Muzz

As the tag says - sold James a bass, and a more pleasant transaction you couldn't wish for. Deal with confidence, he's one of the good guys... Muzz

My rig (tho it's not exactly huge) is stored in the garage/under the stairs, but I have a Rolnd Microbass by the bed in the spare room, together with the two basses of the moment (the others are upstairs), and it's a rare day it doesn't get switched on.

I'm not a fan of the strings, but I am a fan of the company - I've always found them to be very helpful, and Jason How took the time out to correspond with me about strings a while ago. Proper customer service.

£20 sent, even if I wasn't selling anything, that still works out for me as about 0.00002p per visit. Bargain.

Bought an amp from Michael in a perfectly smooth and stress-free transaction. The most epic piece of packing I've ever seen, too! Deal with complete confidence, he's one of the good guys!

Drew at the Manchester Bass Lounge has some Markbass amps in, he'd be worth a call.

Warmoth body and neck (select weight/woods/dimensions to suit), Hipshot Ultralites, Schaller 3D bridge, John East P-Retro, Wizard Thumper, DR Low Riders. Done.

That maple-boarded ABII of Fran's (above) is now just about the only bass anywhere I'd really want. Sadly (or perhaps fortunately) it doesn't exist in a 4, and my finances won't stretch to a custom build by Sheldon. Bah.

Since I bought mine (ABZ) last year, I've been pretty much GAS-free (apart from the odd side-interest like an 8-string and a Fenderbird build with flats) for the first time in years. Sold the other higher end stuff, not missed them at all. It's the one bass I'd save from a fire. Love the tension of the 36.25" E, I have the P-Tone pickup fitted, love the tone with DR Low Riders fitted. I've tried the higher end ABI and ABII (had an ABI briefly) but they don't suit me any more than the ABZ does. The build quality is as good as anything I've played. I had an issue with the P-Tone pickup I bought from Bass Direct, I posted on the Dingwall forum about it (I wasn't sure it was the pickup wasn't right or if it was me making a mistake) and Sheldon Dingwall responded the next day and dealt with the issue brilliantly. Excellent post-sales service, I can't speak highly enough about Dingwall. They're not for everyone, but a visit to Mark at Bass Direct will be enough to tell you if they're for you - he has a large selection - it's a great day out!

There's so much going on in that picture, but the overriding impression I'm getting is that that is some top lunging for a conservatory...

Having a Dingwall is a magnet for gearstalkers, especially when they've never seen fanned frets before. I had a bloke at a wedding a few weeks ago, I noticed him squinting at the bass all through the first set, then in the interval he sidled up and started a conversation; he was in a band, etc, etc, and I could see he was dying to talk about the Dingwall, but he was fairly drunk by this time and didn't want to look like he didn't know what he was on about. I was doing something else at the time, too, so I was able to string him along a bit: GS: "....and so we play this sort of stuff too. Nice bass, by the way." Me: "Thanks" GS: "Is it hard to play?" Me: "No, it's very light. About seven and a half pounds." GS: "Right, right. And the, erm..." Me: " The pickups? Very strong - it's passive, but it's as strong an output as any active I've had." GS: "No, the whole....erm..." (starts to gesticulate up and down the neck) Me: "Hmmm?" GS: (clearly giving up) "Why are the frets all wonky?"