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Everything came up Milhouse tonight Venue 5 minute drive from my house Repeat customer and a great crowd And most importantly their limiter was broken so no sound issues!

Mine just arrived and it definitely is not going back. A lovely wet, splashy envelope. The down stroke is the best I've heard. Looks great, sounds great 👍

A rare run out of amp #2 last night - my Maruszczyk BassTank (actual made by HandBox). Sounds great. Looks great. I should use it more.

This is it with the local basses

Here we go, my new Sei flamboyant. Resplendant in its 43" scale!

Pictures in the daytime always look better, so here it is outside

So new bass day, bought a Sei bass on the last guitar auctions, always fancied a sei. Went to pick it up today, well, it looks oddly big (my wife is laughing at how big it looks when she picks it up). I must be a longer scale, get the tape measure out.. oh, 43" scale, its a stand up double bass! Anyway, batteries are dead and it takes a while getting them out. Sounds good, and it has a lot of knobs. I am not sure what most of them do yet, but I assume it has a piezo as well as it has two volumes and two balances. It has a switch I have no idea what it does! But anyway, haven't had a chance to get decent pictures yet, but this is what it looks like as a quick snap:

I’m unfashionable and cheap.

Doesn't the fact you think some people's tone is awful when they are quite happy with it, prove it is subjective?

Not especially. I have never managed to get on with that many short scales though - 32" yes, below that not so much. I never even thought of a 43, although it is exactly the same scale as the NS:design bass I have. Actually not so big. Its very clear playing everywhere, and it sounds a bit richer, depending on where the knobs are, which I am still after an evening of playing not sure what they do. I took the back panels off - had to take the battery one off as the battery was dead (batteries, there are two). Took the electronics compartment section off and OMG to what is in there. Not sure if that is how it left SEI or if someone else has thrown their electronics drawer in there, but I don't think I am going to be working out what is going on in there very quickly!

It’s a good question. I think original Warwick basses are a good investment. They’re wonderfully well made, sound amazing and are relatively cheap. Spectors, too fit into this. I think there’s a correction due in the vintage market for Fenders, but I’m probably going to be proved wrong.

There isn’t a correct answer to this question. For less than £150 you can buy an instrument that is more than good enough to enjoy playing. You might find it a little heavier and less refined than say a Yamaha in the £500 range. At the top end of the budget (particularly used) you can buy an instrument that will last a lifetime, hold its value if you give up playing or see you throughout a musical career, even if you become one of the lucky few making a very good living.

C'mon, good players will always sound better than mediocre players, regardless of what bass they are playing! But they will sound even better on a decent quality bass... You could put me in a Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton in a Mondeo and he will easily beat me around a racetrack. But he would lose heavily to any other F1 driver driving the Ferrari...!

Neck Joint?... 😉

Last weekend I was looking at Richtone music site and came across this US P bass for £899. https://richtonemusic.co.uk/fender-precision-bass-black-with-usa-neck-gig-bag-2nd-hand/ It`s a black P bass but without the string thru body so it isn`t a US body. Did a quick search and it came out as a 3 tone sunburst. I sent them a mail saying it was prob a Mexican body on a US neck. So they checked it out and it was what I thought it was a Mexican body. They said it was part of a collection they got and have edited the description and dropped the price £100. Still no mention of the Mex body and the description still says US P bass. Next one up is this US P for £899. https://richtonemusic.co.uk/fender-american-precision-bass-emg-pickups-3-tone-sunburst-bag-2nd-hand/ If you search the Fender data base it comes up to a US neck not a complete bass. It takes seconds to check this stuff out so this one is a bitsa more than likely from the same collection. The bridge looks like the pre 2008 models? I have nothing against Richtone and have bought stuff from them in the past but at least be honest like Bass Bross and Bass Direct usually are and say it`s a bitsa. Someone could buy this thinking it`s a genuine factory US P bass and be rather miffed down the line when some smarty pants tells them it`s not. We are, quite rightly, quick to call out items that are on sale from the likes of E bay that aren`t what they say they are but when a shop does this when they should know better, it`s rather annoying.

How the f*** did I not spot that ? Dead giveaway to an AliExpress neck 21 frets with no dot on 21, bet it’s an overhang

As above.... looks a bit wrong. Wrong string-tree, the late 70s decal looks a bit out of place, 21 frets and the angle of the top straight edge by the E tuner where it slopes down to the neck and nut looks too 'pointy'. Truss rod adjustment should be at the heel and even if that was just the truss rod 'plug' at the headstock end that had been gouged a bit, it wouldn't have one on a rosewood fretboard neck. Not too far from me so may drop him a line and go and have a look anyway..... even if it's just to break some bad news.

It might’ve seen a fender in a book once… But no…

Hoot To Thrill - AC/DC

Here you go, Dave - it's a great line and that delicious Giblin fretless sound. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/state-of-mind-fish/

You'd have to get rid of Tr**p, Vance, Johnson and Chuck Grassley before you got to anyone even half-way sensible in the line of succession - and that would be Marco Rubio. He's horrendous, but, by some measure, the least worst of the people in the presidential line of succession. I think I mentioned this before, but MAGA is Tr**p. He goes, MAGA goes. It's a cult of personality, and it's a personality that Vance doesn't share. He's just an abrasive attack dog, who's there to placate the Project 2025 people, as he's a true believer. The other side of the equation is that the Dems desperately need to get their s**t together. They're flailing around like headless chickens right now, with nobody in charge, a disunited front to what's going on, and nothing to unite around. Another thing that's frustrating is, where are the living ex-presidents on all this? We need Clinton, Bush 43, Obama and Biden to do some kind of public announcement decrying what's going on. Maybe chuck in a couple of extra lesser-hated Repubs to balance things out - maybe Liz Cheney, John Boehner and Paul Ryan.

Multiple band line up tonight, with backline provided. Sounds OK with my MXR comp and VTDI going into it.

Another in the collection just finished The pink bass suffered some unfortunate mold after being stored in a garage over a quiet period, the cleaning lifted more paint than I would have liked giving it a very unnatural 'relic' look. So decided to strip back and paint over During the process I came into possession of a p body that fit the neck perfectly so I decided to get a new one for the j from eBay off a Harley Benton lefty

I bought a secondhand Fender Precision, about a year or so old, from a shop for £200 in December 1979 when I was 18 years old. I'm still gigging that same bass today!

It was marked in the listing as just over 5kg, but although its heavy, it doesn't really come across as heavy, maybe due to the scale? It doesn't feel heavier than some of my other basses. Balance is fine, I think it has been proportionatly scaled, so sitting on a leg it feels fine - it has two strap buttons so I would imagine balance on a strap is good. I will take it to a practice this week and see what it is like to play standing a few hours.

Recessions tend to produce excellent music. Less gentrified, low rent areas can provide affordable living and rehearsal space. Who knows. An economic downturn could create a new generation of gritty musicians rather than glossy pop stars.

I wouldn’t hold on to basses too long in the hope they’ll become collectible. In the next ten to twenty years there’s going to be a glut of instruments on sale as the boomer generation croaks or retires from playing.

Maybe 40th Anniversary Squiers. They seem popular and are already holding their prices. I don't suppose they'll ever be worth millions, but they could be reasonably collectable.

Paperweight? Tissueweight, given the weight of these things!! Keep us posted on here. I am in the process of arranging a trip to the Gibson Garage to meet my artist rep, so I make enquiries if you've not had any other success. I expect Andy will have an answer though.

Special request - the John Lodge bass part for The Moody Blues' 'Nights In White Satin' (released in 1967). A nicer line that I had expected. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/nights-in-white-satin-moody-blues/

1. Rich - Trace Elliot TE-1200 amp, Barefaced Super 12T cab, earplugs , Shuker custom 5, other stuff TBC. 2. Woody - Rickenbacker 4004-L5, maybe Sei Flamboyant, Same old basschat 12" with some amp, other stuff TBC 3. Pinball (tbc) - some interesting basses 4. Stubsy - Joyo BadASS, GRBASS AT212 slim - only 50W but that should give 120dB at one metre 😇. (or I bring my TE 1110 combo). Some fun pedals. Perhaps the AVII 1960 precision, the Sire P10 and maybe the Fender Performer and something unexpected... 5. Sean - Mesa 400+, Laney Nexus Tube 400 , MJW Taranis 200 (Matamp clone with extra channel and EQ), 2 x BF TWO10, Spector TBD, Valenti #005 Super P, Yamaha BB2024x, plus a mini walk-in bass surgery if interested 6. Rosie - likely I'll bring my upright, set up for bluegrass/folk/jazz if anyone's not played upright before and fancies a go

Instead of boosting the bass you could roll off some treble. Playing position, where your pick hits the string, matters a lot as well. Try the difference between playing over the pickup or between pickup and neck (where a P pup would sit). Your experience is with 1 active bass. Writing off all basses with an active preamp would be daft.

Just an update from me. Tried out the Behringer P2 and the KZ ZS10 Pro headphones tonight at a local gig and they worked an absolute treat. I didn't mess around with the mix but just settled with the FOH mix so not perfect for what my preference would be but good enough that I played a bunch of songs no problem. I miss the ambient sound from on stage and the raw energy of a live stage sound but I also liked the clarity and quietness of wearing the headphones. Overall, a great success and not a bad £70 spent on a basic setup. The headphones were really comfortable out of the box as well which I wasn't expecting.

I've found there are Steinberger replacements being made by a one man operation in Guangzhou but they are available domestically only in low numbers and for over 600 quid a pop. But it has to be said there's a huge difference between a simple structure and something that has to be stiff but not too stiff. Early necks from Modulus, Status and Vigier were over designed (which I like). Later in the nineties there were issues with stiffness and many still didn't have truss rods.

RRP for these was over £1300. Paid £799 for mine and thought that was a helluva bargain (still do). The Aguilar AG 4J-70 pickups and OBP-2 pre-amp deliver the closest I've found to that magical 'bass tone in my head' sound.

I reckon that £1,500 is about the sweet spot for getting a really good secondhand bass! For that money, you are getting something that would cost around £2.5k new, which is pretty much the threshold of getting a really well made bass. If you have that much money to spend then why would you want three mediocre instruments rather than one top quality bass? You can only play one at a time, if you have one great bass and an OK spare then you're pretty much covered.

Wait, that wasn't a typo. 43"? Wild. Looking forward to some full length pictures, can't quite wrap my head around how it might look 😅 I imagine Newtone might be some use for new strings.

Rehearsal with the originals band last night - third rehearsal for the three of us, and we've got a gig next Friday. Ran over the three songs we'd already got, then worked on the next three and started looking at BVs for both me and the drummer.

Last night's rehearsal with a relatively new outfit (we've been together for about 8 weeks with 4 practices) was pretty good. After a two week hiatus, we arrived with 8 new songs to work through; 6 went reasonably well with just some light sanding and polish required (starts and endings, as you'd expect) and two will require some extra work to bring them up to speed. Two of the 6 good 'uns featured yours truly on lead vocals. I'm not a singer by nature or by choice but as all the others sing and I've been doing BVs for years, I thought I should make the effort. Listening to the recordings this morning and I'm not as bad as I thought. I'll never be head hunted for a solo career, though. 😀

Watch this then start playing using your ears and not technology. I’ve always preferred unlined boards but never really understood why until I saw this Tony Franklin video