LukeFRC

Acid test over what time period? go back a few years and that range of 80s custom basses, Wals and JD and statii etc were super cheap secondhand cos they weren’t fashionable. but we digress - your statement a load of posts back was “I don't see any of the newer makers as offering worthwhile alternatives to what those established brands offered.” - I suggest at least some of the makers I listed make exciting and interesting instruments that are worthwhile. I also dont think I would use resale value as a main metric to judge the worthwhile ness or quality of an instrument.

I can think of a bundle of more recent builders doing interesting things… alpher ACG Dingwall F bass Strandberg Klos Marleaux Luduc Le Fay Alusonic Freedom custom guitar research rob allen serek wilcock NS of the ones you’ve listed Shuker and Sei are more one off makers, Overwater have a position of trust for professional players in the U.K. more so than bass players who frequent forums, wal have a unique electronics package and the flea connection, status the graphite usp - though I hated the king bass I tried - and jaydee and GB I’ve no idea about and would never consider… … but it’s all personal preference- with a very close link to the music you were into when you were young … the other difference of course is far less bass used in modern pop music now compared to x years ago …

Not wanting to labour the point - but the print/insta generation thing applies to us buyers too…

the change is brands like you listed that formed themselves and advertised via magazines and working with musicians (who you probably found about from press) to now where the brand starts and communicates via instagram and similar platforms.

Peak?

So the £130 pedal becomes £180 if it's preloaded with presets that I presume you could add to the £130 one? Have I got that right?

On a pedal that can do a billion different things - What’s “that” sound?

You pick up the issue in your reply - it's not R&D but brand positioning

If most their business is in guitars then I’m not sure G&L will have kept the Fender C-suite up at night. what it might let them do is have fender as the heritage brand and G&L as the wackier ideas brand, in bass world like you said they haven’t really changed much that catches on since moving the jazz pickup - it gives them two/three bass models that actually do something different - a decent 5 string and a more muscular humbucker

Want to expand on why you thought that?

having just glanced at it (and not tried it) I would be trialing just chords before onsong. What's the file format @GoodShowSir? I got used to the onsong syntax, is it similar?

I have the 2020 onsong - it was pay once and then no subscription model. It works if everyone has apple devices and uses it. I've spent so long building up a database of every song we ever sing in onsong format - to then find the new person who heads up the person reverted ... not to PDFs, but to folders of paper. I will be looking at this just chords thing

Except G&L's bits stand out are the things Leo developed while there - the bridge and pickups are an evolution of Fender, the preamp was ahead of its time (though probably dated now). I don't regret selling my 1981 L1000 - but really wish I hadn't had too. It was like the ultimate evolution of a P bass

out of interest, would you disagree if he was? 😁

I watched a music video of theres and was immediately looking at the G&L website - I’m not even a guitarist but if you’re not getting your I stuments out there with current players what are you doing?

Plus any tone shaping on the bass

On the other hand Active Di and phantom power has been a solution for the last half century 🤣

Though - not reading the title of the thread - orchid is not passive