Merton

£849 at FX Pedal now… seems a sensible price to me.

Let’s start by saying this bass is nothing like what I originally ordered. And that it’s all Mike’s fault… I originally had this wonderful idea of a 32” P bass, 4 string, black body with bwb scratchplate, maple neck and board. Simple, like the Roger Waters sig give or take. Spec agreed, deposit paid. Mike then shared a photo of a 5 string Zoot Funkmeister in white, tort scratchplate, maple neck. I fell in love, and one thing led to another… and here we are. The very first Zoot bass with 5 strings and a 32” scale. I’ve owned a fair few 5 strings over the years and I’m not the most technically proficient bassist so they always challenge me in a different way to a 4 string. When we shifted to the new spec I realised I’d have three 5ers in my slightly OTT collection. I was honestly a little concerned how this would slot in. Needless to say, that concern was totally unfounded. From the first play this bass felt natural, like an extension of me. The neck is sublime, a lovely satin feel, slim carve, super comfortable from 1st to 24th fret. The body sits perfectly on the strap and on the lap; it is balanced perfectly so there’s no neck or body dive when it’s resting on my right leg and that makes it a doddle to play sitting down as I’m not fighting it. An interesting aside, my ACG Finn 5 (also a glorious 5er in its own right) sits slightly more to the right than this, so the first fret ends up a little closer to my body on that, especially when seated, but that does give it a slight tendency to try to wander off my leg! Keeping with the Finn comparison briefly, with that bass I wanted a tight (16.5mm) string spacing to keep the compact feel. I was aiming for 17mm with this but we were limited by the 5 string P pickups available, so we’re close to 18mm. The difference is noticeable but doesn’t affect playability for me and makes my horrendous slap technique easier to navigate! So, this plays great thanks to a superb neck, a comfortable body shape and practically perfect balance. How does it sound? Well, it has a Badass bridge, Aguilar pickup and top quality construction, so of course it sounds great. It sounds exactly like a P should. Mike added a series/parallel switch so I have a few more tones available than the standard passive P, and I can go from old school plummy thump to bright and zingy. I have 5 musical projects in the go at the moment (because why not); in one of those I tend to have the tone control almost fully wound off, and in another it tends to go to about halfway on. That’s it; using a different right hand position or technique I can control the rest with my fingers. “But this is a 32” scale; what about the bottom B?” I hear you cry. Well it’s fantastic. I’ve had three 32” fivers and none have had bad bottom B strings to be honest - ultimately if the bass is well made and the neck is stiff with a solid body join then you’ll be fine. Being a Zoot you are guaranteed both of those things. I picked it up from Mike in December 2022, drove home, put my bass rig in the car and went straight to a gig, where I played this all night. I know a lot of people who would balk at that idea - got to get to know the instrument first etc - but this just felt perfect from the get-go so it was an easy decision. It was admired by band and punters alike, and in my excitement I managed to give it its first battlescars in the form of two small dents on the lower horn. Dents. Not paint chips, just dents. Testament to Mike’s finishing skills methinks! I now own two Zoot Funkmeister 32” basses, a 4 string “jazz” (I use speech marks as it has Nordstrand Big Splits so it’s a slightly left-field Jazz bass) and this 5 string P. I am delighted with both and if I were ever to get some more money and want to expand my collection again, I would have no hesitation going to Mike. He is a very collaborative builder and will gladly advise on your ideas, offering his own experiences and insight to ensure the bass comes out as perfectly as possible. His books are currently closed due to such high demand, which is excellent for Mike and for my bank balance 😃 The specs: Zoot Funkmeister P5 32” scale Idigbo body 3-piece maple neck with black stringers Maple fingerboard White body and matched headstock Tort scratchplate Aguilar AG5P-60CL pickup Passive volume, tone, series/parallel switch Badass bridge Hipshot tuners Newtone strings Some pictures (mostly Mike’s because my photography skills suck):

Well someone’s snapped it up! Anyone on here?

The price was tempting enough for me to consider a back up 🤣🤣

Public service announcement - Stompbox London has one in stock, at a remarkable £799. That’s a lot less than the US price tag and certainly less than I paid to import from the US last year! https://www.fxpedal.co.uk/amps-c74/bass-amps-c75/trace-elliot-te-1200-bass-guitar-amplifier-head-p6320

I like this pic of me with my Zoot Funkmeister P5/32 from Buckle and Boots 😊

I used my Elf with BF Two10 on Friday and Saturday just gone. The amp was on from around 10am til 6pm each day, albeit only used for sound check and 5 sets within each of those times. It was in direct sunlight most of the time and didn’t break a sweat. Marvellous. Gain and Vol both around 50%, which sat perfectly in the mix, I’d set the gain a little lower than usual to make sure I wasn’t pushing the preamp into its overdriven section when I got carried away 🤓

Two days at Epsom Derby, this wonderful set up didn’t miss a beat, unlike the plonker playing the bass 😀

Too far out? https://www.thehiverooms.com

Owned a lot of amps through the years and the ones which stick in my memory are: Eden WT550 Ashdown CTM100 Trace Elliot TE-1200 The Trace is just a superb platform for putting whatever you want through it and it always sounds incredible, effortlessly powerful and looks cool. I haven’t had any amp GAS since getting it. Which is mad because normally I want something new every three weeks 😅

Just been sent a link to a video of one of our songs from Friday’s Buckle and Boots set

…or you lack any hair at all 🤓 I found a wicked Stetson on Friday at Buckle and Boots, even the missus said it looked good. I was all set to buy it to wear onstage that night, then saw the price tag and wept a little 🤣

I wish you luck with it, it’s a wicked little festival!

Cheers! I’ve only been in the band since December last year, so not on any recordings yet. There is an album in the bag ready to be released, but we’re talking of doing an EP or something if new songs as well.

Awesome. Just played the main stage at Buckle and Boots festival near Manchester. Wicked fun, great feedback from the crowd. Can’t wait to see some of the photos and footage! www.katyhurt.com

Take care @Dood - we are here to support however you need it 🫂

Sounds about right!

Absolutely agree. I say overkill because of our drummist was a bit less heavy handed we’d all be able to use less on stage and not need ear protection

Overkill for a pub 😃