Black Coffee

I dont have a real pet hate in basses, possibly a jealous dislike of stuff which costs more than i earn in six months. I dislike bassists whose opening line is -" oh youve only got a squire". Or other brand name less expensive than the dollar laden beast in their case. Oh, also cant understand the continuing fascination with warwick. IMO. Loadsa money for - eh something bland , in my experience.

Peavey grind bass - the mahogany one. Solid build and sounds just as i think a passive bass should. From a diatance the wood looks like a more expensive bass than it is. Also the BB 425 yammies are a steal, i love mine.

[quote name='EmmettC' timestamp='1457345440' post='2997473'] I have to admit I didn't like the Sadowsky I tried either, I'm holding out hope that I find one I like (and can afford) at some stage, but I tried a lot of Jazz fives and the Sandberg was the only one I really liked, the Marcus Miller was the nicest Fender and the Sadowsky felt like a Fender with a nicer preamp (and a bigger price tag). [/quote] Ive always wanted to try a sadowsky, i like the looks and finish in pics etc but i e never seen one in the flesh/wood - whatever. Sandberg nearly is too good to be true. Never played one but may in the near future pull the trigger on a secondhand one. Recently i bought a sire and loved the electrics, weight , finish but the fretboard radius was the undoing over time of what id hoped would be a happy partnership. Maybe we are too fickle with too much choice available and too much easy to borrow money to buy.

[quote name='EmmettC' timestamp='1457341940' post='2997427'] Add Sadowsky and Lull to that list for me, I can't seem to afford them, so I never end up with one. [/quote] I scraped across the line of affording a Mike Lull and of all the £1500+ basses ive played or owned the Lull was the shabbiest. I understand that for others its bass heaven, but i was really disappointed. Just IMHO. A good usa five string fender jazz i owned was the best passive fiver i ever played, the Lull was just - mmmhh :-( - cant really say i got the warm fuzzy feeling when playing it. Id like to believe id drool when playing a £5,000 fodera but i will likely never know this side of retirement.

Id like to try one, maybe some day and find out for sure if the hype is worth it. I've owned £3,000+ dingwalls and they are mutts nutts, but how much better is a £5,000 fodera bass over a £3,000 Dingwall bass - I dunno..... It's all in the satisfaction I suppose. My biggest gripe with expensive basses was the worry of somebody (or me) putting a ding in it and ruining the perfect finish. Shallow maybe. I dunno. My yamaha bb series is meeting my needs currently and I could replace it a dozen times before out pricing a good fodera.

I've never got on with fodera basses. I don't earn enough money to be able to afford one would be my biggest gripe. Alembic too.

Ric are having a bad day in this thread. I'm sadly gonna add to it and say I've had three separate rics and none worked for me. 2x4003's, one fretless and one fretted; also a 4004 in red finish. Love the look, love the sound when the bridge pup is wound down but the playing position just ain't comfy on the 4003 without U-bend surgery and the truss rod on the 4004 was pathetic in that it didn't do anything; quite ridiculous really for £1800 of bass. Might plough the ric field again some day but it's a while away yet. Also warwick thumb basses, the first fret top string feels as if I'm stretching too far to play it. Shame as they look pretty cool.

Sire 5 string is the best value for money in a long time. I loved the finish and sound of mine but the more I played it the less I was getting on with the radius of the fretboard. It's not a negative thing, it's just that it wasn't for me as I prefer a flatter fretboard. You could do worse than a yamaha BB series as a fiver.

I parted with my USA sub musicman 5 string and shouldn't have. Ballsy thick massive sounding bass and comfy to play. It knocked spots off every other MM I've played since, including a rather expensive 25th anniversary HSS. I didn't know how good it was till i parted with it to apparently upgrade. How much of a non upgrade the full SR wasn't was incredible. I know who owns it and it resides and plays about 8 miles from where I live. But I'm over it ---- honestly.

The Yamaha BB series are simply brilliant. I'm playing a 425x and can't fault it. Even if I dent the headstock against something I can't even get annoyed about it cuz they are so cheap. Played more expensive basses that didn't sound as good, and a year on from getting it I've not much interest in selling it. Enjoy.

What a guy. Awesome drummer and paved the double kick road with his own brand of mayhem.