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So, ever since I started to get into bass and learn bass there has been one bass I've wanted, i've always love Fenders and have had several Precisison's and Jazz's over the years (I still have 2 jazz basses that I love) but I've always hankered after a Rickenbacker, a 4001 or 4003, today I finally got a Rickenbacker 4003 and it's everything I hoped. Sensational. Obvs had to take the silly pickup cover off and it's just a rock machine. Very happy.

Apologies for poor response, Chris, I can't find anything from you since we spoke in 2017 apart from the beginning of July, I can see I didn't respond to that, really sorry! It was a huge struggle during the lock-down. I was doing everything, failing to keep up by quite some margin, even working 10-12 hours a day, Monday to Saturday, major intent - staying in business. (A lot of emails do seem to end up in the junk folder these days, mine as well as replies to enquiries and purchasers) I'm sure I can take care of your P-Retro BTW. As for the future of the P-Retro, I want to continue with it. We have lots on a wait list and I really like it as a product. The EQ circuit and circuit board design has been enhanced, we do have some stock of the audio circuits. The hold-up is the custom rechargeable system which required my time in terms of design and implementation. I've worked on several new schemes , settling on one that's compatible with the original but with a USB charger. Another important factor is getting the systems made. Previously we made virtually all ourselves in the UK, not easily viable at this point so we're looking to outsource the manufacture. We started talking to a supplier at the beginning of the year but C-19 put things on hold, back on again now. There's also the investment in various custom components, such as the special pots and battery cells which isn't entirely trivial. Another important point, before we put them out again, I wanted to ensure we have longevity of supply set up. I'd always wanted to do something a bit special for the P Bass, very close to my heart!

Finally, I am among you. You may have seen this on Classic & Cool Guitars... it's exactly what I was hoping for and Mark's description was spot on. The small ding is very much less than I'd thought and tbh I'm glad to not have the exchange Cort any more because I was just being uber precious with the glorious finish on it. Still no sodding skirting boards in the kitchen... harumph. But new bass = "what skirting boards?" = 🥂

Reding, riting and 'rithmetic. The three pillars upon which Civilisation stands. If one can't red, rite or do sumz one can't do any of the other edjermacational stuff at which juncture one finds oneself remarkably fuͤcked.

I'm subbed to her YouTube channel too. https://www.youtube.com/c/juliaplaysgroove19 During the lockdown her bass vids really cheered me up and really inspired me to pick up my bass when I hadn't felt like doing so for a long time. I joined her patreon thingy and send her $5 a month as a 'thank you'.

Anyway, you know the answer when the conversation starts wandering off into technical areas I don't fully understand - just throw in a few gratuitous arty-f**ty photos : P picks it up at the weekend

And Spectre basses?

Unbiased review: Squier Classic Vibe Jaguar Bass, medium scale, 2020 model (made in the Samick factory, Indonesia) Hi, as many of you more experienced bass players may know the Squier classic vibe series has often offered incredible value for money in the past. Personally I´ve owned, modified, played and gigged quite a few of them, and I was always pleased and often even surprised by the craftsmanship and quality of these instruments, especially considering the price these go for. Having played a 2009 Made in China CV Precision bass for quite some time (the made in China 2008-2012 series of Squier CV basses are still considered by many of the pro-players, modders and collectors as the best Squier basses ever made, comparable in both fit and finish to the earlier JV series, which go for crazy amounts of money these days) I was very impressed by the playability and overall quality of these instruments. I´ve had the chance to compare my 2009 MIC CV Precision to several mid- to high-priced Fender equivalents and my CV Precision could easily compete with the Fender versions and it felt, played and sounded sometimes even better than some of it´s much more expensive counterparts. So, when I heard earlier this year that Squier was going to release a new Classic Vibe series medium scale (32") Jaguar bass I was definitely intrigued. I´ve always been a fan of medium scale basses due to their excellent playability, reduced weight and the fact that to me they offer the perfect middle ground between full scale (34") and short scale (30") basses. In my humble opinion they are the perfect compromise, keeping most of the attack and strong fundamental that you get out of full scale basses, combined with the thump, added perceived low end and superb playability that you get from short scale basses. These new CV Jaguar basses come with a Precision + Jazz pickup configuration and a stacked pot Vol/Tone, Vol/Tone control plate. I found this 60´s-style stacked pot control plate to be a nice touch as this configuration adds a lot more tonal versatility to the already very versatile P/J pickup combination compared to the more standard Volume/Volume/Tone control plates these basses usually come with. As I was on the lookout for a versatile, lightweight, medium scale bass to take some of the strain of my left arm during long gigs, this new Jaguar seemed to tick all the boxes. As always I did a fair amount of research before testing the bass and found out that this run of CV Jaguar basses is being made in the Samick factory in Indonesia. Having owned and played a few of the older, original Samick basses and guitars in my early days as a bassist, instrument enthusiast and modifier I seemed to remember that these instruments were well made and offered great value for money. Knowing all this I figured this new CV Jaguar might just be the perfect modding platform for the "Super-Squier" build that I was planning to use with my new rock band, so I contacted my friends at Thomann to see if they could send me one of these as soon as they came in to test and review. The CV Jaguar basses were meant to be released in March 2020, but due to many design changes combined with communication by the Fender company there was a lot of confusion about the scale length (First they were listed as 34", full scale basses, but later Fender changed that to a 32", medium scale length*) and some other design features of this bass and therefore the release date was postponed more than once. So I was very happy to see that this shiny new medium scale Jaguar bass had finally arrived at my doorstep earlier this week. *The neck on this particular model is exactly one inch shorter than a normal full scale bass neck, the bridge has been moved upwards by one inch as well (compared to a normal full scale bass) and as a result the total scale length from the nut to the bridge saddles is exactly 32". First Impressions: The neck: Straight out of the box I notice the excellent quality of the neck. The headstock and the back of the neck are coated with a vintage tint finish, which looks good, feels really smooth and isn´t sticky at all, on this particular example the quality of the paintwork on the neck is outstanding. The jazz width neck plays super fast and easy and the fretwork is excellent. The narrow, tall frets are all seated well in the fret board, and they are rounded at the fret board edges. There are no sharp fret ends. The block inlays look super classy and are completely level with the Indian Laurel fret board which adds to the quality look and feel of the neck. The Indian laurel fret board has a very nice grain to it with some Birdseye maple-like patterns all over the fret board and fret board edges, it has a much darker and nicer look to it than the recent made in Mexico Pau Ferro fret boards and it certainly gives you the feeling that you´re holding a much more expensive instrument. The body: The body is made out of Nato, a type of wood with a density and sound characteristic very similar to that of mahogany, weight wise it is a lot lighter than mahogany tho and the body is noticeably thinner than that of a regular Jazz or Precision bass. The total weight of this particular bass came in at just 3,53 kg. The Nato wood has a very nice grain to it which comes out beautifully through the transparent sunburst finish. Factory set-up: With the set-up from the factory the bass was playable, but the action and neck relief definitely needed some adjustment to make it feel and play good. After lowering the bridge saddles quite a bit, a quick turn of the truss rod to straighten the neck a little and setting up the intonation the bass really came to live and now it actually feels and plays very good. The shorter scale length certainly makes a difference, making it a lot easier to do those wider stretches and fast runs, thus reducing hand fatigue. Neck pocket, tuners, pots and knobs: The neck pocket is nice and tight with no noticeable gaps on either side. The tuners do their job, but are clearly not of the same quality compared to the ones on earlier classic vibe series basses. The stacked pots feel o.k. and turn smoothly, although I had to move the stacked knobs and tighten the screws a bit for optimal efficiency. The bridge: Now this is where the guys at the Samick factory dropped the ball a bit in my opinion. Possibly Fender´s decision to change the scale length of the bass at the last moment has something to do with this, but the bridge isn´t properly aligned with the neck and pickup routing. The bridge is placed +- 2 mm more towards the G-string side than it is to the E-string side and looking at it horizontally I noticed that the top of the bridge on the G-string side is also sticking out a fraction of a millimeter higher towards the neck when compared to the left side. It doesn´t really affect playability, but I found this surprising as I´ve never encountered such serious issues with other top of the line Squier basses. Amplified sound: Personally I was planning to equip this bass with a set of aftermarket Dimarzio pickups, so I didn´t expect much of the Fender Designed Alnico pickups. After a quick soundcheck I found them to sound quite strong in the upper mids, with an aggressive attack, but lacking some bass and low mids compared to my other basses. For a beginner I think these will probably do the job, but for more professional players and/or audiophiles like me a pickup swap would probably be advised as they tend to sound quite thin compared to most aftermarket pickups. Acoustic sound: Played unamplified, with the factory strings I found the bass to have plenty of acoustic volume, with lots of clarity, but again I felt like it was missing some lows and low mids compared to some of my other basses. I thought this might´ve been because of the extremely thin Nato body,but then again I usually use flat wound strings, so that might´ve had an impact on the overall sound as well. Pros: - Extremely well-made and easy to play neck, with a nice Jazz bass type nut width and profile, getting slightly wider than a normal jazz neck at the neck pocket. - Excellent fretwork - Lightweight - No noticeable neck dive when balancing on a strap. - The high quality Indian laurel that was used for the fret board combined with the block inlays and finish of both neck and body make the bass look a lot more classy and expensive than it actually is. Cons: - The hardware is of subpar quality compared to earlier Classic Vibe series basses, the tuners feel kind of flimsy and feel like they would definitely need replacement at some point if you plan to use this bass in a professional setting. - Samick´s quality control definitely dropped the ball when checking the bridge placement on these basses, the bridge plate itself also seems to be of lesser quality compared to earlier CV versions and looks like it would bend easily. - The Alnico pickups sound kinda weak and thin compared to earlier versions. - Price: Considering the fact that Fender definitely cut some costs when it comes to the quality of the hardware used on these basses the price is still quite high. Conclusion: I´m really impressed with the quality and craftsmanship of the neck on this bass and would love to keep the neck in order to combine it with another body and hardware. The quality of the pickups and hardware + the fact that they messed up the bridge alignment on this bass have left me with mixed feelings as to whether it is still worth the investment, especially when compared to the earlier Squier classic vibe series basses which went for the same amount of money, but offered a lot more value for money when it came to the hardware used on these basses. On the competitive market of today there might be better options out there in this price range. On the other hand medium scale basses are still quite a rarity these days, so if this is what you are looking for it definitely is a cheap way to add a medium scale bass to your arsenal and with a few upgrades it can probably become a solid instrument that is ready for both live and recording use as the neck offers superb playability and most flaws (subpar tuners, pickups and bridge placement) can be easily fixed by your local guitar tech, luthier or handyman. At the moment I´m still on the fence if I´m going to keep the neck and/or upgrade the body, pickups and hardware or look elsewhere for my short scale/medium scale needs, but I´ve just gotten notice that I have a Sire U5 short scale P/J bass** coming in to test and review next week, so I´ll have the opportunity to test them both side by side and compare them before making my decision. Average street price for the Squier CV Jaguar bass: 385Euro. **The review of the Sire U5 will be posted on my Facebook page sometime next week. Kind regards, @Bassdude'sBassment

Some work by a luthier to replace the BG-style tuners and it's now possible to fit proper double bass strings on this instrument. Not cheap, but far better than paying £6000+ for the deluxe Triumph model.

Like everyone here, it's a relief to know that @John-E-Retro is well. He's such a nice guy, always kind to answer (even) the stupidest questions and always happy to help. 🙂

Bought a splendid little combo here a while ago. RM series, really, really good little amp and speaker. But the pots had become a little dirty. And I kept on and on meaning to give them a wash and brush up, but just never got a round tuit. Until just now. Well done Ashdown! After using your knob puller of choice (mine is the shaved remains of the handle off a long since dead kitchen utensil) you will discover, adjacent to the shaft of the potentiometer, a little hole in the fascia, just about perfect to shove in the straw on your can of Servisol Super 10. Squirt squirt, wiggle wiggle, job done. All made easier by Ashdown's little hole. It's good news week.

You’re welcome. Magic only looks like magic when you don’t see the mirrors and wires. When you talk about “thinking several moves ahead” what you’re actually seeing is a highly developed approach to leading the ear through chord changes. The way it was taught to me comes back to walking bass in jazz. Let’s say you’re walking and you going to hit the root on beat one. You then have three notes with which to outline the harmony and end somewhere nice in relation to the next chord. Example a bar of C then a bar of F - we’ll just talk about bar 1 | C /// | F /// | Triads (1 3 5) are C E G and F A C. Playing C E G C in bar 1 would be great. You’ve got the triad then a 1 (or 8va) which is the 5th of the next chord. The ear will hear that move from C to F and feel a resolution into that F - especially if you go up to the F from below. You could finish bar 1 on the E and approach the F from a semi tone below. Again the ear is lead from one chord to the next. You could get fruity and stick a Gb on beat 4. A common resolution to a major chord in jazz is to play a b7 chord a semi tone above. Using the 2 bars above the piano would play | C / / Gb7 | F /// | Remember that thing about open strings in flat keys? Open A down to Ab is the same thing. Not only does it make position shifts simpler but it implies a quick chord substitution and leads the ear to the next root. Most chord progressions follow similar rules and patterns. What Jamerson is doing is applying the way that a jazz walking bass line moves around changes to a pop context. He has done it so many times (probably playing standards on upright) that he already has under his hands a dozen ways to navigate a given set of changes. Some tunes he gets to blow on more than others (I have no idea how he got away with the part on Darling Dear ... 🤯😳). At the end of the day it’s mostly walking bass (harmonically speaking).

Hey all Not a proper build thread this, more of a refinish and upgrade. I've had this bass (or rather one a bit like it) hanging around for ever, and finally decided to do something with it while the bands are on enforced hiatus. Imagine this as a Jazz rathen than a P and you've got it. Red body, black hardware/PG. Anyway... as you may have seen in my status updates, I wanted to refinish it but couldn't decide on a colour so I asked the audience. When @TheGreek suggested white, a big lightbulb glowed into life. Black hardware... white bass... 2 tone... I'm in a ska band. Perfick. So, after a strip-down, the preparation. Sanding, filling, sanding, more sanding, priming, sanding, priming, yah de yah. That's where I am at the moment. Oh, and I've never liked the headstock shape much, so I've subtly reshaped the end. More details and pics as we go along. It'll be a rattlecan finish so it won't be perfect, but I will be doing my best I've never done a proper re-fin before so it's a voyage of discovery!

This summer I put together a Corona Project Bass, a tribute to The First One. Not an exact copy, but a very good and functional modern take on the classic P'51. The details making biggest difference are the Babicz Full Contact Bridge and the super nice somewhat overwound humbucking version of the original style pickup made by Swedish Urban Pickups. https://www.urbanpickups.com/ https://www.facebook.com/UrbanPickups I don't like false labeled instruments, so I had a friend making me my own headstock logo in classic design. A nice bass all in all, if I am allowed to keep it. My cat has another opinion...

Interesting article. Perhaps the shops really are safe, among the huge developments, and in line for an uplift...which would be nice. Venues too. https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/denmark-street-music

That's Wolver'ampton that is, maybee Darlo. Speak like that in Dudley and they'll send you packing 😉

When I first got a chance to try a Stingray in 1985 in Sound Control in Glasgow, , it immediately said “yes” to me - sound, neck, build, looks everything. Couldn’t afford one at the time as I was a poor student from a single parent family. However now fortunate enough to have owned a few in my time, with an ‘88 2EQ and my current Classic being favourites, Still get *that* feeling every time I pick it up and my 13yo son loves it too. Chuffed that he can get the chance to play what, for me, was an unaffordable dream for years.

I'm beginning to lose stiffness leading to more lifting, do I need a neck reset?

I remember as a "kid" picking up a SVT and saying I can't believe how heavy that is. I'm sort-of shopping for "something" in the stores and I pick it up to appraise it. (Mostly combos). I want to add I am now 62 and have back problems. I saw a SVT@ Guitar Center and wanted to see if memory was valid. (Up until last year I was still cooking for a caterer and could pick up a 50# bag of potatoes. I swear I thought the SVT was bolted to the floor. REALLY. I tried it again because I couldn't believe it - this time it moved, but SHEESH.

IMO, Definitely tweak as much as you can at rehearsal - try and get the band on board to do this as it's about the music as much as individuals. I've had a few sessions with my guitarist and drummer focusing on the right band sound for a section, and how my fuzz tone works with our guitarists lead/ fuzz/ driven tones so it all stacks together (often telling the guitarist to get out of my EQ space XD) At the moment, I dont use a clean blend, I've just found a pedal I like that works with my amp and my band, but gain structuring is definitely worth spending time thinking about as well. I keep getting drawn to the Tyler or the Ouroboros though.....

A great thread, this, and just goes to show the various things that formed our music/ musicianship in later life. I suppose there were not too many formal music lessons that made a difference to me but certainly a lot of music all around that had a lasting influence and shaped much of my life. As I said, music was all around, from mum and dad singing round the house, the church choir and primary school where there were at least three pianos and a lot of time spent singing. Or that was my impression. Then at age 10 I went off to the Chichester Cathedral choir school, very much aided by the choral scholarship which remitted half the school fees back to dad. We’d sing eight full services in the Cathedral a week, each one preceded by quite intensive practice. So by age 11 going on 12 I could read and sing quite busy four part harmonies. We used to stay on over Christmas and much of the summer holidays so it was all quite full on. If very enjoyable. While there we had to take up a musical instrument and I studied the violin, getting a few early grades. Then leaving to join the posh boys school I encountered a musical desert. No music lessons, no nothing except a tired old codger coming in every morning to play organ for the morning assembly. Such a useless school that tuition didn’t progress after the fifth form. So I was sent to the local grammar school for sixth form. It had a good football team but what excited me was it had a jazz band. (Rock bands hadn’t yet started). And it had an excellent slightly eccentric music master. And when I arrived on the first day of term I spotted a double bass on the stage. I fell in with the crowd who surrounded the jazz band . I was soon in and while still at school we were playing support to a lot of the headliners that came to Reading Town Hall. So not too many formal lessons but surrounded by music and finally a some good friends who shaped my musical life.

So many to choose from. One of my biggest challenges recently has been using a pick instead of fingers. I’ve struggled to get the same speed. The start of Town called malice was a right nightmare in the beginning. With fingers faultless with pick ridiculous. I agree regarding leaving the line for a period always seems to help.

The couple of times I met Willy he was always in black.

Crusin through Loughton listening to Ruddy Thomas

I saw this one a while back, it looks pretty good

Stop skirting the issue.....🤦🏾‍♂️

Or Chekov. (Pavel, not Anton)

Natural masterpiece VS4 one off now

Is that your Usain Bolt pose Blue?

There's something about the back of a 70s Fender headstock with the stamped tuners... yum.

We played a 6:00- 9:00 private party. A couple were celebrating 15 years of marriage and renewed their vows. There were about 70 people. Good hours and above average pay. Blue

Not surprising. Emma the most sh1tty shop in Europe. Should be blown up with a Bouzouki ehm Bazouka

Blocks and binding on a rosewood fretboard.

I'll go first - the bass player is probably good at playing ghost notes😕.

Played an open air gig on Saturday at The Pickerel Inn, Stowmarket. They had done what they could - we had a barn to play in, loads of space. There were picnic bench tables set out with a reasonable distance between them for folks to sit. Not that many there - maybe 20-25 - but it was great to play. First outing for my Harley Benton Shorty which performed admirably. Sounded exactly like a Precision in the mix. Here 'Hideaway'

Wardrobe :

Or KMA audio machines The Tyler