instruments. I think it’s a fool’s errand, to be honest. These days, if it does’t sound good with everything flat, I move it on. The EQ should be there to enhance an already fundamentally strong tone, not to try to hopefully uncover a silk purse, if you know what I mean. Just a quick observation on your settings as described, you boost the low frequencies on the bass and the amp? Punch comes from mids and boosting lows is, effectively, turning down mids in the way the amp will try to make the sound and how your ear will effectively hear it. Try setting everything flat, everything, and adjust EQ according to the sound you want. I’d wager your Ibanez has a stronger mid presence than the Jazz, especially if you were running both pickups together which is a naturally mid-scooped sound anyway, and that’s why it felt like the Ibanez had more punch.

When she meets up with Phil wherever they are, she will be giving him a right bollocking for all the drugs! Hope he`s got a set of earplugs 😊

I've a bass like that, spent a fortune on it over the years ... market value = ziltch. Think we just have to keep them and get them out now and then for a bit of reminiscence .. finally handing them over to a grandson or nephew ... who will go " yeh, whatever" and stick it under a bed.

Go on then! switches are parallel/SC/series for each pickup then volume- 5position switch - bass - treble using a copy of a pre EB stingray preamp I built. 5 position switch is 100 neck/100 Neck 80 bridge / 100 both / 80 neck 100 bridge / 100 both idea being in bridge pickup in parallel it’s 100% a stingray in terms of pickup position and how the circuit works. Neck pickup is more or less a precision sound and close to my G&L L1000. Both single coils and you know it’s not an awful jazz sound. Sounds good, though preamp needs a fair bit of balancing between settings as (like a stingray) there’s nothing in between the pups and the preamp input. oddly it comes into its own tonally through a compressor.

The nerd room at Ez Towers.

How good does this look? This looks like exactly the thing I've been looking for for ages... https://www.boss.info/uk/products/eq-200/ In fact, all the new 200 series stuff looks pretty ace...

To me seeing TOP without a bassist would be like buying a new car only to find it had no wheels ! Imagine going to see the Wailers only to find no bass or Sly n Robbie with no Robbie or Cream or weather report or Miles Davis or The Specials or etc etc just NO

Difficult one, I absolutely agree that if someone has IP to protect, fair play. However, it does ultimately come across as a big corporate threat. As has been said, invest money in building better versions of those guitar designs than everyone else, and you won’t have to make these threats. Make the threat before you’ve upped your game, and it just looks like you’re throwing your weight around before paying dues back to the customer. Si

I don't think I would get a sound out of that that I like, but damn that's a sexy looking rig!

Bass in an SKB bass safe. Chuck it in the hold. Take your laptop/phone/iPad and an iRig style headphone to 1/4 jack converter or a small audio interface in your hand luggage and you’re sorted for listening to what ever you need and hearing your bass back. I take my bass wherever I can if I’m away, even staying at friends. 10 mins maintenance a day keeps me fighting fit and ready. If I don’t play 1 day I feel it the next. If I don’t play for a week I have a lot of catching up to do! T

Well imo that’s certainly a step in the right direction 😀

+1 but must be bolt on neck for me. Be wary of set necks. There be dragons! Lol

I know it's too late but Stevie's suggestion of plumbing pipe was pretty close. It;s actually ducting pipe to be precise, and although correct that there's no lip like a dedicated bass port off the shelf, it can be sorted. Screwfix sell 100mm manrose pipe, and they also sell a 100mm joiner. Just cut the joiner off below the lip, and silicone seal that into the pipe and you have a lip. I did this in my DIY build

put a spacer or a nut between the ball end and the bridge ? if there is enough string at the other end to wind onto the tuner of course

5 has always felt like 4+1 to me but 6 is totally different, it's 6 I love 6s but for 99% of what I do it's a guilty pleasure. I'm ashamed to say it leads me places I probably wouldn't go. FWIW I agree with Ambient, it looks like a fairly reasonable spread of 6ers at the moment with one or two of them being longer term residents

I owned a mid-price one for just long enough to help me ascertain that I didn’t need one often enough to justify the much higher cost of one that would be worth owning when I did need one. These days I don’t need one at all. I want one, of course, but I want other stuff more with the same money! 🙂

Encumbered forever by desire and ambition, there's a hunger still unsatisfied (Pink Floyd, "High Hopes") This is in my funeral instructions as my epitaph.

+1 for Chris McIntyre. He did some work on my Warwick Thumb NT. Brilliant, knowledgeable, very helpful and just a really nice guy. His list of customers is something to behold. Not expensive either. Dave

Lovely gig with a lovely bunch of people (most of whom can really play their instruments and sing) in a lovely music bar. I walked in (sans bass), and the lady behind the bar looked at me and said "You must be the bass player, would you like a beer?" My kind of bar

I have a bass. I bought it in 1992 (ish) I have changed the strings a few times and I took it for a "set up" once ,a long time ago. occasionally I clean it. That's it really.

These people who don't specify the nut width and string spacing....

I don't know the story on TOPs missing bass player. I'm sure Emilio was not happy about it. Sorry guys but for me Rocco is one of those few guys that can't be properly replaced. As a matter of fact, IMO he can't be replaced period. Blue

Chunk Systems Brown Dog 😉

I'd rather take a bass than the Mrs.

Ooh, dat niiice! Looks like a Joker themed bass with the green of the case!