project_c

I agree that the headstock is 100% hideous. I think it was a size consideration, because they wanted it to fit new regulations for travelling with instruments. But I'm not sure if designing an instrument, and then just slicing a bit of it off counts as a particularly elegant design solution. Still - a short scale 5 string headless single cut which sounds this good is a pretty amazing thing. Anyone seen the price tag? $11,650 means waiting until someone with a less 'New York' sense of what money means rips the idea off and makes their own version of it.

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1462307618' post='3042066'] That's not a legitimate Fender Mini P... But it's cool. I missed out on a burgundy mist mini Fender MIJ for my daughter once, they're really cool but they look more well proportioned than this. [url="http://r.ebay.com/O7rzxw"]http://r.ebay.com/O7rzxw[/url] [/quote] Love it.

Wonder how this sounds. Never seen one of these before. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Fender-Mini-P-Bass-Guitar-with-Case/272229992578

Both Deluxe and Elite models are active basses. Both series have been made in the USA for a few years. There were a few Deluxes in the past including a Mexican one with a humbucker in the bridge, and some Elite Precisions in the 80s that had dual precision pickups, so you should pay attention to what year they were made in. The new Elites came out this year and replaced the Deluxe line. The main difference between them is that the Elite features the N4 (n=noiseless, 4= version 4) pickups as opposed to the N3's on the Deluxe. I think both models may have an extra fret which makes them a little longer than the usual p's and j's, so check scale length. Some people don't like Fender's Noiseless pickups and consider them to be a bit lifeless. I have a 2011 Deluxe Jazz which I bought after testing it against some USA Standards, it had a great tone both in passive and active mode, so as far as I'm concerned the comments about the pickups are not true, and that mid boost on the preamp is awesome and makes the bass sound punchy and aggressive when you need that kind of thing. You should go and play a few, it's mostly a matter of personal preference with these things. For me, I prefer a P to be simple and passive, but I like active j's. PJ's will have their own personality which is not quite P or J, just to confuse things even further.

I've been using it since it came out many years ago, you should be able to find your combo in there no problem. For me it's much more useable than SVX which I find really over the top and a bit hamfisted unless you like a harsh SVT pick tone, but it really depends on what you're after. I found with both the novelty wore off after a while and I just preferred the direct sound of the bass with no plugins of any kind. All these plugins are just approximations of the real thing, so you don't get the way they actually behave dynamically, you just get a snapshot of their signature tone. But with the Markbass that tone is really nice and works beautifully in a mix.

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1462108656' post='3040301'] Guitarguitar Epsom & bass gear twyford are both near enough to London. Though wunjos and the gallery should have enough little combos for you to find something useful. [/quote] Epsom is doable, Twyford is pushing it a bit! Even though they probably have the best selection..

[quote name='Bobthedog' timestamp='1462104049' post='3040258'] I am not sure what you mean about "around London" so will throw in Andertons in Guildford. They have a dedicated bass room which is reasonably stocked and appear to have Rumbles of all types in stock. Alternatively PMT have just opened up in Romford, which they describe as East London. [/quote] Yeah, that's the kind of thing I meant, thanks. Anywhere up to Southend counts as 'East Hackney' these days I guess that would qualify Guildford as SE London...

I need to buy a small combo and want to test a bunch of them, is there anywhere still left where you can do this in or around London? I know the Gallery has a few bits, I know Wunjo has some things, anywhere else worth considering? I'm considering getting a Rumble 40, I don't even know if there's anything else out there in that price range even worth bothering with, but I'd like to at least make an informed decision..

I just got one of these today, I'm very happy with it. It's going to replace my very tired old Fender 'deluxe' gig bag (which I got for £10 out of a bargain bin years ago). The padding feels solid, way better than the old one, and the extra pocket on top is really useful. Also the shoulder straps are really comfortable and unlike my old bag, they don't slice your arms off as you carry your vintage 87lbs Fender Precision. I would have bought the Thomann bag if it wasn't for the beige bits and the leathery appearance, but this one feels good, and it has Fender written on it, which we all know is extremely important and vital, so all in all I can wholeheartedly recommend it. You can pick them up for £36 at the moment if you search around, that's a good price.

Very nice. Love listening to Scott LaFaro.

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1461413148' post='3034432'] I quite like the videos. I accept the sound is sh*te because most things are on You Tube. I like that you can see the basses in action and after all it's just a taster. I'm not sure anyone would buy a pricey bass on the strength of a YT clip. But as others have said, at least they do it. [/quote] Things have improved a lot on YouTube over the past few years, there's really no excuse for bad sound quality anymore. You can record with a phone, plug into the cheapest interface and use free software to edit both sound and video. Takes no effort, just a minimal bit of research. If they go to all that trouble, i don't get why they then make it sound like garbage. Customers need to hear the instruments, that's the whole point of a video, otherwise just take a photo and don't bother with videos.. Makes no sense to me. Ah well.

What is it with Bass Direct and those videos that are left channel only?? There's a database of beautiful basses. all of which sound dreadful on headphones or speakers. I know bass is usually recorded mono, but there's a big difference between mono and left channel only - one sounds ok, the other sounds like needles in the ear. If anyone from there is reading this, guys you should just download a free editor, (something like Audacity) and convert your audio files to mono before you export them to the video files, it's a 1 minute job. I'll do it for you if you want.

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1461180342' post='3032281'] I like that. How do you find the 'grip' of the tapewounds compared to rounds? [/quote] I can only comment on the the tapes I use (D'Addario ETB92's) - when they're fresh, they have a slightly 'papery' texture to them, which I love. Still really smooth and easy on the fingers, but there's a little bit more texture to them than flats - not grip as such, but just a subtle texture. They feel less grippy to me than brand new flats sometimes can. That goes in a short time and they become smoother the longer you play them, and their tone also gets fatter. You have to like a dry thumpy tone to enjoy these strings, but compensating by playing more dynamically and with a bit more snap is really satisfying. Try them for motown / dusty old funk / straight ahead jazz. I wouldn't use them for slap tho.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1460965280' post='3030099'] So what happens if you email them and say 'hi, this is really lucky, I am in Arran too and looking for something like that, when can I come round and collect?' [/quote] I think they just ignore your message unless they can see you're worth hustling.

I've actually personally had the 'musical item' one, it's very funny. This one fooled me because they want you to collect it, so I assumed it was ok. But of course its on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere which is only accessible by helicopter, so it's a postage scam. No such thing as a ridiculous bargain these days!

Did a bit of research, and holy crap you're right, it's a scam!!! 83 Precision Elite advertised for £395, with a load of spiel about [url="https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/fender-precision-elite-electric-bass-guitar-82-83/1165076672"]'dad's inherited bass'[/url]. This photo is from the Gumtree ad: …And here's the legit [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-1983-Fender-Precision-Elite-Electric-Bass-Guitar-BEAUTIFUL-w-Flight-Case-/182083589222?hash=item2a65071466%3Ag%3AHk4AAOSwyjBW3eGm&nma=true&si=UEZQ4VN7B4C7UAYYJOdKj2%252FqcEA%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557"]Ebay advert[/url] where the photos are nicked from - this bass just sold for nearly $2000. (The photo addresses on the Gumtree ad are in fact straight from ebay, they all begin with "ssli.ebayimg.com". That's a dead giveaway). I would have got suckered into this one for sure, the wording of the ad is very good.

oh really? Do you think there's some kind of a scam? It's a pickup only thing, looks fairly legit.

I have just seen a ridiculous bargain (Fender), miles away from me but is anyone here local to the area?

Listen to these tapewounds on a jazz, I have them on 2 p's and assumed they would sound bad on a j. But I think I'm going to give them a shot on my jazz too, that tone is pretty magnificent. http://youtu.be/Y6JfR_ReGuw

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1460578935' post='3027062'] Think I would be tempted to go with Fender 62 custom shop pups. [/quote] Me too. Can be growly or subtle, nice dynamic response.

I had this exact thing on gumtree a few weeks ago, it's swamped with this stuff. This one sounds almost identical to the email I got, probably the same people.

Anyone seen this yet? http://youtu.be/yUVtaZpzXgc

Agree about the Jamerson comments. Jamerson's tone was a dry signal which was degraded (enhanced?) by tape saturation. The tone people are chasing can be recreated by recording to old tape and pushing the gain as high as you can, or possibly even just using some tape saturation plugins. The whole Ampeg thing with Jamerson is just misleading marketing. He may have used Ampeg live, but his recorded tone had little to do with it. The best way you'll get close to a flat response without going to a treated studio and playing through monitors is if you plug in direct to a DAW, use no amp or cab sims and listen through a pair of studio quality headphones. I love that tone on my basses and much prefer it to playing through amps most of the time. But that's also down to terrible room acoustics almost everywhere I play. The room makes a huge difference to tone, I'm often very surprised by how much.

Hmm. Sounds a bit like an amp sim through some computer speakers.