Lfalex v1.1

Nice work there, but I feel compelled to add this...

I'm not sure what capabilities playing through a PC allows (playing along with music etc), but maybe a potential future purchase might be a dedicated headphone amplifier or a multi-effects unit with an aux input. I frequently use a small headphone unit. It's small, battery powered has reasonable onboard effects and I can play music from my phone's SD card /youtube/ Spotify. Means I can take it anywhere. And play during power cuts!

2 pickup Westone rail... awesome. I guess you'd need 2 original ones and remove the pickup module from one and fit it to the other... Or fabricate (3d print?) A second. Not sure how you'd wire the pair. Y cable into a home-brew blend..

Good start you've made there. Nice bass and a decent, functional tuner. Playing through (good/proper) headphones can be helpful- you'll definitely hear any mistakes you make, and it means you can play on even when everyone else has gone to bed! Just don't play too loudly for too long- Take care of your hearing. It'll be a culture shock when you plug into an amp. They're more forgiving and less clear than headphones, ultimately more flattering to your instrument and your playing.

I've always wondered how good Hickory might be for necks. It's stiff and tough. Might be hard to work, though. If it's good enough for heavy tool handles, it ought to be good for necks.

Vigier used brass inserts in the s3 instruments (presumably in the 1,2 &4 also) for the strap buttons to screw into. I don't know if they're screws or bolts- mine are as tight now as 25 years ago so I've never touched them.. I don't know what's holding the bridge down, though. It's a through-neck, so no need to good the neck on with fixings.

These work okay for me. Not much wood apart from Maple necks and Rosewood boards 😉

This is a tough one. In my previous life as a hifi geek, I spent many a happy hour trying (often succesfully) to rigidly couple whatever speakers I was using to stands or plinths (dependent on their being stand-mounts or floor standers) The aim was to hold the cabinets as rigidly as possible in position such that only the drivers were moving and to "mechanically earth" the enclosures- trying to stop them storing energy. You need to do the opposite! @Woodwind is barking up the right tree, methinks; deadening the room surfaces- particularly the floor if you've people beneath you will help. Heavy rugs? Wall hangings? Something absorbent under the speakers and stands as others have suggested. And, just maybe, swap the Early Megadeth for Pachelbel's canon in D major? 😉

It's not so much the learning of the covers as agreeing with the rest of the band whose interpretation is best/most l likely to work/most accurate. AKA: Why I've always played in originals bands with no covers in their sets. I do, however, learn to play other bands' songs for my own entertainment. I endeavour to get as close to the original as humanly possible. *except for that bit in "Crime of the Century" (Supertramp) after the middle 8 where it's uncertain whether the first bass note is meant to be on the off-beat or not. Tony Levin puts it squarely there on a cover version, so that's how I play it. Maybe this is why I can't play in covers bands! 🤣

That's what happens when you have an accomplished Jazz drummer playing in a metal band...

£1804 + Tax... Not too bad, considering it's MIJ. And I like the matching headstock.

Nice. Not dissimilar to the (also Fender) Stu Hamm Urge/Urge II in terms of concept. I like well thought-out and developed hot-rodded versions of otherwise less interesting instruments; Yamaha Attitude Fender Roscoe Beck (as previously mentioned) Some of the Hotrod Deluxe and Elite precisions

Saving? 🤣

Yep. I used to bridge a QSC PLX 1202 into various 8ohm Trace Cabinets, some with a power rating much lower than the 600Wrms that the amp could supply into that load. All survived. And yes, the headroom and sheer control that extra power gives really is something.

Interesting point. Certainly, looking at the idea again from a fresh perspective, I'd probably qualify it slightly differently. If we accept that the pickups/electronics are one of the biggest contributors to the overall sound of the bass, then it would be wasteful to equip or design an instrument with other features to enhance the sound and NOT use pickups that would be transparent enough to bring that to the fore. Conversely, it might be overkill to spec features that might subtly improve the sound only for them to be smothered by a pickup that can't do then justice. Finding the right combination of materials, design, features and construction with the right electronics and ergonomics would be a real delight. I fear, however, that we're heading in the direction of some of Plato's philosophy, which would contend that such perfection is unattainable! Nothing's perfect, I guess.

Ain't no-one doing that right now...

Did it have a little hinged flip-out panel on the lower edge? They do the trick. Steinbergers and Hohners have them, too.

Looks like the linkages to the drum heads are springs? Presumably they store and release energy from the bowing, giving a sound not unlike a spring reverb, I guess. Not certain. Just surmising.

That's really nice. Back from the (almost) dead.

I never used my MXR M80 in anger (live or in rehearsal) but I didn't like the tone of the thing so I sold it on. I preferred the Hartke VXL Bassattack, but sold that, too. Still have a B3, as it has the onboard FX etc. Haven't used that live either, though. As jrixn1 said, you won't gain anything from running the signal Bass >> B3 >> MXR DI >> Desk. Not only are you suffering both ADC and DAC, but are then lengthening/ complicating the signal path further by adding the MXR. The only benefit is if you like the MXR's sound/controls/distortion over and above anything the B3 offers or any other distortion/od pedals you may have.

Hence my original question!

Thanks, Phil. I'll clarify further. It's primarily for domestic use, but may need to be pressed into action for rehearsals and even gigs. Invariably for me, if/when that does happen, Animal will probably be on the drums, so some proper power/ headroom is certainly desirable. I've never yet been in a band that has had its own PA, and I don't expect that to change. Not because we've been "lazy" per se, but more because we've been playing venues that have a house PA. Space at home is not infinite, but I've lived with mid sized amps before (300w head, 2x10, 4x10 & 1x15) Shopping list is kind of; Transparent. Capable of dealing with various instruments. Enough power to deal with loud gigs but still clear enough at domestic levels Size? Not too great an issue. Cost? If it meets the above and is durable, I'm willing to pay for it!

The AERs look like a compact, tidy, one-box solution, but they look expensive for the performance on offer. I'd need to try one first, I think. The mixer/ powered speaker combination works out cheaper and is more flexible, but it's less tidy and I've reservations about the tone. Maybe I shouldn't be so bothered; I currently play through a Korg Pandora/decent headphones, so that's pretty clean, especially without amp sims running.

MoonbaseAlpha beat me to it. Maybe a change of bridge or a change to a bass with such a bridge that allows adjustable string spacing. I seem to have 3 basses that have adjustable spacing; Warwicks and a Vigier with a Kahler bridge.

That Sivcak is nice. But it'd be even better if they made the block inlays match the scratchplate... Does any manufacturer even do that? (Except as a happy coincidence)