Marvin

The organiser of the one I've been to, to be fair, does try and make sure that participants mix it up a bit so you don't get 'teams'. However, there is a bass player who goes who seems to think it's 'his gig', so he plays with the better players but won't play with anyone he thinks isn't up to scratch. The organiser does his best, but some people are just hogs by nature. It's part of the reason I stopped going....after about 3 times.

Best: I bought a Fender neck (from a MIM Blacktop Precision) from @rubis on this very forum, and put it on my Squier VM P bass. I love this bass now, I really love it. I shouldn't because it's the wrong colour and stuff, but it just looks so good and sounds lurrrrrrrrrrvly. Despite having played the Squier at the my band's previous gig when it had the maple neck, my band thought I'd bought a brand new US Fender Worst: 2 pack of naff 9v batteries from a £ shop...it's been a quiet year for gear tbh.

Jam nights are, in my experience, just self indulgent boredom. Endless guitar solos, sax solos, piano solos etc etc. Most of it seems to be 12 bar, some 8 bar if someone's feeling adventurous. Other than that if anyone tries anything outside that it all starts to fall apart because no one knows what the hell is going on. EDIT: even supposedly well known songs get completely smashed to bits. Someone, I think, suggested Stormy Monday. I don't know it, but the number of people who think it's a 12 bar. It does make for some funny moments when the one person who knows and probably suggested it is playing it right and everyone else is 12 barring it.

I'm not being silly or anything, but the Encore P basses I've played have all been dire. They might well be much newer ones as I note most have said their good experiences were with heavy Encores, the ones I've played were all very very light. They sounded ok, but apart from that everything was awful.

I’m currently in a blues band (Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson etc). However, I’ve previously had a Precision with flats that I used in a standard pub covers band. It worked really well.

I've got flatwounds on both my Precision and Jazz bass. On the Precision I've got a set of standard Fender flats on the Jazz a set of Chromes. It's difficult to tell if there is much of a difference in the tone of the strings as they're on very different sounding basses. The reason I like both are they feel nicer to play, I was playing my other bass with rounds on it the other day and I didn't like the feel of the strings at all. Secondly, they don't have the zing or brightness of rounds from the start. I don't know about thump, but with that top end zing gone they sound thicker. That said the Chromes are much brighter than I was expecting but I still prefer them to rounds. It suits the band I'm currently in as well. I was practicing the other night with the band where we were preparing for a gig at which we had a guest guitarist. He's a well respected gigging professional. He was really impressed with the tone I was getting from my Precision with the flats on it. That's probably the first time anyone has commented on the tone I get...I was a bit chuffed.

Have you tried messaging @KiOgon (John) he's usually pretty prompt replying.

I bought this Precision bass just over 3 years ago I think. It's originally a Squier VM and had satin finished maple neck/fretboard. Not long ago I'd had it up for sale as I'd sort of 'gone off of it'. However, I bought a Mexican Blacktop P bass neck for it. It's now my number 1 bass. The new neck has lacquer finish, which I prefer, and the much nicer looking spaghetti style Fender logo on the headstock. I went the whole way and got an F neck plate as well I shouldn't like this bass at all as I've never been one for natural finishes, but this is now such a lovely bass. It feels nice, and with some flatwounds on it, it sounds gorgeous. They're not the best photos, but here we go...

I’ve got mine sounding exactly how I want right now, and I’ve always managed to achieve a tone that fits the band I’m in...and works. However, without exception, the explanations of how the preamp section of the Tonehammers work have been of no help at all. In particular, Aguilar’s own explanation is just complete gobbledygook.

Fender Rumble V3 500 combo

I’m constantly twiddling my TH knobs. I’m currently experimenting with gain at 9o’clock, drive at 4o’clock, EQ at 12o’clock (with minor tweaks for the room) and master wherever it needs to be. It’s not a clean sound, quite valvy but not fuzzy.

My perception regards gear changed a few years ago. I had loads of gear and was constantly tone chasing. That was until I borrowed a Behringer head and beaten up 1x12 cab. It sounded fine and had done hundreds of gigs. I just thought “what am I doing?” So I sold all the big gear, the rack mount compressor and other stuff and bought a Rumble...which sounded superb, and I had a few quid left over. A comfortable feeling bass is number one priority then an amp that can be heard, neither of which need to cost a lot. But most importantly, a good band.

I’ve looked into making a Hackintosh and from what I’ve read it’s far from straightforward. It’s not like building your own PC. If you have the time, it’s not going to be your main computer and you’re not overly fussed about upgrading the OS and software...then maybe it’s a goer, otherwise it’s simpler to buy a second hand Mac of some description if you’re trying to keep cost down.

The one thing that isn't impressive about the Sire range has been the price increases. I have one of the very first, signed by Marcus Miller, V7's and that cost me £280. That won't get you a 2nd gen V3 now, and the V7's are £160ish more than what I paid for mine. Improvements cost, but this now seems to be moving away from the original ethos of the bass.

I’ve never understood how anyone would think that those types of bridges are a good design, it’s complete bobbins

Good neck Quality tuners Top loading bridge If active, an active passive switch + no discernible difference in output or basic tone between active and passive. If active, a quality 3 band eq with sweepable mids. 2 band is almost pointless. I wouldn’t be interested in locking jacks, I’ve never trodden on my lead and pulled it out. I always tuck it through my strap.

9 years ago I posted on this thread and I still can’t play properly with a pick. 😞

Excellent performance. I'm not really a fan, liked some of their stuff, but it must be said that was really rather smashing

I'd like to add a caveat to this post. I've just been listening to the Let It Be - Naked remastered album. Now, that one sounds substantially better than the overblown tat and nonsense that Phil Spector produced. Right, as you were.

I run a Mac Mini. Nice piece of kit. I've upgraded the hard drive to an SSD and it would be very straightforward to upgrade the memory. It's a flexible way of getting a Mac as you can buy whatever peripherals you want really.

I bought a Fender neck from Harry ( @rubis ) at the beginning of the week. I'd have no hesitation in buying from Harry again. The neck was in excellent condition and he's great to deal with. Cheers

I prefer the original recordings. The remixes and remasters make the songs sound like they were recorded now, so for me they lose a bit of character.

The main niggles with the 1st generation were the tuners and battery compartments. The plastic battery compartments are very tightly fitted and the lids are prone to snap it seems. I must admit, whenever I've opened the ones on my V7 I've always been extra careful. Also the wire inside is very short and it's a real PITA replacing batteries. Although then new battery cover maybe not liked by all, it's probably an improvement. As for the tuners, I've never had a problem with mine, but know others have. Whether that's been rectified, who knows. The neck on the 1st generation was the killer thing for me about the V7 so the changes don't really do a lot. I like the 7.25in radius and gloss finish, so the new ones aren't that appealing. That said, I still maintain Sire are miles ahead of Mexican made Fenders.

I saw Turin Brakes and Eliza Shaddad earlier this year, they were absolutely brilliant. I'd seen Turin Brakes for the first time last year without knowing anything about them - I went along with a band mate who had a spare ticket - and thought they were one of the best bands I'd ever seen. So, I promised my wife I'd take her to the next gig they did our way. It was a brilliant gig, and Edie Myer is an absolute gem, both on bass and as a general good laugh. Eliza Shaddad was superb, probably one of the only support artists that I've ever really taken much interest in. There were people at the gig who'd bought tickets specifically to see her. I'd definitely see them both again.