Paul S

Likewise - I'll keep it in mind when mooching about locally.

Just to echo comments from the others - Gareth is a great bloke to deal with. I bought a bass from him, when it arrived there was a problem with it. There is always a nagging uncertainly when dealing with people unseen and unknown but in this case everything was sorted out as smoothly and as painlessly as it possibly could have been. Cheers Gareth!

I may as well start the avalanche of replies that will endorse OBBM cables - you cannot buy better for the money and the service is second to none. If you have soldering skills or want to learn them then you may *just* manage to do it cheaper yourself using good quality components. I have fiddled about recently as a way of improving my soldering but in all honesty will go back to buying them from OBBM.

Just a thought - if you don't live far away you are welcome to come and have a noodle on it. I am SE Essex.

I favour skinny necks and have recently bought an SB14, and also have some Fenders with Jazz neck profiles (Power Jazz Bass Special and Precision Lyte). Plus a selection of assorted JapCrap with Jazz type profiles, but not an Ibanez. I am not sure how to measure it but on a comparative basis the width of the necks are exactly the same, but the SB14 is slightly deeper than the Fender Jazz necks. In hand the feel is nearer to the slightly wider and deeper Westone necks, although a tad shallower than these. Not as deep as some P-Bass necks I have tried, though. I find it extremely comfy, I have to say. Also the way it hangs is different - the smaller headstock and general body configuration make it a couple of inches shorter than the Fender Precision style bodies I have, which I find makes it slightly easier to play - the balance is somehow better like this. Sound wise there is a world of difference.

With the inevitable out-of-sync timing, Best Bass gear have proved me wrong with an email this afternoon They didn't get the first email and have apologised profusely, offering to put things right immediately.

A brief update. I sold on the BT1 and the new owner informs me it doesn't work due a manufacturing fault on the gearing. I contacted Best Bass gear, explaining that a/ BT1 doesn't fit all Musicman basses as is implied on their website. b/ Item they sent was faulty. That was on 13th June and they haven't even acknowledged the email, let alone suggested some form of redress. So - buy from Best bass Gear if you are confident you are going to get exactly what you want, and that it is going to be a proper one. They are happy enough to take our money but not, it seems, any of the associated responsibility. I can't be bothered to waste angst and emotion on a transatlantic fight, so will just write off the cost of the BT1.

I am also a fan of on-board eq rather than amp fiddling. I fitted an Artec SE-2A into my Fender Precision Lyte as the stock one was faulty. It sounded ok. I upgraded to a J. East one and it completely opened up the range of sounds that are available out of it. So in my case, at least, and with a direct comparison, I discovered that 'you get what you pay for'.

I bought a Fender Precision Lyte unseen, fell for a sob story, and when it finally arrived it was a dog. Bad drippy and uneven re-finish in a colour I hated (I was told it was red, it was day-glow deep pink) with majorly faulty electrics. Rather than lose money pointlessly I decided to use it as a teaching aid - I stripped and refinished the body, stripped the painted headstock and stuck a new decal on it, put in completely new electrics. The finish didn't look bad but I used the wrong paint under a clear enamel coat which has now cracked! Do I care? Not particularly. It isn't sellable without making a loss, but I don't intend to sell it. I found out so much about how the bass was put together and now fearlessly tackle most jobs on my basses. One day I will take it to bits again and do a better job on the body.

Rehearsed with it last night. Great tone, really individual - playing with the treble boost/cut really gives a great range of sounds. Oozes quality, smiles all round

I know a standard Hiscox one will, if that helps, also the standard tweed rectangular ones. Fitted I would doubt it becasue of the offset shape.

Sounds high to me, too. Nowt much wrong with the Thunder range - great range of tones. I have one, Thunder 1T (with a whammy bar) that cost me under £40 on eBay and it does a passible Gibson SG impersonation! Best place to ask in on here [url="http://forum.westoneguitars.net/"]http://forum.westoneguitars.net/[/url] - what they collectively don't know isn't worth asking about.