neepheid

Only 1 hour to go, 1 more eBayless hour and I'll have made it.

Nope, I have successfully navigated 2022 gear purchase free. Done my time, 1 year's enough. See you in 2024, maybe, but I've got plans for 2023 and they most certainly involve the acquisition of bass gear!

Of course not, why are you even asking?

Home stretch now. I chickened out of visiting the guitar shops when I was in Glasgow yesterday and today

I would have pounced on this as soon as it reduced in price if I hadn't been abstaining from purchasing gear this year. Well jel, congrats.

I once tried these and my main beef was how sticky they felt. Really grabby on my fingers when sliding up and down the string. Honestly, I don't even remember how they sounded, I chucked them after about 5 mins because of the feel.

Har-de-har-har. That thing in the video is a joke and I can't believe they issued it. Let's get real. OP says "Thinking about a cheap 5 string jazz". G&L is not an option for this. The cheapest 5 string they do is the Tribute L-2500 and it's around £200 more expensive than the basses the OP mentioned and ... not a Jazz. The only option to get a G&L 5 string Jazz is to get a USA made JB-5, which definitely fails on the "cheap" part of the OP's line of thinking. Come on, fellow BC old-timers, you can do better than this

There's no shame in that - I'd say it's actually laudable to stick to your guns, having the courage in your convictions and sending it back instead of meekly accepting that it'll not get played much, it languishing around the house until you can't stand the nagging feeling that you've been a bit of a fool any more then flogging it later.

Hah, net pickup count went up by 1. 3 pickup basses FTW

In Reverend Triad (bought for me) Out Epiphone Embassy So another net zero performance, in terms of bass numbers at least. The overall value of the stable has gone up.

Damn it, went down to £275 and still hung around for a while but it's gone now. If it had hung around until the new year I would have pounced on it.

If the playing field was level and innovation was the driving force in bass (and guitar), Fender would have been finished years ago. But the playing field isn't level, life's not fair, and I often have to explain to people what G&L even is, which I find laughable and tragic considering it was the revered Leo Fender's own friggin company.

Are you being glib?

Summarily executed, like all Gibson basses which arent a Thunderbird or SG.

Oh no. One last dance with danger. Trip to Glasgow, 28th December. I could stay out of Guitar Guitar, but what fun would that be?

Awa'. The two point bridge was worse. The bar bridge before that was even worse. Some Hagstroms had a piece of rosewood sitting on a metal plate. So trendy to rag on the three point bridge these days... rolls eyes Merry Christmas! X

Merry Christmas everyone. A week to go - how are we all doing? I'm sitting on my hands!

Me personally? Nothing. Mrs. Neepheid bought me a Reverend Triad so it has to be that. What a shame

I went into one of my two local music shops this afternoon - wasting time while Mrs. Neepheid was in the hairdressers and meeting her for lunch after. Unfortunately that only used up about 5 mins of my time and had to find other ways to kill time. Bass offerings are really pitiful up here. The other shop sometimes has interesting stuff in as they sometimes sell second hand instruments but it was too far from the hairdressers to be able to return promptly if I got the call. So, trip to Glasgow, or buying online. I wouldn't go to Glasgow specifically to try a bass I might not buy - 5 hour round trip at best. Fuel and time? Nah, I'll just get it delivered, thanks. Even if I send it back simply because I don't like it, it would still cost me less than going to a shop with stock worth a damn. How do I know what I want? Trial and error. Fitting a revolving door to your house makes things a bit more efficient

Nothing doing this year. The last one we did pre COVID was a hall in a wee coastal village, fun gig for everyone except the singer who was full of the (non COVID) lurgy and dutifully passed it onto us for our enjoyment a few days later. If you're gigging, have a good one!

Additionally, a few times with the covers band we've been asked "what do you play?" - far easier just to hand them a sheet of paper than list verbally, and there's no way I'm handing a punter any electronic device of mine!

Yes, as well as passive/aggressive notes to myself like "MATT - TUNE BACK TO E FFS" after leaving it in Eb a few times and making the next song sound well fruity until I realised what I had done!

Yes, I do enjoy me some M4S action. The Grover Titans are similar but less elegant because they use visible mounting screws instead of built in pins on the underside.

I've pretty much shut off from new music. That maybe isn't the right thing for an alleged musician to do but there's been too much other nonsense going on in my brain for the last few years for me to take the time to sit and properly listen to some music unless I'm learning how to play it.

Beyond the £1500 threshold I already mentioned, the crushing guilt of what better use that money could have been put towards weighing on my mind would cancel out any joy I might derive from the bass in question.