tegs07

Indeed. I can solder. It’s functional but not pretty.

You would expect there to be some provenance or at least an attempt at a back story with this .. otherwise like you say it’s just a shite guitar with marker pen scribble on it.

All true. Most people could also do basic plumbing, electrics, PC support, painting and decorating, car service etc etc but they don’t!

You need some soldering skills and a modicum of understanding though.. not everyone has the time or confidence. I paid £70 odd for a Stinger 18 months ago. Reasonable price IMO for what it does and happy to support UK based companies/individuals and pay them a reasonable price for the work they do.

Now £125. This is my only problem with cheap basses... the law of diminishing returns means the pickups/electrics etc can never be swapped out without losing cash. A Stinger is around £80 delivered and a SUB pickup must have been at least £20

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114728058996 I know there are a few fans on here. Not the neatest job fitting the battery compartment but the Retrovibe stinger and Sub pickup would cost nearly the price of the bass and should sound pretty good for £135 delivered.

It’s an auction and there is still 2 days to go but still less than £700 with only 1 bid .... someone may get lucky: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224381148934

There is a a third camp. Tonewood is a generic name for wood used to make instruments. It may make a difference or not but it is still known as Tonewood. If ply is used to make an instrument it is Tonewood!

You are aware that you used the terms marketing and integrity in the same sentence? I’m with Bill Hicks when it comes to this.

That comes down to marketing piffle. It’s like wine and perfume.. they employ a team of people to flog the stuff. It doesn’t mean the technique and knowledge of the people making the product is diminished in any way.

I think the generic name is constantly being confused for the marketing of the product. It’s called tonewood like decking is called decking. I am open to the idea that all components of a bass, be it wood, nut material, bridge or strings will affect the way it sounds.. to what degree is another matter entirely.

Indeed. They are both tonewood.

Interesting... thanks will do some research on that.

Ply is fine as long as it’s treated ... it’s not particularly great for grain or repeat screw changes and can be a swine to get dents out of. Personally I would prefer Ash, Alder or Basswood (other tonewoods are available.. insert preference here) for a bass body regardless of the tone question. Edit: I have yet to find a bass that is 100% ply body. Usually they are a front and back ply over a frame of wood ... often multiple pieces of wood.

It’s even made of Tonewood though what flavour is hard to say being buried underneath all that tat.

My favourite bass is turdburst ... it even has a tort pick guard and an ashtray over the bridge. In its defence it is in keeping with the era it is from. Overall churning these out these days is akin to choosing platform shoes, psychedelic brown and purple carpets and Ford Cortina’s.

I guess this would also depend on the band and music played. If you’re creating something loud and raucous with a load of distortion, overdrive whatever would small factors like what wood the bass is made of have any impact? I think this topic is highly subjective, personally I don’t get the objection to the term Tonewood it’s like being cross about the words Decking or fencing because there are no boats or people with Collinders on their head. It’s just a collective name. Nor the idea that brands are try to fleece you. In my experience things are generally made with profit being a driving factor. If basses could be made of turds encased in plastic waste with no impact on sound then they would be.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224378368704 This could be part of a great bass build project. Any New Order fans out there? Edit: Rosewood fretted as well: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224383258953 There must be someone on basschat interested in recreating a Shergold Marathon surely? Lovely bass sadly out of business in the early 1990’s much loved by Peter Hook (6 string version) amongst others...

I’ve been guilty of this but that’s the curse/beauty of buying second hand on the internet. Curse because you don’t get to try and see if it works for you.. beauty as if you buy wisely you don’t really lose any money and in some cases maybe some cash,

Well my favourite bass cost either £28 or £38 can’t remember about 16 years ago. It’s one of my least favourite colours, has numerous dents and was made by Hondo about 40 years ago. It just sounds great and is a joy to play.

Don’t start that again...

Cheers some really good points... interesting re setup in particular as it’s such a personal thing only you can really get it right! I definitely need to dedicate more time to getting it right. Edit: I think I am floundering a bit as I have recently switched to a Jazz and am just working out what is right for me

Me too and largely due to Jimmy Cliff’s cover of Ruby Soho