SteveXFR

I recently saw Intronaut live. Excellent bit of prog metal with fretless bass

Wreck of the SS Needle - Cult Of Luna

Shoot to thrill - ACDC

Good Vibes - The Residents I can't be bothered to get a video link

Love buzz - Nirvana

A lot of them seem to be using Epiphone or Squier budget instruments. Why would Fender or Gibson choose to sponsor pros with their budget kit?

Does the Veyron match the valve amps for dirty overdriven tones or is it just clean?

Auto Pilot - Queens Of The Stone Age

I'm sure I heard in an interview it's a bass he bought while still a student (skint) and he just liked it so kept using it.

Schools out - Alice Cooper Sorry for taking the obvious choice

Mike Kerr of Royal Blood uses a Gretsch Junior Jet bass. The mountain of gear he plays it through definitely isn't budget

I'll be sure to tell Mrs XFR that

Thanks for clearing that up. Consider me educated.

I have no idea. Is that good or bad?

I've never seen anyone play punk on fretless

Even used VP Thunderbirds are selling for more than that!

In the last year I must have listened to this song more than any other and it's on again now. It's absolutely brutally heavy but there's so much going on musically that it's a really interesting tune and I keep hearing new things in it. The intro drums are absolutely brilliant, I've seen them play it live and its two drummers playing it.

I've got a vintage pro because I went in to PMT to buy a Gibson and thought I'll just try that Epiphone to see how much better the Gibson is. I'm glad I did, saved me £1200

Makes sense. After all, a £10k custom shop precision wouldn't be very punk.

It's very decent for the money. It plays nicer than the Mexican Jazz bass I used to have. Took me 10 minutes to get a decent setup after fitting .065-.130 strings and tuning to drop A#. All I had to do other than minor tweeks was drill out the bridge a tiny bit and file the nut for the A# string.

It is real. What sort of person would be lying about a £60 bass to look cool?

I've seen a few pro bassists now using Epiphone vintage pro Thunderbirds and a couple using Sterling Stingrays. The most surprising was Chuck Garrick from Alice Coopers band using an Epiphone Thunderbird, I'm fairly sure he's got Gibson money if he even has to pay for them. It got me wondering what other pro bassists are using budget gear? Has Sting been seen with a Harley Benton or Victor Wooton with a Stagg?

Them bones - Alice In Chains

I bought my first P bass this morning because I wanted something dirt cheap that I could modify without worrying about damaging it. It's a Squier P bass in black and that's all I know about it. I paid £60 for it. I set it up to tune down to drop A# and I'm really pleased with how it sounds. Some hotter pickups would be nice, maybe some toneriders and some decent tuners would be nice. It's pretty light which is nice.

Carefully pull the knobs off and use a spanner to tighten the nut. You may need to take the back cover off to hold the body as you tighten the nut. So much opportunity for innuendo.