fretmeister

Purely because of an iTunes shuffle.. Sepultura's Roots. Haven't listened to that for at least a decade. Not really my cuppa these days, but it sounds raw and powerful.

I liked GHS Pressurewounds better - but on a 4 string only. I found the B to be bloody awful even on my Marleaux which has the best B I've ever heard in 30 years.

Leave the pickup black!

I saw that bass on fb too. I was very close to buying it! Dibs if you don't keep it!

All depends on the money.

If I had the money, I'd be turning up to orchestra rehearsal with that!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/DrSativa/bgm-electra-bass-big.jpg Swiss cheese you say?

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1473349072' post='3129406'] Yeah, one per year is right at that kind of money! Would be nice to trim some weight off this bass actually, but that's a tad steep. [/quote] Keep an eye on ebay - they go surprisingly cheap used. Often 1 or 2 at a time for some bizarre reason. I've put them on all my basses that had old fashioned heavy gears on them.

If you did one per year... In 4 years you could have a lovely set of Hipshot Ultralite tuners on it. If you've currently got big plate heavy tuners then swapping to them can save a lot of weight (On a 5 string it actually saves half a pound - all from the headstock - the balance improvement is massive).

Anyway - I bet none of you ever got drunk and ordered some pyro equipment for magic shows from USA ebay and had to explain that to customs...

[quote name='4stringslow' timestamp='1473345395' post='3129370'] Perhaps it depends on the nature of the goods? Import duties are not just a single band for everything are they? [/quote] Nope. They vary quite a lot.

Just spotted that the usual £1400 ish for these has come down to £799 with free shipping at Andertons. https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/0195602751/electric-basses/fender-american-deluxe-dimension-bass-v-in-root-beer?LGWCODE=0195602751;56375;6335&gclid=CInG9ID__84CFcG7GwodIWoBwQ Just in case anyone was looking.

I had a 4 string Streamline. It was the neck profile that made me sell it, but the rest was a joy to play. Great balance and so easy on my back! The EQ is very neutral when flat and it took different strings very well. If the 5 strings have a rounder neck profile then I'd like to try one at some point. The smaller body does take a bit of getting used to - it's not great sitting on the knee so it still needs a strap for that, but other than that it's lovely.

Basically the Post Office / Parcelforce / whoever has paid the VAT and import for you to allow deliveries to be far faster. They have the item, they store it they deal with all the paper work with the HMRC on your behalf. It also ensures the taxes are properly collected. In the "good" old days the item would arrive at a customs clearing house and sit there for 3 weeks. Then they would get round to telling you it had arrived. Then you would have to fill in a long and largely incomprehensible form and send it off to HMRC. 3 weeks after that HMRC would write back and tell you how much duty and Vat you had to pay. Then you pay it. Then you'd get a lovely bit of paper that would allow the customs warehouse to release the item to you. Usually a couple of months after you first discovered it was had "arrived." If you got the form wrong you started again. Personally I think £11 for not only dealing with that bullshit, but also getting the item delivered far faster is worth every penny. Dealing with the HMRC is always a nightmare.

I've been looking at 5 string Precision options and the Carvin PB5 looks very nice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-ujgbDoNeI It seems that Carvin now sell direct to the world. the prices look good (I am aware of Vat and import duties etc). Has anyone ordered directly from them? Did it go ok? Any issues that I should think about? I'm thinking of the simple alder body, maple board, passive P and maybe a J at the bridge too.

I quite like the Quarter Pounder - but it doesn't really sound like a precision. I'm going to have to find a 5 string P bass. I can't do without that low B anymore.

Excellent!

I play both. I started on guitar and then offered to help out in a woodwind school band on bass and then started realising it was a very different instrument. If I had to stick with 1, I'd stick with bass. There is just something about it, controlling the feel of a piece of music. Being in the background a bit, but still being far more important than many non-players realise. It's also so easy to sit in with a huge variety of music. Almost everything has a bass part of some kind. Might be piano, double bass, tuba etc etc. But there is always something to play.

[quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1472909703' post='3125284'] bought and sold several items on [url="http://www.thefretboard.co.uk"]www.thefretboard.co.uk[/url] with no issues. similar kind of forum to here and good deals to be had! [/quote] Me too! It's a cool place for thin stringers.

I just got the next load of music for my orchestra gig - and I definitely need 5 strings. I think I'm going to look for a 5 string P bass and give that a try.

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1473063084' post='3126412'] Just get a headless bass... [/quote] Or a piano. Or a psychiatrist!

I had a TM5 and never had this issue. I was using a Tecamp Puma head and (at the time) Bergantino cabs.

I suppose I find it strange that a fat neck 4 string is the same nut width as a Stingray 5.