crunchman

I'd guess they have had a Cease and Desist letter, and have decided that changing the design is safer than the potential costs of a court case. Most small businesses do the same as they can't afford the legal fees even when they have a good case.

This is probably the reason. A lot of small companies will not fight things in court. The system allows the big companies to be bullies.

I've managed to fit my TMB 30 into a guitar gig bag - bit tight but it does go in. Not sure that it will go in all guitar gig bags but it will go in some.

I don't, most of the time. With the active pre-amp though, it doesn't sound like a traditional passive P bass.

I really want a 32" P bass. I bought one of the new Ibanez basses a few months back. It's ok for what it is, but it doesn't sound like P bass. I don't know if removing the active pre-amp would help. I think there were some 32" P bass copies made by companies like Aria and Greco. The Westone Concord is 32", and has a P style pickups and passive electronics - although it doesn't look like traditional Fender P Bass. I would love it if Fender bought out a Mexican made 32" P bass.

I've not done that as importing from the US gets expensive. There are people in the UK who will make a Custom scratchplate for less than it costs from Warmoth. Anotehr alternative is the scratchplate for the Reggie Hamilton signature bass. WD Music do one and I ended up buying that. It doesn't have the P pickup in the exact position, but it is about a centimetre closer than the usual Jazz position. My bass is Mexican, so the Reggie Hamilton scratchplate fitted nicely. Not sure whether it would fit the US Fenders so nicely. I've actually got that bass for sale, but it's a Jazz neck, so isn't what you are looking for.

I don't have a lot of experience of old Fender basses - I'm primarily a guitarist. Old Fender guitars of the 6 string variety tend to be a lot more expensive than the basses. I wouldn't personally spend that much, but I do have to say that a 50's Tele I once tried was probably the best sounding electric guitar I've played. There does seem to be something special about the best of the old ones. The whole topic of old wood is discussed to death on guitar forums. There are those who say that the wood is better. Whether that is because of quality in the first place, and all the good stuff has now been chopped down, or whether it is down to the way it ages is another matter for debate. Whatever the reason, in the 6 string guitar market, those old ones fetch a fortune - but a lot of that is because they have now become collectable. That seems to be feeding over into the bass market as well. There is an element of "what the heroes played" in it as well. Some guitarists want 58-60 sunburst Les Pauls because that is what Clapton played on the Beano album. Some bassists want vintage P basses because that is what Jamerson played. I can only ever recall having a go on one pre-CBS Fender bass. What did stand out was how light it was. It really was a featherweight. I don't know whether that was how it had always been, or whether it had lost moisture content over the years. Lighter weight instruments like that might well have a different tone. Is it better? That's probably subjective.

Just bought one of the new Ibanez Medium scales. So easy to play after a 34" scale. It's my first active bass so slightly different to what I'm used to. There does seem to be a lot of top end, but then it has brand new strings, which probably isn't helping. Seems ok when I turn the treble down a bit on the amp to compensate. Edit: just to add that I did try out a Mustang in the shop for comparison. The 2" scale difference does mean the strings aren't nearly as flappy as the Mustang. I think 32" really is the best of both worlds in terms of scale.

Thanks. Seen a few of them relatively cheap on Feebay. What's the nut width on the Concord?

If you go on their website you can configure it how you want: https://public-peace.de/configurator/jake-c You will have to go light on the fancy options to keep to £1000. The base price for their precision style is €1090.

You are back with the CITES problem with those. I might wait and see if anything comes of this: http://www.musicinstrumentnews.co.uk/2018/10/12/namm-offers-signs-of-hope-with-cites/ If it does, then importing an 80's one from Japan might be the best way forwards.

How often do the medium scale Japanese Fenders/Squiers pop up on UK sale? There are several on Ebay or Reverb from Japan, but the CITES stuff would be a massive headache with a rosewood board (which I would prefer). Does anyone know how the Westone Concord compares as a cheaper option? Alternatively, are there any modern production 32" passive P basses in the £500ish price range?