Paul S

I'm proud to be Man at Mencap. Can usually find what I am looking for at a charity shop - I've had decent Levi's jeans, a quality waistcoat, most of my shirts, some cowboy boots - all sorts.

I voted 'other' as it depends. I don't always gig a beater bass but I have in the past and would happily again. But if I ever landed a prestigious gig somewhere I would certainly be more conscious of what was on the headstock. So break out the Squier instead of the Westone

I Fought The Law - another song that was more famously covered by The Clash and Green Day than the original by Bobby Fuller. I can't believe this thread has carried on to 9 pages.

Yes, I do like Hohners! That might well have been a contender, I think. Do you know what the string spacing/neck width is? I recall yours is a 6er? BTW I ended up splashing out on the Sterling 5er that was advertised on here. After all, it is only money.

I've played lots of Precisions including long term use of a 90s USA Standard one. Of those I have played the best 3 are early 80s Squiers. I currently have 2 JV Precisions - one is an early Fender logo in tobacco-burst, the other an '83 Squier logo in black. Both '57 RI models. Both are totally fabulous basses but I actually prefer the slightly later one. The Fender logo one weighs just under 9lbs, the black one was just under 8.5lbs but I swapped the tuners for Gotoh lightweight ones that I bought on here (and a Schaller 3D bridge) and it is now around 8lbs. The black one has a quality about the tone that the Fender logo one doesn't quite match and it has become my main gigging bass, especially in view of the weight. Plus it has some lovely subtle figuring in the grain of the maple neck, which itself has aged to a warm caramel. It actually cost me half as much as the Fender logo one, too, which is nice The necks on both are just amazing. However, and with the disclaimer that all of this IMO of course, every bit as good as those, and the one that just suits me perfectly, is an A serial no. 32" scale Squier Precision that I have had for a while now. The stock pup was swapped by a previous owner (hi Ted) to a Fender Original with a quality pot/wiring loom upgrade and it has the exact sound that 'the Precision bass in my head' has. It is around 7.5lbs in weight, white aged to cream with a white scratchplate and a rosewood board - the neck is 38mm at the nut and a really comfy radius. It is my joint favourite bass and, shallow person that I am, if this were black with a maple neck it would be the one I use all the time. But it is certainly the one I would grab in the 'house fire' scenario. Not an exhaustive test by any means, but I have no need to look for any more Precisions.

made from oak, presumably?

Nice basses. I had one for a while, not entirely sure why I moved it on (same old story ) If you are modding it, rather than restoring it, you could perhaps consider not replacing the pre-amp as they sound nice passive?

Phil answered my plea for a Schaller 3D bridge - great comms, good price, sent immediately, a pleasure doing business with!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1469105958' post='3095794'] Another step on the way to having children killed and stuffed so they don't make any noise or mess. [/quote] As a 'non-parent' I am struggling to see the negatives here....

Dingwall is around £1700 too much for me, sadly.... Specific question - Does anyone know the weight of a Sterling by Musicman SUB Ray5? Ta!

I would pipe up for (and muddy the water further with) Japanese Squiers and Fenders. To me they seem more consistent - at least the ones I have had. The two nicest Precision basses I have owned (and still own) have been MIJ mid 80s Squiers.

For me it entirely depends upon the band and what range of music I'm playing. With my rock covers band I can largely keep the tone in the same place and vary it by playing with fingers/pick at the bridge or neck. With my other band we play such a mix of styles that I like to open and close the tone quite a bit - open and aggressive for 'Psycho Killer' or 'Pump It Up', say, compared to almost completely rolled off for 'Midnight At The Oasis' or 'Blue Hotel'.

^^This^^ I found the same. When I first hurt my back badly I wandered in the class D head wilderness for a few years, tried all sorts of manufacturers and ratings, never quite got there. To my knackered old ears a TC RH750 got close but not close enough. I bought on here an AH300-12 SMX that had been rack-mounted into an ABS case, making it 12kg. A nice balanced one hand carry when I have my Barefaced Supercompact in the other hand. Couldn't be happier.

[quote name='mattbass6' timestamp='1468837677' post='3093609'] I'm amazed at the weight in the sense that it is pretty light. I was expecting it to be heavy for some reason but, it isn't. No idea of the weight I'm afraid and, I don't have scales at home. I will try and find out for you though. As for width at the nut, I believe it is 1.75" It is very comfortable and the neck has a compound radius ranging from 9.5" to 14". I hope that helps [/quote] Thanks!

[quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1468756162' post='3093085'] An almost mint Westone Thunder 1A. It's been up at what looks like a decent Buy It Now for a while, not sure why someone's not snapped it up yet: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172264391504"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172264391504[/url] [/quote] My Vantage Standard II bass would be a better buy. That was a shameless plug!

Thanks for the replies! Looks like the Ibanez SR series are nosing ahead at the moment. I had an SR800 for a while and weight/neck were perfect although at the time I found the tone a bit 'modern'. SG Nanyo Bass Collection the same, really. Not keen on the look of Spectres. Yamaha BB 5er - had no idea they were that narrow at the neck. Tone would be perfect, just a question of weight - I had a BB414 for a while but it was over 9lbs - if a lighter one came along it might be perfect. What about Peavey 5 ers? Any light ones? I also wondered about Epiphone T Bird Pro V? Or The Sterling By Musicman range, SUB or SB 5ers? Fender Dimension? Mind you, not much wrong with the Hohner BV.

I recently acquired a Hohner B2V doer-upper in what I considered to be last ditch attempt to try and get on with a 5 string bass. To my surprise, I can play it much better than others I have tried. For one thing it is very lightweight - I cannot wear a bass over 9lbs so at around 7.5lbs this is good. Also the string spacing and neck width is much narrower than any I have tried before - 9mm apart at the nut and 43mm overall width. I believe that is narrow by 5er standards? I think this must be the key to the whole thing for me. So it makes me wonder what other lightweight 5ers there are out there with very narrow spacing at the nut? Does anyone have any particular favourites that fit the bill - under 9lbs and under 45mm at the nut? I could open up a whole new can of 5 string GAS... Muchas gracias

With one of my bands we have kind of forced ourselves a niche, playing in smaller, out of town pubs to a largely older demographic. We don't go near Indie/rock/pop covers but do an eclectic mix of stuff we enjoy and is a bit more musical perhaps. We get rebooked and are repeatedly told what a refreshing change it is to hear something new. It has been hard work to get the venues - some places we have totally fallen flat - but we are now as busy as we want to be after a couple of years. Bonus is the pubs often do nice food

I like the look of them too. I tried one of the early ones with the dial a tone control thingy (Modern Player?) in PMT when I popped in there a couple of years back and was impressed at the time - I think the more conventional controls on this are better. You mention the weight a couple of times - amazed as in light or heavy? What do they weigh? A lightweight 5 string is not to be sniffed at. And how wide is the neck at the nut, please?