Happy Jack

Personal recommendations are what I was hoping for. Additionally I've come across https://www.tilehousestudios.com/ which was Mike Oldfield's original studio and is now operated by his son Luke.

Sounds like another excellent choice but, as with Wickford, I fear that distance will kill that one for us.

That's looking lovelier in each photo. So was that flame always there and waiting to be revealed, or do you feel that you've 'created' it?

Alternatively, just sell all your basses and buy a Nord ...

This Bulgaria place ... midway between Derby and Grantham isn't it?

On my radar right from the start, and would be automatic first choice if Wickford were slightly closer to Harrow!

In the entirely hypothetical case of a Rockabilly 3-piece wanting to record a 4-song EP of originals next Easter, does The Basschat Massive (whoah ... that dates me a bit, doesn't it?) have any suggestions as to a suitable recording studio easily reached from NW London? Asking for a friend ...

Whoah! Serious Lazarus thread ... Downtown Freddy, the HCT part of the part number stands for Hofner Contemporary Series, which means built in China under licence (you probably say "license") from Hofner. I assume that the licensing system means that Hofner retain at least some input to the design & manufacturing, possibly even an element of supervision. Doesn't really matter these days, Chinese instruments are so well made generally.

I'm lucky enough to have owned P5s by people like Mike Lull (35" scale) and Alleva-Coppolo (34" scale), plus my custom-built Status Streamline has a P/J set instead of the usual soapbars. All of these high-end instruments work fine with the Low B. In truth, Al, the last time I played Uptown Funk it was on the Status and I ran it through a Valeton Dapper to get that distorted synth sound.

Ditto. My old Sabre sounded incredibly clean and - quite frankly - sterile, not at all like that growl he gets in the video. At the time I was very much a novice bass player, and I hated the fact that the Sabre was so clear that every little mistake, every piece of finger noise or fluffed fretting, was totally audible. I'm a slightly better player now, and I'd be fascinated to try the same bass again.

Amazed that this thread has reached p.2 without mentioning Hofners. A 500/1 Violin bass weighs less than 6lbs if German-made, less than 7lbs if a Far East model. For myself, I've found Mike Lull to be the Holy Grail of lightweight, high-quality basses, especially if (like me) you prefer a 35" scale in a fiver. If I played only 4-string basses then I'd never have moved on from my SGC Nanyo Bass Collection SB320.

You're making a lot of fuss about using a non-original strap pin ...

So you'd done three hours of rehearsal, three hours break, a one-hour set at full gig speed, and then your finger started to protest? Can't say as I blame it! If you find yourself under that sort of pressure again, try doing stretches more or less randomly through your breaks ... concentrate on the fingers but also work on the forearms, the upper arms, and the shoulders (in that sequence).

A very Merry Xmas from the Junkyard Dogs:

https://www.laurencedixonbassplace.com/ He's as far from Sussex as you can get whilst falling into your parameters. Parking's a beach. He's not cheap. On the other hand, he's pretty much the best ...

The quality of the repair work is matched only by the quality of the photography ...

Does he show you a Rogan Josh?

Cabin fever setting in early this year, Hooky?

I do understand mate, but my point remains ... in a world filled with surprisingly-good cheap basses, why would you choose to buy a not-very-good one? Reverting to my previous analogy, if I request a quote for - say - a new Will from three cheap, local lawyers, all else being equal I'm going to go with the lawyer whose quote isn't filled with typos and spelling errors. Which would you choose?

What could possibly go wrong? Ooooh, if only smartphones had been invented early enough for me to record some of the gigs & events I went to in the 70s and 80s where the band had clearly adopted that attitude. Mind you, that was also much the same period when people dissed Status Quo for being 3-chord merchants whose stuff could be played by any pub band. And By God did I have to sit through any number of demonstations of just how puzzle-headed those critics really were.

I like that Upton video ...

Baing short-changed by a guitarist is just something we all have to live with.

I always thought that a short 12-bar blues was an 11-bar blues. Sorry.

Lots of change ...