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Anybody tried one yet ? - could be up for a 5-string as I used to have the old Streamer Standard with the ovangkol neck.

I know there are a lot of Kingbass owners out there on this forum and some seem to have several and some have visited Colchester to try things out - so could you all give me an impression of tonal differences between the various models available. Thinking of going for a fretless 5 or 6 string - the standard appeals as the bolt on neck construction should perhaps result in more mid range punch - which should be desirable in a fretless instrument. However - I am intrigued as to what an alder bodied black beauty or graphite capped alder (graphite) might sound like - does the alder body make much difference over more typical walnut ? I suppose the artist is tonally more even than the standard and with most modern amps, midrange punch could be dialled in - but you'd have the advantage of having more highs available if you wanted them. That's the way I see it but I'd like some thoughts too please ! A photo or two would be nice as well.... Cheers

.....at The Globe in Cardiff. Superb gig - some dubtastic bass as you might imagine. Great drummer ! Did a nice mix of Dub Side of the Moon, Radiodread and the Sgt Peppers Lonley Heart Dub Band discs as well as some of their own stuff - Audience were well up for it - took the band pleasantly by surprise I think. Anyone else seen them around the country ?

Correction needed on the "Couldn't Love You More" clip above guys - that's Alan Thomson - who played on the Well Kept Secret Album amongst others - his tone on "Never Let Me Go" is just heavenly - I know it's subjective - but that HAS to be one of the best fretless sounds out there. +1 for Mr Giblin to get back on track - I always liked his duet with Percy Jones - "Wal to Wal" - they always had a wicked sense of humour those Brand X guys..... Never flashy but extremely tasteful in what he plays, it's easy to see why he is still around and in demand. Last saw him playing with JM at Colston Hall in Bristol in 2007 - nice mix of electric and EUB. Good grief I miss John Martyn........

+1 to the DR strings - fantastic feel, very expressive and they last for ages. Can I play devils advocate and say have you tried a graphite neck ? Huge attack, great sustain - and with todays powerful eq - i.e., a Sadowsky pre - you can dial in warmth when required. Look no further than Status......... Hope you get on well with your maple fingerboard

Bought a Danelectro Dean On 58 Longhorn bass - arrived safe and sound and as described. I have no problem recommending him as a top bloke to deal with. Cheers Marco !

Keep an eye out for the Japanese sellers on e-bay as well as Ishibashi etc - I don't think they have a problem selling 2nd hand Fenders.

Percy Jones was a huge influence on his style/sound, which he readily admits to - in particular the Brian Eno album Another Green World album that PJ guested on Check out the track "Sky Saw" on a Streaming site like Grooveshark [url="http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/search/songs/?query=Brian%20eno"]http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/search/son...ery=Brian%20eno[/url]

Guitar Village are doing a black/maple Classic Stingray for £1559 which is the best price I've seen for a Classic in the UK [url="http://www.guitarvillage.co.uk/product-detail.asp?id=9467&catid=8&manid=245&quantity=1&product=Musicman+Classic+Sting+Ray+4,+Black,+New"]http://www.guitarvillage.co.uk/product-det...y+4,+Black,+New[/url]

Ah yes ! - wonderful album - first got it on vinyl in the early 80's ......(showing my age here, ahem) A CD reprint came out a few years ago but only really available in Japan - prefer the mix on the vinyl album. [url="http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/list_from_code_banner.html?key=367511"]http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/list_from_code_ba...html?key=367511[/url] Some other albums listed one of which is not available - don't think the other two albums featured Percy mind...... Always an innovator and just goes to show you can get good sounds out of a fretless Precision bass.

You could have a look at the new Warwick Rock Basses - here's one on e-bay (US only) [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WARWICK-ROCKBASS-FRETLESS-STREAMER-STD-4-STRING-BASS_W0QQitemZ300407232845QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item45f1aa994d#ht_11022wt_1146"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WARWICK-ROCKBASS-FRE...ht_11022wt_1146[/url] Don't know if they are out over here yet mind. You could also look out for a Warwick Streamer Standard - these had the ovankol necks of the more expensive basses (and a nice ebony fingerboard) but more simple body construction and passive MEC pickups. Had one for a few years and kind of regret selling it. Really nice tone. Should be able to pick one up second hand for £250-300 depending on condition. Worth a look !

+1 to the Status graphite neck - I have a P-Bass unlined fretless neck on a jazz bass of mine and it is the dogs danglies. I'd say it is a B-spec width rather than a big chunky C-spec - so not as traumatic for those coming from a Jazz bass. These guys are worth a try - [url="http://www.edenhaus.com/bass.htm"]http://www.edenhaus.com/bass.htm[/url] - got a nice ash Jazz bass body from them. Would seriously consider getting a body and neck from them to build a bass of my own too. You can always try E-bay. Finally - why not go see Mr Shuker on how to build a bass of your own - [url="http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/course.htm"]http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/course.htm[/url] - I could get seriously tempted !

With the US models the law of diminishing returns plays a big effect. The biggest difference is that a US BG will have graphite inserts in the neck - so added stiffness will be the upshot - you may expect a little bit more definition to notes - in particular above the 12th fret on the E and A strings. I had a US BG for a while and certainly noted that . The quality of woods used will be higher. A nice touch is maple dots for the rosewood necks and ebony dots for the maple necks. Other than that you are paying for body/headstock colours that do not come on the standard Skyline instruments. Pickups/electronics are the same (Lindy Fralin) although I dare say you could spec in Laklands own pickups at added cost if you wanted them. I believe a bit more attention to detail is put in to constructing the instrument and the set up as well.

Here's a P-Bass with a blocked/bound P-bass neck [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=13622&hl"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=13622&hl[/url]