therealting

The Bass Gallery is obviously very good. Closer to you is Feline Guitars in Croydon, they have done all my guitar work for years, including three stainless steel refrets. Recommend them highly.

The East preamps get you pretty close to the MM sound IMO

[quote name='Dazed' timestamp='1454517816' post='2970438'] Bc is the devils bass haunt!! Temptations abound! [/quote] This is the absolute truth. Three of the four basses were from here (two were partial trades so it doesn't feel so bad).

[quote name='thegummy' timestamp='1454372677' post='2969195'] Fender definitely seem to base themselves on their vintage reputation. Pretty much their entire top-line range - the Custom Shop - is guitars that have been artificially "relicked" by chipping away the paint job to make it look old and tatty. I don't understand it personally. Vintage Fender tone, yes please but give me a nice new paint job and I'll try my best to avoid chipping it lol [/quote] They base it on their vintage reputation for good reason. They're simple, uncomplicated instruments that have a place in history. The mojo of a good vintage bass is undeniable to those who like that sort of thing... says the guy who owns two Dingwalls and a Sadowsky

The problem is that so many other companies are doing very good modern P and Js. People generally seem to want classic Fenders, myself included.

Part of me wishes I was one of those people who are content to have just one or maybe two basses that they keep forever and use for everything.

So, about three months ago I decided I needed to clear out most of my gear as I had too much that I wasn't using. In that time, three basses and four guitars have left my hands. Seven axes, not bad. Four new ones though... two already here and two on the way. Pretty par for the course? Is this how attempts to downsize end, with more GAS?

Wingbass?

I spoke to Tom and he's acquired a Godin Ultra A5. Nice basses!

I almost always buy used. My three main basses would have been worth around £7k brand new in total, and I didn't pay anywhere close to that for them.

A few six strings on Gumtree: https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/custom-ibanez-gsr206-6-string-bass/1152118817 (£180) https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/six-string-bass-harley-benton-bz-6000nt-thomann-premium-gig-bag/1152506745 (£210) https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/ibanez-btb-556nf-6-string-electric-bass-guitar/1150692922 (£250)

I would wager that D'Addario make many times more strings than Optima and so have less incentive to improve their processes through examination of defective strings.