dannybuoy

I haven't looked into those Dave, but have you considered the South East Bass Bash, 10th October? [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=56195"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=56195[/url]

If not: [url="http://www.diago.co.uk/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,30/category_id,3/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,206/"]http://www.diago.co.uk/component/page,shop...art/Itemid,206/[/url]

Or get the Yamaha BB415 on sale in these forums - the closest you can get to a 5-string Precision on the cheap, and has a Jazz pickup in the bridge also.

You need to get yourself to a shop and try them both out, it's the only way because you will get equal amounts of people on here telling you to go for a P as for a J. I say Precision - with flats!

There was a thread on Talkbass showing measurements that the head was pretty flat - I reckon it's the cabs that boost the lower mids. Which I also like!

I've just ordered the Fender 'Original' P-Bass pickup, which is the new name for their '62 re-issue, £60 on eBay. I've got a 2005 MIA that sounds a bit too polite, and I reckon this will give me the sound I'm looking for. Here's a Talkbass thread with a couple of clips comparing them to the Fender MIMs: [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=576039"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=576039[/url] I've waded through quite a few threads on this subject, and generally the most commone answers are these Fender ones, Seymour Duncan SPB-1 / Antiquity, Lindy Fralin, DiMarzio. There's also the Wizard pickups, the Trad is probably your best bet.

I used to have one, it can run on any basic 9v centre negative adaptor like the Boss one... as long as it supplies enough current, I'm not sure how many mA the SMMH draws. I ran mine of a Johnnyshredfreak 9v supply with daisy chain.

I saw these posted at Talkbass ages ago but IKEA didn't stock them in the UK. Now they do, and they are only £3: [url="http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/50058512"]http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/50058512[/url] [url="http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/50058507"]http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/50058507[/url] Paint it and stick velcro on it and you have yourself a dirt cheap Pedalrtain alternative! The one from the original TB thread had been modified to look like this:

Although they are waterproof, there is a hole in the top (or should be) for the handle, so a bit of water could still get in if it's a toerrential downpour. I have a black one with red piping which came with my 121P when I bought it second hand... I'm thinking of replacing it with a nicer looking black & yellow one though!

Not too sure on the differences between PUPs... The Wizard Thumper is supposedly loud, 'earthy' and 'dark', the Seymour Duncan 1/4lb is loud, more bass and treble and good for hard rock, the Fender will probably be a replica of the classic designs. I think Fender use 250k pots but you can use 500k for a brighter sound and some pickup manufacturers recommend one or the other. Oh and the 'Cosmos Black' is more of a dark smoky chrome than black if it makes any difference!

The Tascam and Pandora are both good, you can save mp3s on the Tascam, slow them down and filter out the bass, and it also has some basic fx. The Pandora has a line in for an iPod (set the iPod EQ To 'bass reducer' if playing along with it!) you can also record 30sec loops and slow down / transpose etc, plus it's a full fledged multi fx unit with great sounds in it. And you can thread your bass strap through the clip! For a cheaper no frills unit checkout the EA Earwig from the US. Personally, I use a DI Box and iPod into a Behringer Micromon with great results, I've also just got a Pandora PX4D for dirt cheap for use outside of the bedroom, but haven't gotten around to learning how to use it properly yet!

The pocket on my MIA Fender has a noticeable gap, yet my Squier VM is tighter than a very tight thing!

I've got a Gotoh 201 in Cosmo Black I was about to list if you want it (although chrome or gold might be a better bet for that bass) also a tort scratchplate (although not sure if it'll for the SX, it's off a Fender). Replacing the nut is easy enough to do, and may give you better tone on the open strings and make tuning smoother and easier. If the pots are cheap you may find that they go scratchy pretty quickly, so you will probably want to upgrade those down the line. While you're under there you could also solder in a new pickup like a Wizard Thumper or something!

Pedaltrain Jr / Mini etc is worth the cost I reckon. I got a Pedaltrain Jr with carry bag for £70 brand new (although they've gone up now), which is cheaper than most of my pedals. It's really light aluminium, and the design makes it really easy to route power and patch cables around. The Spider Engineering ones are great value - they are built like a tank, but they are just a flightcase with a plain old piece of plywood knocking about inside for your board. Worth getting if you don't mind the weight and need the extra protection they offer. +1 on the Johnnyshreadfreak power supplies though, best bang for buck going. No noise from my setup, and plenty of power to run most people's boards.