OutToPlayJazz

There are a few around, but you'll mainly find them on the EBMM forum. There were a few pre-launch Custom Classic Stingrays. Here's one I really liked the look of... The trans white over the ash is stunning, as is the neck grain and finishing. *Drool*!

+1 on Tom's comments. A lot of contacts come through less prominent places like local music shops. As a for instance, pretty much all of the work I do now stemmed from dropping into the local music shop here and passing on my details when we moved here in 2004. It is possible, but harder for a bass player as a stand alone instrumentalist. I'm lucky in that I'm a classical/jazz musician (violin/viola/cello/double bass/electric bass/piano/classical guitar) and I sight read fluently as well. Teaching is also a lifesaver at times, as there aren't always gigs around. You may have a quiet month with no playing. What are you going to do then? So it's a mixed bag, really. It's possible to earn a very reasonable living. You're never going to be a rich man unless you hit the real big time (luck and contacts again!), but it's a very satisfying way to live as long as you can diversify. Rich.

With all the high-end basses that help earn my living, I sometimes crave a really cheap bass to knock around on. I still have a thing for the Epiphone EB0 & EB3 models, £130 & £200 respectively... And also keep going back to the Thomann sound clip of the new version of the Ibanez SR500 (not so cheap at around £400.) These just sound amazing to me for the money. Still looking around for one of the new ones to try... What cheapies do you crave at the moment and why?

Status SII #402 - Owned it from 1990 until 2006. It lives in America now. Maybe it'll be back one day...

I always use the wide leather ones with suede backing. They seem to suit any bass and eliminate neck dive well enough. As for Elixir strings, yes they do seem super-bright, don't they? I had some on a Japanese 75 Reissue for a time. Once they settled down they were very nice, though.

For a thicker and fatter sound you may want to look at something like one of the Fender Classic series Precisions - They're Mexican, but lovely quality with properly finished necks & classic anodised scratch guards, etc. Failing that, for something really muddy, look for a Epiphone EB3, Hofner Contemorary Series Club Bass, or a Yamaha BB714BS. All of these are close to your price range and have a pickup nudged right against the end of the neck for true "mudbucking" properties! Rich.

And you'll never get those seconds back either, Alan! Go play your lovely KingBass for a bit. The world will seem a better place

Excellent - Well congrats in advance, then. I'm at about the same point at the moment, in that I'm very happy with my basses and amps. Not a lot's floating my boat at the moment, except for that damned Sadowsky of Molan's for sale at the moment...

It's a Fender Artist Duff McKagan P Bass according to the Fender Japan website. [url="http://www.fender.jp/php/f_eg_detail.php?item_no=441"]http://www.fender.jp/php/f_eg_detail.php?item_no=441[/url] Retails at just under £700 here in the UK.

Very nice evolving collection you have there, Shep. When's the Spitfire 6 coming along? Rich.

That's a tough one & a real pity being as it's such an amazing looking instrument. I would take it to a really good luthier to look at personally. Someone like Rob Green at Status or John East. Only someone who knows preamps inside out will be able to advise you properly. On a purely EQ-based note, some preamps need a lot of boost to get the best from them. I know that the Status preamp sounds dull and boring when used flat. On these preamps I use full treble and bass boost with the mids flat and it never sounds too much. Depending on the frequency that the pre runs at, you often need a lot more boost on some in order to bring them to life. In the same token, some preamps sound very harsh if you use too much boost. Rich.

Speaking of which, I just traded my as-new Line 6 Spyder III 75w combo for a new VOX VT30 - Seriously rich sounding and light weight for carrying around schools and student's houses.

Hmmm... Possibly the weakest practical joke since Cardinal Wolsley got his k**b out at Hampton Court and stood at the end of a corridor pretending to be a door!

I think it would have had to have been "Mystery Song" by Status Quo, which I learned on my double bass as I didn't have an electric bass at the time!

[quote name='yanto' post='774172' date='Mar 14 2010, 11:09 AM']Mmm.Bit problematic given my geographical position-will keep my eye on it though.Have you ordered the Hora yet?We're all on tenterhooks for the next installment of "Buying a reasonably-priced new bass in the UK"[/quote] No, not ordered a Hora 4/4 yet - I played the Archer in the Nick Ross Orchestra & in Fiddler on the roof for a week & it's performing admirably. It has a massive sound and I'm very impressed with it so far. Next step is to get my luthier, Paul Holt, to put a really nice ebony fingerboard on it & do some finishing/varnishing to the neck. Just waiting for him to come back to me with a price at the moment...

Having owned several of each, I'd say that a good Precision is the utter staple of rock music, but a Stingray will happily venture into some serious funk/slap territory and is much more versatile. There's something about the Stingray sound, too. It's just addictive!

I always smile to myself on these threads, thinking how good we are at spending someone else's hard earned!

Now I've seen a budget, I'd say you're in MusicMan Stingray territory there. You could just about get a deal on a new one or get the very best of the best used ones.

Hi Aaron, what sort of price range are you looking at? At the end of the day, we're all going to suggest a million-and-one basses that we like the sound and feel of, but only you can go to your local music stores and try out as many basses as you can and see what fits you and your ears Happy shopping!

Luckily all the basses & double basses I own are very nice, but there is one lurking around that I rebuilt a while ago... At first you see a white Precision with a bit of "mojo" to it... Then you look at the headstock... AAARRRGGGH!!!