discreet

You won't be disappointed, they are fantastic. And very cute!

Wow, that was a good post day! I got an unwanted insurance quote from Saga and a leaflet from a tree surgeon.

Just to be argumentative, I don't think neck construction, neck joint, bridge construction and/or attachment or tuners make any difference to how a bass sounds either, but that's just my opinion of course. When I swap out stock tuners for Hipshot Ultralites there is no difference in 'tone' and they are very different, engineering-wise. In my view its strings, pickups and the position of the pickups that make the difference. Most basses sound a lot like... basses.

Well... this went the usual way. I use playing cards. They don't seem to compress much. I've never had a bass sound different after shimming the neck and I've shimmed a few. Just for the record, I agree that the type of wood a bass is made out of will NOT make any difference to its 'tone'.

Anyone used the new Hartke KB12 or KB15? Supposedly 250W RMS / 500W Peak. Only read one review on here which said the KB12 was underpowered. Which is a shame. Anyone else say different?

There's nothing wrong with Duncan Designed pickups. If you have 'better' pickups it's definitely worth trying them, but record before and after to make sure it's not 'confirmation bias'. I'd change the strings first. It's easy and likely to make a huge difference. Edit: I also had a Squier VM Jazz V for a while and the 'B'-string wasn't all that great. Having said that bear in mind I don't get on with 5-stringers anyway, the 'B' string always seems like it's from a different planet, but that's probably a mental abberation on my part... I did some recording with it though and it sounded fine.

Yes, pretty much convinced re Markbass, having used and owned their gear for many years, they don't disappoint in the power and tone department. It's just a case of choosing and then sourcing the lightest possible combo with the most bang for buck. My shrivelled muskles and crumbly skellington can't cope with much over 14kg.

Thanks for this. Just had a look on Bass Direct at some PJB stuff... the Compact Suitcase at 300W @ 8ohms looks favourite. But it's out of stock. http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/PJB_Compact_Suitcase_BG400.html I think the best combination of power, tone, portability and affordability would probably be a second-hand Markbass CMD 121P, or some such.

That looks amazing. 'Small, rich and powerful'. Problem is, you have to be rich and powerful to afford one.

Yes! Brilliant.

It does look good in these pics... D'OH!

Strings make such a huge difference and there's no logic to it. I wonder how many basses I've moved on over the years that would have sounded killer with the right strings on them. Lesson: if you don't like the sound of a bass, don't change the electrics or pickups, try changing the strings first!

I think flats on a Jazz sound great, too. Don't get me wrong, I like the boingy single-coil sound of a Jazz with rounds, but there's something about using flats on a dual-pickup bass that's greater than the sum of its parts. And a lot more versatile than you'd think.

Thanks, that's nice to know. It had to be good really, looking like that!

Yes, I definitely will have another Spector in my life at some point. They are highly original and very special instruments. I've got some pics of it somewhere, hang on...

Wow, that's fantastic! Just to make you feel a bit worse.

Because it was an early Czech Euro4 (NOT an LX) with the maple wings and full-on carved body, Tonepump preamp, EMG P/J pups and it sounded absolutely out of this world. Plus, I think I paid £650 for it. Had I known how much they were going to shoot up in price I'd have kept it, of course. Hindsight...

That's exactly the colour my Euro4 was. Does anyone actually LIKE black cherry burst?? Did Spector do any fact-finding about it?

Makes perfect sense. If a bass doesn't have the 'lovely' effect, you'll never pick it up, your bass playing will suffer, you'll get herpes and your plonker will fall off with a resounding clang. So it's essential, really.

Had a Euro4 a while back, loved everything about it except for the colour (dark cherry burst) so I moved it on. What I should have done was pay to have it professionally refinished.

And this, for those members born after 1989...

Yes, indeed. I think perhaps 'The Betty Fords' would have a similar effect, yet be more lighthearted. Especially if they were a trio of nubile fat birds dressed in fifties polka-dot gear. Phwooar! Though that probably says more about me than I'm comfortable with on a public forum...

I love Spector basses me, and am currently suffering quite badly from Spector Euro GAS, but if there's a P Bass-shaped hole in your arsenal, would not a P Bass fill it to best effect? Then the question becomes 'which P Bass?', to which I would answer, 'a Road Worn Precision' (favourite) or 'a 50s Classic Precision' (second choice). Don't fret (ha) about them being Mexican, they're as good as anything the USA can produce.

Well I am, but I usually manage to comport myself according to site rules... I'm using Chrome on Windows Vista. Yes, I know.

Hello site bods... just had to complete about twenty 'captcha' images before I could get on to the site. What's that all about??