NJE

Just tried it, it doesnt seem to work ☹️

Stop wasting your teenage years playing bass in bands thinking you will ‘make it’. Work harder at school and study something useful that will give you a good career and make you good money. The best it gets for you is playing weddings to drunk people who just want to listen to crap music, and you won’t earn any more from it per night at 35 as you do at 16. Excercise more, don’t waste your money on guitars.

I have had my fair share of USA Fenders and unless you can try one secondhand before you buy I would stay clear. I think all of mine have had quality issues of some kind and never felt very responsive. I don’t think they are worth the money new at all. If it was me, I would go Lakland or a chunky necked MIM 50’s (both the normal and roadworns I have played are superb) or I would look at the Nate Mendel precision secondhand. I don’t think anyone has much bad to say about them, they look great and Scott Devine seems to play his a lot more that a Fender Custom Shop which says something to me. We all like different feels and look for different qualities though, so really it’s the same old advice of try a load and see what sticks.

Yeah my dad too. He was in London at the start of the rock n roll explosion and ended up unwittingly rubbing shoulders with a lot of the big names in music now. He grew up and played in bands with Ian McLagen of the small faces, did sessions with Manfred Mann, had The Who support one of his bands, saw the stones before anyone cared about them, bumped into a “weird kid” called David Bowie at some parties.....and so on. All of this and a bit more I have draggged out of him over the years as he kept the fact he was even a musician hidden from my mum and I for about 20 years. He turned his back on it and gave up until I was about 15 when he started playing guitar again. I adored music before he showed any ability, but he stoked the fire in me to learn to play and instrument and taught me my first chords and encouraged me so much to play bass when I showed a genuine interest. At 16 I was gigging in pubs and playing functions in his band earning £70-150 a night, good times!

I have just seen the Rivolto Combinata on eastwoods site which was designed by Dennis Fano. It’s a cool shape and I actually quite like the headstock too, so if that could be modified or adapted to a short or medium scale that would be interesting. Get some nice hipshot hardware on there and some cool pickups and it could be a pretty cool retro bass. I like a lot of Fano guitar designs and ideas so maybe seeing what they could come up with would be cool.

If you really want to spend a load of money, I would probably aim for a Stingray Classic or an Old Smoothie. If you fancy making your budget go a little further, I would keep an eye out for a regular 2 or 3 band Stingray secondhand (I love the three band but a lot of folks like the 2). I have seen them as low as £700 on here, Facebook and Gumtree and I would put the rest of your budget to good use somewhere else or on another Bass.

Hit me with your rhythm stick. That takes a lot of building up to, it’s hard to get the feel right and play at the right speed and will get your plucking hand working well with your fretted. I have seen very few people nail it.

Yeah really great strings and I also love the whole recycling idea and the rewards scheme, genius! Just saving up for a new set which takes a while these days with a kid in the house 😄

My good friend (who’s a guitarist) bought me this.....bar-steward.....it’s pretty much true though 😄

This man speaks for me as well 😄. I read the title and this is basically what came to my head, short scale or even up to 33” scale with some nice hardware (lollipop tuners please) and a big Novak or Serek-esque pickup.

I like Stingrays for that mid range punch. Unlike most Stingray owners, I hate scooping the EQ and just boosting Bass and Treble, and I love the 3 band EQ because I can tweak the mid range for finger style playing. Of all the amps I have had, I would say my old EBS set up had the most thump and clarity to take Stingray, although my Aguilar does a very good job too these days.

I would guess he just likes a P Bass or that’s what people want to see/hear him play at a session? I don’t think it has anything to do with being offered money or falling out with anyone. He has always played a pretty big selection of basses by different brands, he used a Bongo for a while and I saw him on the internet somewhere using one of the new passive MusicMan basses. He used a 5 string single humbucker Lakland with the pickup in the sweet spot for a while as well as a custom made 5 string fretless Stingray copy so I guess like a lot of pro players he used whatever suits the music and the artist. I have seen him use a Moon jazz a lot too and no one really associates him with that brand or a Jazz Bass.

I have a massive issue with my body chemistry deadening strings quickly, and was luckily given some bonus D’Addario player circle points to try the NYXL strings. Despite not being marketed as lasting longer than any other strings they have massively more life in them than any other uncoated nickel strings I have used over the years. like someone else mentioned they are beautifully packaged and I love getting a little sticker as a bonus when your spending a good chunk on a set of strings. Mom currently deliberating more or going back to Elixir but it’s a tough choice.🤔

Worst lyric in a song that my band performs; “Well I'm the friendly stranger in the black sedan, Oh woncha hop inside my car, I got pictures, candy, I'm a lovable man” Im sure it wasn’t supposed to give the creepy vibe it does now, but in modern day context it does sound a bit wrong. 😬

I am now on my third Stingray after trying a few different basses and unfortunately having to sell one for financial reasons. For me there are a couple of big selling points which bring me back to the bass not including the very consistent build quality. The neck is beautifully finished and the nut width is just about spot on for me as I struggle with the Jazz bass nut width. The big pickup has bark and you can do so much with it and a 3 band EQ, I find it really cuts through live which is a big thing for me. The pickup position is also really comfortable for me as I pretty much always anchor my thumb on the pickup cover. I never quite get comfortable with the Precision pickup position and a jazz is a bit too far back although more comfortable than a Precision. I still love J and P basses but the small things just make a Stingray the perfect bass for me at the moment.

I trained my wife up too well, she knows makes models, colours and now even comments on the colour and comments things like “you’d need to change the pickguard in that, tort would look better”. I think I am the odd one out because my friends all hide purchases for their hobbies from their partners but we discuss everything and I like running things past her. I think I have almost got her on board with a mustang bass and she knows one of the ultimate dream basses is a Pino signature.

That looks very wrong to me. Truss rod adjustment hole looks wrong, headstock decal looks out of place, the pickguard doesn’t look the right shape, sunburst looks wrong, and there aren’t many stock Fender basses with PJ pickups in that colour with maple necks. Just lots of small things that make me say avoid or at least don’t pay much and happily know you have probably not got a Fender.

I have heard this quite a bit, these shows and their researchers etc will go and search YouTube and social networks to find people who have a certain level of ability so they know there will be some talent on there. The Voice seems to do this to a higher degree from what I have gathered from some videos and articles.

I love Lollipop tuners and they look amazing on a Tom Stenback 5 string in the same 4+1 config.

I wouldn’t listen to any of that Kind of music at home out of choice, but it is so much fun to play in a band. I played loads of Disco/funk in a previous band with a brass section too, and I have never enjoyed playing so much. We used to do September by Earth Wind and Fire which was just pure joy for the band and audiences.

Yeah totally agree, my stingray is incredibley well made. I think on the whole I can’t quite believe how much American made basses are, I remember paying £650 new for my first American standard precision but then that was about 18 years ago now 😬

I was really not impressed by the changes when I first heard about them, but I have done a bit of U-turn. I think they have made some valid and purposeful changes to the bass rather than just change the colour and tweak a pickup. The roasted necks look superb and the sculpted neck joint is lovely, but I still think this is big lump of money for a Stingray. Perhaps I haven't got with the times on what things cost, but when I first started playing and fairly recently, I have bought second-hand Stingrays in immaculate condition for less than 1k, so I don't understand buying one for more than double that. I am a fan though and I have to say if I had the spare money I would love to pick up a second-hand Smoothie or Classic Ray which are a premium. Good on them though, a really nice set of updates to a classic bass and you still have the option for a classic reproduction if they aren't your cup of tea.

I have asked myself the same question many times over the years, why are there no Jazz basses and very few PJ Precisions with a 'proper' precision neck. I can handle a Jazz nut width for a while but it gives me cramp in my hand and I just feel more comfortable on a P or Stingray neck. I love Jazz basses but to get the neck I would want means either a bitsa build or custom. I was on the verge of emailing Moollon to see if they would do one of their Jazz basses with a P neck, but as I don't have the money I didn't want to waste their time.

A couple of pound cheaper with Thomann even with €10 delivery, but if you need more stuff it’s free shipping over a certain amount.