Unfortunately both my main purchases this year have fallen short somewhat. First was a Squier Paranormal Jazz 54 in black with an anodised gold scratch plate. This is at least a fun bass to play - it definitely looks the part with its ‘54 P bass stylings and stacked pots - but it’s let down by some seriously underpowered pickups and noisy electronics,
Second, and even more disappointing, has been my hunt for a smaller, lighter amp to replace my TC Electronic Blacksmith. Ideally, I’d been looking for a Bergantino Forte HP but they’ve proven to be hard to source and probably on the wrong side of my budget ceiling. So instead I went for a GR Bass 1400Duo. Out of the box it just looked and felt cheap and the quality of the build left something to be desired. Plugging it in, I spent about 5 hours fiddling with the controls trying to get some decent tones out of it, but to no avail. The built-in tuner left a lot to be desired too! It was winging its way back to Bass Direct the very next day. I’ll keep trying to find a cheap Forte HP, but in the meantime my ever-reliable Blacksmith just keeps on delivering gig after gig.