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My new line up of Basses


Old Horse Murphy
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So, after making a resolution that 2021 was going to be a fallow period, I well and truly fell off the wagon in terms of bass purchases. 
 

The positive side to it is that I actually sold a lot more gear than I bought and managed to recoup quite a bit of money net net. I think this really has to be it though for a considerable time. 

 

Funny, I always seem to buy more gear when I'm not gigging. It must be some form of comfort blanket. Anyway, from left to right:

 

- Custom Fretless with Fender Japan neck

- G&L CLF L-2000

- Stingray Special 5 String

- 4003S

- Guild Starfire 1

- Fender US P Bass

- Lakland 44-64 

 

No Jazz Basses? Nah, I've had plenty of those and they don't work for me sound-wise or ergonomically. Despite owning many of them I never seem to learn!

 

 

 

 

31F90351-3262-4FF5-BCBE-E6C7677C3FEE.jpeg

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At the risk of being a pedantic git, doesn't the fretless basically provide the Jazz sounds you aren't partial to, if not the ergonomics? (Although I note from the pic that you have come up with a cunning plan to minimise that....)

 

I have also had a listless/naughty/bored year of excessive purchasing, and one such moment of weakness was a Starfire bass, although mine is the one with a single Bi-Sonic. I have to say I absolutely love the thing; in my top three ever, and I have had embarrassingly many in my decades of playing. I am not moved by the short-scale frenzy, I don't like narrower string spacing and it has lots of forearm-knacker sharp edges....and yet it's wonderful. How are you finding yours (apologies if you have already said so elsewhere)?

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51 minutes ago, CPCustomdubwise said:

At the risk of being a pedantic git, doesn't the fretless basically provide the Jazz sounds you aren't partial to, if not the ergonomics? (Although I note from the pic that you have come up with a cunning plan to minimise that....)

 

I have also had a listless/naughty/bored year of excessive purchasing, and one such moment of weakness was a Starfire bass, although mine is the one with a single Bi-Sonic. I have to say I absolutely love the thing; in my top three ever, and I have had embarrassingly many in my decades of playing. I am not moved by the short-scale frenzy, I don't like narrower string spacing and it has lots of forearm-knacker sharp edges....and yet it's wonderful. How are you finding yours (apologies if you have already said so elsewhere)?


Good point re the Fretless and yes, not having strings on it helps massively! 
 

I find the EMG's offer a bit more than other Jazz pickups and prefer Jazz pickups on a Fretless for some bizarre reason. 
 

I love the Guild and find the shorter scale actually works better for me with the larger Semi body. The neck seems to sit "right" for me and doesn't push the nut too far to the left. I've tried a few short scales before and agree with your own experiences. I find them cramped and uncomfortable. These Guilds really are something else though. 

Edited by Old Horse Murphy
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Nice collection Nick :) 

 

I'm the other way around, I tend to buy when I'm gigging more and then let stuff go when I'm not. I'm pretty sorted now with only 3 basses, all fretless but I have a lovely and expensive Stingray Fretless with Pau Ferro board that I've not gigged yet. However, if I don't get on with it then I'll sell it and try something else, perhaps a Tony Franklin Fretless Precision or a Warwick Streamer fretless.

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Nice collection there Nick :) 
I managed to thin my collection down.... and then bought a couple more! Sigh, when will I ever learn? lol

Anyhow, what I have done, is acquired another light weight cab, and a couple of basses that are also lightweight (around 3kg) and are compact & portable.
I've done several gigs over the past few months - nothing on the immediate horizon though. But since the pandemic started, I note that I'm not as able to stand for long periods of time, with a heavy-ish bass. Perhaps this is a combination of lack of going to the gym, fewer long rehearsals, and of course, my age ;) 

I like the look of that 4003. That's a great looking P bass, and the colour of that Lakland is cool too

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What a lovely collection!

 

I too went gear-crazy under lockdown but now I've managed to reduce my collection from 7 down to 2 but I can feel the GAS rising again now gigs are happening again. Weird!

 

My faves in your pic are the Ric, G&L and the Stingray. I've GASed for all of these at one point or another over the years.

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3 hours ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

So, after making a resolution that 2021 was going to be a fallow period, I well and truly fell off the wagon in terms of bass purchases. 
 

The positive side to it is that I actually sold a lot more gear than I bought and managed to recoup quite a bit of money net net. I think this really has to be it though for a considerable time. 

 

Funny, I always seem to buy more gear when I'm not gigging. It must be some form of comfort blanket. Anyway, from left to right:

 

- Custom Fretless with Fender Japan neck

- G&L CLF L-2000

- Stingray Special 5 String

- 4003S

- Guild Starfire 1

- Fender US P Bass

- Lakland 44-64 

 

No Jazz Basses? Nah, I've had plenty of those and they don't work for me sound-wise or ergonomically. Despite owning many of them I never seem to learn!

 

 

 

 

31F90351-3262-4FF5-BCBE-E6C7677C3FEE.jpeg

You seem to have almost all the basses covered!

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3 hours ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

prefer Jazz pickups on a Fretless for some bizarre reason. 


I’m exactly the same. As a ‘normal’ standard/heavy use bass I’ve never been able to gel with Jazz basses. Fretless though they sound and feel ‘right’ to me somehow. Maybe it’s in my head, I don’t know.

 

Nice lineup, anyhow!

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35 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said:

What happened to the Mustang, I thought you were getting keen on short scales?


I've still got a short scale (the Guild) but found the Mustang just felt a bit too small for me. The Guild has a bigger body and just puts the neck in a more comfortable position for me without feeling cramped. 

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