4000

This. It's so easy to be seduced by a good-looking instrument, but although that is important, it's not the be-all and end-all. And let's face it, you could never afford to buy every great looking bass you see. You'd be buying one every day! ;-)

Not keen on that actually. It looks neither one thing nor the other IMO.

I didn't like the fretted but really liked the fretless. Unfortunately I find the body uncomfortable (just me, I find most things uncomfortable these days) otherwise I'd have bought one.

Firstly, I thought you loved your Sei? The grass isn't always greener, and you may regret getting rid of it. Secondly, to counter many of the other opinions here, I've played several Shukers and haven't liked any of them. I don't mean haven't been blown away by, I mean actually haven't liked, although I'm aware that Jon will build most things so it's perfectly possible he could build something that I really like. On the other hand, I've had 5 Seis (I think it's 5) and have played loads more, and there are very few I haven't thought were really, really nice. Of course Martin will only generally build variations on existing models, but as you're looking at Js and already have one anyway, that's not an issue. If I had to choose between the 2 based on all the basses I've played, I'd choose Sei every time. Of course YMMV.

This is interesting. I've met him twice and both times he was anything but; very disappointing as I'm a huge Stanley fan. In fact of all the many celeb musicians I've met my experience with him was the worst, twice. Doesn't stop me digging his music though!

Tangerine Dream will always be my favourite electronic band. Saw them twice, or possibly 3 times, thinking about it. In a totally different vein, last live bands were First Aid Kit supported by The Staves, last week. Absolutely bloody brilliant.

I'll always be eternally jealous of him due to the fact that he dated Donna Fielding of Hot Gossip, who is quite possibly my all-time crush. I always loved Imperial Wizard, that was a great tune.

Probably a spare. Been there, done that. Met Tal after a Jeff Beck gig at the Apollo the other year. Not relevant to the thread, but she was absolutely gorgeous. I melted, and then some. And more relevant to the thread, she played really well at the gig. I love Tal, but I also think Me'Shell takes some beating. Great feel. I love Tina Weymouth's playing too.

Maybe this is the crux of the issue. I use a specific bass for its sound and the way it makes me play, I don't try to impose myself on it.

But - being serious for a moment - maybe your white P Bass sounds different to him. Maybe it sounds different, full stop (although we all hear things differently so what he hears might not be what you hear). Ignoring the issue of whether one make/model of instrument sounds different to another, in my experience, which I like to think is considerable, I've never even heard 2 instruments of the same make/model that sound absolutely identical when played side by side, although obviously this is dependent to some degree on how good your ears are. For instance I've had 17 or so Rics and everyone I've ever worked with - not just me - will tell you how different they've all sounded to each other. Would anyone say that someone when playing a Hammond has the same actual sound as when they're playing a piano, simply because it's the same person playing it? That someone playing a Strat, clean, has the same actual sound as when playing a Les Paul through a cranked Marshall, even when playing the same notes? The other thing is why do you need someone else to tell you whether an instrument sounds different or not if you can hear the difference? Whether they can hear it or not, if you can hear it, then so far as you're concerned it's different and that's all that matters.

I ask for opinions from people all the time, and even when I don't they often comment on the differences. The most telling was from a band member "I don't know why you keep bringing all these other basses to rehearsal because that one (my main Ric) sounds miles better than them all", and an equally telling "that Jazz sounds terrible, really thin and nasal". I've only ever once had a response "I can't tell the difference", and he's now deaf as a post. ;-) I tend to think that if you can't tell the difference then you're either not listening or you have cloth ears. ; -) Did I say I ignore the audience? No, I didn't. But I put myself first, because audience reaction is always arbitrary.

Actually, this touches on something that's very important to me, and seems less important to others. The overall sound that a band produces is very important to me; i.e. how the instrument sounds fit together to create the whole. I'll take Deep Purple as an example. I love the sound of Deep Purple mark 2 circa Made In Japan; John Lord, Roger's overdriven Ric, Ritchie's trademark guitar sound and Ian Paice's drumming. Now, move that on to the last incarnation and you've got similar enough keys, the same drummer, the same bassist, but it doesn't work remotely as well for me. Why? Because Ritchie's guitar sound and Roger's overdriven Ric sound are no longer there.The SOUND of the band is no longer the same. They could all play the same notes, but I just don't find the noise they're producing anywhere near as enjoyable. Chic are another example. Bernard's actual sound and how it fits into the sound of the band, just as much as the notes he plays, is one of the things I love about Chic. Use a different sound and for me the thing I love about the band may just fall apart.

1. Last week I was in the Gallery and I played a whole bunch of basses, as I always do. Other than my own bass, taken in for a minor repair, only one bass produced a sound that I could work with (a Nate Mendel P Bass, for those who are interested). If it was all in the fingers, that wouldn't have been the case at all. I do think that I don't impose a sound on an instrument though, maybe because I play very lightly. I also tend to play differently on different basses as their differing sonic footprints push me in different directions. There are many instruments that I would avoid for much of my playing for instance, simply because they have no real heft in the upper register. 2. I play for me first, audience second.

This.

Can't speak for the others but Martin is one of the nicest guys I know, period, and would/will be my luthier of choice for my next build, finances allowing.

I actually much preferred them - the first 3 albums at least - to most of the music they supposedly ripped off. I just loved their whole vibe.

One of my all-time favourite players, with one of my favourite sounds (or variations on it), on 3 of my favourite albums. I tried to get tickets on what turned out to be the last tour he did with Jamiroquai but they were restricted view so thought I’d catch them next time instead. Mistake!

I think all the ones I've seen recently have been wonky.

Seen them 4 times, every time they've been great, although the last gig at the Apollo was spoilt by an absolute bunch of drunken middle-aged pillocks who talked at great volume all the way through the show, in spite of numerous requests from audience members to please be quiet. Eventually one of them was ejected, but they carried on regardless. A lady who then stood up and gave an impassioned but very polite request to please stop spoiling it for everyone was physically threatened at the end of the show and had to call security. Unbelievable. Probably the worst concert experience I've had in nearly 40 years of gigs. Why do you pay £35 a ticket to simply spoil the show for everyone else? The Black Show at the Lowry was the best I've seen them, they were superb.

Lissie and the Travelling Band at Shepherd's Bush Empire. Stellar gig & my favourite contemporary voice by a mile.

Still happening. It put me off buying a British Racing Green one a while back, which was a dreadful shame. If I'd been offered a discount when I pointed it out I might have reconsidered, but I wasn't. It seems to be caused by pressure from the bridge.

He's said in various interviews that he never had flats on his Jazz as he didn't like them, but it does sound otherwise.