Skybone

Does this mean that there's an imminant upgrade due for the Helix hardware? If so, that'll mean that there will be a slew of current versions of Helix flooding onto the second hand market... 😉👍

Sweet

Bought some for one of my acoustic guitars years ago, never fitted them, as the Thomastik's that are on it still sound as bright as the day they were put on years ago.

What an ace story, and a superb bass, congrats.

So @jim_bass, what was the outcome of your experimentation?

I'm still thinking about getting a Helix LT, but the good old HD500x is still going strong and sounding great.

My Ashdown AMP300 210 combo (MAG Evo III). Not the lightest amp, but it sounds pretty good to me.

Yup, something like a Zoom B1four or something similar.

£25 well spent IMO.

You definitely need to have more than one in your case, 3 or 4 should be enough. Those alcohol based wipes are a good idea too. You can get the glasses/screen cleaning wipes from the likes of Aldi or Lidl for about a £1 a box of 50. Handy for carrying in your case too.

But the OP stated he already had a Line6 HD500X, all I'm saying is that they don't need to buy another multi-FX, just the HD Bass pack add on. Well happy with mine.

The 4 string Rockbass Star's are all medium scale from what I've seen.

I know, bit rich for my pocket though unfortunately.

Bass Centre: http://www.basscentre.com/bass-centre-elites-strings.html

Have you tried leaving some silicon gel sachets in your base case? The one's that you find in most electronic goods packaging. They effectively "suck" any excess moisture from the air, and are small, so ideal for leaving in your instrument case instead of throwing them straight in the bin. Worth a try.

If you want to use the HD500x for bass, the HD Bass pack is pretty essential. As you say, there's the B15 flip top on the standard model pack, but there's also the Fender Bassman & 4x10 cab that's worth a try, and I've had some good results using the HiWatt amp & 4x12 cab model. However, though it "only" adds 3 amp models (2 of which are variations of the SVT), it also adds the 8x10 & another 4x10 cab model, and the SVT Normal model is simply superb IMO. If you run the HD into your amp's Effects Return socket (bypassing the amp's preamp), you'll get the sound from the HD without too much of the amp's colouration. I run mine into a MAG 300 2x10 combo, into the Effects Return, and it works for me.

I'd love to get my hands on a Ripper, be it a Gibson, Epiphone or one of the 70's MiJ "lawsuit" versions. Unfortunately, they are a bit like rocking horse poo.

Didn't they revise CITES recently for musical instruments?

A used W RB Star would be fantastic, but they're a bit like rocking horse do-do. Ideal body shape, twin pickups, etc. The G4M looks like a bit of a Star, long scale, and importantly, won't break the bank. It could potentially be upgraded with Warwick pickups & decent pots etc. too. I accept the pickup "problem", however, my main bass has a similar "issue" (see avatar), and it's far from sonically limited.

The D-4 basses look nice, but have a bit of a soft spot for the Stream bass.

Fender 7250's (Nickel Plated Rounds) would seem the logical choice. I would recommend the 7350's (Stainless Rounds), but you can't get them anymore. Dunlop's are a good choice, currently using the DBS Stainless Rounds, and they do keep getting better (wasn't convinced at first!). If the budget is tight, then the Warwick Red Label Strings are an excellent choice. Won't break the bank, so you can change them twice as often! 😀 I have tried the Red Label Stainless Rounds, they were a decent quality string that lasted well at half the price of other brands. Can't go wrong really.

Has anyone tried any of the Gear4Music semi basses? They look pretty decent, meet the requirement, and are cheap. https://www.gear4music.com/bass-guitars/types/hollow-body?page=1