Russ

I just think if they want to keep the company relevant and not just cater to 1980s nostalgia, then they should attempt something new. But it's up to them, of course. Things have moved on a lot in the custom bass world, and their other 1980s contemporaries (the likes of Overwater, Status, and even Wal) have at least attempted to move with the times. I really hope they do. I'd love to see it. I might even buy some!

They are very much iconic. However, even Alembic have updated their product offerings over the years. Yes, a lot of people still go to Alembic looking for the classic Stanley Clarke or Series I/II shape, but they've added new, more modern shapes over the years too (eg, the Balance K). I'd quite like to see a proper 2020's take on the classic Jaydee design, possibly something a bit slimmer and lighter with better balance, whilst retaining the identity (headstock design, wooden pickup covers, etc) and elements of the outline.The Calibas (which was, I agree, a lovely instrument) was nice and a reasonable attempt to do just that, but even that is 30 years old now and didn't address the weight or balance issues.

I think there's a few very prominent players out there (I'm thinking Geddy Lee, Justin Chancellor, Mick Karn, etc) who have a tone that can't be easily replicated using any other instrument. Plus, there's the scarcity thing - the fact that Wal were out of business for quite a few years after Pete Stevens got sick (and eventually passed away) meant there was a lot of pent-up demand after Paul Herman started things up again. The funny thing is, there are other ways to get that Wal tone, possibly with less of the issues some people have with proper Wals (weight, neck shape, etc) - ACG's filter preamp and multi-coil pickups gets you very close. Bassculture make the Bigbucker pickups, that, when combined with ACG's preamp, also nail the tone - there's a video of a lovely custom Maruszczyk Frog on Youtube with this setup. But I guess people also want to see Wal written on the headstock. EDIT. There's also the fact that the prominent musicians who got well known for using the likes of Jaydee eventually moved away from those instruments towards others - Mark King is a good example. He's far more associated with his Statii and his Alembics than his Jaydees these days, plus his brief dalliances with Fender and GB.

I'm sure they'd still make one for you if you ask. Looks like their website hasn't been updated in well over 10 years.

I do love a Jaydee (was the first proper "high-end" bass I ever played). But it'd be nice if Mr Diggins would come up with something new occasionally. The current designs have been in production for 40 years and it'd be nice to see something a bit more contemporary and modern. Things have moved on a lot in terms of aesthetics, weight, playability, electronics and so on.

A combination of scarcity and charging what the market will bear. Wal was out of business for quite a few years until Paul Herman took the reins, which created a huge amount of pent-up demand. Have you seen what Wals change hands for secondhand? I saw one the other day that was up for $10,000. The worst part is that it will sell, since interested buyers would rather pay that than wait four years!

I think they're lovely, unique instruments with peerless build quality and a sound all of their own that can't be easily replicated. But they are a bit of an acquired taste.

Wal have announced they've had to stop taking orders for the time being, as they currently have a four year waiting list! So there's obviously no shortage of people willing to pay £6k for one... I wonder if they've ever considered an import model? Not Chinese, but maybe Eastern European, like Spector?

From the videos I've watched, those Red Sub basses, through a Darkglass pedal, sound remarkably like a Dingwall. If you want that Nolly sound on the cheap, that could be the way to go. Upper fret access looks a bit dodgy though, thanks to that massive neck heel.

Fanned frets? "Metal" look? G4M might have you covered. Saw one of these reviewed online recently and it's supposed to be pretty decent for the money: https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/RedSub-Coliseum-Fanned-Fret-5-String-Bass-Blue-Burl-Burst/31J3

Yep. They need gear that will survive being repeatedly manhandled and thrown into the back of trucks. A big, powerful Class A or valve head that's either rackmountable or that comes in a strong wooden case, would be a great halo product. Class D heads, particularly more recently, sound great and offer a lot of bang for the buck (my go-to head is a Mesa Subway WD-800), but they're light, relatively fragile and not necessarily built to be thrown around by roadies. Blackstar - if you're reading this, I'm happy to throw my hat in the ring as an endorser...

Their amps are good. Very good, in fact. But the only way to break into that market is to land some high-profile endorsers. To get that, they'll need something a bit more substantial than some combos and a Class D head - they need big, solid, tour-ready gear that plays on the same level as their guitar stuff. Or at least one big, traditional "halo" bass amp. Trace and Ashdown's reputations were built on the SM and Bass Magnifier series, but that hasn't stopped them selling a load of Elves and Rootmasters.

Just got myself the new Line6 Pod Go Wireless, and, all in all, it's rather nice. However, I'm having some issues with the wireless system (it's a built-in version of Line6's Relay G10T-II) in a couple of my basses. All my passive instruments work fine with it. Three of my active basses (my Spector, my J-Retro-equipped Revelation and my Orangewood acoustic bass) are fine. But my two Musicman Bongos have a nasty high-frequency whine that I can't seem to diagnose. It completely goes away when used with a cable. I tried a TR-to-TR adapter for the wireless dongle, and it did nothing, just in case it was something to do with the wiring of the output jack. So, right now, I'm flummoxed. Has anyone else had any issues with the Relay G10T-II transmitter?

Why couldn't they, at the very least, make the curve of the lettering match the curve of the headstock? Looks ridiculously tacky and cheap. Call me shallow, but that's almost a dealbreaker on its own for me. I won't buy a Sire on principle because I think the headstock is ugly, and these new MetroExpresses are no better with the tacky, misaligned decal.

While we're talking about moody prog metal, if you've never heard them, check out Kauan - a Russian band who sing in Finnish! Wonderfully atmospheric stuff and fantastic use of strings.

Yep, they have a big hefty dollop of 80s influence. Danny's voice is straight from the Simon Le Bon school of singing, for a start - that whole earnest baritone thing. Alex never misses an opportunity to play some slap. And Jan Hammer would wholeheartedly approve of the keytar. There's footage on Youtube of a festival set they did, with Alestorm also on the bill - a keytar battle ensued.... that's something I'd never seen before and am unlikely to ever see again!

Maybe fellow Perth proggers Voyager? They're fantastic. They also nearly represented Australia in Eurovision last year! They have a brilliant bass player in Alex Canion too. Gets awesome tones out of his Mayones basses.

They're standard 40DC size, so yep, EMGs (or anything in that size) should drop right in. Remember that EMGs are active pickups and will need power, so if you're planning on retaining the stock Ibanez circuit, you'll have to wire them up properly.

Is anyone aware of companies who make anodised coloured hardware (tuners, bridges, strap buttons, etc) for bass? I was looking at Per Nilsson's new Strandberg guitars, with their coloured hardware, and was hoping something similar might be available for bass! Any ideas?

I don't know the guy's name, but the singer who was on their Queen medley video was phenomenal - if you closed your eyes, you'd swear it was actually Freddie. Benni Jud is fantastic too - he's also a really good singer. And I love his Marleaux Votan bass.

It's Tom Jenkinson's band - of course, he's better known as Squarepusher. I have two Bongos - fretted and fretless 5-string HH models. The fretted one is candy apple red, older, heavier and has the older design hardware. The fretless is purple, a couple of years old, weighs practically nothing and mwahhhs like there's no tomorrow. Absolutely love 'em.

Spaffer and his cronies have absolutely no interest in the performing arts or in doing anything to help. Just look at the whole Fatima ad campaign from a couple of months back.

The biggest competition for these basses is the likes of Sire (who are also burdened with the issue of an ugly headstock), so I'd imagine that's what Roger has benchmarked these against. He's not exactly going out of his way to promote them though. There is not a single mention of them on sadowsky.com and there seems to be very little talk about them elsewhere - there's no hype, basically. The Sire stuff was very well hyped before it came out, and were sold out and backordered from day 1 due to their popularity.

I'm sure Roger is noting that people don't like the headstock logo and will do something about it. Warwick also have form for this - people hated the huge Rockbass headstock logo when they first used it, and it's now been relegated to the truss rod cover. G&L did the same with their Tribute instruments, replacing the ugly, single-colour Tribute logo with the proper G&L one. It wouldn't be half as bad if the Metro Express logo actually lined up with the line of the bottom of the headstock!

On another note, can you believe dUg is 70? That's one well-preserved bloke.