Drax

Not sure I could hate any bass with a passion. No matter what the design it's still a bass..

Tbf OP - it’s a question we’ve all asked ourselves in some form over the years. Natural place to get to - the guitar industry is based on the dream that a new instrument will make us a new player. Spend what you like. - The new bass makes you happy, not a better player. - You’re the only person in the room that knows what bass you’re playing.

+1 for New Moon. All my gig gear, about £5K, includes being left in locked car. £45 annual..

Hi @Burns-bass Similar to you, have an hour or so most days, and work from home surrounded by my basses. Came back to upright last Jan after years away. Personal experience has been timing and general rhythmic technique (ghost notes, raking etc) has come more naturally from years on electric, but it's intonation that's the beast. Still a long way to go but some things that have really helped; 1) Videoing - both gigs and at home. Big, at times painful, gulf between 'real and feel' intonation! 2) Drone work against major and minor triads. Great tutorial here from Frode Berg. Every practice session starts with 10 mins of this.. Has helped hugely with both intonation and improvisation. 3) Modacity app. Use daily, been invaluable in structuring practice sessions and maximising what time I have. Had one 'in person' lesson to make sure technique was sound, but have since worked through some paid-for courses on DiscoverDoubleBass, some excellent content on there. Good luck with it all.

SLBs super rare second hand but will still cost you more than your current Thomann beater. SLB new is £3K+. Given how rare major accidents are - you’ll be totally fine just taking your Thomann upright with a fretless / P along as a spare.

Lots to be said for the power of a well resolved problem. You see the phenomena in new car sales, where owners with problems needing recalls rate the brand higher than owners who’ve had no issues at all. Gives the brand more opportunity to be nice you and make you feel valued. Fair play to GAK for having this policy. Wish more music retailers were this keen to fix courier errors.

My brother lives in same small town - along with Rusty Gough and Frank Bruno.. very Stella Street. Nick always up for a chat. His Steven Wilson lines consistently brilliant alongside godlike Marco Minneman.. Luminol is a belter

If you don’t desperately need the money - keep both. The Enfield rarer, plus not being made anymore, has high sellers remorse potential.

Of all the delivery firms UPS have been consistently the most unreliable both in delivering on time, but also in correct communication. Have you actually spoken with UPS yet on this. There’s a good chance this was never delivered at all, the wrong code inputted by driver, and it’s still somewhere in the UPS system.

OP - definitely go try some at Bass Direct, Bass Gallery - and fair chance you won’t end up buying a Sandberg. You’ll get diagnosed and told to ‘try this’ - often they’re spot on, or at least helps you articulate what you’re really after. Happened to all of us here at some stage, leaving a shop with completely different bass from what you walked in for.

OP surely you can’t get banned even from TB for saying Hartke are rubbish. TB is infamous for fan boy pile-on mentality, usually against anyone who dares question the sanctity of certain American made gear - but you can publicly slate stuff. Did it escalate into a row? Thread would be interesting.

Wandered past them a few times at Glastonbury long time ago but wanted to see them properly for years. Standing ticket for Wembley in a few wks, hoping train strike cancels..

Loved it. Nice to see electric bass backing the others - Mike Mondesir (Billy Cobham, Jeff Beck, Ginger Baker). Had lessons with him years back. Brother Mark on drums, killer players both of them.

On the OP - if it’s not the Beatles at no1 who would it be instead? The main problem here is these wretched click bait ‘Best ever’ lists.

Aren’t they all in funk, soul and ska bands? Generic covers bands need guitar solos