4000

This, as I've also said previously. We should sticky the last line.

This. The earlier basses (like mine) had an aluminium baseplate to the treble pickup which meant this wasn't required.

I suspect there's definitely more at play with yours; I've had over 15 Rics and adding/subtracting the cover hasn't made one jot of difference either way. FWIW when I do have them on a Ric I rest my picking hand on there, which is actually how I learnt to play. Given that Chris Squire rested his hand in the same way (albeit his pickup was an actual horseshoe) I'd hardly call it a talent stopper; he's my all-time favourite player.

I believe he has a nerve condition, IIRC. He addresses it in one of his videos. Met Scott many years ago when he was at Overwater. Really nice bloke. Did a great setup on the Jaydee I bought too.

The one I quite liked was a Wooten Yin Yang Deluxe IIRC. It was in the Gallery, what, maybe 10 years ago? Ironically I seem to remember I was buying the Sei Melt at the time.

I felt your post came across as mine obviously has to you, hence the tone of my response. Ah, the joys of the internet. FWIW I've played probably half a dozen or so Fodera's. I did quite like one, although I wouldn't have paid anything for it, but the others I really thought were the Emperor's New Clothes. There was nothing whatsoever about them that spoke to me. But as I note in my other posts, the entire issue of what is or isn't good is always entirely subjective IMO. If you like them and they work for you, buy them. I think the best advice I could ever give to someone wondering what bass to buy is, ignore what anyone else thinks and buy what works for you, whatever it is. Although my caveat regarding variances in individual instruments still applies.

Ok, I thought they were awful instruments. I thought the sounds totally uninspiring, didn't like how they felt and thought the woodworking pretty average for this day and age, certainly at the price point. Does that help? Is that specific enough? I never said everyone else would think so, as you may have gathered if you bothered to read my subsequent posts. And no, you didn't use a car analogy. But strangely enough, that was replying to the thread generally and to the people who had, not just your post. Lighten up. Now, back to surfing grandmothers...

Congrats, always nice to reconnect with what should have been a "keeper".

The area where I think a musical instrument should excel - sound - wasn't satisfied. Of course a lot of that is down to personal preference; that is entirely the point. For what it's worth, the problem with defining what makes a good musical instrument is that it's only good if it inspires art. Which means everyone could have different criteria. Whether it goes faster or not (to use the car analogy) is entirely irrelevant. Although if we are going to use car analogies, a Lamborghini might be better than a Citroen at going fast, but it's not better at carrying lots of people. Apply that to bass as you like.

You can believe what you like. You can ask any studio engineer I've worked with about my ears and before you ask, yes, I've been told by most musicians I've met that I can play quite well actually, if not as well as I could before injuries started catching up with me. You seem to be labouring under the misapprehension that more expensive woods and electronics automatically make a better musical instrument. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. How many basses have you played? I've played thousands. Literally thousands, and hundreds of high-end basses. I've owned several custom built basses by Sei and Alembic and have owned Wals, Jaydees, early Warwicks, Statuses (Statii?), Spectors, all sorts of things. Of course none of that makes me the last word in bass knowledge and I wouldn't claim to be, but it certainly helps my perspective. And in my experience, a good musical instrument can come in at any price point - as can a bad one. It's also worth considering that what you consider a good musical instrument might not be what someone else considers a good musical instrument. And please let's not infer that anyone who doesn't think that high-end is always better is likely in some way inferior or incompetent as a musician, because we all know that's a load of hogwash.

In 37 years I’ve played a good number of expensive instruments that are “dead” and a good number of cheap basses that are “alive”. And of course vice versa; it’s down to the individual instrument. Although it’s the zombie basses you really need to watch out for.

Sorry, but some of the least musical basses I’ve ever played have been very expensive with complex tonewoods etc. All of the Foderas I’ve played bar one I thought were, quite frankly, awful. Same goes for all the F Basses I’ve played. And Sadowskys too, for what it’s worth. I wouldn’t have given tuppence for any of them. And I certainly don’t have cloth ears.

'Fast pick work' is exactly why I prefer nothing greater than 17mm spacing.

If you did sell your Wal (and think long and hard) it should pay for a custom Sei Bass, or an ACG, Everson (2 Eversons!) or maybe a GB (forgive me if I've forgotten anyone), even if it won't pay for a Custom Wal. And if my experience is anything to go by, you may find you like the new bass better, or at least as much. Although, of course, you may not.

And yet I've found that for me a passive bass (cheap or otherwise) is often better at dealing with nuances and intricacies than an expensive active bass (of which I've had many), which is one of the reasons I seldom use expensive (or otherwise) active basses these days. Obviously there will be instances where a Squier won't do the job though, for instance where you don't have enough strings.

And yet neither of my Wals, particularly the Custom, turned out to be as effective in a band situation as my old Squier. FWIW, I don't have any of these anymore.

Yes, and have done many times, with a Korean P. To be honest it was generally more succesful in a band situation than most of the high-end actives I’ve used.

Colin Bass of Camel replaced his Wal - played for many years - with a P Bass. Sounds like a reasonable choice.

There are 2 things that keep me going in life. My cat, which I realise won’t be forever - losing her is also the thing I’m most terrified of, along with losing my mum - and my music. I often don’t enjoy playing live but unfortunately it’s a necessary evil, so I have to work through it and hope for those brief moments that are pleasurable. The joy for me is really in the writing, rehearsing and recording.

If only this was the case. Sadly, for those of us with mental health problems, it isn’t.

I suffer very badly with nerves. I’ve been playing for 37 years and gig regularly and it seldom goes away. Doesn’t matter how rehearsed I am; I can know the material back to front and inside out and it makes not one jot of difference (and I’ve always written all the bass lines too!). I used to deal with it by having a couple of drinks, but several years ago gave that up except for the odd gig. I have PTSD and suffer very badly with anxiety and depression which I’m on medication for (and I’m currently undergoing my 2nd solid year of therapy) which I’m sure factor in a great deal. Often it’s pretty paralysing.

Fondling.