Your best (and worst!) bass gear purchases of 2018?

[WHUFC BASS]

Best:

Spector Euro 5 LX Natural

Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0

Worst:

None

Edited December 19, 2018 by WHUFC BASS

[Al Krow]

6 minutes ago, WHUFC BASS said:

Best:

Spector Euro 5 LX Natural

Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0

Worst:

None

A fellow Hammers supporter! By definition a person with great discernment (and not a little ability to endure disappointment) 😄 

[BassManGraham]

2018 is / has been another very gaseous year for me. My 2019 resolution is reduce my emissions. 

Best amp considering performance, cost and exceeding expectations was QUILTER BASS BLOCK 800. But the MESA SUBWAY 800 plus is lovely but cost twice as much so edged into second place.

Best bass: A limited edition Alembic Epic, have also acquired an Aria SBR-60, and a KAWAI FIIB both pristine. I love 80s Alemibesque Japanese basses.

Worst basses either Epiphone Toby Deluxe, which is great value fun bass for dodgy gigs, so I am keeping it,  but not is same league as other purchases.

Or Marcus Miller P7 which I traded for a Chowny, but didn't like it and immediately p/x'd it for a Marcus Miller M7.The P7 was a good bass but just not as good as other Sires I have tried or owned. The M7 is lovely.. 

 

Edited December 19, 2018 by BassManGraham

[Al Krow]

@BassManGraham I have a pretty good idea that if you had to choose between keeping your limited edition Alembic Epic (pic please!) and your Quilter 800, which one you would save... 😄 

[franzbassist]

Best and only major (i.e. not peripherals) purchase is my new Franz Merak.

As it's my only purchase, does that technically make it my worst as well?

[Jono Bolton]

Best: I sold my black Matt Freeman and bought a white one instead. No discernable difference between the two other than the colour. Perhaps the Fender flats I put on it were the best purchase.

Worst: Nothing yet; I've bought very little this year. Aside from a Peavey 4x10, the only other bass-related purchase I've made was...

Schrödinger's Purchase: I picked up a 70s Peavey Century head last week. It had some scratchy pots and switches but they seem to have cleaned up ok. It's tidied up well, but I haven't had a chance to really give it a full test yet; it's far too loud for using at home. There are no notches on the knobs or numbers on the control panel so it's impossible to see what settings I'm using, which is a massive pain in the derrière. It does sound good, but only time will tell if it's something worth keeping.

Edited December 19, 2018 by Jono Bolton

[BassManGraham]

22 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

@BassManGraham I have a pretty good idea that if you had to choose between keeping your limited edition Alembic Epic (pic please!) and your Quilter 800, which one you would save... 😄 

I love them both, but if I had to choose the Epic would be a no brainer.  I have been complimented on it's sound at every gig by sound engineers, using a variety of rigs . It is very distinctive and really cuts through the mix. The band love it and it sounds great even on iPhone vid clips etc. 

[FinnDave]

9 minutes ago, BassManGraham said:

I love them both, but if I had to choose the Epic would be a no brainer.  I have been complimented on it's sound at every gig by sound engineers, using a variety of rigs . It is very distinctive and really cuts through the mix. The band love it and it sounds great even on iPhone vid clips etc. 

And then there were two!

[BassManGraham]

13 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

And then there were two!

Hi Dave, yes loved it so much had to have another, sadly your Epic is still in UK until I can get ferry over in the New Year!

[Machines]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Sounds like the Dingwall gets your "best" nomination and the Fender as runner up!

Hmm. In a fire i'd be grabbing the Miller to be honest.

[Jono Bolton]

On ‎15‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 23:30, AndyTravis said:

Mate. I’m dangerous when I’ve had a few - especially near old yamahas

Is the Yamaha BB400 fretless for sale near me worth a punt at £269?

[AndyTravis]

9 minutes ago, Jono Bolton said:

Is the Yamaha BB400 fretless for sale near me worth a punt at £269?

Inbox me a link

[BigRedX]

Other than strings I only bought one piece of bass gear in 2018, a Burns Barracuda Bass VI, and it really was both the best and worst thing I bought.

It was the best because it was (for me) so much better than the Squier Bass VI that I had been using before.

And it was the worst because it has made me realise that there are no "off-the-peg" bass VIs that first my requirements for feel and sound, and therefore I am on the cusp of ordering something custom that will suit me perfectly rather than being the compromise that the Burns and the Squier are.

I did discover the best Bass VI strings - Axion Custom Works Bass VI strings from Newtone which are as good as the LaBellas but nowhere near as expensive.

[Cosmo Valdemar]

As much as I love the Epiphone Thunderbird Vintage Pro I bought earlier in the year, my best purchase has to be the Tech 21 DP-3X Dug Pinnick pedal. It's astoundingly good.

Worst would be the Joyo Orange Juice overdrive pedal. Sounded great but stopped working within a day.

[radiophonic]

Best: Moog MF101 Envelope filter. Huge, impractical, noisy and unjustifiable in every way other than it's sound, which gives an indication of how much I like its sound. 

Worst: Source Audio Dual Expression Pedal for use with the Source Manta. I like the filter but the expression pedal was double what a Moog one costs. It's already noisy (<6 months old) and I resent having to buy a dedicated pedal due to non standard connectivity or spend an extra 100 quid on a hub. I don't trust a cable that thin either.

Edited December 19, 2018 by radiophonic

[LewisK1975]

BEST:  Squier Classic Vibe Precision.  Had been on the lookout for one of these for a while and then this showed up 30 miles away from me.  Had to pay pretty much top book for it but it was in A1 condition and I loved it straight away..

 

WORST: NONE - I've been very choosy this year..

[Jono Bolton]

1 hour ago, LewisK1975 said:

BEST:  Squier Classic Vibe Precision.  Had been on the lookout for one of these for a while and then this showed up 30 miles away from me.  Had to pay pretty much top book for it but it was in A1 condition and I loved it straight away..

 

WORST: NONE - I've been very choosy this year..

I've had quite a few of the CV models (P Basses, Strats, Teles) and while I've not been able to fault any of them, I've never clicked with any of them either. I'd still like the Sonic Blue CV Precision, and there's one in one of the shops up here, but they're wanting £370 for it. A mint condition one went on ebay the other week for £430. They're getting to be silly money now for certain models.

[steve-bbb]

Earlier this year an immaculate sandberg TM4 in blueburst which i unfortunately was forced to sell - i later got a US deluxe J which i have gigged once and has stayed in its case for the last six months apart from gojng to a local luthier to have a few issues fixed which it should never have left the factory with - was so peed off with it i got a nice vmP from davesprocketflup on here and its bloody marvellous and is now my main gig bass

[Mickeyboro]

3 hours ago, Jono Bolton said:

I've had quite a few of the CV models (P Basses, Strats, Teles) and while I've not been able to fault any of them, I've never clicked with any of them either. I'd still like the Sonic Blue CV Precision, and there's one in one of the shops up here, but they're wanting £370 for it. A mint condition one went on ebay the other week for £430. They're getting to be silly money now for certain models.

Sonic blue CV is one I regret selling! Lovely Precision...

[FinnDave]

11 minutes ago, Mickeyboro said:

Sonic blue CV is one I regret selling! Lovely Precision...

I had one too, still regret selling it over six years ago!

[gjones]

Best: A secondhand G&L Tribute L-2500, was my surprise best bass purchase. 

It only cost me £360 - definitely a bargain.

It's a really well made bass and also has classy looks (a tobacco sunburst paint job).

I originally bought it mainly because I thought it was time I owned a 5 string bass, so I looked to buy one on the cheap.  I have some very nice pro level basses but when I started playing it, it's quality surprised me. The B string is very clear and audible, not at all flabby or woolly.  I love the Swiss Army Knife vibe of this bass. It's active and also has two big humbuckers that can be switched to single coil mode, so you can get a very wide range of sounds from, from Jaco to James Jamerson.

Worst: Fender Elite Precision.

I didn't get the chance to play it and ordered it unseen new.

When I got it I didn't like the neck (too chunky).

Pre amp doesn't have a parametric mid control (which it needs) and the controls are not very smooth (bit scratchy/gritty compared to the controls on my John East  J retro).

It's pretty heavy.

We haven't bonded.

I think my expectations were too high after seeing the reviews.

Edited December 19, 2018 by gjones

[Woodinblack]

35 minutes ago, gjones said:

Best: A secondhand G&L Tribute L-2500, was my surprise best bass purchase. 

It only cost me £360 - definitely a bargain.

It's a really well made bass and also has classy looks (a tobacco sunburst paint job).

I have the same one. I am not a fan of P basses, and generally speaking, I probably shouldn't like it as its neck is too deep, the spacing is too wide, I don't like tobacco sunburst, but something about it just works, and on the list of basses I am going to get rid of next year, it doesn't feature

[josie]

On 14/12/2018 at 23:11, josie said:

Best - Ibanez Premium BTB 1406

She keeps getting better. Gigged her for the second time last night - unfortunately just at my usual local om, which doesn't have great sound quality, so sounded a bit blurry, but a joy to play, and (rightly) hugely admired both by peeps who appreciate a good 6 and others who didn't know there is such a thing. I'm in love and flying 🙂

[ForestPoetry]

I don't know about worst, but the Ibanez SRMS multiscale did let me down. Almost everything about it, looks, playability, etc was outstanding. You really cannot fault Ibanez for playability and versatilty whether it's a £300 or £800 bass. But I couldn't get on with the tone. Everything was too bright and snappy, even for a Soundgear. Too much hardwood in the neck/board and the body too small to have any real OOMPH, bearing in mind I'm much more of a Jazz/passive guy now, had been playing one for nearly a year by this point and was not the Ibanez nut I used to be for several years.

I sold it on in March or so less than a month after I bought it. 

[WHUFC BASS]

7 minutes ago, ForestPoetry said:

I don't know about worst, but the Ibanez SRMS multiscale did let me down. Almost everything about it, looks, playability, etc was outstanding. You really cannot fault Ibanez for playability and versatilty whether it's a £300 or £800 bass. But I couldn't get on with the tone. Everything was too bright and snappy, even for a Soundgear. Too much hardwood in the neck/board and the body too small to have any real OOMPH, bearing in mind I'm much more of a Jazz/passive guy now, had been playing one for nearly a year by this point and was not the Ibanez nut I used to be for several years. 

I sold it on in March or so less than a month after I bought it. 

Same here. I've had two Ibanez basses in the past, an SR505 and a Fieldy from Korn signature. Both were terrible. Playability as you say was great but the tone was just plain crap. No real bottom end at all and just totally useless sound-wise IMO. I sold both in a matter of weeks of buying them. I think the mahogany body was the culprit.