NickD

He told us he got £24 . 12 quid was standard rate, but he doubled because he played the upright part too.

He's one funky old Dude. We we're lucky enough to have him come play and talk at the South East Bass Bash a few years ago... complete with that very Tuba (that he played in the RAF band IIRC), along with the Jazz and the Upright Bass that he played on Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side!

Hey, if it's good enough for the legendary Herbie Flowers!

This is getting complicated.... Have you considered a Tuba?

Honestly, we're terrible! There's Lozz expounding the qualities of the Jazz while clearly playing a Precision in his profile pic, while I'm banging the drum for Precisions, while playing a Jazz style in my profile pic! 🤣

So do we start on Flatwounds vs Roundwounds yet? 🤣

I'm not sure the Sire would cause any confusion really. It's always nice to have something to mess around with tonally, and chances are you'd just end up leaving things set flat to start with anyway, then the extra options would be handy further down the line. It's definitely the most tonally flexible of the 2.

Don't read too much into it. It's just the case that growing up, most of my favourite players favoured the Precision (with the odd notable exception), so in my head it became established that it's how a bass should sound. Further down the line, you may develop your own preference for certain tones. Honestly, I don't think it's crazy important at this stage. Just buy something that's decent quality (pretty much everything mentioned in this thread), that you like the look, of and that makes you want to play... then get on with learning. Eventually you'll know what you like in a more understanding way.

🤣 There's a time for both, but it's always the P Bass I reach for if I'm leaving the house. To be serious for a moment though, back when I had more 'standard' Ps and Js, I always found that to get a good sound out of a Jazz (and yes, it was a good sound), I needed both pickups and the tone full on, and for the Precision, both volume and tone full on, so the flexibility element (unless you're going for the Jaco thing) wasn't a thing. They both IMO have one good core sound, I think it just comes down to which you like most. Same with the Stingray, one good core sound. Any variation comes from technique.

^^^This^^^ There are pros to both.... The Jazz has more flexibility, in that you can choose between an awful nasal bridge pickup that sounds nothing like a bass, or a nondescript, bland neck pickup sound that sounds a bit like a bass (underwater). Additionally due to the single coils, by adjusting the balance between them you can create a wonderful annoying background hum. The Precision is less flexible, but looks cooler, is cooler, and sounds like a bass should. 🤣

I think that every bass mentioned so far in this thread is of similar quality, it's just a matter of how you want to sound and how you want it to look. Another thing to consider is weight and ergonomics, depending on your build and strength. A set with a bass that's too heavy is a pain in the ar5e for anyone. The Ibanez, with their smaller, more sculpted body and slim neck tend to be much lighter and sound every bit as good as the alternatives in this price bracket. My partner bought the Fender Jazz she'd always fancied, but with it's large slabby body, heavier neck and big headstock, it didn't take her long to realise that she was much happier with the SR300 that she had all along. Given that a large percentage of how you sound comes from your fingers, you will always sound better on an instrument that you find comfortable to play, regardless of body woods, pickups, electronics, etc.

Maruszyzck do a combination of 17, 18 and 19 on many stock models, obviously you can specify either on customs.

A big +1 for this. I don't often watch anything more than once but this set on Youtube with his Dad, and Gene Coye on drums is beautiful His tone and taste, with a foot in the traditional and a foot in the modern day, is brilliant.

It's probably worth asking about spec, as there's a lot of variations. My L5A is a flame top on alder with a maple board, but there are many alternatives. Similarly mine has Haussels and a Delano Pre, but I've seen then with Delano, Bass Culture, and Maruszcyczk pickups, and Glockenklang preamps. Value wise they start around £1600 new over here, so comparing that might be something to consider. I'd guess that the re-sale value on a Marcus Miller will probably be better in comparison. From a playing perspective, it's a beautiful bass to play. Really light, a beautiful easy neck, perfectly balanced and very well put together (be aware that the truss rod works in the opposite direction to fenders though). Tonally it's got a great range from the pickup/pre combination and sounds great. My Jake has the Delanos, which I really love too, although people on this thread speak very highly of the Maruszcyczk pickups.

Gold hardware, and weirdly 2 over 3 headstocks (fivers obviously). I don't mind any other configuration, just not that one.

Pretty much anything by Abba. Also, the thread below this at the time of typing... Guy Pratt's line in Jimmy Nail's Ain't No Doubt is a beacon of light in a sea of crap.

Obviously this is the bit where everyone suggests the route they went down. So here goes...😂 I bought a Steinberg UR22, which came bundled with Cubase AI. Eventually I upgraded to Cubase Elements because they kept sending me offers, but recording electronic drums (from a Roland kit and from the bundled sample kits), bass and guitars mostly, I probably didn't need to. I went this way because I used to use Cubase on an old Atari ST in the old days, and found it really easy to use. Given I'm only demoing, I use headphones. I find them better for detail as monitors usually need turning up a bit before becoming as detailed as I would like (except for really posh ones), and I record a lot in the evenings and quite like my neighbours. Another thing I find really useful is my cheap midi controller keyboard. https://www.google.com/shopping/product/14922210166529891434?q=midi+controller+keyboard&prds=epd:8252396933300905010,local:1,prmr:2&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiy8YCRo7joAhVkzoUKHcmrDuwQ2SsIDA#online The keyboard came bundled with Presonus Studio One... which I tried and hated! But USB into my laptop, I find it really useful for playing the Cubase drumkits into the DAW. Plus I could use it for any of the other bundled VSTs should I ever fancy it. I'm pretty certain most interfaces come with a bundled DAW, and they're probably all good though.

Obviously I'm biased... But my Jake.

I've often sat for half an hour mesmerised by this one (when it gets going)... The way it develops as the song goes on blows me away. And I've loved this one from the moment I heard it....

I saw Big Country a few years ago, with Derek Forbes playing bass... They played Waterfront (well they would), and gesturing to Forbes, the singer introduced it as 'the greatest note he ever wrote'.

I booked a pickup and drop-off for today via Interparcel last night, and all seems fine.

Since it arrived just over 3 years ago, unless I have any specific requirement for a high C, this is the one I always reach for whether for a rehearsal, gig, or just messing about. There's just something about it that makes me play, or lets me play, the way I want to.

My Helix isn't a fan of my laptops power supply. Helix into my interface into the computer and there a background combination of whining/hum and rhythmic static. Playing around, I found that if I unplugged the laptop everything went quiet again. I've been using the same setup for years with an 8 pedal board running off a T-Rex Fuel Tank Classic with not a whisper. There's a lot of cabling in my music room and it took me a while to figure it out, but it seems to be just that one item... Obviously I'm a bit buggered if there's just one item that it doesn't like in a venue's setup.😌

With some fortunate timing I picked up a Helix just before all this crap kicked off, and these strange circumstances at least give me plenty of time to figure out whether it gets sold on after this has calmed down, or the pedalboard is dismantled and moved on instead. Our studio date this weekend has been pulled, which is frustrating, as we're down to vocals, reamping and finishing touches, but on the bright side my partner is my drummer, so the next album might get written and demo'd before we're allowed out again. 😂