Dingus

This Fender Select Active Jazz basically looks to be an American Deluxe with a fancy maple top . Definately nothing special and with a very mediocre preamp , at best . I wouldn't neccesarilly be too put off by the Warmouth thing with the Sur - Warmouth make the bodies for quite a few other manufacturers from time to time - but for that kind of money there are plenty of other options , including the Sadowsky Metro you mention , or an American Standard Jazz with either an external preamp such as a Sadowsky or Aguilar ect , or a reto-fitted internal preamp such as the East J Retro , all of which will sound far superior to the preamp in the Fender Select bass .

It would be very interesting to see the figures for how many of these they actually sell over the course of the year . It would be interesting to see who bought them . The 2011 Precision Pro was eye -wateringly beautiful , 2012 was similaly hot . This doesn't even give us something to dream about . I've seen better looking basses in the Argos catalogue . Fact .

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1357827209' post='1929066'] That looks like a £90 children's starter bass. Who would pay up for that? [/quote] My thoughts exactly . It looks like one of the old Squier Bullet basses . Unbelievable .

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1357770269' post='1928285'] They seem nice and compliant mate, that may be the gauge though, but definitely lovely to play on my Streamer. Also, they last for ages and keep their zing. [/quote] Thanks for that .

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1357747868' post='1927752'] I use Warwick EMP 100-40. I love them, and I've tried many different brands and gauges. DR Black Beauties were my very favourite but I started getting problems with dead G strings. [/quote] Can I ask you what the tension is like on those Warwick strings ? I had some Warwick Black Label many years ago and from memory , they were pretty elastic compared to the Elites I used to use back then . I am looking for some strings that are more flexible for the given gauge than ordinary hex core strings but not quite as bendy as round core DRs .

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1357739191' post='1927515'] If you like Jazz basses (I don't, as it happens) the MTD Grendel is a staggering amount of bass for the money ... [/quote] Woman and excellent bass player Gail Ann Dorsey plays a five string one of these . Mike Tobias knows how to design a comfy bass .

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1357743655' post='1927639'] In all fairness, Nige, she's not actually touching the strings ... [/quote] That's a skill that a lot of women have . Mrs Dingus pulls my strings without laying a finger on me all the time .

No penis jokes here - I get those all the time from Mrs Dingus and come here for some refuge - but I you are looking for a bass that is female -friendly in terms of ergonomics a lot depends on your physique ie how tall you are , if you have long arms ect , and also what , if any , problems you are experiencing with whatever bass you are using now . The thing about basses with compact bodys is that they can end up feeling bigger than a traditional Fender design because of the relationship of the neck to the downsized body , and can end up feeling a little ungainly as a result .

Sorry to hear your earphones are on the blink Silddx , but not at all surprised . In my experience most headphones and earphones are prone to breaking in one way or another , and I am including some very expensive models in that too . I have extensive experience of several Sennheiser models , and I have always liked the sound of them but had several occasions where the robustness of the design ( or lack therof ) has been dissapointing . Firstly , are you aware that Sennheiser products have a two year warranty in the U.K ? If you still have any reasonable proof of purchase , including a credit card reciept or debit card transaction , that should be enough to get you a repacement set or in certain cases a warranty repair at the very least . Contact the retailer and if you don't get any joy speak to Sennheiser UK and let them know your repeat dissatisfaction . Personally , I would do that even if I couldn't find the reciept or if they were out of warranty . As you say , they ain't cheap , and any half decent company should get behind their products . Put them to the test . The headphones I rely on from day to day are Sennheisers , but by trial and error I managed to find a design from their range that is fairly bulletproof and they have , thankfully , lasted years with no problems at all so they can make them to last if they try ! If , as I suspect , we are talking about in-ear phones then I think most designs are fairly fragile , but in the world of full size headphones I have always found that other doyen of German headphone manufactures , Beyerdynamic , to be built to last far more than most other brands .

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1357646350' post='1925806'] Am I listening to a different song to the rest of you? To me it sounded dull and turgid, I was expecting the whole thing to come grinding to a halt at any moment. Confirms my belief that apart from a handful of songs Mr Bowie has not made any worthwhile contributions to popular music since the release of "Scary Monsters". [/quote] I would , sadly , have to agree with BRX on this one , although I would go one album later with my definition of Bowies golden era to Lets Dance . I really , really want to like this record , and it's pretty good for what it is , but David Bowie is a uniquely talented who and can do much better than this . I will reserve final judgement until I have heard the album , but if this is the first single then it doesn't neccesarilly auger well for a return to form for the great man . Such a shame if that is so , because he certainly has a great album left in him .

Sounds like a proper record that you would hear on the radio . Good luck with finding a deal in the New Year .

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1357583935' post='1924903'] agreed apart from the bit about shimming a neck. That's dead easy. My JV currently sports half a rail ticket from bargeddie to glasgow central [/quote] I think you'll find a ticket from to Inverness to Dundee will give you slightly more sustain .

I would echo what some others here have said about the Squier Classic Vibe Precisions . They are very nice basses by any standards , and if you find a good one then you got a very usable bass for sensible money that if you so desire you can always upgrade later with better pickups ect . . The Fiesta Red one looks particulaly nice to me .

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1357564625' post='1924481'] I help out part time at a bass dealer and I see all sorts of set ups arriving at the store from both dealers and customers. I tend to play with a lowish action but I see loads of customer basses with actions I find virtually unplayable. In fact something came in recently that had an adjustable height nut and bridge and both were jacked up really high. This was someone's main gigging bass and that's obviously how he likes his set up. I'm not saying that every bass should arrive with a high action but I can see some logic in sending things out that can be easily lowered rather than being cut very low and can't be raised. Obviously the ideal scenario would be for everything to arrive somewhere in the middle and then set up to customer preferences. It's just a shame that too many dealers don't have the time/inclination to bother setting their instruments up properly [/quote] +1 on this . There are plenty of players who like a more meaty action than most of us seem to do . To me , it's novel for about five minutes and then I wimp out and want it to play like I usually have it , which is fairly low but not choking Molan , forgive me if someone has mentioned t of this before , but considering you look a bit like Lembit Opik and you like Alembics , do you think there would be much mileage in starting to call yourself Alembic Opik ? Just a thought .

With Fender all things are possible . Some need a bit of work to get them to play nicely , some are great straight out of the box . There is a degree of pot luck in that , but it sounds like the o.p is savvy enough to know about things like nut height ect so can at least play some and try to find a good one . In any instance , it's unlikely that a Fender bass will be slick to play with the setup that came from the factory ; they usually need a bit of tweaking on this side of the Atlantic , and as Molan points out , a lot of dealers are just too lackadasical to do it . If you want a Fender style bass that is really slick to play I would agree with Bob that Lakland are well worth investigating . The small and narrow vintage - style frets also impart a different feel to the modern Fenders which might be more to your taste . Try one and see .

I don't know what the answer is - nobody does , that's why the music industry is in a state of panic - but the simple fact is that unless people pay for recorded music in one way or another the well is going to run dry when it comes to record companies signing and financing bands , new and already established . Even big -name acts are feeling the squeeze , and the amount of money circulatiing in the industry is decreasing year by year . I pay for downloads ect , and you still get massive amounts of music for very little money compared to the old days when you bought a record ect . If you're a music fan then things like subscription serveces are fantastic value for a very small amount of money .

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1357491593' post='1923431'] Our local shop is the same, women comes in for a recorder for her child, he takes two different ones from under the counter one is £7 one is £12, "whats the difference?" "£5". He thinks he is a legend when really she thinks he is a dick and will buy the next item from Thomanns online in future They have a used for sale notice board that has down the side- [b]S[/b]econd [b]H[/b]and [b]I[/b]nstruments [b]T[/b]o [b]E[/b]njoy OK so its a bit funny but you get the idea of what this shop is like, its the only one in a 10 mile radius though. [/quote] Sounds like the chap who owns it used to do cabaret at Butlins in the 1970s . Those jokes are worthy of it .

Just had a look at the prices and for genuine(ish) USA Fender it looks o.k , and if you want a slimmer neck then fine , but for around the same money you could get a Yamaha BB1024X and that will probably ( certainly ) blow one of these basses out of the water for sound , looks and build quality . But it wont sound like a Jazz bass . If that's what you want .

The bass will almost certainly have had Yamaha strings on it from the factory . .

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1357485648' post='1923242'] It's worth bearing in mind that I've played around 12 or more of the 08+ American Standards. I've got an 09' P and a 11' J. Both of them are great, no doubt about that. What it also really shows is that some of them are STILL dogs, as at one point I want 2 Js, and 2 Ps, (with different boards). I gave up because I couldn't find decent ones. I'm still trying to find a good 12' P bass, no matter what colour etc it is. I haven't played the American Special series yet. [/quote] Finding a good one of anything Fender is the other part of the equation . Imagine what the World would be like if you could order a Fender and have a reasonable expectation that it would fit together and work properly . It seems hard to envisage but who knows , one day it might become a reality . You may say I'm a dreamer , but I'm not the only one .

Unless you think you will get a lot of milage out of the Greasbucket tone circuit ( I wouldn't ) and think the Am St basses have got too chunky a neck ( it's bigger than some Jazz necks but that isn't neccesarily a bad thing to a lot of folks probably ) I would still pay the extra to get an Am St , unless these were a [i]lot [/i]cheaper .

What is it with women and this "more wood " business ?

I saw Stuart up close soundchecking on the first big Jamiroquai tour in 93 and he was indeed using a Trace setup . Couldn't tell you the model exactly , but I remember it was a head from the current range at that time that had the TE logo moulded into it , probably the 350 or 500 watt one , and I think he had a 4x10 + 1 x15 setup . He was playing his Warwick Steamer Stage 1 and for one number in the set he used a pink Musicman Stingray .

Precisions can have such a knarly , clunky sound that , funnily enough , a lot of less expensive examples can end up sounding great in the final mix , especially with flats . Sounds like you have hit on a winning combination . Good for you Sir !

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1357328065' post='1921240'] Loads of the good ones have already been mentioned , but George Murray and Dennis Davis are big favourites of mine that deserve some kudos. [/quote] This is why http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IJsAuUgSgc