HeadlessBassist

Just home from another near 400 mile round trip to Felixstowe today, with the Live Tribute Show at the Spa Pavillion Theatre. Fantastic gig with a full house. Maybe the nice weather/Easter holiday brings them all out? Used the American Performer Mustang for the first set tonight. It punches well above it's diminutive weight. Consider me impressed. The start of the second act saw the Buddy Holly tribute's guitar cable die, but luckily I had a spare cheap lead plugged into a Pitch Black Tuner on a table in the wings, so he only ended up missing half of the Everly's "Cathy's Clown". Thursday was the Lowther Pavillion Studio in Lytham St.Annes near Liverpool. Another full house and another 2am return home. Thankfully some down time now for a couple of weeks, while I wait for my 85 year old Father to be discharged from hospital after a Stoma operation early last week.

That's very nice. Has the Bass Centre version got the active preamp and the EMGs like the real Betsy?

This. Exactly.

I have a set of Thomastik Jazz Flats ready to go which were on my previous Am.Pro Precision for about half an hour. I can't use them live, as my sound just disappears, but they're always ready to go on my main Jazz if a session requires them.

I only really regret selling one bass many years ago, which I'm sure will crop up again. More recently I had to financially give up my Fender Am.Elite Dimension bass which I loved, and was sad to let go of when I was buying my KingBass Mk-II. As for other basses that I haven't minded letting go, there have been a few recently - A 2004 American Deluxe Jazz in Butterscotch Blonde which was just surplus to the two Jazzes I actually need around, an early Aerodyne Jazz (too middy sounding), an Ibanez SR1400 and a curious Player Series Mustang which just sounded like a normal 'plinky' P&J and nothing at all like a Mustang.

Yes, Jams can often be 'Cliquey'. We run one on a Sunday afternoon with a separate sound guy who generally keeps things in check. As the two professional musicians running it, we get off the stage as quickly as possible and spend the rest of the afternoon backing everyone else. Annoyances over the years? Yes, there's sometimes a player who turns up without an instrument - we've got a house bass, guitar, drums and keys for those eventualities. In the previous incarnation of the Jam, there was one annoying bloke who would always turn up empty handed and expected to play my bass, and didn't seem to understand that it was a professional instrument set up for me and no, he wasn't welcome to play it. You do tend to get the local blues/classic rock mob who insist on turning all the backline up and think that 109dB is perfectly acceptable, but you just turn them down again. Generally we aim to be very welcoming and supportive, always encouraging others getting up to play and backing others where needed.

Sounds good - was that the one on Barton Street? Was Mark there from A.Remus Sound?

Hi Mark, if no one else answers, I could do something next week, by all means, as I'm only 40 mins away - Unfortunately I'm down with my 85 year old Father in hospital this week, and two long distance gigs on Thursday and Saturday. But do let me know if I can help as of Sunday/Monday. What's the bass, btw?

That looks like a fantastic project. What does the CV Maple Jazz sound like as a HS? Loving the control plate too.

After not buying any basses for a couple of years, and only one last year, I seem to be making up for lost time in 2025... First, we have the penultimate Status KingBass Mk-II, completed in 2019 with green wrap-around LEDs, followed by a late model all graphite 2021 Status Stealth 2, then a 2023 Fender American Performer Mustang which I can't stop playing at the moment, and finally the back-up to my main Fender American Original 60s Jazz, a 2012 FSR Limited Edition Hand Stained Ash Am.Std Jazz, courtesy of @SkinnyMan on here.

I think we all have different sounds/instruments for various situations. I'm mainly a Jazz Bass player these days, due to mainly playing 50's/60's in a touring live tribute show, but I still love to get the Status basses out and playing in the world whenever I can. It's basically horses for courses. Hopefully they will be out a lot in another forthcoming tribute project, but I definitely wouldn't be without them. It's my sound.

The only "issue" I've had with the standard pickups/preamp in the Space 5 is a general lack of output. I'm used to very powerful pre's and the Space 5 seems to have about the same output as a passive Jazz bass. This is, of course no problem when you give the amp some extra input gain. It is a very polite sounding bass, but also capable of sounding very full and gritty. You need to run just a slither of extra treble and a gobful of bass to make the Mark Bass pre sing. I like the Bartolinis personally. They are a very smooth sounding pickup, and you hear more transmission from the body and fingerboard than the preamp. I prefer this, as when you hear too much preamp, things can get harsh very quickly. Simply put, the Space 5 is a nice instrument that needs some EQ-ing. It's not a nice sounding instrument when run flat, and you do have to spend some time dialing in your sound. Having heard mine played live by others, I can report it's a great sounding bass.

Thanks - yes, I've really grown very fond of it. I hesitated for a while, as I had one of the Custom Shop designed Rascals about ten years ago and it didn't fit, which put me off short scales, but the Mustang has that just right feeling. And as Nick Campbell Destroys said in the promo video for Guitar Center, it really does sound like an angry Jazz bass when everything is dimed. Happy Mustang-ing!

That's really nice. Congrats! Has it got the same Japanese split coil with the reverse thread height adjustment screws as the Mexican/American ones? I bought a used American Performer Mustang a couple of weeks ago and love it. It's a perfect tonic to play as house bass player at a Sunday jam I do after a long distance Saturday tribute show with a Jazz strapped to me for two hours.

I'm liking the extra large volume control

I'm going to give my usual recommendation for VFM five stringers - Cort Artisan Space Bass 5. You can get a really nice used one for around £500. There's nothing better for the money. FishFaceFour has a Cort Artisan B5 in a lovely red stain for sale on these hallowed pages, which uses the same Bartolini Pickups and MarkBass preamp for about £400. Good luck with your search!

From the bass player front... Victor Wowten. Marcus Muller. (Has a sideline in Yogurt.) Tal Walkenfeld. James Jamersin. Nick Dampbell Destroys. Suzi Quattro (Audi Lawsuit edition.) John Bentwistle. Gay Brown. Vino Palladino. (Major drinking problem.) Bootsy Callins (runs a part time radio talk show.) Will Lie. Hadrien Fraud.

Thanks Dave. Yes, it seems to be a regular occurrence for me these days. Lytham St Annes on Thursday and Felixstowe on Saturday this week.

Lovely return to the Exchange Theatre at Sturminster Newton down in deepest Dorset. Drove past Stonehenge. 200 mile trip back home and in bed for 4am. Awesome three tribute act gig and audience was a full house. Played as house bass player today at a local Nottingham Jam while practically dead on my feet. Currently eating Cherry Pie and Custard before I predictably fall asleep in an armchair.

Very, very nice. Nitro finish (the most important part), I presume?

Congratulations Looks amazing. Hope you enjoy playing the heck out of it!

Agreed. Being aware of different places you can place your right hand opens up a world of possibilities.

Yes, that rear humbucker on Blu's signature bass does sound huge - very much like a parallel Stingray. I've been wanting to try one of those Jazzes for a while, not that the blue sparkle/mirror finish is really me. 🫣

Delilah works best if you do the verses in 3/4 and the chorus in 4/4 as a Quo style shuffle.