Doctor J

He's a superb player, tight as fook. His vocals played such a huge part in the VH sound, too. Very underrated musician.

This never fails to hit the spot. I always have a copy of it with me

I'm no defender, I owned one and eventually sold it on. I don't see another one in my future. I just gave an honest account of my interaction with the man which some seem not want to believe, for whatever reason.

Past-tense. You can think what you like, but Hall cares about his product and backs it up.

Nice

I had an entirely cordial exchange with him, also via the forum. I had a small neck issue with a 4003 I had asked about. He contacted me directly and offered to personally inspect it as he was going to be holidaying in Ireland in the not-too-distant future. Top man.

While not necessarily cheap (I paid £300 for it back in 1992, choosing it over a 75 Precision at £250), my ESP 400 Series Jazz is definitely nowhere near as expensive as some of the basses I have bought since, including a Sadowsky, but it remains the one that I know will always be just right for me, like Mama Bear’s porridge. I think it would be foolish to stop searching, all the same. I mean... the next one... that could be the one 😂

Read Geddy’s book to him in the Ladybird style and it’ll be smooth sailing away from Drum Island.

Sadly had to sell a few over the last couple of years bur, for a time, these were a lot of fun

Cobain. To see a guy so young kill himself is numbing, especially with a young child. In hindsight, clearly it was coming but was still a terrible shock at the time. He was only a few years older than I was at that point.

I've recently joined the small amp gang and picked up a GK MB500. I still love my trusty old Ashdown ABM setup though, compact 1x15 and 2x10 cabs with a 300W head. They're the original series which I've had since day one and they have never let me down. At home, I have the MB500 running the 1x15 as it's a bit more mid-heavy than the bassier ABM which is driving the less-bassy 2x10.

No, just hate the aesthetic. As I said, the pettiest of reasons.

Who said anything about bad? if you’re going to the trouble of redesigning, why not try to have a consistent angle across all four strings?

Dingwalls are fine, the entire instrument flows as it does. With the Sandberg, everything is traditional and parallel apart from that bleedin' string tree. It's at odds with everything, the nut, the frets, not even in line with the tuners. It just grates.😂 Entirely irrational, I know, but it just looks so, so very wrong and that's before we get into the irregular break angle of the strings as a result!

I've only played a Sandberg once and thought it was quite nice. It was well built and the flat fretboard was very playable. I don't think I could own one, though, for the pettiest of reasons. That slanted string tree on the headstock is a war crime, to my eyes. I just can't get on with it at all.

It’s never fun to do but you know in yourself that it’s the right thing for you. I’ve just handed in my notice to a band I joined just a few weeks ago. I liked the music but the 3 hour round trip to rehearsal is something I just can’t live with anymore. I wish I had known this a few weeks ago and I thought it wouldn’t be a big thing going into it, but it took a few trips for me to realise that’s not the case. Younger me didn’t mind long drives like that. Older me doesn’t want to spend so much time on the road. You live and learn. Good luck with the next one.

Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson are the pinnacle, for me. I have a lot of time for Cliff WIlliams and Phil Rudd, too - simple, perhaps, but very effective.

Nothing can go wrong which won't be a source of laughs for years to come. Enjoy it and, rather than think of what can go wrong, focus instead that every single person there will be wishing you well and use that positive energy not just to play well, but perform to your best. You'll have a blast and it will all pass too soon so enjoy every second.

Hopefully they’ve addressed the tail pull-up issue too

Orion is a very comfy set-neck ride

Al sold me his MB500. He did what he said he would when he said he would do it and was a pleasure to deal with all the way. Top marks from me.

Never under dispute and, be that as it may, there are still nicer options to address the straight-on headstock than that which they have gone with, which looks like a crude afterthought after a rummage through the scrap parts bin.

Looks like a photoshop trainwreck, although it could be a very linear grain anomaly with that piece of wood. They only offer maple or ebony, not a combination of both. As an aside, am I the only one who finds their use of two round string trees plus the string guide on the B to be a complete eyesore, a very ugly solution to a simple problem? Surely a bar would be far easier on the eye while providing a uniform break angle over the nut? It reeks of a solution which developed in a scattergun fashion over a long period of time an no-one has thought of re-evaluating the situation.

This is sad to read. I have bought from Jess a few times in the past and his service was great. Shame. I bought some strat pickups from http://www.qpickups.com/ recently, based in Croatia, and they are superb. I haven’t tried their bass pickups yet, but based on the build quality and sound of the strat ones, plus the service quality, he will be where I go next when I need something for a bass.

30 years have passed, add 40% to the price.