Machines

I have a similar story from my parents, they however made about £20k on the endowment policy (the house was £13k in 1978). Add that now to the house being worth about £290k, not a bad return (admittedly the money is non-existent unless it gets sold). That said, mine has gone up about £30k in 12 months, but I doubt it'll go for £4.6m in 40 years.

I have 2 Dingwalls, a 6 string and 5 string fretless Yamaha. Alongside it is a 2005 Mexican P bass which I generally use for leaning/writing as it means I can't faff about deciding what tone to have and just play some actual music.

That contributed to me shifting it. Sounded great but I managed to ding it more than once just practising at home sat down by a desk. Didn't fancy putting it through a few gigs. Never had such an issue with poly finishes.

I colour matched mine almost perfectly with some acrylic art paints the kids have. It was actually a lot more purple than blue but came out looking as new from a couple of feet away.

It depends what you want from it really, you can break the differences down to scale, pickups and cosmetics (as the EQ is the same on them all) The multiscale one is not as 'big' as e.g. Dingwalls, and is a 35" at the B string. I had a 34" EBH1505 and the B was fine but probably wouldn't handle being drop tuned as well as the multiscale would. Regarding the 1005 vs 1505, the latter more expensive one has 'better' Nordstrand pickups and a fancier finish with the burl top. Personal preference is the key point here - there are plenty of YouTube videos that can help, this is the best I found: n.b. I sold my EHB1505 to go towards a Dingwall NG-2

I installed a Nordstrand NP4 yesterday, sounds great.

October update:

Had similar with an ATK200, but the max adjustment was just right for the strings I had. Changing your string gauges/tension is probably the only way around it, otherwise yeah... 🔥

Went to a metal gig a couple of weeks ago. All 3 of the bands had bassists. I'm playing a gig tonight, all 4 of the bands have bassists also. In fact I don't think i've seen a band live without one in 20 years (since I started going).

Yikes. The OEM ones are good enough for me at that price.

How much did the tuners/bridges cost you ? I might do the same for the full hazard look.

Got this NG-2 to try out - very different sound to my D-Roc and surprisingly lower output (passive) even with same pickups, setup height etc. The strings are not Dingwall (not sure what they are) so might change to my 'normal' set before being sure. I was a bit hesitant at the 2 pickup version initially, but I think it looks better than the 3, and has enough sounds in it as it is, plus I have the D-Roc if needed. EDIT: Output is not lower, it just had Grossman strings on it, which seem to be quieter than Dingwall strings.

Someone needs to grab this. Were it standard scale I would have had it immediately. I've got the 5 string (EHB1505) and it's so comfortable.

My Dingwall D-Roc 5 I bought at the Liverpool Bass Show. I spent the weekend on the BassDirect stand demoing with Sheldon and I just kept going back to it (seen in group pic). Only had it 5 months, but it still gives me chills. I've had some much more expensive instruments, but this just works for me on every level.

Just picked a 2nd hand MB-4 locally for peanuts but very much as new. Fret ends are a little sharp, but not enough to cause a problem. Had to give it a good setup - but it's a very playable instrument and sounds decent passive, adding some outboard EQ really spices it up. Stick a decent amp model on and the passive shortcomings disappear even further. Probably not a keeper (it was local and I was bored) but my band's guitarist has already reserved it for home recording if I sell. I think the finish won't wear too well, also in the last 2 hours i've had to polish it 87 times for fingerprints.

It'll be far cheaper to buy the bass you think you need than try and adapt what you have. Also, you don't need to.

Not really, he has an account already and knows where to look if he wants to.

3 miles. I'd definitely recommend trying to arrange a visit to both, but BB for me is more of a 'what do you specifically want to try out ?' type of place more than a browse to pass the time. I am moderately acquainted with both shops* and know the owners, they are very different business models and both seem to work for them regardless of any customer reported issues. *Disclaimer, I worked on the BassDirect stand at Manchester 2008 and Liverpool 2022 shows.

Decent price if it's German, truss rod is good, and the oiled body isn't absolutely battered to death. Even then, I see Rockbasses going for only a bit less.

I recently got a EHB1505 and it's really surprised me how great it is. My first headless instrument and it's very comfortable and easy to transport (only bass I have that fits in my boot without seats down !). @tauzero If it's a reasonable request i'd like to try my standard scale against yours to see how different they are ? I'm happy with mine currently, but the multiscale does look so much better and could be tempted to upgrade should the B really be improved.

I've had 2, and would recommend that anyone looking for a bass that sounds like any of the models above buys something else.

I learnt the hard way that you shouldn't stretch new strings on these things as hard as you would on a normal bass. Even when it was quite tight on the clamp it just pinged out.