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Hi all, I gave up on bass magazines a few years ago but does anyone know if any have done any interviews with Pino? I seem to remember Ibass magazine did one at some point but I can't find any reference to it which makes me think I may have imagined it. If anyone knows any back issues that have an interview please reply.

I gigged and rehearsed with one full time for just over a year and it was incredibly well made and an absolute pleasure to play. Clarity wise, I would say it was fine, it had that big round P bass sound, the B was never going to be that clear with just a P pickup but I found it incredibly useful for all of the soul I was playing at the time. We used to change keys on everything so I was using the B string in every song and it worked well. Mine sustained well especially with Elixirs on but I also have a fairly high action which I believe gives the string more room to move. Tension was good with Elixirs, I guess it depends on your normal strings. I certainly wouldnt have wanted anything lower in tension so wouldn't have gone near some flat wound brands. It is a really really good bass, great soul tones and great with a pic, its not going to have bell-like clarity as its P bass with 34" scale at the end of the day but I loved mine to pieces. I only sold it as I moved back to playing more funk/dance/electronic music and wanted something with a bridge pickup.

Oh dear lord, I might need to find some money from somewhere very quickly!! That is basically everything I would want in a Jazz bass and I already know the quality of the other road worn stuff.......I think my wife might be getting very angry with me soon.

Some people like relics, some don't, it makes life interesting when we don't all like the same things.............next subject.

Watching Squeeze and although I am not a huge fan, all I can say is, that's how its done!! Great bass sound too, she's a great player.

I watched 4 acts this morning and the bass sounded fecking awful on all of them, Verdine White's bass sounded horrendous to me but the band were amazing as always. Then I watched The 1975, guitars drums etc sounded great, bass was a clanky distorted mess from the P-Bass, then I watched CHVRCHES, ok an electronic band predominantly but again a clanky horrible distorted mess, Precision again and then Finally Reef, you guessed it, clanky horrible distorted mess and you guessed it, a Precision again.......do I see a trend emerging.... yet to watch any more, I may have just picked the only 4 acts with an awful bass sound. I am presuming it is not the bands and more the way the bass has been recorded.

I'm not really a Flea fan anymore (I was obsessed in my teens) but that bass represents most of the things I love in a jazz bass that can only normally be found on Fender CS or other boutique/custom builders. Custom colour, relic, tort plate, stacked pots....well done fender! If it had lollipop tuners which I am obsessed with, it would be perfect for me, but that is easily remedied. I know the quality of the road worn instruments so this should be great. Off topic slightly, my friend had a RW strat and had it set up and some new pickups put in it (fender vintage reissue jobbies) and he swears it is better than his two CS strats now, much to his dismay.

So fender are making a Mexican road worn version of Fleas 61 jazz in shell pink with stacked pots. Looks amazing too, I want one! Andertons have them on their site but I can't find anything else so far apart from a picture from NAMM on Instagram.

I am sure I have commented on Bass Direct before having done a few commission sales with them and bought some amps and general bits and bobs. The last time I was in the shop it was only Mark working there and I found him challenging but in a very enjoyable way. Let me explain, I guess most of us go into shops with pre-conceived ideas of what we want, basically whatever is causing us GAS at that moment in time. I would guess that a lot of the time we are basing these desires on images and hype rather than physically playing the bass/amp/cab. Look how much stuff gets churned around on the for sale thread here. I was in Marks shop trying things I thought I would like and ended up very underwhelmed, Mark grabbed a load of basses, sat me down and made me play stuff I wouldn't look at normally. It worked, I needed up being blown away by and Elrick and a Roscoe and a Nordy at the time and was on the verge of buying the Nordy. It was also fairly early days for Dingwall in the UK and the one I played was incredibly good too. While chatting to Mark at that time, he told me how he has guys coming back over and over again buying and selling the kit they so desperately wanted a few weeks earlier. They didnt listen to any advice from someone who spends their life around the gear and a lot of these people ended up not happy with the purchase. Yes it was probably good for business but he was more interested in finding the right bass/amp for me and customers in general than have people trading in and swapping gear all the time. Yes he has some heavy preferences on gear, Bergs and Roscoe at the time, but that is (I'm guessing) based on experience and probably a result of him seeing those instruments come back for trade-ins and re-sale less than a lot of other brands. Its simple, if you don't like the way he does things, go somewhere else, but I liked what he had to say. My final example of something simple Mark said to me. At the time I had a 5 string and a 4 string bass, and was swapping between for some reason, I think I felt like I had to have a 4 string. In conversation he just said "why have you got a 4 string and a 5" I honestly couldn't give him a sensible reason. He smiled and said that you can do everything you need on a 5 but not the other way round (for my particular playing situation) so I basically gave up 4 string after that.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1466421133' post='3075623'] My PJ has a chunky neck. And they would have made it even bigger if I'd asked... far cheaper than a CS or Lull, too. [/quote] I wasn't very clear sorry, by custom build I meant custom spec from other builders not just the Fender CS. I know Lull make a big neck as 'standard' but I am not sure where Lull fit, are they custom built? I suppose they are custom spec'd by some shops. It all depends on whether you want Fender on the headstock I guess. There are some good cheaper options to get a P neck on a PJ if you look elsewhere. On a budget I would probably go secondhand Lakland Bob Glaub and get a pickup installed. Saying that, the Jake above is a bloody good option too!

I was looking for PJ with a big old P neck for a while and there are limited options from Fender, basically all I found was the old late 90's Hot Rod Precision and now the new Vintage Hot Rod 60's precision. I love the massive 50's Precision neck that you get on the road worn but you wont get a neck that big unless you modify a standard model, get a custom build or look at a Mike Lull.

That looks tasty!! I have to say I have become a Lakland convert after getting my 55-02 and I really don't need the temptation to get a 5 string Jazz. They do it with Tort pickguard as well.

I absolutely love playing budget instruments, I have no idea why but I just seem to grin ear to ear when a cheap bass plays and sounds way above its price point. It almost gives me more pleasure than playing my more expensive instruments. I have a £150 Squier 5 string which is incredibly good and sounds superb, yes a little neck heavy but still so much fun to play. I had a £200 Squier Precision 5 string which was superb as well and I used that above my Roscoe Beck for a while. I have also just bought a Harley Benton Fretless for £115 and I LOVE it so much, its mind blowing how well made and how good it sounds. Yes expensive basses are nice, but it doesn't mean to say you can't really enjoy the cheap ones that often get left in cases as backups.

Our band leader/owner of all the PA/drummer was really keen to try IEM but it meant an investment in a digital desk for him to make it work well so I think we as a band have kind of given up on the idea now. Its a shame as I think it would be the best option to keep volume levels low in smaller venues, especially since our drummer started using the top end Roland drums. The main issue I have, is that I have my amp fairly loud on stage as I can rarely hear it because often I am so close to it or even beside it. This then means that my amp is very boomy and loud and competing with the front of house sound which said band leader and drummer moans about, fair point though! I am not really in a position to go IEM for the time being but I am debating either losing the Aguilar cabs and getting a floor monitor for my bass amp pointing back at me, or getting one cab to sit on a flight case much higher than my Aguilars normally are so that I can hear my bass without using huge volume. Possibly looking at a powerful 2x10 or 3x10 or a 15 with a 6" horn. I need to de-couple my bass from stages and keep the speakers closer to head height. I used to use a Auralex gramma but it doesn't give me the height. Really I just need to hear bass on stage and at the moment the Aguilars, which are phenomenal when I have a big stage, aren't working in the current situation.

I know its a slightly odd question but I am interested to see if anyone has given up using 'normal' bass rig? By that I mean has anyone stopped using a traditional cab and amp setup designed for bass and moved to using PA cabs power amp, preamps and graphic EQs? I have found myself in a situation whereby I DI and use the PA all the time for front of house sound and my rig is just there for me and the band as a glorified monitor. I could just as easily have my bass pumped through the bands monitors as well and not even really bother with an amp at all. I do however like having something a bit more than a monitor on stage but I find that I often struggle to hear my amp on stage as I am standing so close to it, that it just flies past my legs. I use two Aguilar DB112 cabs and a tonehammer 350 and when I DI I send pre-eq so I am not really using the Aguilars sound. My idea is to switch over to something like an Avalon U5 Pre and go straight into some powered PA speakers which have some tone shaping and eq and just use them on stage, perhaps even as a wedge in front of me firing up to my ears. Has anyone done anything similar? I'm really interested to see if there is a reason this will or wont work.

I played a few of the American Vintage range last year and they were all phenomenal instruments, CS quality in my opinion, and great tone from all three. I tried a Adam Clayton a few months ago and whilst it was all put together well it was dull as dishwater. Like most brands you get some good ones and you get some great ones and occasionally you get garbage.

I have an irrational soft spot for Fender and the Custom Shop in particular. When I was a kid all me and my best friend did was look through fender frontline catalogue and dream about our own custom builds and signature guitars. There is still a pet of me that wants the logo on the back of the headstock and the daft certificate to fulfill a childhood dream. In general I like fender, I have had a couple of good ones but also a complete dog of an American Standard and played some incredibly dull instruments. I find them over-priced for what they are (I find this with other brands too) so custom shops seem ridiculous to me but saying that I have played some top end basses from Overwater, Sei, Alleva and to be honest they were really not worth the money to me either. One huge pull for me has been the experience with some friends who own CS guitars, all of which feel incredible and just have this amazing vibe about them. It's probably all in my head but I can't ignore it. Not everyone will understand but for me at least, although it may be daft, there is a little bit of magic to Fender Custom Shop and it is linked with their history and my history with Fender. Despite owing some superb high end basses over the years I still lust after a CS, in particular a Pino 😄.

I was a dedicated hard case user for 10 years and then when the Mono bags came out I thought it was worth a look. By chance one popped up on eBay for stupid low price so I nabbed it straight away as an experiment. I gig quite a bit and practice a lot with a few bands and moving over to a heavy duty gig bag has been brilliant. The main difference to me is that I do not worry about scuffing car trim and tearing car seats as the basses always lay along the back seat. I never put my basses in the back of vans etc and wouldn't dream of putting a gig bag in the back with a lot of heavy PA, but then again I never have to so no issue there. I also have an issue with my old Hiscox case. If I bump the case I can actually hear the strings of the bass vibrate which to me makes me think that any impact on the case is actually being transferred to my bass which I don't like. So I have given up on Hiscox until I need something heavy duty. My Mono M80 is superb, it has been abused and dropped and dragged and it still looks good and absorbs every knock from a banister/door frame/car door I subject it to with no damage to my bass. I do think they are hugely expensive though which is why I am just about to try a Protection Racket case which I will review when It arrives and do comparisons on.

I was at a guitar show years ago and left the main hall for some peace and a cuppa and was sat on the benches outside the main entrance. There were a few others doing the same and a couple of seats away was a chap who looked like he reluctantly brought his son/daughter to the show. He had a scruffy rucksack and some jogging bottoms and trainers on, a bit scruffy looking and I said hello politely. It wasn't until he walked away that I caught a clear look at his face and it was Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden. My friend and drummer went to do a job recently and got talking to the client and her husband. It turns out she was a singer and song writer and he was talking about music/gear and gigs with her. He was talking all about our band etc and didn't really chat much about her. He goes back a few times and a week or so later he was talking to the husband and asks does she do much music/gigging etc. The husband smiles and says "yeah she plays all over the place" and does some tours etc. My friend asks if she has done anything he would have heard, and the husband says "yes have you heard of Sade?...... my wife is Sade". His dad is a huge fan and he was so embarrassed that he had been jabbering on about our band. My drummers dad (who I also play in another band with) sold a piece of machinery a few months ago and the chap turned up to collect and they chatted a bit and he left. My drummer had spotted him and after he left, he told his dad that the chap in the van was Steve Winwood.

I don't think living in Gloucestershire is any different to anywhere else in the country with perhaps the exception of London. It depends a lot where you are looking for bands and musicians in my opinion. I wasn't in a band when I moved to Cheltenham a few years ago, I found one band on a muso-finder style website, joined them and through that band (who consequently didn't play music I loved particularly) I have met so many brilliant musicians and been in 2-4 bands at any one point since, playing good variety of music Judging by a few posts you have made I guess your into funky/jazz/fusion kinds stuff, Incognito and Brand New Heavies etc? I LOVE music like this, but sadly I don't think there is much of market for it venues up and down the county. Some of he busiest working bands I know and have seen, play crowd pleasing stuff, big 'cheesy' tunes that you can either sing along to in pubs or dance to at weddings. I play in a tribute band, a wedding pop covers band, and up until recently two soul bands. I cant say I am a massive soul fan but I learned to almost remove myself from what I was playing and I just get a buzz playing any kind of music well with good musicians to people who enjoy it. I think it is just abut what you want from music, if you cant find a band playing what you want, try and put one together.

I have all of my gear listed on my home insurance. I am covered inside and out of the home and covered for professional use in venues etc. Not all insurance companies do it which I discovered when we got a quote from another provider, but I went through it with them and made sure I had confirmation that I was covered for all eventualities. The best bit is it cost me basically nothing extra on top of my normal policy.

I had one of these for about a year, an incredibly good bass and I only sold it as I was getting out of the soul music I have been playing for a while and doing more pop/dance music. I bought mine with the intention to pimp the hell out of it, it arrived and I didn't do anything to it, I thought it did what it needed to. The tuners on mine were solid and kept tune, and I could get any gauge string I wanted through the bridge and it and was also stable so they both stayed. I only change bridges if I have trouble with string gauges, I put a hipshot on my other Squier and there was no difference in sound at all. The B string was usable in my opinion, it sounded like a B string on a precision and I always find precisions a bit boomy and muddy. I raised the string height on the B on mine and with the Elixirs it sounded great. Someone on talkbass put a Nordstrand pickup in their Squier P5 and said it made little difference and wasn't worth it so I never bothered with modifying the pickup either. The only thing I was really tempted to do was put a P retro in so I didn't have to drill holes and modify the bass. Probably not a helpful post but I can't see you drastically improving the bass short of putting a J pickup in the bridge and maybe an EQ.

Hi, Our band leader/drummer has just bought a vast Alto active PA and another band I play in have also just purchased a simple Alto powered system for smaller gigs. The big rig we use is based around the Alto Black series and frankly the sound is incredible IMHO. We run 2x12" for monitors/foldback and 4x15" top cabs and then 4 of the 18" subs. Our drummer also used a Roland electric kit and has his own small 1x10" and 1x15" sub mini rig for his drums. The sound is very tight and clear and very punchy. It is obviously very subjective but I find the kit very focused and ideal for the dance/pop music we play. Some of the older musicians I play with in other bands who have heard it say its a little clinical but then they are used to massive big old Peavey rigs which I find a bit 'boomy'. The other band I play with use the TS210 and 15 cabs with TS subs and the sound is great for pubs/outdoor, again clear and very focussed without any distortion when pushed. Overall I find it really good kit, and the little powered cabs make great monitors too. I can't comment on reliability as its all very new but it gets bashed about with the bands and its still looking good and the cabs are tough. There are tone of brands making similar stuff but the Alto is incredibly good for the money.

I agree with other comments, the VM squiers are very good and to be honest I have never found the Mexican made fenders to be any better. The only exception, in my opinion is the Roadworn Jazz, it is incredibly good if you can live with the aesthetics. Lakland would be worth a look too, very solid and lovely necks with a vintage fender vibe.

I can highly recommend the Squier Vintage Modified Jazz V, very comfortable necks and the build quality is very good for a bass twice the price. I think there are a couple used on eBay at the moment. They are passive but that is easily remedied with and east preamp if you require active tones. Having taken delivery of one recently I can also suggest a Lakland, very flexible and I play a mix of pop/soul/dance/disco. There is a 55-01 on here for sale at the moment. The Squier dimension is also an incredibly comfortable and playable bass with a hint on MusicMan sound about it, great basses. Never tried the Sire Marcus Millers but people rave about them.