dmc79

So the Squier strats don’t stay in tune well, have dodgy tremolo arms & an action thats not very good?

Thanks for the offer. Any pics of the Les Paul? Thanks for the replies everyone, will think about it some more next day or two. Haven’t got too long to hang about especially with the postal strikes

Wasn’t sure where to post this. My son who is 14 is starting to show interest in learning the guitar. He’s started getting into similar music to what I was playing in the 90s which I find pretty funny. My knowledge of electrics is pretty basic, I once had a cheap strat copy which was a decent starter, I didn’t pursue it any further as I took up bass after that. I am guessing a Strat or Tele is the way to go. He spotted this starter pack himself: Strat, Fender practice amp, strap, bag, etc. Seems decent value. The only thing I’m not sure about is whether to still get the Strat on its own, then a different amp option such as a Roland Cube with built in effects. Otherwise as soon as he wants to get dirty it’s the rabbit hole of pedals. What do you think? Thanks. This is what we’re looking at: https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Squier-Affinity-Stratocaster-HSS-Pack-LRL-Charcoal-Frost-Metallic/3SZ8

Gorgeous bass. I have the same colour scheme in a Player P. In the past I’ve never been crazy about the thought of a white bass, especially having seen the yellowing of them a few years down the line. Recently I’ve grown to love the tort on white look, my Player is actually called Polar White, not Olympic white. It is very white indeed, I have no idea if it will yellow the same as oly white, I hope it doesn’t as it looks great the way it is. I’m yet to try flats on a long scale bass, only ever briefly tried some on a short scale Mustang, they felt really nice but just not what I’m used to (nickel plated steel rounds). I’ll have to try flats on the P someday. What does your bass weigh? I’ve heard that the 2013-16 line was relatively light

Recently replaced the stock electronics in a Mexican Player P bass with a KiOgon loom. Sounds superb along with the CS62 pickups that went in at the same time. Excellent service as usual from John.

I've had a couple of Jazzes but I prefer Precisions. The body shape, the sound, the looks, the simplicity of one volume & one tone. That said, I'm about to try a J neck on a P body for the first time ever. It's an itch I just have to scratch.

Great dealing with Brian. Bought a stunning Fender USA Jazz neck from him. It arrived quickly, well packed, with great comms throughout. Deal with confidence. Thanks!

Second time selling something to Brian (P bass pickguard). Once again he was a gent and paid up quickly. Deal with confidence.

I got randomly sent that today by a friend so it must be doing the rounds. Hilarious!

I mentioned her! Loved them until their 2000 split. Not paid much attention since

A couple of my faves there. Also: Julia Ruzicka of future of the left (especially after seeing them live) Kim Coletta of Jawbox (check out the ridiculous tone on the song 'Cooling Card', or the whole 'For Your Own Special Sweetheart' album D'arcy Wretzky & Melissa Auf Der Maur of Smashing Pumpkins

Is weight an important factor to you? I've learned that it is to me. If so, this may be useful to you. Here's the weight of recent P basses I've had. The first I had for several years, middle two were just 'passing through', and the last I plan on keeping, in part due to the weight: 2004 USA 'Series': 4.1Kg 2008 USA Standard: 4.2Kg 2013 MIM: 4.1Kg (including chunky Hipshot bridge) 2021 Player (Mex): 3.7Kg From what I've read, the 2013-16 American Standards are a really nice line, and weigh around 3.9Kg. I haven't seen much on a ballpark weight of the 2017-20 Am Professional or 2020-present Am Pro II, I'd be interested if anyone could chime in on that. I am really enjoying my 2021 Mex Player, and am about to put some CS62 pickups in it (can't vouch for stock pups, it came to me with SD Quarter Pounders), along with a KiOgon loom to USA Std specs. The weight (or lack of) makes it so comfy, I miss the rolled fretboard edges of a USA P a little, but it's such a nice, fairly slim neck and very playable neck anyway. I guess I could get the edges rolled by a guitar tech at some point if I wanted to. Very nice bass at the price point though. £500-600 used for a good one, I'm not convinced that a used USA made P is worth double that at around £1000-1200, but I haven't tried the 2013-16 Am Std or any of the Pros that came after them yet. You probably know this anyway, but get a P with a good comfy weight (I almost said "and balance" there, but I've never had a P that wasn't well balanced), and a neck that feels nice to play and doesn't strain your hands, and as they say "the rest is gravy"; you can change pickups, circuitry & hardware, but you can't do anything if you don't like the neck & weight.

Thanks for the replies. Never even considered flats before, they are expensive, but I guess last longer and don't eat your frets like rounds do. They felt nice on the short scale, but now I am back on long scale I feel I should try flats on my P bass sometime. I think the smooth feel of the above pictured flats was highlighted more than usual, as I'd put some stainless Roto rounds on a Squier PJ bass briefly, so obviously going back and forth running my hands over both sets of strings, they were like chalk and cheese, it felt a relief to go back to my usual nickel plated rounds, but I still keep thinking about how nice those flats felt! D'Addario Chrome XL say 'Warm / Mellow' on the packet, which I'm not sure is what I want, are any other flats brighter as you say TI are? Also are half rounds / pressurewounds a good kind of middle ground between the feel and playability of flats and a bit more brightness / zing that rounds give? I mean I don't expect mega zing from flats, but certainly don't want too mellow either, if that makes sense. I've seen mixed reports on Cobalts, with some loving them, whilst others reported rust issues. I'll have a read through some opinions on flats anyway.

Just curious about these as despite playing for 25 years I’d never used flats before, until these arrived on a Mustang I briefly had. The smoothness / playability was something else, and I should probably have removed and kept them, but I snipped them off and replaced with rounds. So, does anyone think they know what these flats with blue silks are? They are gone so I can’t say what was on the ball ends. I wouldn’t rule out trying flats on my P someday. If I do, it would be something at the brighter end of the flat spectrum, if such a string exists, I’m not one for motown / dull muffled thud sound, and keep the tone fully open. So essentially if there’s a flat string which kind of sounds like a round, but with the nice playability / reduced fret noise etc, of flats, I’d be interested. Thanks