Your best (and worst!) bass gear purchases of 2021?

[NancyJohnson]

On 04/11/2021 at 21:13, NancyJohnson said:

I was thinking I'd not bought that much this year, but, well, umm, yeah.

 

Bought a Hamer Cruisebass (below) that I'm in love with and while it's not strictly a purchase, I have an NS NXT 5-string EUB for my birthday in 26 days (and counting).

 

I also bought three hardshell cases, a Fender Pugilist dirtbox, a GED2112-DI, an EMG GZR P/J pickup set and I have an Ibanez project arriving imminently.  

 

I think that's everything*.  There's no bad purchases in there.  (*Edit: I just bought an Ibanez Roadster RS-924 as a project.)

 

Gratuitous Hamer glamour shot:

 

Just to add to the purchase list, I put a John East preamp in the Hamer, so it's got EMG GZR pickups and the East.  

[Boodang]

 

Both awesome and both now permanently on my pedalboard.

[Boodang]

 

Oh, and if you're fed up with your speakers and want an excuse to replace them, get this, plug it in and blow them up!

Seriously good pedal though.

[dmccombe7]

Just bought a Sandberg MarloweDK from Bass Direct and gigged it on Sat night with the 70'c classic punk band. It sounded absolutely amazing with plenty of depth and punch. Tonewise it fits between my J & P basses so that works out just about perfect. I was finding the P bass didnt have enough clarity but had a lot of depth or low end (could well have been down to my amp EQ) and my Geddy Jazz has clarity but not quite enough depth altho not much in it.

I quite like a slim neck but i did get a little bit of left hand cramp coming on towards end of the night that i've not been getting with my P bass last few gigs. Not sure if its the widder neck that helps or i tend to use the proper hand positioning with a wider neck. I do tend to wrap my thumb round a slim neck when i'm playing up at the nut end. I get the same with my Geddy J too so its not a specific bass.

At the moment tho i'm loving my 2nd Sandberg. I can see me using it as my main gigging bass with both bands.

Dave

[Al Krow]

5 hours ago, Boodang said:

 

Both awesome and both now permanently on my pedalboard.

 

5 hours ago, Boodang said:

 

Oh, and if you're fed up with your speakers and want an excuse to replace them, get this, plug it in and blow them up!

Seriously good pedal though.

So in keeping with best of the year purchase theme - if you had to save just one of the three "from the fire" which would it be (and why)?

[Rayman]

Easily the best purchase has been this Hohner B Bass.....

 

Tbh, I wasn't expecting a lot.... I fully expected to be upgrading the electrics with fingers crossed that the bass itself would be worth the effort. 

 

With a setup, new strings etc.... it's blown me away. Lovely clear tones, plenty of lows and highs when active, and even better, a nice clear honky punch when passive. Absolutely no need at all for ANY upgrades.

 

The action is nice and low with no drastic dead spots, even up the dusty end.

 

Superb thing.

[Boodang]

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

 

So in keeping with best of the year purchase theme - if you had to save just one of the three "from the fire" which would it be (and why)?

The one getting saved would be the Seamoon Funk Machine.... super funky in envelope mode (obviously!) but if you roll off the depth control it has a great bass boost sound which, strangely as it's just supposed to be in dub mode at this point, adds presence as well. Consequently it's an always on pedal.

Oh, and the pedal looks fantastic!

[Clarky]

Best: 1982 Fullerton Jazz bass in 3TS - wonderful thing

Worst: R*ck 4003 (2021 edition in jetglo) - looks cool AF but I just can't get used to ergonomics and can't even sell the damn thing on BassChat!

Edited December 6, 2021 by Clarky

[Al Krow]

8 minutes ago, Clarky said:

Best: 1982 Fullerton Jazz bass in 3TS - wonderful thing

Worst: R*ck 4003 (2021 edition in jetglo) - looks cool AF but I just can't get used to ergonomics and can't even sell the damn thing on BassChat!

Pics (of both) please! 

[Clarky]

Just now, Al Krow said:

Pics (of both) please! 

 

[Boodang]

27 minutes ago, Clarky said:

 

Does the ric perform any better in the sack?!

[Al Krow]

43 minutes ago, Clarky said:

 

Such a shame about the Ric. It's one of those iconic purchases that a lot of us GAS for and then to find it doesn't work out in terms of "feel", must have been really gutting!

Edited December 6, 2021 by Al Krow

[Clarky]

8 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Such a shame about the Ric. It's one of those iconic purchases that a lot of us GAS for and then to find it doesn't work out in terms of "feel", must have been really gutting!

It is gutting. Persuaded myself against my better judgment that the likes of Squire, Lee, Macca etc couldn't be wrong but it just doesn't sit right with me - unfortunately I modded the bridge pickup with the thumb rest bezel that most Rick users seem to do and this of course invalidated my ability to send it back to the retailer. Its only 1 month old! Gah, live and learn. EBay it is

[krispn]

22 minutes ago, Clarky said:

It is gutting. Persuaded myself against my better judgment that the likes of Squire, Lee, Macca etc couldn't be wrong but it just doesn't sit right with me - unfortunately I modded the bridge pickup with the thumb rest bezel that most Rick users seem to do and this of course invalidated my ability to send it back to the retailer. Its only 1 month old! Gah, live and learn. EBay it is

Maybe highlight on a few different threads that it’s not for you and that you’re eBaying it. You’ll at least be able to make the BC community aware that it’s going to be available. I would DM you for more info but I’m not buying at this time. 

[Woodinblack]

55 minutes ago, Clarky said:

It is gutting. Persuaded myself against my better judgment that the likes of Squire, Lee, Macca etc couldn't be wrong but it just doesn't sit right with me - unfortunately I modded the bridge pickup with the thumb rest bezel that most Rick users seem to do and this of course invalidated my ability to send it back to the retailer. Its only 1 month old! Gah, live and learn. EBay it is

 

Is it a non reversable mod? I mean would the retailer notice that something had happened to it?

 

I must admit I was almost in the same boat with the 4003s5, they finally made a 5 string, I could use it, but it is a lot of money if you don't like it, and couldn't find one to try anywhere, so went without. Probably just as well!

[Clarky]

Its beyond the distance selling date anyway so I will just try and sell through the usual (non BC!) channels

[gareth]

Best - 1982 Fullerton Precision bass in black with original case

 

Worst

 

Vox amplug - stopped working 

[dmccombe7]

2 hours ago, Clarky said:

Best: 1982 Fullerton Jazz bass in 3TS - wonderful thing

Worst: R*ck 4003 (2021 edition in jetglo) - looks cool AF but I just can't get used to ergonomics and can't even sell the damn thing on BassChat!

I can take that of your hands for free if that helps 

As long as you cover postage costs.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Clarky said:

It is gutting. Persuaded myself against my better judgment that the likes of Squire, Lee, Macca etc couldn't be wrong but it just doesn't sit right with me - unfortunately I modded the bridge pickup with the thumb rest bezel that most Rick users seem to do and this of course invalidated my ability to send it back to the retailer. Its only 1 month old! Gah, live and learn. EBay it is

2nd hand ones are selling for not much less than original prices and in some cases more because of the delays in supply chain so you might not lose as much as you think.

Try posting on FB or Gumtree rather than rely on ebay biddings.

Such a shame. I almost went for one that colour too but decided on a 2nd hand Sandberg MarloweDK instead. Think i might have had the same reaction to it TBH.

Hope you get your return on it.

Dave

[gareth]

2 hours ago, Clarky said:

Worst: R*ck 4003 (2021 edition in jetglo) - looks cool AF but I just can't get used to ergonomics and can't even sell the damn thing on BassChat!

They do vary

 

i had a white 1983 that was an absolute dog

 

then got a 2000 fireglow which has that Chris squire tone

 

i agree the ergonomics take some getting used to

 

ive had great success selling on fb

[Al Krow]

2 hours ago, Clarky said:

It is gutting. Persuaded myself against my better judgment that the likes of Squire, Lee, Macca etc couldn't be wrong but it just doesn't sit right with me - unfortunately I modded the bridge pickup with the thumb rest bezel that most Rick users seem to do and this of course invalidated my ability to send it back to the retailer. Its only 1 month old! Gah, live and learn. EBay it is

Just for my education: is it mainly the body shape / "sharp" edge that's the issue? Are you otherwise liking the core Ric tone?

[Clarky]

Thats a part, but also I cannot get my right hand comfy either with a pick or fingerstyle due to bridge mute screws and the design of the bridge pickup. By comparison, to me a Jazz or P bass is just like a pair of old slippers

[BigRedX]

5 minutes ago, Clarky said:

Thats a part, but also I cannot get my right hand comfy either with a pick or fingerstyle due to bridge mute screws and the design of the bridge pickup. By comparison, to me a Jazz or P bass is just like a pair of old slippers

 

IME it is very much dictated to what you are used to.

 

My problem with Fender-style bases is very much compounded by the fact that I'd spent over 25 years playing significantly different designs before I got my first F-shaped bass, and found that I simply couldn't get on with it at all.

[Boodang]

9 minutes ago, Clarky said:

Thats a part, but also I cannot get my right hand comfy either with a pick or fingerstyle due to bridge mute screws and the design of the bridge pickup. By comparison, to me a Jazz or P bass is just like a pair of old slippers

Is it worth getting the hipshot replacement bridge and ditching the neck pickup surrounding hardware? 

[Woodinblack]

2 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

IME it is very much dictated to what you are used to.

 

My problem with Fender-style bases is very much compounded by the fact that I'd spent over 25 years playing significantly different designs before I got my first F-shaped bass, and found that I simply couldn't get on with it at all.

 

In a way certainly, although the ric's bridge and pointy metalwork presents an additional challenge. I don't find P basses comfortable and think the sticking up screws on their bridges aren't good, and although I have had a few jazzes, they never seemed very comfortable or flexable, but the ric does have its own things. Having said that, my first years were on an ibanez ric copy so I recon I could cope with it. Just not willing to bet that much money that I am right!