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My DC Jr has a single pickup in the “sweet spot” with a coil tap. I rarely use the tap , but that little thing is one of the best sounding basses I’ve used.

Leonard got into it as well.

His earlier covers of Little Richard songs just might be some of the worst covers ever recorded.

The heavier Fender set have a nice balance.

The Classic Vibe Series are upper end Squiers , they cost a bit more , but they are built to a higher standard.

I have an Eastwood Classic IV in white , it’s kind of like a fake Gretsch Falcon at a fraction of the price. I used to have a Rivoli hollow body , sold it , and missed it. So I jumped when I saw the Eastwood at a great price. Kijiji deal! The Eastwood sounds better than the Rivoli did , and seems to be well built . The previous owner had it strung with flats , I’m perfectly ok with that . Most of my basses are strung with flats. Played it last week for the first time in a while and was shocked at how the time had somehow gone without picking it up. It’s a big chunky feeling thing but I quite like it.

I like Ernie Ball basses too. They just might be the finest production basses made in the US.

The Squiers ship with the old set that has an 85 E , many complained the they needed a heavier string. Fender actually listened and now you can buy the Fender VI set with a 100 E . The heavier strings make a huge difference. The HBs ship with an 84 E.

I picked up Squier last year , I had just missed one that popped up on kijiji and then decided I needed to get one. It was bought as a guilty pleasure , no plans to gig with it , I just planned to have fun with it at home. I saw a used one at L&M , rented it for a month and realized it was not going to return to the store. And discovered I put a lot of time simply goofing around on it. Still do , spent so much time on it I picked up a Gretsch baritone as well. So be careful … they’re habit forming. Congratulations!

I have used sealed and ported cabs over the years , today all but one cab are ported. So I guess I prefer ported cabs. Mine are modern cabs , best sounding cabs I’ve ever owned , lightweight too. Bergantinos.

They say the first hundred watts work the hardest. I remember having to crank up older amps , and getting a more distorted sound. Sometimes the distortion was good , but often it was not , and I would have given anything at the time to have a clean signal at volume. I get that clean sound , with some serious slam , using modern gear. And have tons of headroom.

I found reasonable deals on the two I have , a 4000 and 4001 . I spent years (pre internet days) looking for a 4001 , they were not all that common around Halifax , although there’s many , many more around now. Eventually found one in Toronto. At first my 4001 felt different , I was an old Pbass guy , but the thin neck with little taper quickly became very comfortable , the binding didn’t bother me , and once I set the neck and everything to my set up preferences I found the bass incredibly stable. It quickly became my go to bass , and was for a good number of years. These days I mostly play short scales , when I do pick up a Ric I immediately remember why I used them so much. I love the feel.

Asking $400 Cdn at the moment , OBO … so it seems like a fair starting price. I have a friend that has a taste for older , unusual things , and this would be right up his alley. There is a bit of a drive to pick it up. I’ve managed to quit buying stuff because it’s a deal , or rare and unusual. Too much stuff… but I enjoyed looking this up and learning a bit about them.

I love a nice Ric. I have a couple of older ones. If you spend the time on one they can become wonderful. They feel like home. Would have bought that XC model in a minute if I had more disposable income. I thought it was gorgeous , and I know why they didn’t use the R tailpiece. And when you look at the price vintage 4005 basses sell at the price isn’t bad , it’s around what most US companies charge for limited custom runs. People once complained that Rickenbacker never made anything new. And people complain if they do. I’d lose it if they make a short scale bass based on Lennon’s 325 using a 350 body. Rics are not copies of Fender style instruments. Some love them for exactly what they are.

In the last twenty years there’s been some pretty remarkable advances in amp and cab design. I like lightweight , modern , cabs and Class D amps and I’ve never been happier. I have a GenzBenz Streamliner , it has a three tube preamp , and 900 watts at 4 ohms , you can easily dial in whatever warmth you’re looking for , but my primary gig amp is just a simple , clean straightforward Bergantino Forte. 700 watts at 4 ohms . Two very different amps , I’m often just using an 8 ohm cab and usually run things between 3&4. Tons of headroom. Never run out of volume. Easily the best sound I’ve had. I could run a gain pedal with the Forte , but I’ve never felt the need. I like that one simple.

The previous owner of the Unicorn used a pick , you can see where the black finish has flaked off over the bridge pickup. I’ve come to like the look so I’ll probably get some Black Beauties if I restring it.

A Westone Rail bass popped up on our local kijiji the other day , ad is still up , trying to talk an old friend into picking it up.

You can almost make a living doing it.

I think that’s what was on my Unicorn when I picked it up. They had been on for a while but still sound good. So good I’ve left them on . Normally when I pick up a bass I immediately put on strings.

I picked up this little Hotone Thunderbass on kijiji a couple of years ago , it will drive a cab but I generally use it with headphones , it has an aux in so I can plug in a tablet. I can quietly learn stuff. It does require a power adaptor , so there are some cables … I use it a lot.

I play blues and roots music and have twenty something basses , mostly play short scales these days but accumulated the usual bunch of classic basses. My usual gig bass is a Dano Longhorn with ancient strings , but they have a wonderful rich woody thump. Still the factory strings , it was one of the first batch of reissues from 98 or so. It weighs next to nothing , is comfortable and fun to play , and sounds great. It just sits in the mix , whenever I bring a backup bass I’m usually told the Longhorn sounds the best , even if I bring another Dano shortscale. However playing at home my favourite bass is a Gibson DC Jr with relatively fresh rounds. The Longhorn sits in a gig bag until it’s gig time. I cycle through the collection , but my favourite is the Jr or an SG bass that’s growing on me.

Halifax , Nova Scotia down close to the waterfront.

Wonderful jam night in the old dive we call The Land of Dreams , it’s really called Bearly’s House of Blues. Nice players and visitors from away. And the regulars … A good night !

It’s like a brand new amp after he’s checked it out. And those GenzBenz amps are truly wonderful things!