Paul S

+1 Comfort Strapp - my Washburn Scavenger weighs as much as a busload of overweight elephants AND is neck heavy - makes it much better.

Partial update. Got both basses back yesterday afternoon and took one to rehearsal last night. Westone Thunder 1A dropped a semi-tone. Compared to the Tomastik flats on my Fender Jaguar, which I had been using previously, the D'Addario chromes were MUCH better. The extra guage and obvious tension in the strings made playing feel more natural. We also drop down the E to D for 'Slither', so I effectively dropped down to C# - handled it nicely. I can still make no comparison with same strings played with regular tuning but as it was last night was a big improvement. Have to add I am loving the Thunder 1A bass, too. Exactly the right sound I have been chasing when used active but rolled back a quarter turn. And it is a joy to play.

Well, courtesy of OldGit's generosity I can now try one out for myself. I doff my cap to you, sir.

More praise for OldGit - I asked 'what are string winders like' he says 'I'll send you one of mine to try. It came next day. yes - TOP man.

Tom just bought my fretless jazz - as smooth and easy a transaction as you could hope for. No BS, immediate payment, good communication - enjoy the bass, Tom!

Personally I think it is all the more important to show gratitude if it is a gift. 'Do as you would be done by' and all that. I believe the feedback thing is great - one of the many HUGE plus points of Basschat is that it really is a community and I feel I can deal with pretty well anyone without feeling anxious about the outcome.

One from my first gig in '08. I don't have that heavy old Hayman 4040 any more. Replaced it with other heavy old planks instead. [attachment=47792:me.jpg]

My God that Ernie Ball thing looks rather overkill! Mr Git Pm on it's way.....

That sounds like an extremely kind offer I can't refuse. Although, if they are pointless, it would save you the postage! How do they work, exactly?

I believe there are various gizmos that can speed up winding strings when changing them, although I don't think I've seen one that is designed for a bass (then again I haven't looked that hard). Are they worth bothering with? If so, any particular recommendations?

Very interesting. Thanks Fran.

Devil's advocate here. Is it worth spending the money? What is the total spend to do this upgrade (including new pups), and how would that compare with buying one that already has a similar spec? Could you get like for like, even secondhand, or does this really give you a standout instrument? Just curious. Totally agree about individual variation. When I was buying my main bass I tried everything on the wall and, despite my mind and wallet telling me I wanted a Squier, none came up to scratch compared with MIA Jazz or, what I ended up with, the MIJ Jaguar. But the Squier VM fretless Jazz I have (currently for sale - shameless plug) is a diamond.

Add the 151 to the comparison and I'll be glued to this thread too.

Doh! :blush:

[quote name='bubinga5' post='807833' date='Apr 15 2010, 11:23 PM']Rhythm Stick is awsome...wonderfull bass line..i could listen to it all day...fairly simple really, those 16th's over changes are the bugger...awsome bass player...[/quote] Awesome is right. i saw The Blockheads again last Saturday at Edmonton. The guy is a legend. I am trying to get to grips with it using a pick - no way could I move my fingers that quickly - it is neither easy nor sounding correct. Also trying to learn Muse's 'Hysteria' and am still at the stage where my fingers seem intent on trying each other into knots when doing the passage in E - you know the bit when it bounces between the open E, 12th fret E and the G on the A string. Should I stick to Status Quo?

As they were in stock and I didn't want to hang around for the La Bellas I bought D'Addario Chrome flats, 50-105. One set will go on a bass with regular tuning, the others will be detuned to E# - basses are similar so it should be a decent comparison. I'll report back when I get them back from the set up/clean as to how the detune affects tension etc.