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I've been a bass player for 40 years. I, like many of you have had hundreds of basses over that time, every make and model you can think of. Around 5yrs ago I hit hard times. Horrendous times, personally and financially. So everything went to pay rent and survive. My last basses.... 2 Stingrays, 78 P bass and a Gretsch Thunderjet plus my TC rig, all gone. I've had nothing since. Literally 6 weeks ago life turned around financially, new job, new hope. So..... I'm starting to rebuild gently at first.... In: Yamaha RBX460 Hohner B Bass TC BG250 Totally delighted with all 3, under £500 for all 3.... the TC was £40!! Looking forward to a P bass, a Jazz and a Stingray joining the gang next year. The RBX460 was the start of my new journey, a gift from my new partner....and I couldn't have started with a better, albeit modest instrument, and honestly the Hohner is immense, up there with basses 3 times its price. NEVER give up fighting. I'm proof that life can turn around, even when there seems like there's no hope.... keep fighting. It WILL get better.

I bought this when David posted pictures on the forum - a seriously bad bout of GAS that I simply couldn't resist! I decided to go for no scratchplate, which I prefer, rather than have the scratchplate and take it off with the resultant screw holes. There were a couple of teething problems. First off and straight out of the box the input jack was shorting out. Went straight back, issue resolved by return of post. The first time I used it for any length of time the sound became intermittant. Guitarist in my band is an electrician and he tested it - the problem was the pickup itself. I relayed this to David and he sent off a replacement pickup immediately. And that has sorted that out. Also the background hum, which I assumed wrongly was because it was a single coil - nope, the new pickup is quiet. So here it is. A scaled down, slab-bodied 50s style Precision. Binding on edges. 30" scale, 38mm nut, telecaster headstock. A trifling 7lbs. Single coil pickup. Now strung with my favoured TI Flats. Fit and finish are great, hardware is solid. It is an absolute joy I've not had a single coil Precision before and I immediately love the tone. Full on it is bright and it doesn't take much pushing on the TC Spectradrive clean boost to get a nicely saturated gritty sound that is perfect for my blues rock band. Perhaps rolled off a touch for the sweetspot. The neck is sublime in terms of how it feels plus the vintage tint isn't that ghastly shade of turmeric like some. I can see this being the one I grab first when it comes to gigging as it is just so easy to play. And of course a huge thank you to David @Bassbadgerwhose customer service has been second to none.

In fairness, Mark and Ashley turned the minor concern into pure joy at 10.45am…

Well said. Good to hear things have turned around for you mate. These gear threads can come across somewhat crass when little thought is given to those who are struggling, or worse from the sound of your recent situation. I count myself as guilty. Sending positive vibes out to those who find themselves in similar situations.

My new Jabba special just arrived. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME

Thanks pal At the end of the day, just be happy. Play, enjoy life. If buying expensive gear makes you happy, and you can afford it, awesome, do it, and share, because we all love gear. For those who can't afford the flash stuff, love what you already have. That "modest" bass is probably fantastic, and ALL you need. Just play. Anyway......back on topic!

Friday night round the neighbour’s last week for pre-Xmas drinks with a few families, I get chatting to the guy three doors down who moved in with his family in the summer. Out of curiosity I asked what he did as a job: “I build bass guitars”, he replies. The penny dropped pretty quickly. I live in the village where Wal build their basses and my new neighbour is one of the guys who builds them. Could have chatted to him all night. I don’t think he’s used to meeting people who know one end of a bass from the other, let alone have actually heard of Wal. Sadly, no chance of mate’s rates or reopening the waiting list I don’t think.

It’s here. I confirm…it has a weight. needs my preferred strings etc and a tweak to my taste. it is lovely

I saw this today. It may well be old for all I know, but it made me laugh. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but it did raise a smile….

Here we are

i bought a nice kettle but it's a little bit bulky really, it won't fit under the taps properly. I've got to fill it with a measuring jug. I just wanted to share that with you.

I can back that up, I picked it up for him from bass direct I thought they’d handed me an empty box

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Not mine but a cracking bit of kit for no money. Good friend was coming up to visit and made a detour on the way. Well known eBay seller " green alsatian " had this lovely Peavey Cirrus BXP going for £199 😱 Gillian zipped across from Norfolk to Liverpool area to snatch the prize then on to Central Scotland. Back then I had 4 or 5 Cirrus basses and Gillian had 3 , could say we were familiar with them 🙂 Drawback with many Cirrus BXP models is the gloss finish ,it can feel sticky ; not the case with the satin "darkwood" version. Pair of us put it through the paces and were well impressed. Looked like a Cirrus. Felt like a Cirrus. Played like a Cirrus and sounded like a Cirrus. Bloody Hell , a £199 Cirrus 😀 It's the one on the far right 👍

Lean on a wardrobe.

The nativity play went well on Sunday, as well as being on bass, I was a shepherd. I kept the head covering on for the entire service, it was for a 3-4 yr old and the top of my bonce was almost numb by the end, it also made me look like I had a sh*t haircut 😆

Gonna get shot down in flames for this but I think my most underrated gear is a plectrum as I wouldn't be able to play without one as my hands are buggered 😩

Sell both. If you really wanted either you wouldn't be asking the question.

I read it too, and while it was a great in depth account into all that was going on around him, and to be fair a very good read with loads of very interesting facts, but what you get from the theme of the book right through is that he is a cun! and always was and always will be, to the point that even his own autobiography could not hide that, yes he has a right to protect his music no matter how much money he has, i would do the same, but to say common eric... just send her a message to remove it, the answer to that im guessing is prob he has not the time to spend on sending thousands of messages trying to police this all day, so then its down to paying someone to do it as a job because that's what it would take, and not just one person... so by doing this im thinking he will get the coverage he wants in a bid to discourage future attempts. so my message to eric... ok you got the coverage you wanted, now be kind and let it go, but, we will still think your a cun!

I love everything about a Precision bass, but I don’t like the chunky neck, I prefer the thinner Jazz neck, and others love everything about a Jazz bass, but they don’t like the narrow neck, they prefer the chunkier Precision neck, and many like either bass just the way they are, but why do they not offer each bass with a choice of either neck? I have always played Precisions with a replacement Jazz neck fitted, but I would love to be able to buy a Precision with a Jazz neck fitted straight out of the factory, you only have to read the many posts on here, and on Talkbass, to know how many would love to have the choice. I know there are a few Precision bass variants out there that have a Jazz neck, but most are usually in a JP configuration which many don’t have any need for the Jazz pickup. I'm now looking at the Fender American Professional II, but I won't buy it because of the neck, but if I had the choice of buying it with a Jazz neck fitted, then I would pull the trigger now. Surely a standard Fender Precision fitted with a Jazz neck would fly out, wouldn't it? 🤔

I seemed to have made a career out of forces gigs...apart from the usual functions and Xmas shows in this country... I have done tours during the 1970's and 80's of Germany (USAF, British and Nato bases) with various Soul and Rock acts. A good part of the 90's working on the British CSE tours, backing a lot of the TV Celebs and older pop acts. The shows were mini production shows with three or four turns and a bunch of dancers, a tour manger, along with lighting and sound crew etc...There was a pool of us, about 25 musicians, so you would go out a few times a year on two week tours. The same players and MD's, just different combinations. Apart from personal Instruments, all the gear was provided. These tours included, The Falklands and Ascension islands, again Germany, Cyprus, Belize, Northern Island and a couple of the Highland camps and bases. Plus Kuwait and Saudi a few days after the first Gulf War. Every show, without fail, the show folks would be hosted in any of the Junior ranks mess', Sergeants mess' or the Officer club/mess for a meal and a fosters up. It was their way of saying thank you. They all tried to out do each other. They had to be better than the previous venue... I must say, each rank was as bad as each other for Shenanigans and Boozing. The further you got away from the UK, the more outrageous they got. From CSE tours in Belize and The Falklands.

Currently this but will be looking at a pair of 1x10 cabs next year

I’m quite liking the fact that retailers are now getting us to vote on what they sell us next.

@Chiliwailer to be fair it’s in keeping with a lot of other posts on the same thread… I don’t have enough space (4 kids/2 cats) to keep them all. And I won’t keep stuff for keeping’s sake… I genuinely only regret 2 or 3 sales. And even then…I probably wouldn’t play them. Wood and strings, not friends, not family - I still baulk when people name basses…

Something tells me this is more a case of ‘which to sell first’… 😊 …I’ll leave exhibit A below, from a recent post of yours about basses in and out this year: Tune TXJ-4 in and out Dean edge pro in and out Yamaha bb350f x 3 in and out Yamaha Bb424x x 3 in and out Yamaha bb450 in and out Yamaha bb1300 in and out Yamaha bb300 in and out Yamaha SB-55 in and out Spector Euro LX in and out Yamaha Pacifica (one in, one out) Yamaha AEX in and out Alvarez Baritone in and out cordoba classical in and out Tobias Toby Pro in and out (tomorrow) Sadowsky HPJ out ebs 410 out ebs Reidmar out Yamaha bb1600 in Fender Aerodyne in Musicman Sabre in Fleabass (green toy thing) in Ashdown mk500 in Vanderklay 212 in ahem. I think that’s about right.

Of course he was out of tune, he didn't have a tonepros bridge, Buzz Feiten compensated nut, locking tuners, carbon stiffening rods in the neck or a tuning pedal on his pedalboard. He was lucky not to have dropped that guitar without straplocks. To be honest, he probably thought intonation was a Polynesian colony. Disgraceful carry on, altogether.

Bejeebus. I just used it on the machines. I'm assuming there's a chemical reaction going on (because the paper towel was black), but they came up super shiny. Kudos to you!

Oh, oh!

Even more so when this arrives…

Leduc U-Basse U-MM624 from 1998.

I'd perhaps start by listening to some of the big dub producers: King Tubby, Lee Scratch Perry, Scientist, Joe Gibbs, Mad Professor, King Jammy, Augustus Pablo, Keith Hudson, Adrian Sherwood....they've each got their own style so if you find some you prefer then follow that rabbit hole. Or if you already have some favorite Reggae artists then look for dub versions of the albums (e.g. Aswad, a new chapter of dub. Gregory Isaacs, slum in dub. Horace Andy, in the light dub. Black uhuru, the dub factor).

On the subject of cheap basses, there's a well documented thread within these hallowed pages about the Gumtree job-lot I picked up a few years back; two guitars, a bass and a little practice amp for £50.00. The bass is an Aria Pro-II Primary Bass, essentially a '78 Japanese Precision on bass copy and I still own it. It's undeniably undergone a ton of work since I got it, but the strong thing here is that the body, neck (well, after some fettling) and the machines (replacement Schallers) were all sound, which just gave me a platform for upgrading bridge and electrics. There are bargains out there to be had. I think I just got lucky.

Especially for short-scale basses. Weight is often a major reason for choosing s-s but some are relatively heavy.

I love the Beatles, but I think I'd rather do time than sit through that again.

I’m off work now until new year. I want to watch it again…

No. I don't think so. I'm much the same, where ensemble music captivates me but solo pieces tend to bore me to tears, especially on clanky instruments not entirely suitable to solo performances. People performing these solo pieces tend to have been doing it long before lockdown. It has never been easier to remotely collaborate. If you're not doing it now, being able to be in a room with someone won't change that.

...ting.

Cracking basses 🙂 Why oh why did I sell them 😢 The 5'er was stunning.

Jack wasnt serious , peeps. Take a tablet In your own home, having a laugh , necking a few sherberts ... knock yourself out.

Georges deadpan comment: "I think I'll be ...er' .. Leaving the band now." Priceless!

I can feel the tension....

I checked the tracking on the amp modules early last week, they were still in China after 4 weeks. The back panel had been delivered...to my old addressand to top it all, The amps I was looking at befpre were all now in stock.....Gr. So on Thursday I had to take SWMBO (is that sexist?) to the hospital. On the way back we called into my old house and collected the front panel. Phew! Arrived home and voila, a small but very visible from the road, parcel containing two power amps. Two power amps that were still in China according to the tracking website. So after convincing myself that the satisfaction of building you own was more than getting a mass produced item, I started sneezing and have had a heavy cold ever since,🤧😁 Yes blame me for the shortage of Lateral Flow Tests. The back panel and one power amp is below. The screws on the sockets are silver and I was considering buting some black ones but the small slide switches need M2.5 screws and those are harder to get than M3 or above. The amplifier modules from Connex come with all the cables so wiring is reletively easy. I have to get over this cold however to carry on but I will keep you posted.

Usual reaction from anyone who sees it..................