chris_b

Sales of a superlight range of Precision and Jazz basses, with top quality build, components and materials, wold tap markets Fender are ignoring. The "oldies" have the cash, have played Fender in the past and would probably buy a Fender again, if it suited their requirements.

At a festival in July I played with 3 bands and did a gig with one of them in the evening. Never say no to a gig! So far 2024 will total 80 gigs with 18 bands. On the other hand, I'm in 3 bands and had to cancel 16 gigs, due to 2 band leaders having surgery and one falling ill and sadly dying! I need to start playing with 30 year olds!!

There are never enough good gigs in the diary. And yes, this year I gigged on my birthday .. . twice, afternoon and evening.

And as I said earlier, they aren't even very good at that. Look at all the P and Jazz basses being made by other companies!!

The issue could be your amp. Which one were you using? Barefaced cabs are not coloured. What you put in is what you get out. We often rely on the limitations of the cab to get our sound. An amp can sound very different when the sound isn't being altered by the cab.

Alembic were experimenting with brass plates attached to the back of the headstock, but the Fatfinger was developed by Groove Tubes.

IMO it's unlikely that Fender will "innovate" that successfully. They tried various things in the past without success. They need to relaunch their lines to Fender fans who aren't currently playing Fenders. There's a huge multi layered FSO market out there that Fender let slip through their fingers. The innovation that is actually within Fender's grasp, is to do what their competitors are doing, but do it better. I know their management of 70+ years just wanted to chuck instruments out the door, but they should raise the quality of their instruments and recapture as much of the FSO market as they can. I couldn't find any Fender 5 string basses in the 1996. As a Fender player for 26 years, I wouldn't have bought a Sting Ray 5, probably wouldn't have bought a Lakland, Lull or Sadowsky if Fender bothered to make equivalent versions. There are a lot of players who left Fender because of their cavalier attitude to quality and their customers.

You do. You really do. . . . if you and the band play your best and the audience likes what you do.

That's the sensible option. My suggestion would be to retire knowing you owned and gigged the best bass gear you could buy. . . . whatever the cost.

IME you'll have longer than you think if you buy the right gear.

It was a regular in band sets from the 60's onwards. We played it all the time in my school band. Audiences loved it from the day Wilson Pickett's single was released.

My Fender Precision is still wearing the same set of rounds that were on it when I switched to 5 string basses in 1996. I've lost count but the set of TI flats must have been on my Mike Lull PJ5 for at least 12 years. Perfect P bass thump. I've had a set of NYXL rounds on my Sadowsky Jazz since 2018. They sound nice and mellow, but still have a little sparkle if I crank the treble control.

Good suggestion. Stretch the Bergs out for a few more years. I've been using this Wolfcraft for over 10 years (nearer 15 years). . . . https://www.diy.com/departments/wolfcraft-foldable-hand-truck-100kg-capacity/1483870_BQ.prd. I sometimes use it with the Barefaced cabs.

Many years ago, we used to pile out of the pub at closing time and head for the Light Of India. Twas a great curry which was often spoilt by their choice of background music, many times not so background. . . . Country and Western, the Jim Reeves type of C&W!!!

This. . . . no one ever got fired for playing MS, even the 20 min version, but because they think it's a throw-away number most bands don't bother to play it properly. It's usually played too fast and I've never heard a guitarist play the guitar line. Which is a shame because it's a great soul number.

I replaced a Berg 312 (1 x AE112 and a CN212) with 2 x Super Compacts, and never looked back. You are right, Bergs sound fantastic, but I also needed to go lighter and 2 x SC's were the answer. The SC's were much louder than the Bergs. They will put out exactly what you put in, so if your amp is up to the job, you'll sound great.

The wonderful Mrs B's reply when I talk about bass gear is always, "If it's that good, buy it".

. . . . and they can't get the sound you're after??

Excellent side conversation. My Facebook has never been better. Thanks again all.

The level of musicianship in most professional tribute bands is very high. I'd love to be playing with guys like that, but sadly, these days, I'm the wrong age and shape!!

Rankism and the careless put down. . . . comes so easily to Brits! Every player making a living out of bass playing, from Sid Vicious to Charles, gets my vote.

The bass is fine for other genres, so why change it so it isn't fine any more? IMO you want a bass that sounds good in all genres, so keep it as it is and add the facility to sound good in this band. Get a preamp pedal.

That's just too heavy for me (old guy with back issues), but thanks for doing that. Maybe the woods being on the heavy side, and probably more resonant with it, is what gets their great sound.

2 x 45's is the usual, but on occasion we can be asked to do 2 x 60's or 3 x 45's.