LewisK1975

There's also a famous quote (allegedly) from Paul McCartney which goes when asked why he played a Rickenbacker he apparently said - 'Because they gave it to me for free'.

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1449667455' post='2925748'] I tell you what, give the Roadworns a try as well.. [/quote] Have to agree here - I've got one of the sunburst Roadworn Precisions, and it is a fantastic bass. Only change I made was to put an SPB-3 in it. Nothing wrong with the standard pickup, I just like the duncans.

Agree with all of the above - you HAVE to try one. I'd played Fenders for ever - Took a trip to that London a few years ago and went for a look in the Gallery in Camden. There was a s/h mapleglo 4003 on the wall, started me dribbling. Asked politely if they would remove the pickup cover (which they did)and played it for near enough an hour in the shop (sitting on a stool) and decided that was it - I was having it. Off I skipped - gagging for the weekend's gigs to show of my new toy - Did one gig with it and sold it. Now I have to say - It was and still is undoubtedly the best looking bass I've ever worn - and it sounded pretty good too - but it was SO uncomfortable to play when standing up I couldn't believe it - Gutted wasn't the word. No arm chamfer = Pain when you're use to Basses that have them (they're there for a reason!). Also some songs were played with a pick and I kept catching my pick on the pickup surround which is MASSIVE and stands proud of the body. With hindsight I could have probably persevered with it and maybe I could have found a way to adapt my playing style to suit the guitar, but at the time I really didn't think I should have to do that. So to summarize form my experience - Find any one to start with and make sure you play it on a strap and whilst standing up - Then if you get on with them, I would go and try a few others to find the one that's suits you the best..HTH.

Tried one in PMT Cardiff yesterday - gutted when I handed it back to the sales guy....Very nice indeed.

Considered this as well - The sunburst Geddy Lee looks great without the plate, I thought about just getting some kind of cool sticker to cover the hole up..

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1448979802' post='2919750'] You could just buy a P neck & put it on your jazz - I'm thinking of doing this at the moment because when I flick back to the jazz from my (chunky-necked) Warwick it's just too thin for comfort. [/quote] Yeah I did think of that - my Jazz is a sunburst Geddy Lee mexican made. Very nice indeed and great sound, just wish the neck was a bit bigger! Do like the maple with black block inlays tho, very nice!

Just reading another post that the new-ish USA Geddy Lee Jazz has a thicker profile, but still 1.5" at the nut, might be worth a look....

Anyone know of any Basses made like that? I know there are Precisions which have more Jazz type necks, but what about the other way round? I really like the sound of a Jazz, but I played P-Basses for so long that it's just what feels comfortable to me... Any suggestions??

[quote name='Subthumper' timestamp='1448919702' post='2919267'] Appears they only deal with warranties. But they did give me the number of Surrey Amps. Anyone had any experience of these guys? [/quote] Their website is either http://www.surreyamps.co.uk/ or [url="http://www.amphospital.co.uk/"]http://www.amphospital.co.uk/[/url] - both of which seem to be Surrey Amps. No experience of them at all sorry but the site reads like they know what they're on about!! YMMV!

Actually used one of those behringer combos in an emergency once - Setup to play and my amp was dead - knew a guy nearby and he offered me a lend of his behringer combo - nothing wrong with it and the DI worked fine, but yep was quite heavy.

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1448276918' post='2914035'] Can't quite see from those pics, but it looks like a GK amp head? Just wondered which model that is? [/quote] It's a GenzBenz Streamliner - 900 watt version I think..

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1447873140' post='2911169'] D'oh forgot the Retroglide! And of course all the ABM and JJ bits as and when. Very tempted to get an EVO IV.... [/quote] Me too Merton - I used an evo2 300 head for years and I loved the EQ points, worked so well for me...changed to a class-d setup this year (tecamp) and had to chase down the sound I was looking for after using the evoii for so long - ended up buying a sansamp para-driver (same as the bass driver but with a sweepable mid control) and that pretty much got me there. Thing is what I spent on the amp and the sansamp, could have bought me the EVO IV head. Live and learn!

Very interesting thread this one, not something I'd considered to be honest - can see solid state and valves discussed above, what about digital amps? same as solid state?

[quote name='Panamonte' timestamp='1446767770' post='2902289'] I was back there again on Wednesday to pick up the Super Twin I ordered 2 weeks ago. Carried it back to my house just under a mile away (which was a bit ambitious - 'lightweight' is a relative term). Won't have a chance to run it at gig volume for another week, but even just ticking over at neighbour-respecting levels it sounds great. Big thanks to Alex, Bobby and team. [/quote] Wait til the speakers break in fully - they sound even better!!

If you just want to de-couple from the floor by a small amount them get a gramma pad. http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Auralex_Isolation_Risers.html

I talked a fair bit about this with the guys at Bass direct when buying my Sandberg VM5 - Their opinion was that it has a lot to with construction and hardware, plus scale length also helps. Basically more of the modern 5/6 string basses are built from the beginning as 5/6 string basses, whereas a lot of the big manufacturers build to the same specs as the 4-string but just add what is needed to get the 5th/6th string on to the bass, if that makes sense. Look at a sandberg - 6 neck bolts, chunky bridges etc.. Also if you don't believe scale length makes any difference - Go to Bass Direct's Youtube channel and have a listen to a Dingwall, where the Fan-fret system means the low B can be as much as 37" scale. The B on those things never sounds muddy / floppy.

Mick Quinn from Supergrass played an old Ibanez P-type (dunno if it was a roadstar or a blazer) for a long-ass chunk of their heyday - saw them live a few times and he certainly always had a great sound. Personally I was never fussed on the oversized headstock on the 4 a side tuner ones - messed with my OCD.

Have you considered the Tecamp range? I've got a PUMA 500 - very transparent sounding amp, I use it set completely flat and all tone shaping done on the bass itself (Sandberg VM5) or on the pedal board. Also is the size / weight of your average hardback book!

Very tempted by the maple necked one - Very Nice! [attachment=203409:V7.JPG]

Cool! - Lucky you, I'd love to spend a little time with Alex and talk bass for a while. Love my G3 supercompacts!! Great name by the way!

If it's gonna be 'always on' and only used as an effect rather than a D.I., then I'd personally put it early in the chain. But as said above, try it in a few different places and see what sounds best to you, ideally at gig / rehearsal volume if you can, or, even better, in a full band mix. In my experience you only really know if it's right when you can gauge how things sound when everyone else is playing too.

Very nice looking - Of course the most important question on a Five string - What's the B like?