Ed_S

I think I'm now at the point where I could pretty much spec a bass to be built for me. I did it 10ish years ago and now realise that I didn't have a clue what I actually wanted other than a unique and perfect thing made just for me by somebody that everyone heaps praise onto for the flawless nature of their work. It didn't turn out that way, and I take part of the blame as I gave far too many answers that sounded like "I don't really know.. whatever is 'normal'.. I'll trust your experience". The rest of the blame was in the workmanship, but though that's mostly irrelevant here, I do wonder whether they cared less about the build since it was almost certainly not going to be what I wanted - given that I clearly didn't know. Anyway... P-shaped 5 string 3.8kg absolute maximum (lighter the better) Passive V/T 34" scale 12" board radius 45mm nut (65.5mm at the 12th) 18mm string spacing I'm still no good at describing back-of-neck profiles but I could hand one to a builder and say exactly "like this" - it's a P neck that's neither the thinnest nor thickest you've ever handled. So, I found a cheapy with most of the specs and modded it the rest of the way!

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.

I've just mostly finished a light modification job on a Fazley Sunset Series Piranha 5 in olympic white. Bought it as I was enjoying playing a Harley Benton Deluxe Series PJ-5 in hot-rod trans red that I did-up during lockdown, but I fancied something that was a pure P instead of a PJ simply for aesthetic reasons. Having done the same set of mods to each I'd say they're both great basses for their meagre asking price and as long as you're comfortable with some basic fret work (ends and polishing rather than levelling and crowning), shielding, and a bit of drill-and-dowel action where holes don't line up, they're fun to meddle with and result in a very playable instrument that you won't mind taking anywhere. The initial plan was to get a 3-ply parchment guard made, but the stock pickup (and hence the hole in the guard) is bigger than anything I can find on the market, so I need to decide whether I'm changing the pickup before I have a new guard made.

Nah, only charged me once. Don’t know whether or not they would have realised eventually, but right’s right so I just rang them and told them - asked for a return label to send one back. The post office isn’t far away, but for some reason the staff aren’t fond of boxes that size. 🙂

Well, I decided that for the sake of £165 I'd give the Fazley a try. Have to admit my first impression was mostly confusion that they'd sent two of them instead of just the one I ordered, but I took the opportunity to choose the one I wanted to keep - call it compensation for having to mess about sending the other back. One had a more interesting grain pattern in the neck and fingerboard, but also a few finish glitches. Most importantly, though, that one was a full half-kilo heavier than the other (4.3kg vs 3.8kg) so I've kept the light one with the boring neck, and will now set about bolting bits and pieces to it. All looks pretty decent for the price anyway, in the spirit of the thread.

I'm facing the same decision over the same cabs and am almost certainly jumping the other way. The short version is I already had a G2 Super12 and Midget, but then received a One10 as a gift, so bought another to go with it and took the pair to live at the rehearsal studio. Wrapped up in the excitement of new toys, I decided they were the best thing ever, so bought a Two10 to use for gigs. As the honeymoon period ended, I started to notice that I was forever messing around with my EQ and 'never seemed to be completely happy with my sound these days'. Out of interest I took my Midget along and instantly realised that whilst the 10s are undeniably great bits of engineering, they're just not what's best for me. I'm currently steeling myself to take a thumping loss on selling all the 10s and probably order a Super Compact for gigging. Whilst I know they're about as loud as each other, the Midget is coming across so much more authoritatively in the room than the pair of 10s that it's hard for me to accept it's not substantially louder.

My personal view is that HBs can be good fun for modifying provided you acknowledge that a £120 bass with £240 of parts added will still be worth £80 trade-in. Mine's a PJ and a 5 string, but still essentially a budget P-bass. Turned out really quite well now it's finished, and I play it a lot more than I expected to. Before (stock image) After (badly lit image) I really want a white one that's just a single P, and I keep looking at the Fazley equivalent and wondering whether to do it all again. I know I'd probably be miles better off just buying a Sire P5R-5 and leaving it alone, but that's not as interesting.

These are pearlescent but they never had gold hardware, and of course I’m a different Ed S - just a passing Ibanez owner adding my 2p to confuse things! 🙂

Looks to be one with just a small headstock ding at a shop in Germany if you fancy a shot at the dream and don't mind a player. I can confirm they're nice, though there's so much variation in the colour of the boards, you'd think mine were different models. Edit: just noticed they also say discolouration to the back of that b-stock. They do have a bit of yellow-ish-ness in them, so perhaps I have that to look forward to!

SR1105B in pearl white (PWM) finish, maybe?

As I quite liked the stock strings on my new Stingray I bought a couple of sets of the same regular slinky bass 5s from Amazon, but when I was fitting the first set I noticed that whenever I touched the strings there was an eggy, sulphurous smell coming from them. So many jokes, so little time. They didn't smell in and of themselves, but clearly the bit of sweat on my fingers was causing a reaction with something on the strings that shouldn't have been there. I tried the other pack and they were absolutely fine, so I contacted S&T and asked about the strange set. They confirmed that I was playing authentic, and although they seemed a little incredulous at what I was telling them, sent me a replacement pack which were also fine. I then bought another couple of sets from Thomann to pad out an order and get free shipping, one set of which has also turned out to be eggy. I couldn't be bothered with the back-and-forth over another set, so just binned them and won't bother buying any more.