CameronJ

@Dapper Bandit I doubt you’d have much trouble selling your long Betty. Then funds at the ready for a short one. I can only imagine a cable tie solution being frustrating!

Actually, the Mono Betty is the one strap I completely forgot to mention, but I do own one! The Mono is narrower than the Gruv Gear, though still a good width with generous padding. It even has a handy “pick pocket” if you have a use for it - I suspect you will if you intend on playing skinny stringers as well. In all honesty I actually find the Mono just as comfortable despite not being as wide. Beyond the width of something like the Mono I feel like there’s a law of diminishing returns comfort-wise, unless you’re someone who suffers from chronic shoulder discomfort and/or back pain. Another thing you will notice is that the Gruv Gear grips the shoulder noticeably better than the comparatively smooth material of the Mono. There are situations where I’d prefer one over the other for reasons of grip.

If you want the widest, thickest, most padded strap money can buy, the Gruv Gear Solostrap Neo is one of the best out there. If you don’t need or want such formidable padding, a Comfort Strapp is bloody excellent. Way less wide than the Gruv Gear but depending on the shape/angle of your shoulders it may actually be more comfortable. Also, its design means there is no need for strap locks on your bass. If you like the concept of the Comfort Strapp but want something more premium feeling, the Sandberg Flexstrap ticks that box. The body of the strap itself is very very similar to the Comfort Strapp but the leather ends and buckles are much higher quality. You do sacrifice the in-built straplocking feature though. All of the above straps have a strong element of “soft neoprene” to their feel. If that’s not up your alley and you prefer the slightly more “solid” feel of leather, my two recommendations would be the Maruszczyk leather straps and the Dingwall Levy’s leather strap. Both incredibly well made but the main difference is that the underside of the Maruszczyk straps is grippier due to having a suede surface, whereas the Dingwall is smooth leather on both sides so is more likely to slide. Depending on your tastes you may prefer one over the other and as you said your current strap is slippy (which you don’t particularly like) I suspect you’ll lean towards the Maruszczyks. They come in 2 different widths so make sure you pay attention to that when ordering. Some very nice colours on offer too.

Did anyone end up getting one of these?

Very cool! I’ve never seen a Shuker like this. Gives me more GAS to do Jon’s bass building course one day. His work is top notch.

Agreed on the fingerboards being too light. Pau Ferro isn’t a bad wood by any stretch but aesthetically just doesn’t do it for me on Fender-shaped basses. But yeah, other that that, looks to be the Flea passive Jazz in different colours. I’m sure they’ll sell as stacked knobs look cool.

Did the review happen? Have I missed it? 👀

Oh god, I remember this. A comical exchange.

This is exactly the V7 I’ve been eyeing up for months now. @jonnybass your photo makes the colour look very tasty!

The only practical benefit I can see for stringing through the body is for a bass like certain Rickenbackers with a crap bridge which wants to lift at the back. String through the body = problem solved! Other than that, it doesn’t change the speaking length of the string so I can’t see it benefitting me. And I’ve owned basses with through-body stringing.

One of the only PJs I’ve played with a J pup which holds its own against the P is my old Yamaha BB1025x. It’s no joke. But yeah, it’s difficult to get a pup in that position to have as much authority as the pup closer to the neck. There’s a reason the likes of Sandberg and Lakland produce so many basses with a big MM style humbucker in the bridge position coupled with their neck pickup.

So how is it @TheMaartian?

Love me a nice punchy and round glass of Chateauneuf du Pape.

Ah, you’re right. I wasn’t paying attention!

The maple boarded ‘77p is definitely the brightest of the bunch here, but what often annoys me about these videos is that they almost never state whether the basses are all wearing the same strings or not! I’d like to hear the test with the same strings and same pickups in every bass.

Wow, I wasn’t expecting the SR5 to look as good as it does without a pickguard. It really works!