Your best (and worst!) bass gear purchases of 2020?

[Mickyk]

Just recently acquired this a couple of weeks ago my one and only Guitar purchase this and it's a belter, I find myself picking this one up before my Yam bb424 which I haven't done with any other Bass. 

[CamdenRob]

I only made one bass gear purchase this year. A new build Smith Black Tiger BSR 6 ordered Christmas last year.

Couldn’t be happier with it

 

[Al Krow]

Saw that KS a while back in your NBD thread and it's still a jaw dropper!

@Mickyk impressed at the ability of your Yammy BB 424 to fend off all-comers, at least until now! Have you had / still have any other Yammys before settling on the 424?

[jimmyb625]

Definitely my best purchase of 2020, lockdown and youtube inspired. Hopefully one day I'll be able to upgrade to the masterbuilt version...

[Mickyk]

On 28/12/2020 at 19:57, Al Krow said:

Saw that KS a while back in your NBD thread and it's still a jaw dropper!

@Mickyk impressed at the ability of your Yammy BB 424 to fend off all-comers, at least until now! Have you had / still have any other Yammys before settling on the 424?

No Al never played a Yammy before i  bought this in early 2017 in Leeds {Dawsons},mine has Dadarrio chromes fitted.When i joined the Ska band i'm in or was in before the dreaded,the Yammy with these flats on took me to another level,ill never part with it unless someone offers me a grand then i might.

[Baloney Balderdash]

The best must be my first 6 string bass ever, the Ibanez SR306EB in Weathered Black finish that I got home just before Chritmas, and which has become my main in that very short time span.

Such a great bass, and not just for the money.

I am seriously in love with it.

Feels really nice to play after I got used to the wider fretboard (compared to the 4's I am used to), and sounds no short of amazing as well. :

 

The worst must be one of those couple of phaser effect pedals that I returned, among them a TC Electronic Helix phaser, before settling with an ultra cheap Behringer VP1 Vintage Phaser, which is a pretty accurate clone of the original big box EHX Small Stone phaser, unfortunately including the volume drop of the original when engaged, though I've found ways to work around that, otherwise it sounds amazing.

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash

[Al Krow]

8 hours ago, Mickyk said:

No Al never played a Yammy before i  bought this in early 2017 in Leeds {Dawsons},mine has Dadarrio chromes fitted.When i joined the Ska band i'm in or was in before the dreaded,the Yammy with these flats on took me to another level,ill never part with it unless someone offers me a grand then i might.

In which case, I would happily recommend you checking out a couple of the 424 siblings: the 1024 (purely passive, also Series 2) and /or the 734A (active and passive, Series 3) which both have harmonically richer pups and a few further refinements to their build. 

There may or may not be several hundred posts about them both on the Yammy thread 😁

[Saul Panzer]

First year learning bass so it's just basic buys for me.

Best purchase (purchases really):
Harley Benton BZ-4000 - First bass, great buy imho though in hindsight I should've gone with something more basic.
Sire Marcus Miller V3 - Impulse buy but it's pretty much my go to bass now, that thin rolled neck feels so good to play on.

Worst purchase by far:
RockJam GA-20W practice amp - not a bass amp, horrible constant grounding buzz, barely working knobs..just not good at all.

[thodrik]

On 13/11/2020 at 10:51, thodrik said:

I have had no bass related purchases apart from two identical Levy straps. Honestly, I can't choose between them as to which one is better and which one is worse. 

As an update, I received a third identical black Levy strap as a Christmas present. Just one more to go and I will have an identical strap for every instrument I own.

It has been a thrilling year of gear acquisition for me.

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, thodrik said:

As an update, I received a third identical black Levy strap as a Christmas present. Just one more to go and I will have an identical strap for every instrument I own.

It has been a thrilling year of gear acquisition for me.

But at least your instruments are not all identical.................right?? 😁

[horrorshowbass]

4 hours ago, Saul Panzer said:

First year learning bass so it's just basic buys for me.

Best purchase (purchases really):
Harley Benton BZ-4000 - First bass, great buy imho though in hindsight I should've gone with something more basic.
Sire Marcus Miller V3 - Impulse buy but it's pretty much my go to bass now, that thin rolled neck feels so good to play on.

Worst purchase by far:
RockJam GA-20W practice amp - not a bass amp, horrible constant grounding buzz, barely working knobs..just not good at all.

Great, got Sire gas now!!!! Love that obnoxious orange colour!! Rolled frets is insane for a 300 quid bass

[Saul Panzer]

38 minutes ago, horrorshowbass said:

Great, got Sire gas now!!!! Love that obnoxious orange colour!! Rolled frets is insane for a 300 quid bass

I figured the rolled board was just a gimmick until I tried it, weirdly the strings/neck feel wider to me than the BZ-4000 does, not sure how they manage that.

As for the colour it's really not as obnoxious as the pic makes it look, the tidy headstock decals and hardware make it kind of classy in person..though there's some bright 9 screw pickguards available that could definitely make it obnoxious if that was your aim.

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, horrorshowbass said:

Rolled frets is insane for a 300 quid bass

One of the distinguishing features of the Squier Jaguar SS. I see it has now been discontinued (too successful for its own good, undermining sales of 'higher' spec models?) I see a used one (in the USA) on Reverb for £310!

Crazy? Perhaps in 20 years these Indonesian basses will have a similar reputation to early Squier P basses?

[horrorshowbass]

46 minutes ago, Saul Panzer said:

I figured the rolled board was just a gimmick until I tried it, weirdly the strings/neck feel wider to me than the BZ-4000 does, not sure how they manage that.

As for the colour it's really not as obnoxious as the pic makes it look, the tidy headstock decals and hardware make it kind of classy in person..though there's some bright 9 screw pickguards available that could definitely make it obnoxious if that was your aim.

Dont get me wrong I love the orange😄

Half the price of a capri orange player too.

[Al Krow]

Well, one things for certain no more 2020 purchases possible now! So you should definitely know by now what your best purchase of last year was! 😎 

[Linus27]

Best has to be my custom maple fretless neck, made by Jon Shuker for my Fender FSR Precision 70's reissue. It is phenomenal. I wanted to create a replica of Sting's fretless Precision and I think its bang on the money. It plays and sounds incredible.

Edited January 2, 2021 by Linus27

[AndyTravis]

16 minutes ago, Linus27 said:

Best has to be my custom maple fretless neck, made by Jon Shuker for my Fender FSR Precision 70's reissue. It is phenomenal. I wanted to create a replica of Sting's fretless Precision and I think its bang on the money. It plays and sounds incredible.

I had a lovely Japanese Fender just like this...what a looker!

[Mikey D]

19 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Well, one things for certain no more 2020 purchases possible now! So you should definitely know by now what your best purchase of last year was! 😎 

So on reflection and the last thing purchased in 2020...but I wish it was the first-this K&M multi-bass stand!

Before I had 3 individual stands and a few basses strewn around the room. I got a gift voucher from work for £100 and immediately spent it on this and so thankful I did. Even only yesterday my wife walked past the office/study/music room and went 'you know, I really like that stand'. She likes neatness.

[chris_b]

Well I got thorough 2020 just buying a Roqsolid cover for my Barefaced BB2. That was it!

First, last, best and worst purchase rolled into one.

6 gigs. My worst gig total in 35 years.

Let's hope 2021 gets better. . . . Happy New Year.

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, chris_b said:

Well I got thorough 2020 just buying a Roqsolid cover for my Barefaced BB2. That was it!

First, last, best and worst purchase rolled into one.

6 gigs. My worst gig total in 35 years.

Let's hope 2021 gets better. . . . Happy New Year.

Exactly the same number of gigs as I had last year! 

But in a weird sort of way I had quite a gear focussed year -sold more gear than I bought for the first time in 6 years, but ended up with a set of bass gear that I'm really happy with.

Completely echo your final sentiments - fingers crossed.

Edited January 3, 2021 by Al Krow

[Doctor J]

This arrived in late December and it's very nice indeed. 

[Al Krow]

20 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

This arrived in late December and it's very nice indeed. 

Oh I say!! Do they do a 5 string version? 

[Doctor J]

I think they stopped doing anything at all after Fender ran them into the ground. This one is 30 years old.

[AndyTravis]

2 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

I think they stopped doing anything at all after Fender ran them into the ground. This one is 30 years old.

 

3 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Oh I say!! Do they do a 5 string version? 

https://reverb.com/uk/item/3169349-hamer-chaparral-5-string-bass-usa-1992-iridescent-reverse-headstock-w-original-case
 

they’re out there...

[NancyJohnson]

11 hours ago, Doctor J said:

This arrived in late December and it's very nice indeed. 

Was this the one that was on the marketplace here last year?