Paul S

They guy from Golden Earriing had a number of odd ones - a double neck, one with a Fender neck. https://www.voxhumana.nl/content/rinus-gerritsen-signature-basses

I really fancy one of these. Supposedly fantastic build quality and DiMarzios? Time was they were reasonably priced secondhand but they seem to have soared in the last couple of years so I have probably lost the window. Plus it was mainly to irriitate the guitarist of a band I was in - to see the look of horror spread acxross his face when I strapped one of those on for a gig would have been a treat - but that fell apart years ago.

I had a serious love affair with Westone basses for a while but sold them all when my back got too bad. I had a couple of Thunder 1As (one with the old split P pickup enclosure, one with the rectangular Magnaflex) 1A fretless (that was fab) couple of Thunderjets (these were lighter with an extra fret, great modding platform if you are into stealth basses) Concord 32" scale, also the rarer than rare Pantera X790 Deluxe. And a handful of 6 strings. Until the advent of Harley Benton I reckoned these were the best value basses on the market.

I've had 2 of the Longhorn re-issues, don't recall where they were made but both had the wooden bridge, one of the '59 DC longscale and a '56 single cutaway. They were all fab but the Longhorn was the best. With both pups selected it did a passable Jazz bass burp, I always thought. There's a '59 DC shortscale model at the moment that looks lovely....

Yep. You can prepare and exercise etc and get on OK day to day then something takes you unawares and you're on the bench for a month or 3.

Here's a couple of mine. Only had the Eros a short while but I am a little bit in love with it. '76, the bridge humbucker adds a touch of magic in the blend. The HB PB Shorty had a new black pickguard shortly after I bought it and, just last week, a Tonerider pickup. The pickup as transformed it. I would say these two are going to be my gigging unit for the foreseeable.

Black, defo

Can't wait to see this done, should look the mutts.

Here's my Ric story. I'd never ever tried one but always fancied them. The sound, more than the looks, but not the clank - that mellow hollow tone you get half way up the neck. Machine Head. My problem was they are too expensive to buy on whim and I'd been put off making that kind of financial committment by all the tales of 'you've got to try a hundred before you find the one that fits'. Then a couple of years ago I was lucky enough to get a quality, early 70s MIJ Faker which was close enough to get a proper impression and I totally and utterly loved it. I loved the look, complete;ly blown away by the tone. It say comfortably in many genre, more versatile than I had been led to believe by the detractors. But heavy. Getting on for 11 lbs. I wore it for a couple of hours one rehearsal and my back hurt for the next week. Plus it has a bound slab body, something I struggle with, so I had to move it on, which was a desperate shame. I've found out that some Rics are lighter, coming in at around 9lbs, some are unbound with a forearm shamfer, but that still isn't light enough so I resigned myself to never having one. Then Davie @kodiakblair came to my rescue and sold me a Retrovibe Renegade that needed a bit of conversion work, which got done. So what I have now is a Retrovibe Renegade with generic Ric style pickups, unbound body, forearm shamfer, weighs under 8lbs. Does it look like a Ric? Kinda. Enough, anyway. Does it sound like a Ric? Kinda. Enough, anyway. It is light enough for me to wear all night, cost around £350 all in and has scratched my Ric itch.

Try something Gibson flavoured. Great for rock but completely different to Fender. Thunderbird or, if you fancy giving a short scale a go, SG or LP Jnr DC.

I know you didn't ask me but I have an opinion I had a Gibson Thunderbird for a while, a nice light one at 8lbs, no neck dive. Sold it, missed it, bought an Epiphone Classic Pro TBird, nice light one, around 8lbs. No neck dive. The Classic Pro has a set neck and Gibson pickups and, to my knackered old ears and hands, sounds and feels exactly like the Gibson did. My particular one actually had a better fit and finish compared to the Gibson, too, and came in around a grand cheaper secondhand.

TI Flats are bright and they do shortscale. Well, they call them shortscale but they are 32" scale really but I wind the extra bit around the pole and they are fine. Fairly low tension, too, which I like. A lot of folks hate them, of course, and they aren't cheap.

The poster had a typo, said it ws a Corvid safe environment.

I bet that is the business now. The pickguard and bridge have change the look quite dramatically. For the better, I should add.

That is interesting, Tony. I'll see how it sits first but it would be an easy thing to do. Well, for someone whose hands don't shake as much as mine it would

Okay, Tonerider is in place and I've had a noodle. Very pleased with the upgrade, it is sounding how I want the bass to sound and is everything I hoped for. The HB PB Shorty was OK with the stock pickup but with a sound that was a bit more 'vintage' than I aim for, not enough edge. As a consequence I wasn't using it. The Tonerider has given it more bite and a fatter sound. Much more presence. But, roll off the tone a bit, it will still do Vintage if needed, just a bigger version. Less aggressive than the Entwistle PBXN but more rounded and - dare I say - better. At least, more what I was looking for. To be honest, as far as my bad ears go, it doesn't sound a whole lot diffeerent to the Fender Custom Shop 62. For the money it is astonishing and transformed a back up into a really good gigable bass for by blues/rock band. For around £100 total outlay, too. Wow.

Both Steinbergers?

I haven't done the deed yet but will update the thread when I have.

Astonishingly quick service, I now have it in my grubby hands 26 hours after I ordered it.

The band had come to the end of its life by that point for assorted reasons. It was our last gig. Or, rather, it wasn't.

I remember a few years ago the band I was in were due to play at a Greene King pub (name and shame the Paul Pry in Rayleigh), we turned up and everything was set up ready for the big screen boxing match. It seems they forgot to cancel us. No apology, no fee, just turned us away. It so happened that one of our guitarists was at some bash the next night for CEOs of various companies, and the CEO for Greene King was there. He mentioned the story. Monday morning he got a long and very cap in hand email from the manager of the Paul Pry, offering us money for the gig we didn't play and dates for future gigs. I believe he told them to poke it.

Ta. I bought mine from the Tonerider website, £35 plus postage, which is more than reasonable. Gonna stick it in my HB PB shorty to try and give it a little more bite.

I've asked this very question before now, I am an idiot. Decided to get one anyway and check it out.