Dood

I had a Matsumoku made Aria Pro II from '76 with a SEN Japanese Ash body like the Blade basses - yes, very much like Northern Ash; Dense, heavy and, whether or not folk believe that the body wood makes a difference to tone, this one definitely sounded like it felt! More likely to be used for recording purposes, but I do have some super wide bass straps that should releive a little of the 'heft' that I use wil my 70's P.. another Ash "boat anchor"!

Because I’m a sucker for a 70’s shape F headstock 😬. That said, the B-3 Custom on the blade website with the maple fretboard looks delicious.

Levinson Blade have appeared on my radar (again)! You’ll may already know that I love my Fender Power Jazz Bass Special basses. I love the Jazz neck, 22 frets, deep cutaways and superb PJ tone when given the EMG treatment. I’ve always fancied a Jazz equivalent of my PJ’s but never really fancied the idea of routing out one of my beautiful PJBS’s. So, I’m certainly intrigued by the Blade B3 / B4 (old version mainly) as it seems it could almost be a close cousin of Fender Japan’s exceptional handy work!

I'd video reviewed the original Session combo about ten years ago and more recently the newer Mk3 30W version. I think as a little practice amplifer it's a cracking unit. Of course, it has a small speaker so don't expect window rattling low end, but it has a nice rounded tone - and didn't sound boxy in my studio. The Mk3 also has a bluetooth input, handy for jamming along to your mobile device's music selection or a practice app like Guitar Pro. I'd appreciate a like, share and a positive comment on my video *as a reviewer I am allowed to say what I want, no one sanitises my produce before it is released.

Hey Barabas (and all) thank you for being patient! For a few reasons we've experienced a lil delay in getting reviews out, but I can confirm that I have submitted my full review and my edited (and produced) video to the magazine! The review includes both the Monaco and Silverstone II so you can compare the two! I can see them both having their place in a wide range of situations and they easily deliver the sort of sound that I demand behind me.

The basses look really good and Nate's video is a good demo of the tones. My immediate thought as soon as I saw these models is that the leg rest cut-out is quite a long way back toward the bridge and, with a 'full size' headstock, it will neck-dive.

I do!

Well, there’ll be a cuppa, bass natter and mebbe some biscuits awaiting when you do!

I am @thebrig, just been away doing Christmas stuff and being ill. Will shoot you a message when I am free. There’s shed loads of bands in the county, lots of busy function bands and plenty of pub bands too. There are a good few different venues in and around the county, but most will squeeze ten-years-ago pub pay out of their takings for entertainment, though there are a few that genuinely do their best to look after bands in the county. I teach bass (and guitar) here and yup, there’s one or two of us bassists in the town. I haven’t been out in the town for a while for, well, reasons, so I can’t comment on which of the pubs are still doing bands, but of the pubs we do have, they are nice, good food and generally, not too much trouble even when the Wymondham Massiffff are out.

Thank you for the extra information re: relicing. I’d be after the sort for aging that makes the finish go satin like some of the (nitro I guess) finishes.

Yep, I had the GV bass, super nice to play!

In answer to the OP, Here's Ned Steinberger's latest: https://thinkns.com/instrument/ns-design-fin-electric-bass-guitar/

let's give it a 14mm string spacing, a "coffee table" top, ramp, slap slot, kaoss pad, 27.54v electronics, exotic tonewood combination mixed with plastic and ten control knobs - we might just manage to upset every "bassist" 😂

Thank you Gary for a trouble free and smooth transaction! Item arrived so well packed and in original box too! Great comms and super quick to respond! Cheers!

Oh, nearly forgot to mention, the NG2's aggressive tone is great for low tuning, even if you don't go specifcally for a "Nolly" tone. Coincidentally, my own pickup choices aren't a million miles away from Nolly's to gain the same results. Bite when needed but enough "punch" in the low end without becoming pillowy and unstable.