Baloney Balderdash

Awesome! Congratulations. Wish i could afford one. I am though actually very happy with my Harley Benton GuitarBass, just wish it would have had a few mm wider nut (it's just exactly manageable, at least with the gauge .080 F#1 as the lowest thickest string, if one is mindful when fretting at the first few frets, but I think if I were to tune it to regular E1 standard tuning, needing a gauge .090 string for that to keep the same tension, it would start to get very problematic, luckily though for my specific application F# is better suited). Now by the way tuned from G standard tuning down to, as mentioned in above paragraph, F# standard tuning, and I think it'll stay there.

Natalie Prass - "Christy"

Yeah, that one is the Goth Moth! This is the Metal Moth!

Cheap budget basses have indeed in general come a huge long way, which I think predominantly is thanks to the fact that the exact same computer controlled machines being responsible for the largest part of the manufacturing process of just about all mass produced instruments, and some budget instruments will even be made on the same factory and by the exact same people as some higher end basses. So that is bound to have closed the gab considerably when it comes to production quality between cheap budget and higher end basses. What's left really is the quality of the materials used and then the consistency/extend of the quality control, the latter really effectively meaning consistency of production, or how high the risk is of getting a dud no good unit (which isn't really a real issue if you have the opportunity of trying before buying, or ordering from a web shop with a proper return policy, at most really just being an inconvenience), the former usually really mostly affecting hardware and electronics, which are both for most parts relatively cheap and relatively easy to perform updates, and if the given budget brand chose wisely of which cheap budget electronics and hardware they use for their instruments, not even that necessarily being a major issue. For example, while I personally found that the pickups on budget instrument in general exposing the biggest issue in terms of preventing a budget instrument from sounding great, most of the pickups Harley Benton uses, even on their cheapest models, seems to actually sound genuinely great, some even amazing. Though the rest of the hardware and electronics is generally still not exactly being the highest quality on the cheapest models, and usually there will also be a higher risk of the pickups not functioning quite as they are otherwise supposed to, referring to the part in the above paragraph about lacking quality control of cheap budget products. And I do think Harley Benton in particularly is unbelievably high quality for the money, also in comparison to most other budget brands, and likewise on the other side of the spectrum there are still some budget brands which are best avoided.

That bass looks awesome, I love the color in particular! Can't help you with your volume pot issue though, sorry.

Coil - "Who by Fire" (Leonard Cohen cover), from their second studio album "Horse Rotorvator" from 1986 :

I would have though that as good as impossible, what I would think possible though was the wax potting of the pickups potentially partially melting causing microphonic pickups. In either case it is probably a good precaution not to leave your instruments in direct sunlight, where the temperatures can get pretty crazy, and I'd say especially for the sake of the wood rather than the electronics.

To be honest I was stupid enough to sell probably the best bass I ever owned too, a Jerry Jones Longhorn Bass, which is kind of a high end boutique clone of the Danelectro Longhorn Bass, though the guy who owned that company since retired and closed down production, and they are kind of both really rare to find and really expensive used now. Played amazing, and I loved how the 2 lipsticktube pickups sounded when connected in series with each other, which was one of the stock modes on the 4 way rotary switch pickup selector. Astonishing tone, especially though my Ampeg B-15S, 60W tube amp from 1968, which I by the way also was stupid enough to sell at some point.

“The Dreamer is Still Asleep” from the album “Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 1” by Coil

So you basically kept buying, then selling, every time you got a great bass from them, until you by the power of statistics got one you wasn't satisfied with, and then decided to call that a day? Uhm... Curious strategy... Not sure I really get the reasoning behind it though. But I guess it worked since you eventually did end up with a bass you think is better than all the others. Unless you plan to continue the general pattern I pick up here that is. How is it the saying go: If you really love someone you need to set them free. Not sure this is exactly what it is really supposed to mean though.

On the other hand, to offer the opposite perspective, for the longest time, like several years, I pondered on acquiring a Bass VI like instrument, and frequently had periods where I would check YouTube videos featuring such instruments, and I did have a keen eye on the Harley Benton GuitarBass, which had a quite manageable price tag, and judging from reviews I read/watched supposedly being amazing value for the money, some people even being of the opinion that it was superior to the Squier Bass VI that costs slightly over double the money. I was really intrigued by this type of instrument, yet at the same time I wasn't sure I would actually also enjoy playing it, mainly because of the quite narrow, guitar like, string spacing, so I kept postponing the acquisition and used money on other music equipment instead, convincing myself that was money better spend. But then a couple of months back I found myself with a bit of extra unsuspected cash and finally at long last I decided to give the Harley Benton GuitarBass a shot, I could always send it back and get my money fully refunded if it turned out not to be for me. But as it turned out I quickly found myself immensely enjoying playing this instrument, and it has now become my preferred instrument of choice. Like as if this was just the absolute perfect instrument for me, as a bass player who original started out playing guitar, and had continued playing guitar on the sideline all along, and the sort of crossover/fusion guitar/bass, predominantly melodic riff based, playing style that I had developed (and which this instrument basically seems perfectly, as if made specifically, for) for a bass and drums duo I formed with a drummer friend of mine, using my 28,6" 4 string Ibanez Mikro Bass tuned to G standard tuning (which is also how I have the Harley Benton GuitarBass stringed up for and tuned as), as in 3 half steps above regular 4 string bass E standard tuning (or in the case of the GuitarBass 9 half steps bellow regular guitar tuning), that just had been waiting for me to discover it all along. Admittedly I did stumble over the strings with both my left and right hand fingers a lot to start with due to the tight spacing but relatively thick strings, and admittedly I still wouldn't mind the nut width just haven been a couple of mm wider, but I did quickly get used to the tight spacing, and while I still have to be mindful of how I fret the strings close to the nut if I need the string above or bellow to ring as well, not to mute them, but totally manageable with a bit of practice and consideration, and overall I have actually come to prefer the tighter guitar like string spacing (if only they would have made the nut a few mm wider, but I can totally live with that). Eventual read the post above this one by me where I sort of elaborate my love for this instrument.

6 string banjos meant to be tuned exactly like a guitar does exist you know, I know a guy who owns one.

Dropping a normal .105 string set down a full step to D equals tension wise pretty close to that of a .095 set in regular E standard tuning (or that is to be more precisely a gauge .095 - .075 - .055 - .040 set of strings tuned in regular E standard tuning matches the .107 balanced tension D'Addario EXL 170B set of strings, which is gauge .107 - .080 - .060 - .045, very closely when tuned one whole step down to D standard tuning). I would personally use a the EXL 170B, gauge .107 low E, balanced tension set for D standard tuning, but I happen to like the relatively thin gauge and low tension of a .095 set set of strings for regular E standard tuning. You can find out which strings would match tension wise to your current set and personal preferences in general by using this string tension calculator (this calculator uses D'Addario strings as the source (might vary a bit between different brands), and mind string gauge, "String Diameter", is typed in this way: For example .107 or .095 e.t.c, and the tuning, "Desired Note", with the octave number after the given note: For example low E string would be E1 and high G string would be G2 e.t.c) : https://wahiduddin.net/calc/calc_guitar_tension_from_size.htm If you don't know you can see the octave numbers of different notes here : https://pages.mtu.edu/~suits/notefreqs.html

I would think it's the same as with the Joyo pedals of identical names. That is the Analog Chorus being a Boss CE-2 clone, and the Classic Chorus also being all analog, but an Ibanez CS-9 clone, which by the way is the same as the current production Ibanez Mini Chorus.

Crispin Glover - "Clowny Clown Clown"

Cort are known for extremely high value for the money. Even their cheapest budget basses are genuinely great, so this ought to be awesome. Also I figure if Cort is good enough for a legend like Jeff Berlin, who got some seriously impressive bass chops, and who had Cort make his signature bass, which he actually do use as his main bass, then it ought to be good enough for your average gear snob hack of a bass player as well.

Most of the modulation effect models in those Zoom units are genuinely great, the emulation of the legendary Boss CE-1 chorus being no exception. A Zoom MS-70CDR though would allow for using up to 6 effects per patch, versus the just 4 of the MS-60B. Also I strongly recommend getting the unofficial 3rd party "Zoom Effect Manager" firmware hack program that allows you to pick between all those same generation Zoom digital effect models from a list and load any combination you might desire into your Zoom unit (works for Zoom G1(X)on, Zoom B1(X)on, MS-50G, MS-60B and MS-70CDR).

And what brand and model is it? I can't quite decipher what it says on the headstock. But yes, no doubt whatsoever that this is the bass in that video, well not this exact unit, but an identical one, exact same model, just in white finish, symmetrical, sort of Gibson Les Paul Junior guitar like body, but with somewhat rounder and slimmer shaped horns compared to a Les Paul Junior guitar, reverse neck P and regular orientation bridge P pickups, 4 pots/control knobs, chunky gold bridge, and though it is hard to see for sure the headstock seems to match too, at very least a 2+2 construction, just like this one. Spot on! Can't possibly be any other bass model.

Doesn't bother me at all, I even kind of like it, the way that it's straight lines makes it look like a pattern done on purpose (edit!!!: I actually wrote this before I read your comment regarding you actually being told so by the shop). But it's your bass of course, not mine, so entirely up to you if you can live with it, but from the other posts in this thread though I understand that there would be a pretty big chance the replacement would look the same, and it might not be quite as good a player as this one, so chances are you are gonna end worse off having it replaced, which leads me to think the best advice to you would be to either learn to live with the imperfect finish of this one, or get your money back and forget about a replacement new bass this time. So the real question you'd have to ask yourself in this case I guess is: Do you dislike it so much that you'd rather have no bass at all, but your money back, or do you think you can learn to love it the way it is?

With how you describe the batteries going really hot and melted the battery holder it sounds to me like a short circuit has happened somewhere. Could have happened anywhere in the circuit, but could be as simple as an exposed "+" wire touching an exposed "-" wire somewhere, which should be a simple fix, however from what you describe you should probably prepare yourself for the quite likely possibility that the whole preamp is done for and needs complete replacement, and hope that it didn't also affect the pickups, so that the wax potting and possibly insulating layer of the coil wire also partially melted, in which case the pickups as well would be done for. And if this is indeed the case then potentially, in worst case scenario, it could mean a more or less complete replacement of all the electronics, including the pickups, but let's hope you were lucky and replacing a couple of wires will be all needed to fix it.

Not all bridges are made absolutely 100% perfectly equal, that goes even for otherwise high end same model bridges as well. And a lot of factors that can cause this. Also the bridge on those basses are not exactly high tech, which is fully intentional and part of the overall aesthetics of that bass, which probably does increase the risk of something like this happening. Just one of those things that can happen and one have to accept and learn to live with. It's not the end of the world, just use Loctite. Or you could swap out the stock bridge for a more high tech modern bridge with screws that locks the saddles in place once adjusted and totally ruin the aesthetics of the bass, your choice.

The last 4 digits in that stamp says 2101, so my guess is they are in fact from 2101, that is from the future, the second year of the next century to be exact, which is to say (minus) -79 years old.

Cool. You got the technical specs for the custom wound P pickup, and would you mind sharing it in that case? Just out of pure curiosity.

In that case I don't understand what this argument is about, to me it looked like you had a problem and was objecting with/over me me using the term "most common". And both I am pretty certain, that is both percentage of all all 4 string bass models and percentage of 4 string basses sold, you might have a point specifically with 4 string short scale basses sold though, I wouldn't know that for sure, but my best guess is that 19mm string spacing at bridge in this specific context would actually still be most common. Regardless overall and as general notion claiming that 19mm string spacing at the bridge on 4 string basses being most common would still be correct however, which is what I actually intended it to read as (and honestly I don't think I gave an impression of otherwise being the case either in my original reply).

Yes, as I specifically pointed out in the post you quote me for you are pointing out the basses that are not statistically representative, the exceptions, that doesn't proof anything and not how statistics work, as I wrote: "If you don't believe me then try to look up the specs of 100 (to get a reasonably actual statistically valid number) random current production 4 string bass models, distributed about equally over different brands/manufactures, without deliberately going for those you already know got a different string spacing than 19mm at the bridge (to avoid coloring the statistics subjectively), and do the statistics yourself." Those you pointed out doesn't even make up a very high percentage compared to the entire market, especially not when some of the models by some of those brands you mention even actually does also feature 19mm string spacing at bridge. And that Ibanez number is even just totally made up, all their current production short scale 4 string bass models features 19mm string spacing at bridge, including the Mikro Bass (the other 2 models being the Talman TMB30 and the EHB1000S), and non of those are even just remotely Fender clones. You forgot Danelectro by the way with 16.5mm string spacing at bridge.