Machines

I'd always wanted a natural one previously but this one looked good in the flesh. The pickup cover is correctly aligned, perhaps the reflections from above are putting you off.

Saturday featured a planned trip to BassDirect following the tedious and late completion of my house sale. Many months of chasing and hassle had to have some type of reward I decided. I set myself a budget and took my good lady along who was oddly keen to help me in my latest GAS relapse (it'd been a whole 4 months since getting my Dingwall NG3) There were a couple of basses i'd eyed up in the 2nd hand section to try out, but upon entry a gleaming apparition appeared before me. A glorious sunburst MM Jazz, beckoning me. It had just come in on p/x and was about to be posted online. I think not. I'd wanted a Miller since I first started playing in 2004, and this was not to be a missed opportunity, having missed out on not one, but three MM's in that time. Plugged in, it did all the right things. I knew it was meant to be. I did however try out a few others just to say I compared it (Dingwall ABZ4, Combustion 4) but it was a one horse race.

As a NG3 owner I would say an NG2 would suffice for me. As the 3rd pickup is only usable in one position along with the other 2 at the same time. If I could use it alone as well as in combination with the bridge pickup it'd be far more useful. It's really a case of deciding between Combustion and NG as do you want a Stingray sound available.

It depends if you see it merely as a change of weather, or total freedom from responsibilities and the rare opportunity to pretend time pressures do not exist. Sure you can do that in the UK but more escapism abroad.

I've had a similar experience. I was in bands a lot 2006-2014 until my son was born, then not at all until my marriage ended. I dipped in and out of bands for a few months after the divorce as I had more spare time, spent a lot on basses that were in and out the door over the course of a year but generally wasn't fussed with playing. My current position is i'm quite busy with work, have just moved in with my partner and have £3k of gear not doing much. I have the time perhaps now for bands, but not the energy or commitment. A few jams here and there every month would be perfect, but nothing that dips into my time significantly. I know I won't stop buying/selling, but it'll be far less frequent that it has been. @AndyTravis I feel you should sell anything you aren't using that has a significant potential financial benefit, certainly keep a bass or two for to scratch that itch you will inevitably get. Having less stuff is quite liberating.

It seem only Dingwall will really take the Novax system to it's real potential on bass. As @Kev mentions, Ibanez didn't really set the world on fire with theirs despite there being a gap in the market for a <£1000 fanned fret bass to steal Dingwall sales for those that don't want to save up as long.

Perhaps until you know what you're looking for specifically you shouldn't be deciding to buy one.

My Cort GB35 with Wilkinson bridge and pickups looks alright.

My Yamaha RBX775 fills the same role. I rarely play fretless, and it's not worth much. But if I sold it (for not a lot as it's heavily modded) then I'd probably go and buy another fretless to replace it. So it lives under my bed costing me nothing - and I get it out every few months for 20 mins. If you like it, have no need of it's capital value and it isn't in your way, just leave stick it in a case or out the way, and occasionally give it some attention.

I changed the bridge on my Cort GB35 from the OEM one to a Wilkinson one. It's definitely a bit brighter now, better sustain too.

My NG3 in Mopar Purple.

Cort GB35J. Picked up 2nd hand for £150 from, wasn't in the best shape. I gave it some new Wilkinson picku, and bridge (total cost £40 !) and it's pretty stonking now. I actually sold my Fender Jazz Deluxe because this thing was just making it a bit ostentatious to have 2 Jazz basses. Got my money back on the Jazz and it's in the new bass kitty for now.

I feel the naming is to make people want to stump up the extra cash for the US models. Do you want to be a Player or Professional ? I'm a Professional Player 😎

Slightly off topic, but I recently dinged my new bass on a wall. Guess that's why it's a Dingwall.

Its not sunlight per we, but the increased temperature. I left my Jazz in 25C for 30 mins by accident and it warped the pickguard. Had to soak in boiling water and flatten it.

Quite frankly that's just not true. It's totally possible to buy something cheap that feels and sounds good. Of course what good is is totally subjective. I have a 150 quid Cort and a Dingwall that's 10x as much. Is one better? No, just different tools for different jobs.

I recently bought a 2nd hand Cort GB35J for £150. Played it in the shop and it sounded pretty awesome, almost on par with my old Lakland 55-60. I've just put some new Wilkinson pickups in (cost £26) and now it's even better. It now has flat wounds on it, and just isn't worth enough for me to part with it. I'm even thinking about dumping my Fender Deluxe Jazz, as this just has better classic tones, and my Dingwall does the modern stuff.

I dumped all my CDs. I have Spotify and my car has Bluetooth but no CD player.

Good, now they won't look like this:

I sold my Bongo 5HS recently for £1300, which I thought was pretty good (I paid a lot less). I know the new prices have gone up a lot recently, but unsure how that translates into any change in sales.