Ed_S

Passive, for most of the reasons others have said; less temptation to twiddle, the tone I want is 'just there', cheap and easy to service/repair/replace. I also like the 'cleaner' look of an instrument with just a couple of controls much more than clusters of knobs and switches all over. That said, most of my basses are actually active as that's the only way they come and I don't have a big enough problem with it to start ripping the preamps out. One I did rip out by necessity was a Rockbass where the preamp died. The active MEC pickups still need powering but sound great into passive VVT controls, and there was even a spare hole for a toggle switch to select one/other/both parts of the twin-jazz pickup in the bridge position, which gives a substantial difference in overall tone.

I used to have a Jake L4p+ (passive with P/H pickup config) that just had the default bridge and tuners as far as I could tell, and it weighed 3.31kg. No idea what the body wood was, unfortunately. At the same time, I also had a Sandberg SuperLight TM (active with J/H pickup config) that was designed to be as the name suggests, and was 3.02kg. If you spec all lightweight hardware, then perhaps between 3 and 3.3kg would be a reasonable expectation depending on the specific pieces of wood used.

My home jamming and quiet rehearsal amp is a Markbass Micromark 801 (50W 1x8) and I most recently used that to do living room rehearsal with considerately amplified acoustic guitar and keyboard, and two quite strident un-mic'd singers - it sounded great and had plenty of volume left to request. I used its 300W 1x12 big brother for the gig that followed just due to the size of the room, but years ago I used to do acoustic duo gigs that were coffee-house-ish in scale, and I reckon the 1x8 would even handle those just fine.

I put D'Addario XL nickel rounds on almost everything. I like Dunlop Super Brights as well, so I use those on my Warwick out of choice and my miKro out of necessity; XLs don't fit. I've tried various sets of flats, but all they do is make me ignore the bass they're fitted to until I eventually sell it.

I really shouldn't be - I've done 6 strings a couple of times now, and whilst I genuinely like them for the novelty and have no problem playing them, it's not a feature I really need so they eventually fall out of use when the novelty wears off and they get sold on. But at that price and with that nut width, yeah, I could easily be tempted to go round again.

It's not even as if they'd have to look too far to find one, given the Compressore is quite well regarded. I've had a CMD121P for a long time, with just a short break where I sold my first one, regretted it and bought a new one - with a nicer handle. Great combo for turn-up plug-in rock-out gigging, and I generally get the tone I want by leaving the EQ at noon and the filters turned off. Fits nicely with using the Micromark 801 as my living-room-rehearsal amp, since that has no EQ and only one filter to turn off in order to achieve the same sound but quieter. I do like my Markbass gear 🙂

Yup, they're my local, and they are indeed a friendly and knowledgeable bunch that I'd have no reservations in recommending. I noticed an email from them recently said they were having a clearance sale on some new gear to make room for even more second hand stock, so they really seem to be continuing to embrace that side of the market. Unsurprising when the margins on it are so much better for them and it looks to be flying out of the door as fast as it's heading in - certainly a few of the bits I've taken in were sold before I'd even left the shop, and the rest didn't take more than a few days to disappear.

If I'm out and about and see a music shop then I'll usually nip in for a brief look, but I won't waste their time or get their hopes up by trying things I've got no intention of buying from them, and I don't tend to buy token bits either. I don't even buy all that much from my local music shop, mainly because they've either binned or been binned by most of the brands I'd be interested in. What they've done instead is shift to buying and selling a lot of second hand gear; importantly without making the store look too much like a junk shop, and with good photographs and stock control online. It's working really well for them as a business, and it's allowed me to support them quite substantially by taking along my unnecessary impulse purchases and failed experiments to move on without having to deal with private selling.

Unless something stunning sneaks in before the end of the year, I think the best is going to be my Fazley Piranha 5. I’ve replaced all the hardware and electronics so it’s not quite as cheap as it started out, but it’s really light for a 5 string P-bass, the neck is remarkably comfortable and it sounds great with its new Delano pickup. Very pleased with how it’s turned out. I’m genuinely struggling to pick a worst as I’ve not bought all that much this year. Maybe the Ibanez miKro strings that were as harsh as tile saw blades and went in the bin as soon as replacements could be found.

Yeah, it's a tough one for sure. I'd like to think that some of a performance like that still lands with the audience and perhaps gets reflected on in favourable terms after the fact, but without question it can be dispiriting in the here-and-now when it's happening to you on stage. Because I was personally having fun playing with some different people in a style that I really enjoy but rarely get to take out, I was still fully invested in keeping the energy in the performance, even in the face of general apathy. If I get a call to do some more (hopefully in a more suitable venue with a more appreciative crowd and fewer pogo sticks) then we'll know it helped to sugar the pill.

Very rare dep gig for me on Saturday; a private birthday party at a village hall, playing a drummer-less acoustic-ish mix of covers and the band's originals. The audience seemed mostly disinterested, and somebody had brought along a pogo stick to entertain the children so the entire set was accompanied by a sound not dissimilar to an industrial stapler... sadly not in time with the music. In any case, I was happy with how I played and kinda enjoyed the novelty and general stupidity of the whole situation, plus I was ferried door to door and given a big block of chocolate as a thank you. One of their singers seemed quite keen to do some more acoustic stuff and said she'd be in touch, which would be fantastic if it actually happened as she's got a great voice.

Just in case anyone was fussed, this is how it turned out with the catchily-named Delano PC 5 AL/M2-AS and a guard that isn't made of resin-bound corned beef.

I went down the same track a couple of years ago, trying to figure out whether there was any stock lurking anywhere as it was on my own list of stuff to acquire. I remember playing a blue 5-string HH at Sounds Great Music in Cheadle (sadly closed now - I was trying a Markbass NY804 so this was 10 to 15 years ago) and it was amazingly comfortable to play. Sounded absolutely crisp through a Markbass F1 / NY804 as well, but sadly it was just too expensive on the day. Looking back it's one of a very short list of "I should have just bought that, irrespective" instruments; it may or may not have turned out as good long-term as I initially thought it was, but at least I'd have known for sure. I bought a Stingray Special when it became obvious that a new Sterling wasn't going to be attainable, and I completely agree - if they ever do it I'm certainly trying one!

I'm all for a backup bass if it's even slightly practical to take one, and a workhorse with as little to go wrong as possible if it's really not. If I'm only taking one then I'll favour something passive that I've wired myself so I know the components are quality and nothing's been bodged together.

I've got a Ray 5 Special, a Sandberg Cali Central 5, and used to have a Fender USA Pro Jazz 5. I don't have particularly small hands, but still found the Fender neck dimensions quite uncomfortable which is why I moved it on. The Sandberg is 35" scale so that changes the feel somewhat, but it's a slimmer nut and still a lot more comfortable than the Fender... though the way they do their fret ends doesn't really hit the spot for me. The Stingray sounds great (though the preamp does faintly pick up Radio 1) and the neck is very comfy, but it needs waxing every so often to keep the factory fresh feel. I've never played a Sire, and although I keep considering one (the P5R-5 specifically) I keep coming back to the fact that the neck dimensions look - on paper at least - to be quite Fender-inspired, and I know I'm not a fan of that. Of the basses you've shortlisted I'd go with the Stingray. I do own and like Ibanez SR 5s as suggested above, but I'd try one (including on a strap, not just sitting down) before investing, as they're overall a rather different proposition to handle if you're coming from a Fender Jazz.