Paul S

I don't know where you are situated but I have a Ibby SR800, Precision with a Mighty Mite neck, couple of Squier Jazzes, Precision Lyte - all manner of shallower necks you could try to see how you get on with them. I am based in SE Essex. The neck on my Ibanez is both narrower and shallower than any of my other basses. Next skinniest is the Precision Lyte (equal skinny with a Peavey Fury), next is a Squier Jazz Deluxe, then the Mighty Mite. They all feel different.

Always wanted to play 'The Chain' Fleetwood Mac.

[quote name='Chris Sharman' timestamp='1393059052' post='2375638'] Also the Yamaha RBX range. Second hand they trade for peanuts and if you get one of the higher numbered models (270, 370 etc) they have more kit than the basic 170 for not much extra dollar. [/quote] +1... I forgot about Yamaha. I had an old RBX800E for a while that I bought for less than £200, which is remarkable as it was up at the top end of the Yamaha range back then. Incredibly well made machine - neck was phenomenal - with a totally incomprehensible bridge

Bought some straplocks from Paul in the easiest of transactions - great comms, posted immediately, well packaged. Wouldn't hesitate to deal with him again.

Thank you! It cleaned it up nicely: I put on a new set of Martin phosphor bronze lights, which were recommended by one of my guitarists, and it really sounds great. I am glad I decided to spend a little more, now I have it.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1392455073' post='2368888'] One powerful but small and light cab to replace my two powerful but small and light cabs. [/quote] You've been getting those emails from Alex, Mark?

Agree totally about Westones. The Thunder range in particular are excellent. I would add some Hohner basses to the list. Hohner B2A in its various incarnations, the full-bodied Jack and full-bodied plus headstocked B Bass all go for not a lot of cash but are perfectly good basses. Squier Deluxe range - I have the Deluxe Jazz and it is ridiculously nice for a bass that costs around £250 new. Squier Silver Series I think are tremendously good value. I've had both a J and P, both cracking basses. The Precision, particularly. They can usually be found for under £250. I had a Washburn Scavenger, around 1980 or so, that was gorgeous. Heavy, though, so it had to go. To my eyes it is the nicest looking bass ever made... I think I may be in a minority, though. Recently bought an Aria Pro II Laser Classic for £140, which is a stupidly low amount of money for a bass like that.

[quote name='stingraybassman' timestamp='1392827680' post='2373205'] Shame you are set on maple, Lozz has a beauty of an MIJ Precision for sale!! [/quote] That would be an easy fix - stick a maple Mighty Mite neck on it, sell the original.

Quick update. I bought a Simon and Patrick Cedar 6 in the end, serial number indicates made in 2001. £180 inc a hard case, so a little more than I first thought but I think worth it. Picked it up today - a few scuffs and dings, absolutely filthy and in need of some new strings. But it sings!

Rather than getting one off the shelf it is maybe worth gathering together a bitsa for the perfect P bass? I bought a scruffy black 90s MIJ P bass on here with a Mighty Mite all maple Jazz neck on it and have fallen head over heels with it. Did a few other mods - P-retro, Wizard Trad pup, Hipshot bridge, La Bella Deep Talkin' flats - and it is my main gigging bass. The P-retro opens up the tone brilliantly - it will do Jamerson to Foxton.

I acquired a JV0 Precision about 4 months ago and, straight out of the case, it is the best P bass I have ever played. Oozes quality, lightweight, absolutely great neck (not too wide, quite shallow) and a tone to die for. I really couldn't be happier with mine. Maybe the bubble has burst, price-wise, but I don't care.

I would buy the white USA made Peavey Foundation that is for sale here if it were my cash. Unlikely to get a better bass for the money. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/229735-peavey-foundation-bass-made-in-the-usa-white-with-rosewood-fretboard/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/229735-peavey-foundation-bass-made-in-the-usa-white-with-rosewood-fretboard/[/url]

Bit late. Maybe another night... something I've always liked but you never hear of the band - Randy Pie. The album Highway Driver is a forgotten gem imo. 1974, great jazzfunk. The whole album isn't on YouTube but all of the tracks are there singly. Here 'Super Sid' Great bass groove in this http://youtu.be/tXTkn85Pb_Q

I'd imagine an Ibanez SR300 will weigh less - probably substantially so - than any Squier VM Jazz model, even the lightest ones. I have an SR800 and it is one of the lightest basses I have owned at well under 8lbs. Current and past VM Jazzes have been 9-10lbs mark. There aren't many lightweight cheaper Jazz basses around - the lightest I have tried (and now own) is the Squier Jazz Deluxe, which is around 8.5lbs and a pretty good buy. Active, if you like that kind of thing. The Ibby and Jazz won't sound the same, though.

I've had Silver Series Precision and Jazz, both were lightweight and 'proper' wood, so I took it to be Basswood. I also had an E series MIJ Squier Jazz for a while that was made of PAF. Very heavy. Sounded nice though.

Thank you all for the input. Acoustic it will be. I think I will enjoy the thrill of the chase - always nice to have something new to look for. And thanks for the explanation, Mr. Skankdelver, sir. Pitched perfectly to a complete novice Actually, not a complete novice - I had a bottom of the range Fender acoustic when I was at school in the early-mid 70s. Wish I still had it.

I am looking at buying an acoustic guitar. Or an electro-acoustic guitar. I don't know which. Use - mainly for use at home but, never say never, might be used with one band for an acoustic set. Budget - secondhand, up to around £100, but this is subject to whether or not there is a huge leap in quality just beyond that. What are the pros and cons of acoustic vs electro-acoustic? Obviously, an acoustic is going to be easier to use at home but how easy is it to get to use on stage if need be? I assume it would need miking up? Or fitting with a pick-up? I have no firm idea! And are there any particular recommendations - I searched a bit and see Yamaha in general are good value, the F310 particularly so. Any info would be great, please! ta

Just checking out the PAL stuff - Bernie Marsden on guitar? Looks like a great band - went under my radar at the time. Thanks for that. http://youtu.be/f-_-KoGN_q4

I've recently been re-acquainting myself with some old Stretch stuff, which I am really enjoying. The whole history of how the band formed, the Mick Fleetwood thing etc is really quite fascinating. Anyway - the tone of the bass in the album Elastique is just exactly what I love about Precision basses and has some lovely playing on it. Cue opening track Miss Jones: http://youtu.be/HCzT0bxI6zo According to Wikipedia (so it must be true) the bassist at that point was Paul Martinez. Is it him in the TTOP vid of 'Why Did You Do It' that is on Youtube? They seemed to chop and change bassists fairly frequently. He has a website, which says a lot about nothing in particular. Anyone know anything about him - if he is still doing it, what else he has specifically played on? 'Big Log' Robert Plant, apparently. Given that Basschat is the font of all knowledge, someone here must know him or his dentist etc Ta

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1392379085' post='2367899'] There's a lot of Squier P's going for £100 or less on ebay recently. You could always swap out the pup on that too and a neck on a Squier P is [u][b]only 43mm wide.[/b][/u] I'd be very reluctant to do anything to the Ibby as you like it. [/quote] Only 43mm? 43mm is a floorboard compared to an Ibanez 800 neck!

I personally find it hard to get a P Bass tone out of any Ibanez I have tried. There is a rather smart looking Bitsa PJ for sale on here at the moment with a Mighty Mite Jazz neck that I reckon is a bit of a bargain at £185 delivered [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/228104-fs-precision-bass-special-bitsa-blackblackmaple-now-l185/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/228104-fs-precision-bass-special-bitsa-blackblackmaple-now-l185/[/url] The neck alone would have cost £100.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1392069169' post='2364416'] How many frets you need depends on what you want to play. [/quote] Yup. I am normally firmly entrenched below 12. Then one band decided to play 'By The Way' by RHCP, which needs 21 frets to play the intro properly, and I realised I only had that on a couple of my basses. Then having learnt it (I found it quite tricky - took me ages!!) the band imploded

7 in a rack, the rest in cases or gig bags - in my 'office' (man cave). One is at the menders.