Lw.

Firstly - sorry the purchase hasn't worked out, that's definitely a faulty amp though - you should 100% be returning it for a full refund. What's the reason for it needing to be a combo? Just the one hand carry aspect? I'm another Ampeg pf-50t user - for home/studio I use it with a single 1x12 & it sounds great, everything you'd want from a small 50w tube amp. So it should be possible for Fender to do too - my amp+cab will be a similar size to that Fender.

Are you specifically trying to save weight? Class-D amps are great for that but when using for a rock tone (ie slightly over-driven) I've found a lot of them just seem to add a fake fizz over the top of your tone then make that louder or quieter, they're not very dynamic. Orange are the archetypical pub rock bass amp & the terror bass is good. If you don't mind weight, I think their OB1 amps sounds really good. Darkglass, very much have the fake fizz thing going on. I've never seen anyone using a Blackstar bass amp so can't comment on those. Though the fact that no one seems to be using them probably tells something, maybe just that we bassists are very conservative (small c, not the evil C). I don't currently use any of the above btw. Best bet is going to some shops!

In all seriousness though - you're always going to get neck dive on thunderbird bass type shapes. I guess your choices are use a grippy strap or don't take your hand off the neck when playing open notes!

Great - see you in six months for another instalment of gas attack!

Anyone else have Thunderbird gas now?

I'd have the jazz if someone gave it to me, but the cost for a bass that would need instant modification (changing the wring so it has a tone control) if a bit rich for my blood. Not tried either though & have never seen them in the shops which is a shame.

What is the P lacking for you that makes you look for alternatives? I think all bassists should own [at least] a P and a J, so that is the obvious answer. After that... depends on the kind of rock you're talking about - Warwick's have incredible growl that can work very well when needing an aggressive tone but looks wise they might not work.

We all know what it's going to sound like clean anyway - it's a Fender parts bass. Imagine every other Fender PJ you've heard & you're there. By and large Fender signature models are aesthetic presets. I think this one is claiming different pick-ups and preamp? They'll be slight tweaks on what is already available on other Fender models at most - this is the whole ethos of Fender. Do you want a PJ? Do you think silver burst is better than 3TSB? Do you have 1.4k to burn? Three ticks and you've got yourself a new bass!

£60 delivered?! Surely you've got to have a threshold before an acquisition limit applies? £60 is like two rounds at the pub and you can't put limits on those. So this is just a free bass that you've kindly saved from who knows what miserable end!

Not many products sell worse at 1/3 to 1/2 of their retail 😉 1.4k for a Mex Fender does sounds like an awful lot of money though. Looks... ok. I don't really like the paint job or the bi-material pick-guard/control plate but it would probably be quite a useful bass to have if you played a lot of genres and needed to fit into different bands without looking too outrageous in any setting.

Sold a flat (in London?) to buy a bass. I applaud you - that is next level commitment to the gas! Nice bass though - definitely one to hold on to!

Just sounds like bridge pick-up & compression to me. I'd probably buy a compressor first over a drive pedal but a few of them (like the Tech21 stuff) can do both.

Always difficult on weight at that price point because the manufacturer's either go down the bolsa wood route or some kind of ash that has its own gravitational pull and you never know which way they've gone until it arrives! You could try calling/going through the peach guitars website - they often take photos of the weight of their stock so you're not buying blind. I'm not really across lbs but this one looks close on weight & price. These 40th anniversary ones are apparently pretty good - I fancy one myself but I've already got a jazz on order from somewhere else! https://www.peachguitars.com/squier-vintage-edition-40th-anniversary-jazz-bass-maple-satin-seafoam-green.htm

Looked very Tobias/MTD in the first pic but I think the headstock in the second pic goes against that. Headstock looks a bit Washburn-y?

That is a lot of money for some people but it looks like it hasn't been played, it's a real outlier so hard to say if that's outrageous or not. Have you seen a cleaner 70's Fender anywhere?

Much better I think. Interestingly the screws look like they sit more proud on your jazz than my precision with gold plate - different Fender factories but you'd think they would use the same screws, maybe the milling on the pick guard is to a different depth.

I really didn't used to like the look/idea of brushed alu pickguards but then I bought a bass with one on & it changed my mind instantly!

Yes that's the kind of tuner I meant. I must have a problem because I don't like them on the Harley Bentons that were released recently either!

I've gone off short scales recently but those do look pretty nice! I have no idea what the originals looked like so I don't know if they're close or not, feels a bit like the tuners would have looked nicer if they were vintage/clover style though?

I'll be honest - I still struggle to understand the difference between active pickups and active basses. That aside I read it as you want a high QC active jazz for around a grand - the first name that springs to mind is Sandberg. Have you considered them (I assume they're the wrong kind of active)?

Those old Warwick amps were great - the Tubepath models were the top of the Warwick range in the early 00's weren't they? I used to gig with a budget end "Sonic" series amp and it was super reliable for years (they just needed to not have one of the chassis screws in above where the fan was).

I don't think amps really pair with basses beyond whether you want vintage voicing vs modern. I completely get that you may want to upgrade though - those Rumbles are great for practice but at some point you're probably going to want more. I'd probably look at used separates for the best VFM upgrade. A nice 1x12 and a head voiced to your preference would be a good start.

Fair enough, it's not a perfect market. The collusion point is interesting as I can kind of see that it could be happening but then the UK vintage bass market doesn't seem big enough to be worth breaking the law for on price fixing - the financial incentive doesn't seem worth it to me, but then it maybe is for other people. I do just think that a lot of it is whilst some people have been struggling with cost of living etc... Many others have been absolutely raking it in so once something becomes a luxury item it then gets pulled into the cycle. I'm not so sure people are looking at them as investments, it's more of a people buying nice things because they can thing.

That isn't how supply and demand works, though your last part of the sentence may be true. If one person can pay 12k for a luxury item, but if everyone else can only pay say 6k, the price will settle around 6k unless the original person has another 12k going spare. Basses over about £500 are luxury items, people buy them because they want them not because they need them for work. If there are multiple examples of Wals selling for 12k then that's what they're worth right now. One listing doesn't really prove that though so it remains to be seen.

Never seen/heard that type of pick-up on a bass before, sounds nice (if very vintage-y) on that Empire Music video, I'm unsure what it would be like in a band situation though - let's see if anyone starts using them! Certainly looks pretty cool though. Not sure if it would kick a P or (standard) J out of the arsenal but if you wanted something different to those two whilst still feeling familiar in the hands then I don't see why not!