mcnach

Very good. It can do way more than I use it for. I don't go into deep edit mode, create presets blending two types of overdrive etc... I simply have 6 presets saved (3 on each 'bank') and that's it. It can cover som much ground, that I always find the sort of sound I'm aiming for. It feels I underutilise it, but that's fine by me.

The very early ones were wired in series, which I think fits the 2EQ better, but from some point in 2004 onwards they were wired in parallel.

Not as good in what sense? Cosmetic, perhaps (taste being personal and all that). Lack of body contour, I'd agree... I prefer the contour, but the lack of a contour was never an issue with my two 4-string and one 5-string SUBs. The neck profile was identical to my 2002 Stingray for the 4-stringers, probably because teh SUBs were from the same era (2003-2006). The sound... was just another Stingray in every way. But a lot cheaper.

I rarely like the sound of the headphone out on combos unless hey're modellers. Often they're like an afterthought with very little in terms of sound quality, even if through the built-in speaker it sounds ok.

I bought a NUX Amplug unit a few months ago as I wanted something I could travel with easily. I love it. I think it'll work well for you. Don't worry about the battery life: it lasts quite a while and it's rechargeable (via USB, froma computer, mobile phone charger, etc). You can simply plug in and play. Or play along to some tracks on your phone via bluetooth. Or use it to record on your computer as it works as a soundcard too. The older version (which I have, MP-2) is around £60. The newer version (pro) is more like £100-110 and it has a USB-C instead of a micro-USB (if that matters to you), and volume controls on the unit itself. The MP-2 didn't have a volume on the unit, and I didn't want to use teh app simply to turn volume up/down, so I got a £5 passive in-line volume control for my earphones, done. It sounds really nice for guitar. For bass, once you strip down the effects and leave an amp/speaker cab it's pretty good too (can use effects if you like of course). You've got 7 presets stored on the unit, so it's easy to have different sounds at your fingertips. The only thing I don't like about this kind of units is I don't feel comfortable with the way they stick out of the bass. I just know I'm going to hit it on something and break it and maybe damage my bass' output socket in the process. I got a little extension cable to solve this: one end plugs into the bass and the MP-2 on the other end. Mine is about 50cm long, so that I can put it in my pocket, or just laying next to me. It is out of the way like this. But that's just me, it's nnot necessary.

You don't need to use every note on every string. Play the 5er and enjoy it! Personally, I find the strength of 5-string basses is not the additional handful of notes, but the ability to play across the fretboard rather than up and down. Play what you like!

That was my thought too, and I got the MP-2 over the pro a few months ago. The USB-C is nice but far from being important to me. The volume control is something I would have liked to have... but I'm just using a passive in-line control for that (around £5... the MP-2 was £60 and the Pro version around £100-110 as far as I could see. Happy with the MP-2).

I think they were £60 + £12 delivery or so, back in 2011 when they were on sale.

Ha! That's what I had thought when I first saw them!

It looks like these tips (SF1) fit the ZS10. I used these with another set of earphones and I quite like them, good isolation. https://www.amazon.co.uk/SONICFOAM-Memory-Foam-Earbud-Tips-SF1-Black-5-8-6-5mm-See-chart/dp/B09L7CX9JD

Happy to wait a little, not in a hurry. It just happened I was looking into getting a pair of these and "oh, hello, do I want to save £20? yes please!" so I ordered from the link @Chienmortbb posted. Thank you!

Hmmm, I tried to get a pair of ZS10 pro but the link takes me to an AliExpress shop and I get a "this vendor does not deliver to your address" kind of error. Anybody had success? https://kz-audio.com/kz-zs10-pro.html

Ha! It turns out I bought THREE of those, not two I bought them sometime in 2011. Two white ones with rosewood fingerboard and a trans-blue with maple fingerboard (that @tom1946 found near him and arranged to buy for me, thank you Tom! ) The pickup was the only thing I didn't want to keep. Sounded good at home but in loud environments they were picking up a lot of handling noise and squeal on occasion. One of the white ones was the one to blame for my 'discovering' the joys of a Precision. I had a Wizard Thumper pickup on it and played a few gigs with it. Probably the instrument with the best money earned vs money spent ratio . I sold it in April 2015 [*] I swapped the necks on the other two, and used the white/maple one to turn it into a fretless, which I still own and use. The other was stripped and it was going to be a fun project with a couple of MM pickups... but got bored with it before I finished it and sold it in 2015 as a collection of parts. [*] I have a file with this kind of info. Don't judge me, please 😝

That's beautiful! 😍 I have a Squier Jazz body that I sprayed Fiesta Red back in 2018... and I haven't finished it yet This is giving me some motivation, as it was a great sounding bass too! I need to sand a few irregular bits and spray a few more coats still, 'though, so it'll have to wait until the weather gets warmer and less humid again as I don't have a good place to do the spraying bit. What I did, I did in a small garden shed... which looked like I had butchered someone after I was done

Yes, they had a line of basses and guitars. I think there was some connection between the bass line and the bass player in The Shadows (forget his name now), I don't know. A few years back SR seemed to want to unload fast the instruments and the basses were for sale for £60. They were fine, nothing amazing, but fine. The weakest point was the pickup, sounded ok but were very microphonic (mine were!). I didn't like Precisions at the time (or so I thought), but at £60 I thought I'd get a couple to mess about with. I only kept this one in the end. I had a hard time deciding between it and the Fender I had bought from @AndyTravis but in the end the SR just felt nicer to me. The Fender was beautiful 'though. I don't have any pictures right now, but it looked like this:

What I do, and that's just what works for me, is I take a little recorder with me to rehearsal. An ancient Zoom H2, but even a mobile phone does a good job these days. So I record those songs including intros, ending etc... then I can just take it home and learn that. I don't need the rest of the band to do my homework. Maybe something like that can help? I'm playing on Saturday as a dep with a band. I had around 30 songs to learn. I took the versions I was asked, wrote my charts, then I had one practice with the band, so I got all the starts and endings and variations and I learnt those. Did one more practice, it was giggable already. And I am not exactly amazing... but recording those bits and taking them home is very efficient, for me.

Just wondering how many still have/use theirs. I defretted one of them, put a DiMarzio Model P and D'Addario tapewound strings... and this thing has seen other 'proper' fretless basses come and go, while the Sue Ryder stayed. Don't get me wrong, it won't compare to high end basses by any means, I'm sure, but it's compared very favourably to a couple of Squiers and a MIJ Fender (beautiful natural/maple unlined fingerboard). Those Model P with tapewounds are an amazing combination: roll tone off, and it's so round and thick, but not boomy... open tone, and you get a lot of the attack coming through. I'm not really a fretless player much, but I'll be playing it on Saturday so I have been 'befriending' the fretless again lately... and it's such a great sounding bass, and pretty light too, very comfy. Anybody still have theirs?

I'm not sure EBMM has much say in that respect, and unfortunately SBMM keep playing the "I see nothing wrong" game, as far as I can see: example, the black tuners that chew themselves out within a few uses "we'll send you another set". Yes, another identical set made of plasticine.

I disagree. That just prolongs the agony, and in many cases will delay the change. Once you've established a certain member doesn't work, it's time. It's also pretty dodgy in my books: I like to be transparent about this kind of thing. If it's just 'work', sure, do whatever it takes to get the income. But if there's a substantial element of 'fun' in the whole arrangement, I don't see how that can work. It really would not work for me. But that's just, like, my opinion, man. One of the things I learnt over the years that has served me very well (I think) is to not be afraid to quit a band or to define my boundaries/expectations. I wasted far too much time at first with dysfunctional bands because I didn't want to stop, even temporarily, and look again for new people. But if you don't move on...

I know that getting rid off him seems like a drag... but frankly, do you want to carry on that way? These people don't change their attitudes. The sooner you start the search for a new vocalist the better. I'd certainly wouldn't stay in those conditions. He seems to think his time is more valuable than yours (not showing up to rehearsals because HE already knows the songs). What do you think will happen if you don't replace the vocalist?

Well, got a B6 on the way. Has anybody tried the Guitar Lab with it? It looks like a very useful bit of software to manage presets.

Emubands will also do it. I've used both Emubands and Distrokid. Both were straight forward.

Unfortunately I've seen many scruffy cut nuts like that. It's a relatively soft plastic. Hate it, but they usually work fine. The pickguard however, I'm pretty sure there's still a protective film on that one and the pickguard itself is fine underneath.

please, define 'usable amplifier for bass'