wishface

[quote name='BassBunny' timestamp='1469542168' post='3099202'] There's one F/S at this moment in the For Sale forum although it's a 5 String. They really are stupidly cheap for what you get. Fantastic build quality, Gotoh hardware and IMHO you won't get more bang for your buck than one of those. They do come up on eBay from time to time and also on Facebook selling forums. Don't confuse the Jap built SGC Nanyo's with the SX ones or the ones The Bass Centre are now selling, although these are pretty good according to The Great British Bass Lounge who also sell them. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/288203-sgc-nanyo-bass-collection-sb315-japan-1991/page__p__3094872__hl__bass%20collection__fromsearch__1#entry3094872"]http://basschat.co.u..._1#entry3094872[/url] [/quote]Thanks, but I'm not sure 5 strings are for me (mainly because of the cost of a set of strings - they're already dear enough for 4).

How is the Ibanez sr500 superior to the 300? I bet if i'd played them, I wouldn't notice much of a difference.

[quote name='pmjos' timestamp='1469538317' post='3099123'] Here is my take. In my time I have owned lots of different basses. The best one is the one you like playing and feel comfortable with. It doesn't matter at this stage if anyone on here thinks its good or its crap. Chances are that you aren't at a stage in your playing where the particular pro's or cons of a given instrument are going to be on your radar. You are on a journey and you just need the instrument for where you are now. Buying 2nd hand on here in a given range will get you an instrument which has depreciated and therefore if you don't get on with it you can just sell it and get another with negligible losses. You are not going to know what you like until you have lived with it for a while and many bass players compromise on one aspect or another of an instrument. It goes play ability over tone or the other way round usually. So look in here, see which of the instruments change hands regularly and for sensible money. These are your best bets. If you have hands like shovels neck width won't bother you but string spacing will if you have small hands then you will commonly favour a slimmer neck. Personally I don't think you will go far wrong with a Musicman Sub, a Mexican Fender J or if you can find one a Bass Collection. Yamaha and Peavy tend to be marmite, warwick can be overpriced for newish players. Get a Fender or an MM sub. If it doesn't work it will sell and quickly and you can try something else. Please don;t forget - what ever you buy get it set up - a set up makes all the difference. Wishing you all the best. [/quote]Thanks. In Mickleburgh (Bristol) the basses have a label attached saying it was setup. Surely that should be the norm otherwise noone trying an instrument is going to be able to form a decent opinion if the intonation's out and there's buzz everywhere. I don't think i'll bother with the Sub. I'd prefer the twin pickup style (whatever the pickups themselves are). I don't think i've seen a bass collection on sale anywhere apart from years ago at the Bass Centre in London

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1469538073' post='3099118'] Listening to demos is a start. But don't forget the sound you get also depends on the amp and the person playing. Your sound is as unique to you as your handwriting is. [/quote]Of course, but I can only use the amp they have in the shop at the time. I would hope they have a halfway decent amp setup

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1469522805' post='3098915'] I found the TRBX504 I had to be one of the blandest instruments I've ever owned. Very disappointing bass [/quote]i had a listen to some demo sounds on the THomann website and it sounds kinda flat. The 'rock' tone had some fuzz, but it was rather woolly

[quote name='progben' timestamp='1469519598' post='3098882'] I think if you do a bit of research and buy something used for £300, you'll get a pretty damn good bass. Whether that's the right bass for you is a different story and, as others have said, requires having played quite a few first. Personally I stick with Yamaha basses because that's what I'm comfortable using live and in the studio. They're very affordable and have excellent build quality, so I'd recommend looking at them. (I'm selling a TRBX304 for £150 over at the sell forum, and if you like active basses I don't think you'll find a better one for that money) [/quote]The choices in PMT are basically Ibanez or Yamaha or Squier, iirc. Was last in there on friday. I don't know what Yamaha products are comparable with the sr500. But that seems a good benchmark if I can find one second hand. TBH when it comes to tone I am fairly flexible. I have yet to try an instrument where I felt the sound was bad. There are some bass sounds I dont like: really thin trebly tones, or really flat tones. But everything you hear is likley processed anyway. I don't spend time listening to live bass sounds.

I think i might wait to see if a SR500 appears second hand.

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1469457067' post='3098423'] So did you try out those 2 instruments ? You didn't say that you did, and if so, what was your own opinion ? You are seeking peer confirmation when we could be equally unqualified, and would only relay our own preferences. p.s. SR500 is much better. [/quote] I was asked to comment on basses here. I haven't been to the shop yet, I don't live in Bristol. I went to their website and saw what they had in stock within my price range and had a look at what I could find. Those two seem to be the best choices, but the SR500 is nearly £500 so at present it's out of my price range. The opinion from googling seems to be in agreement that it's better, but it is more expensive. it looks like a decent instrument.

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1469442633' post='3098251'] I give up. [/quote]What's that supposed to mean? You posted saying go and try some instruments out and them ask. Now you want to throw your toys out the pram?

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1469440174' post='3098225'] You're asking us to make decisions for you. Learn yourself based on the feedback we've already given. PMT don't sell rubbish apart from ther Eastcoast (Stagg) range. Everything from there is fit for purpose [/quote]No i'm just pointing out that some issues don't show up in a few minutes playing.

What do we know about the Ibanez SR370 or SR500 series? I've heard the latter is better but the former is under £300 new.

Trying different bases isn't the issue. How do I know from just playing that the bass is going to be of good quality? I dustiest am off these instruments are playable, but that tells me nothing about the quality of the components. Will the intonation hold? Will the but fall off like my last bad when I changed strings? That's a reason that more pro musicians don't use this level of instrument. After all if they were great quality, why wouldn't they save the money from buying a brand name?

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1469395628' post='3098016'] It isn't as you don't have a clue what you actually want or what people are suggesting. Go to PMT and TRY things. Come back and tell us what you liked. P.s. ignore the name on the headstock [/quote] The name per se isn't the issue, but as a general indicator of quality. But the question is, will I find something better than what I have?

Perhaps I should wait until i'm in a more 'playing' situation, which I am currently not.

thanks for the replies. I'm going to have to decide if spending this money is worthwhile at this time

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1469375891' post='3097799'] This is why putting in the legwork and trying as many basses as you can is so important. You'll know when you've found the style of bass is right for you, then you look at what the options are within your budget. [/quote]That's what I did. It was the best, then, that I could afford and find. However that was then, this is now. Again: i don't want to just buy something that's going to be no better than the cheap bass I have right now. What would be the point. I want something that is good. If that is not possible, then fine.

I'm tempted to pop into PMT (whatanunfortunatename) tomorrow, but my problem, with all the stuff they have, is that I don't know how to make an informed choice. What i'm hearing about the sire v7 is very positive. But until i'd heard that stuff on here, it could have been in the shop and I'd be none the wiser, and that's the problem.

[quote name='timhiggins' timestamp='1469372976' post='3097774'] no... i think one of the way's they keep the prices down is by cutting out shops but if you get one delivered from Thomann and dont like it you can always get your money back [/quote]That's a shame, i'd rather try it before buying it. They sound promising but they might not be suitable

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1469372416' post='3097768'] PMT in bristol? They have a wall of Ibanez (about 20), a lot of yamaha, squier, fender, Sub, Musicman, Rickenbacker, washburn, epiphone as well as some of the no name brands. I can't think (or don't know of one) of another shop in that area that has a bigger range of basses. OK, its not like one of the actual bass shops like wunjo or the bass center, but there are none around there, or the big guys like andersons etc, but they are not close either. I agree, it is a lot of effort to get someone to help there, which is the reason it wouldn't be my first choice to get something there, but hard to match the choice. Kind of the opposite to Mansons above, they have a small range but very helpful. Obviously a lot of those brands are out of your budget at the moment, but the key thing is finding something you like first and then working out what you can afford second. [/quote]Yes, i was referring to the products within my price range. But of those I do not know which would be good. It would be great if they stocked this sire v7 as that sounds very promising. I've never had a problem with the staff, but i don't imagine they are going to be objective enough to address my concerns. They want to make a sale. I don't know any of the products in there.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1469358418' post='3097615'] Quality shows up in the wood, and build and hardware. Personally I don't think you'll find it in a cheap bass but if you can reconcile what you are happy with for the money you are able, or want to pay, then only you can answer that question. Revelation look OK for the money.. [/quote]Well that depends. Obviously a new Jazz would cost (according to the shops) over a grand. That's fine, if I can't afford it then so be it, but if i can find something that's good that's cheaper for some reason then all the better. That's all I'm asking. This Sire v7 thing sounds promising but i've never seen them on sale.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1469354909' post='3097567'] Oh I missed you already said about PMT. They have a good range in there, try to see what you like if you can. Never found them that friendly but have played a few in there. Would have bought a SRFF705 in there, but they only had the 6. [/quote] I don't know what that is. But they have a somewhat spartan range tbh and a lot of cheap basses, but i don't recognise the make apart from a squier and maybe a couple of yamahas, a 'stagg' and one of those SUB basses iirc. I didn't try anything at the time because i was absolutely exhausted walking around and didn't have the energy to pester a salesperson

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1469354407' post='3097558'] If you're not happy with the weight, then the neck and tuners are probably too heavy for the body - sell it. Dead-spots; most basses have spots that may not be as powerful as others. You can even have that on some more expensive basses. Intonation shouldn't move. If it's set right, it should be set for life, or at least the life of the strings - you could change the bridge to fix this. Varnished fingerboards are generally what you get with a maple board. No fingerboard should get very dirty though. It's best to wash your hands before you play. Access to the E-string at the dusty end - this is near impossible on a lot of basses. But playing up here is the sign of a sick mind and it's only put there by luthiers as a tormentation. Flappy E-string - I don't know if you've ever changed the strings. But cheap strings can give some interesting results. I even bought a cheap bass once that had 2 A strings - one was fitted as a D string, so the tension was really high - to make it go up a few notes. Maybe you've got a dodgy E string. Go play some basses. If PMT only have expensive basses, still play them. OK you won't buy, but who cares? They chose to put them up there. It's a choice they make. And by trying them you'll get a feel for what you would get at the top end. You never know you might find the result surprising. Maybe what you're cursing in a cheap instrument is still there in some top-end basses? Maybe you'll find other things you don't like? [/quote] The weight is an issue, but it's not the most important. I can cope with it, meaning if the ideal bnass for me was the same weight I'd cope. There's a dead spot on the 9th fret D string, the B doesn't sustain as long as it should. I'm not sure it's worth changing the bridge. I'd rather invest in a better instrument. I've tried intonating it myself and the E string saddle is as far back as it'll go and it really doesn't help. The rest of it is ok. i've changed the strings, i'm ok doing that. But it doesn't seem to make a difference. I don't know who Revelation are, but the instrument looks nice and is an obvious Jazz clone.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1469358418' post='3097615'] Quality shows up in the wood, and build and hardware. Personally I don't think you'll find it in a cheap bass but if you can reconcile what you are happy with for the money you are able, or want to pay, then only you can answer that question. Revelation look OK for the money.. [/quote]Define ok, though. That's my point. I want something that is objectively good, not just good-for-the-price. I thought the Revelation was ok and I don't regret buying it. But I find it uncomfortable. It feels too big and too small simultaneously, I can't dequately explain it.

[quote name='timhiggins' timestamp='1469354164' post='3097554'] I'm another sire v7 advocate nothing touches them for quality and available tones they are every bit the equal of my 1000 plus instruments and they will enable you to pursue whatever you choose to learn without restriction. [/quote]Is there a shop that sells them? I'd rather that than deal with ebay, frankly.

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1469350713' post='3097509'] could you get to Exeter? Mansons have quite a few basses you could try, and a good number of used ones too. [/quote]Not really I'm afraid. I don't live near the trains and they are so expensive now (almost 25 quid!). Bristol's about as far as I get.