chris_b

If this bass feels right, sounds right and you want to pick it up and play it, why would there be another bass?

I think you'll like it.

For R&B (both), Soul, Funk, Blues and many others, my main amp is an Aguilar TH500. It has a fantastic warm, fat and well defined tone and enough volume to go from a whisper to keeping up with guitarists in stupidly loud Rock Blues bands. Be careful, it might end up being your main amp in no time.

I first met Mark when buying my Bergantino cabs, when the Bass Direct showroom was his rehearsal studio in a barn on a farm. I feel another visit coming on.

. . . . and the sustain isn't very good, is it? The original was probably Pino on a fretless, and in the studio you can do a lot more than you can on a gig. More importantly, if your bass is resonant enough to sustain a note well for several bars it probably sounds great when you're playing 2 or 4 notes to the bar. Some people need flexibility and some don't.

An "edge case" in your world maybe, but that doesn't mean it isn't a requirement for others. If you are playing the kind of music that requires long held notes you can either shrug your shoulders and look embarrassed because your bass doesn't cut it, or buy a bass that gets the job done. If a high mass bridge gives you the sustain you need then it is worth having.

Depends on the style of music and the songs. If you need to hold a note for a bar you want the sustain to last longer than that so the note doesn't die half way though. I used to play Boys Of Summer and the sustain is for 4 bars. So a good sustain is required from a good bass.

If Overwater made a Super Light range I'd buy several in a heartbeat, but they are missing a huge market segment by sticking with these heavyweight basses.

At nearly 11lbs it's a back breaker!!

Collectable guitars and basses will be like stamp collecting. . . . but not as popular.

It is, but that one has a different sound to other humbuckers.

I guess a lot of people can be happy with a bad tone.

Try this for size. . . . good tone isn't subjective. It's either good or bad. Most times we are just too polite to be honest. We say "Good tone is subjective", because we don't want the hassle of telling someone their tone stinks. We are thinking, "Wow, if you think that god awful noise is a good tone, good luck to you". We tell people what they want to hear, then we smile and carry on with our lives.

When it comes to tone an MM and a Precision are chalk and cheese. It might not be an active thing, maybe you just don't get on with the sound of humbuckers. I don't either.

IMO the right advice is not to buy the wrong bass and try to fix it, but to buy the right bass first time.

This is a very interesting question and something I was thinking about in relation to preamp pedals. Would a signal from a preamp going into the same preamp create a better sound than just the one. So same question, is there an accumulative effect that makes for a better sound?

These are all good things that can be done, but there are really only two sensible routes to take if you have a bass that is too heavy to be comfortable; work out until you can deal with the weight, or sell it and buy the right bass for the job. Most of us were OK with 10lb basses in our youth so why can't we deal with that weight now we are older? Because we've become sedentary and lost a lot of our muscle mass. Work out and put that muscle back. You won't be limited by weight and, according to statistics, you'll live longer and happier lives. You can do a lot of DIY on a bass, most of which won't enhance it's value, instead will reduce it's resale value. There are plenty of 6, 7 and 8lb basses around at all levels, from Asian production lines to boutique. Straps don't make a bass lighter, so if weight is the problem buy the right bass for the job.

You'd need sparkly tort to go with it.

Whatever makes you happy. . . . but for me a good technique makes a ramp unnecessary.

Is a Ferrari better than a Ford Focus, a £75 bottle of wine better than a £7.50 bottle, or a Fender Ultra better than a Sire? To many people they are. The bottom line is always if you can tell the difference then that difference will matter. Your choice. For me my Sadowsky sounds better than most of basses I've played since I bought it. It wasn't cheap, but it's worth the extra. . . . to me. @NancyJohnson is right, the person who will notice most is you. But if the bass makes you happy when you play it then you'll play better, and your band will notice that. So it's always a good idea to buy the bass that makes you smile. I had a great gig on Friday. During sound check the drummer lent over and said that bass sounds good. That made both of us happy and we played better as a result. That made the promoter happy and she gave the band more gigs. So buying the right bass, whatever the cost, not because it's the cheapest or most expensive, works best.

Your budget could get you a great used Lakland Skyline and any number of used Fenders.

If you want to buy lots of cheap basses, if you don't see any difference between cheap and not so cheap, then go for it. Personally I'd take that £1500 and get the best used bass I can find. That budget can get you into a different league of basses.

It's a heavy bass. You can make it more comfortable but you can't take away the weight. If the weight is a problem, and it probably is because you've started a post about it, there is only one answer. . . . sell it.

Depping on a gig on Friday, rehearsing this afternoon, given the set list late last night!!! I know about 25 of the 30 songs, but most of the arrangements are new to me and not straight forward! I got some scribbled notes. We'll see how it goes. Should be interesting!