martthebass

Your mates bass was most likely a US EBMM Sterling. Smaller body than the Ray; the single H is equipped with ceramic pup rather than alnico and can be switched single, parallel or series. The neck is jazz width and the headstock is shorter than a Ray. I still have mine after my recent culling and prefer them to Rays - love the neck and aggressive tone in series. Sterling by Musicman are non US produced Ray clones, good quality, think MIM Fender or better. Sterling SUB are lower ended Far East produced Ray clones.

To be honest I don’t mind either way. I loved the dark unmarked ebony board on my now departed Stingray but it wouldn’t have been a deal breaker if it had had dots. I do like easy to see dots on a darkened stage though, I’ve got Leds on my Status purely for those venues where I know I’ve had trouble in the past.

Loved the early New Order stuff.

Strangely enough I’ve never got on with P basses in a live setting, I always tended to lose it in the mix. I find the Mustang cuts through a little better for me with my set up.

There’s about a finger space of wiggle room on the body so it’s not a flush fit but it doesn’t slap about inside the case either.

It’s snug length wise but it doesn’t need to be forced in. I’ve had one my Mustangs stored in one for months without issue.

There's a few threads running at the minute regarding the JMJ and the Squier CV which should give you some idea of the differences. I've got a JMJ and an Indonesian Mikey Way Sig - so different ends of the spend spectrum. There are differences, pup, neck profile, body wood etc, so it's worth checking the differences before you buy. I use both of mine and like them both for different reasons, the JMJ is the better bass but the MWS is used on most gigs because of the looks. If you want the standard pickup config, the CV looks a good bang for the buck, in fact if I could sneak one in under the wife's nose I'd have one. The MIM Vintera model might be an option for you, as roughly a JMJ but without the JMJ pup and relicing. In terms of MIJ look to the used market, I've had one and it was very nice but not as nice as the JMJ IMHO.

Welcome Steve, push on with it mate. If you find the shapes a bit trying due to your arthritis have a think about a shortscale 30" bass like a Mustang. I play both 34" and 30" but I'll admit that the 30" is getting more fun as my hands get older.

Important question this, wish I had a good answer. I have a couple of shortscale Mustangs. I have one strung with D'addario rounds, these are fairly low tension on the Mustang and it seems to suit finger style better. On my JMJ Mustang it has the stock fender flats and the tension is higher so you dig in better if using a pick.

Oooh, I like the look of that, might do it to my JMJ.

Welcome back to the fold

I use this one for my Mustangs when I need a hard case rather than the gig bags. A tight fit but works just fine.

In terms of a 4 string set, the Fender 9050L set that is standard on the JMJ Mustang come in at about £27, I’ve been pretty impressed with these and suspect they’ll last for years. As the Squier CV is also string through body the long scale strings are spot on.

U2 aren’t really my thing but as I see it he does what is required. IMHO that’s the best place to be.

I think, having discovered it had a 4pc body, I would have put some paint back on it....

To be honest, the only mod I’ve felt the need to make to mine is adding the bezel and that’s only because I’m primarily a finger style player. The pups sound fine on mine and once I’d set the intonation, neck relief and string height I’ve not needed to touch anything for 8 years. I can see the limitations in the design but I wouldn’t say things have to be changed any more than you have to change the bbot on a Fender.

Ok you win, put me down for 3 bars

No, I'm not familiar with the Tech21, If I ever get back to a sensible level of gigging I'll put it on the list. Sorry regarding your bafflement, as I have already stated the comment I made was not intended as a direct response, my reference to big valve rigs was more an historical call back to the number of times people have previously ' educated me' on the absolute necessity of a Ampeg stack with a Rickenbacker. Pedal wise I keep it minimal, I rarely need much modification above the MXR DI+ which gets employed for dirtier requirements - I generally find this isn't needed with the 4003 and MB set up though.

Sorry....might have to remove this post as it may be seen as a Supplier scaring the masses into buying a product that they do not need.

Firstly, no, I didn't read the bit about what rig you were using. Secondly, my comment wasn't a direct 'affront' to your set up....if you've taken it that way it wasn't my intention. Generally I don't consider 'hybrids to be 'proper' valve amps. Lets just agree our views differ and we both have our own way of achieving musical nirvana.

Back in the olden days when I was a fledgling bassist I spent more time changing, biasing, fiddling with valves on old 70s valve tops than I now consider reasonable - hence my comment. The number of gigs where I ended up swearing at the amp was enough to make me appreciate my later days with Trace Elliot (despite the weight). If I ever get down to one bass I'll give the 'accommodation' suggestion a go, but I'm not holding my breath. And to be honest, I'd very much doubt my last bass would be the Rick, I do love it but it has too many idiosyncrasies to be a Swiss army knife. Again YMMV.

I found my 4003 worked fine with MarkBass once I'd moved over to 12" cabs from 15". There's no way I'd be persuaded to move over to huge 8x10" and flakey valve rigs to accommodate one bass.

I nearly went down that route with Dane to sort my 4004 but when the offer of a straight trade for a 2010 4003 came up I decided to go that way. To be fair, the bass did sound more open through the new owners rig (the bass sounded boxed in using my MarkBass set up) but I was more than happy with the swap.

The 4004 comes in a couple of flavours, I had a 4004cii. To be honest I was a bit disappointed, the sound was that dark that it seemed to squeeze much of the Rickenbacker sound out of the thing. It also felt a bit cheap considering the price. If you fancy one I’d strongly suggest trying one first, also the early 4004s have a very wide neck which isn’t for everyone, mine being a 2013 was the same profile as the current 4003.

I'd certainly agree with you on your last point on visibility/theft....it's the only bass I've ever used on a gig where someone has tried to nick it between sets.