Leaderboard

I got the one off T-40 featured in the Peavey Revolution book! to say I’m over the moon is a major understatement! I’ve lusted after this for years!!!

Hello all! Recently purchased one of the new Squier Classic Vibe "Late 50's" P basses online. Took a little bit of a chance, as they're a fairly new model and don't have any real reviews as of yet from what I could tell! The bass arrived today, and I thought I'd come on here to give you my first look conclusions. Straight out of the box, it was immediately apparent how well this bass is made. I'm not even joking, Squier have knocked the ball out of the park. The CV line has always received high praise for quality, in particular the necks (more on that later) but I was more than a little impressed. The white colour is hard to photograph, but looks sublime in person. It's slightly transparent, and I've seen a couple of people compare it to Mary Kay White. I can't make the comparison myself having never owned or seen a MKW in person but this bass is certainly a looker. The gold anodised aluminium pickguard is to a high standard and compliments the colour scheme very well, although I'll probably pick up a black guard at some point incase the need for a change strikes. The glossy neck has a beautiful vintage tint to it, not overbearingly orange like a few other "vintage style" basses I've seen and not pale, fresh maple either. Just nicely in the middle, and the finish itself is of outstanding quality. Not a blemish, ugly mark or any other concerning sight on either the body or the neck. The hardware also is well made, and feels quality. The tuners move freely but with just enough resistance to feel sturdy. The bridge also is well made, and I was pleasantly surprised to see threaded saddles on there too! Played acoustically, the bass is surprisingly resonant and loud. Always a good sign in my opinion. Plugged in, this bass speaks with typical P bass authority. Very pleasing indeed, and it just has that quality that separates a good P from the rest. Total Fender tones through and through, courtesy of its "Big F" designed alnico split pickup. I can already tell it'll be a joy to play live, and no doubt will sit in a mix beautifully like only a well made P bass can. On the note of playing live, this particular bass is definitely on the sturdier side of things. I don't have an exact weight, but this is certainly not a flyweight by any means. Not hugely heavy either mind, but being a P it balances well on a wide strap and feels perfectly comfortable. Now, in my eyes there is only one minor niggle with this bass. The Neck. It looks absolutely beautiful, from what I can see its a 1 piece maple job with a skunk stripe. It even FEELS great, as I've so often heard of the CV basses. The issue here lies solely with Squier's blurb. They have advertised the bass as having a 1.685" (42.8mm) nut width, which would be in the ballpark of the wider but you would expect of a 50's precision. However, upon checking this with a set of digital calipers the nut width is definitely the standard modern 41.3. not exactly a deal breaker to somebody who wants a great playing bass with some vintage styling (me), just a word of warning to the players looking for a cheap alternative to an AVRI, or the real deal. There seemed to be some confusion when the bass first arrived over where the truss rod would adjust from but I can confidently say it's a headstock adjust. All in all, despite Squiers confusion over what many people would say is a make or break measurement and possibly even a/the deciding factor in buying a bass this is a brilliant bass at any price point. Plays outstandingly, looks absolutely beautiful and sounds every bit as good as you'd expect a good P to sound. They've made a good one here and if you're looking into these, you will not be disappointed!

Hey gang So... about 20 years ago, I sold everything I had and bought a 1971 P from a chap in Indianapolis via eBay (back when it was financially not completely daft to do this kind of thing). I loved everything about it - the rich, deep sound, the chunky neck, the light weight... it became my right arm for the next 10+ years. We travelled the world. Like many marriages (but not mine, I must add), familiarity sank in, and I got a wandering eye for something from the 60s. So four years ago, in a moment of stupidity, I sold it. ....and immediately regretted it. After four years roaming the wilderness, howling at the moon, the buyer (Normski of this parish) got wind of my sorrow and offered it back to me. And for this I am INCREDIBLY grateful. It arrived yesterday, and as soon as I picked it up it was like having my right arm sewn back on. It's like no time has passed. Thanks, Norm.

My new (old) Mustang Pawn Shop

I mean here’s the rest of my collection… so yeah… totally obsessed with these!

The church on the other hand.......

Well, Axminster excelled themselves - this arrived this morning And so by this evening, all the plug holes are filled. They will show up more once the stain and finish has been put on - but they merge in better than the black epoxy Next job is to find the teeny envelope with the Luminlay rods in...

So yeah..I bought Michael's P bass around four years ago but as mentioned he didn't let it go without having second thoughts & that kinda stuck with me. I guess I never really bonded with Michael's P bass probably because it still felt like it didn't belong to me (if you all see what I mean). When I read his items wanted on here for an early 70's P bass I just had to reply. I'm a big believer of the saying what goes around comes around & this just about sums up Basschat & our fantastic community we have here. Michael it's great that you have your beloved P bass back. I'm so happy for you. It's the least I could do. Cheers Norm

Not an A/B, and not well recorded enough to offer a scientific comparison, but here you go. FWIW, I think the maple-ness of the B&W '71 is noticeable.

Boring answer - technically yes, nothing on this bass contravenes Rickenbacker's trademarks. The bridge's a copy of a Hipshot & the scratchplate shape isn't trademarked. Everything else is just generic stuff sort of arranged in a Rick-ish fashion. Of course something like this shouldn't be sold anywhere. Just buried at midnight, under a full moon in unconsecrated ground.

So the Digbeth Pre arrived. After an hour of playing I can say, that this unit is easy one of the best rock bass preamps I ever played. It's for "classic" tube tones, no Darkglass / metal distortion thing! The only thing that I am concerned about is... the first unit I bought was doa, something was clearly broken inside and was now falling arround inside the box. And the unit of today does this....somehow I don't like the sound... Strange rattling inside the unit The PRE is even more versatile than the 500H, the eq section allows a more detailed shaping of your sound! Like the head its strength is a warm deep bass tone that I like a lot!

Some updates to the Pedal Shelf (tm) And my WorkStation (tm) with space for patching in pedals when I fancy

What a shame they're pretty much all uninspired Fender clones. I think Ashdown is a superb company. Their amps and cabs are great, and from what I've read here and elsewhere online, their customer service is second to none. (Although I've never needed to use it personally) I'd like have seen them do something a little more out of the box design wise. Nothing too radical, but just not a straight copy and paste of Leo's homework. At that price point, if you want something like a Fender, buy a Fender.

I lent a bass to a guy in a similar situation a few years ago. I got an absolute critique afterwards about how my bass wasn't really good enough for him, which started with the phrase "I'm usually a guitar player..." I cut him dead with "next time I'll leave you onstage with a dead bass for you to sort out as my bass is clearly beneath you". He soon changed his attitude.

If you've got a Japanese 70's Jazz in Lake Placid Blue with matching headstock, blocks and binding and it doesn't work out... you are the problem.

I’ve been aware of it for years - there was a listing that used to pop up on Google searches of when it was sold at auction… obviously I didn’t think I’d ever get it! I guess as it was made for a Peavey dealer in the UK, my odds of getting it were better than they usually are for these American made basses… but yeah it was one of those “I can’t really let it pass me by can I?” Kinda moments. I’d have been kicking myself for the rest of my life

Yeah its a one off special and was made as a gift for the author of the book in 1980 as he was the main Peavey dealer in the UK at that time… it’s the only one you’ll see without a pick guard (there are a few T-60 guitars) and the controls going through the wood of the body (with a rear control cavity). It’s made of Magnolia (according to the man who designed these, I’ve also seen him say he personally built this one in his carport which is very cool) and the neck is figured maple so it’s a fair bit fancier than the regular T-40s you’ll see…

My most disappoint purchase of all time was a Big Muff. I was gutted when I ordered one and a bass pedal turned up.

For what Team?

Your wife?

Jesus lads it’s an eq pedal! 😂

Regarding the conversation in question, I was quoting the Oxford English Dictionary definition of the world multi whereas you were going by your own interpretation of the word. Did you ever contact the OED to let them know they were wrong?

I used to gig with a wonderful saxophonist. Whenever people asked to have a go on his sax, he'd listen very intently and politely and say "of course you can". After a brief pause he'd ask the person how they got to the gig. Inevitably they'd reply they came by car. "ok, you can play my saxophone while I drive your car. I've never learned but I've seen it done". Tended to have the desired effect.

No I just lease her it's less hassle lol

Little update. Body is fully stripped. It's a three-piece, the back gives nothing away but the front is nicely matched. The only worrysome thing is there's a small split in the jointing near the bridge/control cavity, so I'll dribble some superglue over it and rub any excess back. Some other small superficial dings that I'll try and rub back. Electrics? I'd like to put some Delano's in...the ones with the bigger polepieces. There's six holes and a side-jack. I generally play with everything open, so maybe a pickup selector switch > master volume > Darkglass Tone Cap. This will allow me to dowel/lose the smallest hole on the front. Dunlop Straploks. Definitely going with a black stain and clear coat.

Ah that’s the other thing…….the raft of restrictions on their private lives including officers having to get permission to live at a different address(I kid you not!), not getting into debt and being held to a higher standard of behaviour off duty, she will have to declare the band work as a business interest and get it authorised if she gets any kind of reward for it. That could mean paid gigs, free drinks etc. As to seeing or smelling illegal things whilst at gigs…..I become very short sighted and nose blind. The only reason I’m there is because the band is playing so unless Pablo Escobar is running a drugs cartel from gig, the band are like the 3 wise monkeys.

Just a heads up. I see a Reverend Sentinel SS for sale on ebay starting at £500. I have it in the same colour strung with SIT Power Wounds. That is my go to bass these days - it plays and sounds fantastic! RRP has jumped a bit recently, so might be a decent bargain for someone here.

Why do Spector basses look like Warwicks, anyway?

Wow - all this hate for Spector, you feeling ok?

To add some perspective, the band I’m in consists of 3 police officers and a paramedic. We seem to be able to make it work using a mixture of leave and rest days. The 3 of us that are in the police have roles not doing nights and 2 of us have zero chance of being late off which helps. Police regs stipulate you have to have your shifts published for 12 months in advance but they can get changed at short notice for stuff, less so if you’re not public order trained. The Paramedic has the most trouble due to not having a shift pattern set in stone. Getting together for regular practices is more difficult than gigs but again we make it work because we enjoy doing something completely different to our day jobs. We have 3 gigs lined up for December. If someone wants to book us then we don’t commit until all the band have checked their shift patterns and booked leave etc. People seem perfectly ok with this. For the OP, I suspect your drummer will be ok with a little planning and common sense. I wouldn’t book a gig to start at 8pm if she’s off at say 6pm….just in case she’s late off. It’s quite easy to be 4-6 hours late off duty when you are on response shifts. My longest day was 17 hrs. If the drummer wants to play and be part of a band, she will make it work and if band wants her as part of the band, they will it work.

Nice one Norm.

Too bad that you won't be able to feel the bass. Recorded only with a smartphone over a Hartke HyDrive 210 it delievers some serious bass......!! (Telecaster with single coil, as you will be able to hear..) 😉 Digbeth PRE video via smartphone

Congrats, looks great 🤩 Did you travel back to 1980 and got it brand new? Or did you pull up floorboards in your house and found it in a time capsule that the previous owner had put there? Amazing.

It does! I’ll feel bad stepping on it now! The VB99 does more than I need with the GK cable. I only have the 13 pin output built into my Vigier and mostly use the VB99 as a clean preamp/interface The Bright Onion switches in a loop where I can place a pedal from my shelf, or switch it out so I can leave it disconnected.

My biggest issue with lending a bass out isn't even for the safety of my bass, it's for the hygiene of my strings. People do all sorts of nasty things with their hands, I don't want the remnants of their habits ground into the windings of my strings thank you very much. If someone used my bass for a whole gig I'd have to put new strings on afterwards. Every used bass I buy will get new strings for this reason. It may be over the top but there you go, we all have our 'things'.

Ah but he was immortalised in the words of a song by 'Train'... more than can be said for any of us!

Except the Spector SB1, SD1, NS2000, NSX etc etc.....

This is something that I believe is possible only here. Extraordinary. Fine video, too. Well done.

It's just five notes around a Major Triad. From what I've heard the last couple of days, Bugle players have been playing it in Bb. I've also heard a Trumpet player playing it in Eb. The fellow below plays it in 'G' using harmonics.

I take my hat off to those who are kind enough to share basses out, you’re genuinely warm-hearted people. Not for me though. For me these days it’s neither my fault or problem if you’re not prepared enough for the gig you’re playing. If you’ve blown your amp up, go through the desk. If you’ve knackered your bass and don’t have a backup, well there’s a very important lesson you’ve learned. And if I lend you a bass a) I don’t know you so therefore it’s something of a liability and b) you likely won’t learn that important lesson… I do love that many of you are so much nicer than me though!

Prior Planning and Preparation Prevents Pith Poor Performance. I go prepared for every reasonable eventuality when I play live (2nd bass and spare steings and luthiers toolkit), and if someone else can't be bothered to do so then im not bailing them out by lending them something as precious and personal to me as a bass. I take my hat off you for soing so, but I'm also happy to affirm that I would not have been so generous.