itu

Pictures, please.

There was a test in the university while I studied acoustics. There was a pair of similar amps, with a black face, and a brushed aluminium face. In tests people noticed that the black one was good, but the brushed aluminium unit had too brittle sound. In another test there was a pair of loudspeakers. They had three colour textiles: white, brown, and black. While the test personnel "changed loudspeakers", they actually changed the textiles. You may guess the results: brown was the last in terms of sound quality, and black the best. People listen with their eyes, you like it or not.

Check D'Addario EXL280. https://www.thomann.de/gb/daddario_exl280.htm

But where are the anniversary strings? (Squier was the string manufacturer 1890-1975, and after Fender acquired the company, they changed the string brand to F.)

Please ask some luthier about a custom 36" or similar bass. It may be not that expensive after all. Just keep all extras to minimum.

Clevinger had a bass that was close to an upright in terms of playability. I found only one picture of it: https://reverb.com/item/34879027-clevenger-eub-prototype-green-jade Ned Steinberger (NS Bass) and Ibanez have made smaller uprights that can be carried on a strap. If I was you, i would try to check Overwater fretless basses with 36" scale. Maybe you would like to use shorter scale, but 36" feels like, can I say spacious?

Output X-former is needed with valves/tubes, because the tube section's output impedance (Z) is high compared to speaker's Z. The transformer changes (transforms) the tubes' output Z to suit speakers' Z. Solid state (transistor) power amp has low Z output, and the transformer is not needed. It is not a bad idea at all to have the load (cab) connected to the amp.

I had one with bartolinis. I sold it because of the 17 mm string spacing. Never got used to it. Now playing an MG Genesis 5 with 19 mm spacing. Truss rod is useless with MG, Status, or Vigier. Carbon is king.

It's a bit complicated to talk about price. I want - because that's what works for me - a five with 19 mm string spacing. Selection is pretty limited. When I found a suitable one, the price was not the first specification. I am slightly amazed that everybody should play a £80 bass. If that's not my thing, I don't care what others think about my instruments. After all, an electric bass is still very cheap compared to a quality double bass. Alembic, maybe they are pricey, but who cares. If you find a good one, it's your choice, not your friend's.

Vol to 0, when turning ON/OFF.

Well, it has certain honk there, because of the Al box' dimensions. I drive it with Glockenklang Soul, and I am happy with the set. Soul was originally a combo (2x10"), but heavy, 38 kg. Now only the amp is 12 kg, and the alusonic cab 18 kg. Very nice to carry around. The cab starts to sing in big venues. Even our rehearsal room is big enough for the whole band - we are 13 - but not big enough for bass. I usually keep the tweeter on, but pretty low. My equipment is capable of highs, but in our band bass' highs are mostly useless. Low end is my area.

Polly made my cab, a 2x12". Neat work.

Mullard and Philips (the yellowish boxes on the right) are somewhst sought after valves/tubes. But the interest depends on the types of the valves/tubes. As an example that 6AU6/EF94 pentode costs anything from £1-2 and up. If there are interesting ones, the price may rise up high: a Telefunken EF806S can cost anything between £50-500.

I have had several fx that need a tad longer plug for a secure connection. If you want to cover the bare part, put some shrink tube over it.

@Linus27 : if you can try it by just rewiring the comp, test it. Trust your ears, there are no right or wrong choices here. So many neat boards, should I rebuild few of mine again...?

Put some nail lacquer to the thread, and it will stay in place somewhat longer than without. If you don't happen to have thread lock at hand. Colour is up to you.

GK 200MB, or MB150 PJB Warwick, TE... check their tiny amps and consider buying a small cab.

I have one in my Passion. It says: "Made in France"

Strings dictate partially the sound of the bass. My electric upright has different strings than my electric basses. Flatwounds: flat sound, slowish attack, short decay, can be used for years. Groundwounds are close to flats. Roundwounds: sound really depends on the material and age. Nickel is flatter in response than stainless steel. MMiller and MKing may change strings every three hours of playing in studio. Your wallet, or endorsemet can be different. Fretless likes the response of nickel strings. Very thin strings (30-90) are good for slapping, although LEJohnson used flats to slap his MM. Uprights have slap strings, as well as solo, jazz, gut, and arco sets. If you learn a bit about gauges, you can detune your bass with similar tension. No need to adjust the truss rod. Check D'Addario's tension guide. The bass may sound good or bad depending on the strings. I thought that thicker is better in the low end (E and B) but have found out that for my playing thinner gauges sound and feel superior. This required lots of trials and errors. I like light touch, therefore a luthier trimmed my upright. I have fixed my own electrics.

Whatever you put to your fingers will be in the strings. Do you want to oil them? I don't think so. Some kind of oxidation is happening there. If it doesn't cause allergic reactions, don't care about it.

If I remember correctly, I bought a used '76 4001 in 1986 for £400, and a new headless Hohner Jack was more expensive. The ones I tried then were very good sounding basses.

One point of view seems to be missing when people talk about gone instruments/amps/etc. and that's nostalgia. Many want to have their youth equipment back. Yes, I paid £400 for a '76 black 4001 from Denmark street in 1986. Now the price would be close to ridiculous. It wasn't that good. Of many instruments I've played I wanted to buy a Vigier Passion. Now I have one and I am very pleased with it. But a Ric? Please no, why bother? If I wanted a good instrument now, I might turn to some luthier ("Dear Overwater..."), or buy some hand made instrument from Eastern Europe (Czech, Poland...). It would be a small investment, but nothing like a Fodera, or a severely beaten Nash. The quality and the price would certainly be very good compared to a Jazz from 70's. Retro is for someone else.