Cairobill

Laurence is brilliant - he used to take very good care of my Bryant at a very reasonable price when I lived in the area.

I have Kevsy's old one (a Studio passive) and it is a lot more DB-like than the Yamaha SLB-200 I used to own. Sounds better too. Interesting EUBs!

I've owned virtually all the bass 'varieties' in my time (except for a Warwick) and the XL design is the closest to perfect (as long as you can handle the look aha ha ha) as I've ever experienced. Ultramodernism in action! One caveat is that I owned one which had a neck bow which was a bit of disaster. One expert assumed it had been left in a hot car which had given it a warp. They can apparently be heat-treated to reset the carbon weave and solve the issue but the bass didn't have the famed straight neck and lovely low, buzz free, action. My next XL2 (now owned by Roger on the board) was just a beauty and I miss it. Would be nice to see Steinberger crack a cost effective moulding process and pop the cute little dub machines out at a reasonable price.

Having owned a couple of mid-eighties XLs (one of them a lovely transitional) I would buy one if it was in the same realm quality wise. Any links to this info? I've owned a couple of Zons and they were just a bit light on the low end and had a glassiness to their tone that didn't really win me over. Steinberger XLs just sound incredibly good and have no problems in the trouser flapping department whatsoever Haven't played a status for many years but my experience with them was that they were super bright (and glassy) tone wise. At the time I wanted the crazy low action and zingy sound to accommodate major thumb abuse so they were definitely aimed at a particular era of bass fashion. I would love one though! Especially an all grey early model with the weave finish.

Yup - saw them as a nipper at the Herne Hill Half Moon in '87. Blew the roof off the venue and covered everyone in flour. Intense (and intensely strange) epic-ness. Such a shame what happened. Brilliant musician!

I would go for a Stingray classic with a maple board (as long as it's not a heavy one). Just a dream live and they sound incredible in the studio with old round wounds. Just the right amount of edge and endless thump. They tend to go for between 1 and 1.3K so you'll have change. I honestly don't think I would spend any more for a different model even if I could. I've used standard US Stingrays in the past and not got on with them. The three band version was always a struggle against 'clickiness'. 2 band preamps are my preferred option but I just find the necks feel uncomfortable. The classic neck (with the 7.25 inch radius) sits in the hand beautifully.