Sean

Nooooo. Don't! We'd have to do a 50 page thread on recutting brass nuts!

I’m sure Gary will chime in soon but, yes. The Desert Island is what I think is "Ian HIll", my Peacock is the more standard “meaty” carve. The CRFM I’ve got is skinnier than the IH (but not Doug-like, more like the Tobacco Kramer) and I’ve got a 2018 LX EX (Zebra) that is like a baseball bat. Fortunately, I get on with most profiles unless they're super skinny or ridiculously big. I don’t think I’d get on with a DW.

Another thing... The black hardware with that purple… Uffff! 🤠

Yesterday at the bash we @cetera had a fascinating geek-out comparing a pair of recent 2024-25 Euros, Gary’s "Desert Island” with the maple board vs my “Peacock” with the ebony board. Both Japan Exclusives. Very different carve necks, slightly different nut widths, EMG vs EMGx, Spector tuners vs Gotoh Resolite on the "Desert Island”. Both shipped with the DG. Agreed on the Euros. The small batch or special run Euros can be awesome. Not that the “catalogue” ones aren’t amazing 😉

There's so much to say about yesterday's bash. Sorry, my phone died so I've got no photos of my own. A big thanks to @Mike Brooksfor hosting the talks with Matt from Monty's and also with Chris Childs. Really insightful and lots learned. FYI, the Monty's basses/pickups were played through a GK Legacy 800 with a more or less flat setting going into an LFSys Monaco. The first P bass (the Retro Wind) and the 4th (the green J) were absolutely stunning for me. One of the big insights for me from yesterday was the subtle differences between basses that are "the same". Andy's Hamer Chapparal B12L has some subtle differences to mine and feels a bit different on the strap. The big eye-openers came from comparing Spectors. Even Euro LX models from the same year have differences in neck carve, tuners, pickups and nut width, let alone all the cosmetic and wood choice differences. Phil's speaker comparison was insightful again. The acoustics of the venue made it a different experience to what it was in Taunton four weeks ago. It certainly made a mockery of a comment I heard recently where a chap who was looking at my LFSys Monaco said, "I wouldn't get on with that, I only like 10s".

I got home 40m ago. What a fabulous day out. I'll post some proper comments tomorrow but for now, a huge thanks to Paul, Paul and Gary for pulling it together and also to everyone who went and made it such a great experience.

You are teetering on the brink of owning a Spector... I've got 3 Jap BBs but nothing does the PJ magic like a Spector.

Very classy indeed. I'm a huge fan of limited edition Euros and these are absolutely gorgeous. The capability of NBE in producing such stunning basses is very impressive. I'll have two with me tomorrow. Another incoming. Well played, @cetera @Paulhauser, lovely stuff.

Yamaha is a benchmark for me. I’ve got three Japanese ones here. They’re all top tier tools for the job they’re designed for. The black BB2024x I‘ve had since new is very special, it’s one of those instruments that just has “that magic”. I must say I was disappointed when Michael Anthony ran off to Schecter.

The Hamer got gigged last night. Two songs. It’s a 3-piece (guitar, 12-string bass, drums) and was unrehearsed, we’d never played with the drummer before but he learned the songs for the night (Budokan versions, obvs 🤓) . The guitarist is a friend I’ve played with for years but this was the first time we’d been on a stage together for a long time. This was also the first time I’ve played without a rig. I used my HX Stomp with bi-amping patches DI’d to FoH and we just had sound through the fold-backs on stage. Not once did it feel weird, in fact I didn’t even think about it, which was a revelation. The guitar is going through the big Hotone Ampero II Stage modelling unit with DI to FoH too. This has to be my favourite bass ever, it’s an absolute weapon of a thing. I Want You to Want Me - [email protected] Surrender - [email protected]

Can you show us a pic of the neck to see the inlays please?

Hmmm. Interesting. That's lovely flame. I'll measure my E5LX tomorrow. This dimension that directly affects the geometery and playability of a bass is something rarely discussed (if ever).

PM sent.

Brilliant, thank you Paul. I was getting the 1979 LE mixed up with a JJ config. It’s the 2JA-R that I’m fancying.

Macca had a BB1200 IIRC.