Hellzero

Beware when mixing a P with a J as the P has almost twice the output of a standard J. Furthermore, good sounding fiver P are not the easiest to find. The 18 mm strings spacing at the bridge is indeed the standard for a fiver. Forget the Big Splits as just as you noticed they sound hollow and very American, meaning mid scooped. If you want to have an "authentic" sounding P/J fiver go for the standard : a single coil J at the bridge slightly overwound and a humbucking parallel wired P. I would look by Aguilar if you want to stay in, again, "authentic" sounding pickups as it's what they really do : copies of the originals. I love the Nordstrand pure single coils, but not the rest of their range. You could try Häussel in Germany, they make outstanding pricey pickups. You can also ask Christoph Dolf from BassCulture in Germany to make you a perfectly matched set with whatever cover you like. His stacked pickups are certainly the best ones I've ever heard and terrific sounding stacked J's. He works alone and as a full custom shop at ultra decent prices (around 250 Euros for a set delivered to your door in about 2 weeks). Just say my name, it may help a bit. You can also buy a set by Benedetti, THE French pickups maker. Michel, who's dead now, has been making boutique pickups all his life and has transmitted his full knowledge before dying. Ask @ped...

Wasn't it an Overwater design idea to make cheaper, but high quality basses, at first, Russ ?

Technically speaking putting the gain to the max just before clipping is to get the best possible signal to noise ratio all along the signal chain and thus having the cleanest and richest (think frequencies) sound possible. But it's only a scientific fact confirmed by tracing the signal from the input to the output, so do what pleases your ears as you might prefer a slightly distorting power amp with mellower tone to an ultra clean sound which can sometimes seem harsh to the ears. That said on any good designed amp, the D.I. could be taken before or after the preamp...

Hélas, no. I tried to buy it back, but it's gone in the wild. Fantastic 36 inches scale bass with original Greengrove preamp... A real tone monster.

Already have a thread on my own 😜 :

Traded basses with Gregory. We met in a local pastry bakery tea room I knew half way and had a very nice moment talking basses and other things. A true gentleman and a very nice and honest person to deal with. Another credit for BassChat. Hope to see you again Gregory. Cheers

If it can clean the string at the same time, then I'll opt for the fast fret. 😁

With lubricant if it doesn't fit well. Ok, I already have my coat...

Great, but you might get a visit to the court thanks to EBS... 😎

Farfadet is really nice, but you have to have foreign language skills.

I guess Dwarf was already taken. 😁

Sold Bernt my JP Basses Lucii 6 Fretless. Very kind person to deal with. Ultra fast payment. Always responsive as I had some forms to fill for this out of EEC transaction. And icing on the cake, the bass arrived today, exactly for his birthday ! Karma is good ! Enjoy this hyper rare and terrific sounding bass, Bernt. Cheers ! 🥂

I think the best pedal you could buy is the the Two Notes Torpedo C.A.B. This first version will do what you're looking for and even more : https://m.thomann.de/gb/two_notes_torpedo_cab.htm Damian Erskine is swearing by this for exactly the same reasons as you, but don't watch his "demo" video as he recognises himself that he's a newbee about technology and explaining it... And it turned into a total mess.

New BMW M8 Coupé ordered then ? 😎

@Woodwind : This smaller combo can compete with the PJB Briefcase without any problem, so good for rehearsals and small pub gigs or playing acoustic music. For this there's enough headroom, but for larger gigs or more brutal music I would choose the 2x8" as it moves more air and has twice the power power. Hope this helps.

There's another option for great sounding battery powered combos : GSS. The system below will deliver 200 Watts through a 2x8" cabinet. Just add the extra lithium battery and you'll get a very versatile ultra portable mains-free mini rig. The "combo" : https://www.guitarsoundsystems.com/gss-double8-2-x-8-bass-cabinet-c2x20174304 The battery pack : https://www.guitarsoundsystems.com/7s35v2-intelligent-lithium-battery-pack-for-guitar-sound-systems-mini-bass-amps-c2x18346407 I've owned the combo below with the battery pack and it was a delight to play (but more designed for double bass) : https://www.guitarsoundsystems.com/gss-06b400-mini-bass-amp-c2x15043753 To me it sounded better than the PJB Briefcase that I owned too, and is way much lighter too. Should I need to play mains-free again, I'll go for their 2x8" "combo" with the battery pack.

@Happy Jack and others, the BoxKing PowerBank can be found easily by Thomann under the name Falken 1 Mega Power Bank (it's the one I'm using) : https://m.thomann.de/gb/kse_falken_1.htm?o=0&search=1596567573

As a fretless player : Wherever I Lay my Hat (that's my Home) by Paul Young, not that complicating, but you have to play with lots of feeling. And another that I like to play : Papa was a rolling Stone by The Temptations. To me the most difficult bass line to play correctly all along. You can get lost if you don't focus. And there's a trap in the notes as most people play it wrong.