Kev

Anything well built and. crucially, well set up will work, preferably with hum buckers. Getting a "good" B is 99% about making sure the neck and bridge are set up optimally. String gauge is preference, scale length is a huge 2nd to setup. I currently use a StingRay and Alpher bass in B. I left 5's behind back in 2019 in favour of drop tuned 4's, never looked back. Realised I never liked using a G string and felt much more comfortable on a narrower neck, so made total sense.

Whilst still not being the sound you're looking for, it was still a big difference right? As those pickups and preamp should have transformed the sound, like taking a blanket off your amp. The far east Barts are not good IMO but swapping them out usually makes a good budget bass great.

Why hide?

He needs to actually become a better drummer and learn to be able to play to the gig. Finding solutions to bring his volume down is nonsense, he just needs to accept his performances are bringing the band down.

DM me the thread links @patrikmarky and I'll sort it 👍

Just to check the obvious, are you getting this with multiple "E" strings you've tried?

Note how they don't claim innovation though! 😅

Phew. After all that, I'd let Innovation at least have the rest of the afternoon off.

There once was a bassist named Hugh, Whose excitement was truly untrue. He waited all day, For Fender to say, "We've got nothing new, just for you." I suppose the 15th actually means sometime this evening?

"Innovation never rests" Its bold if its just colours and a new name for the same pickup. Difference with Ernie Ball and Rickenbacker is they don't do the same thing. The Stingray Special was the first time they reinvented the wheel since the 3EQ model came out. Sure they have the Classic Series and the replacement Retro series and a couple of artist models, but they don't seem to drag their fanbase to anywhere near the same degree. Same with Ric. Nothing like the same marketing philosophies.

Because I imagine Spector was the only artist deal on the table good enough! But I agree, what on earth is the point. I'd like to think if I "made it" I wouldn't just go with a brand for the money.

Which, to be fair, is absolutely fine and they're still doing extremely well I'm sure. I hate the milking the fan base stuff with release after release, but ultimately that's down to players falling for it. But just don't claim to be innovators in your marketing 🙃

Metal is rather broad! Not a tiny % by any measure. Point is, Fender don't dominate like they did 30 years ago, there is a LOT of choice out there now and their lack of innovation has caused many to seek choices elsewhere. Sure the traditional stuff has a place, but not every place 👍🏻

Watch Fender launch a multiscale headless jazz bass with an asymmetric neck and humbuckers next week now...

But it's the very small % bit I'm also disagreeing with. What % of modern Metal music, lets say the last couple of decades, would you say was recorded with Fender basses, for example? Don't get me wrong, Fender's impact and dominance in the 20th century can't be argued with, but I don't think its as B&W as it used to be, not anymore.

I don't agree with this at all anymore. I don't think any of my favourite records feature a Fender.

The unstoppable power of a name and a logo. That's about it!

Yup, same is true for pretty much all circuits, makes design theft all the more painful.

This info has been leaked from retailers sticking things online too early, so its certainly TBA at the moment, but yeah maybe theyre announcing both this and something else on the 15th? Personally, the highlight of next week is the McRib.

So the insomniac innovators at Fender have come up with some new colours, it seems. Perhaps the pickups used were wound under a full moon or something. Nice. I mean some of them look nice, and i'm sure people will queue up to snag them. But why make such a big deal over it? Innovation never rests, and neither does our re-releasing of instruments and our drive to milk our loyal players for all they've got.

Fingers crossed you don't have the aforementioned Cort/GuitarGuitar issue and you end up exchanging a string of these, each with more issues than the last! It's a good test of who is better at handling these situations to be fair, I've always thought Andertons were decent. Lets see!

I imagine at this price point, inspected means "is the neck still attached?" and not a lot else. I think the best thing to do would be to unscrew and remove the battery compartment, give it a good clean and make sure there's no damage underneath it, or to the wires connecting to the preamp. Or, ask Andertons first and see if they would be prepared to pick up the bill if you got a luthier to make good. But it really depends how bad it is, as it may literally just wipe right off. These basses are new, they haven't been sat in storage that long.