sharkboy Posted December 29, 2023 Share Posted December 29, 2023 Unfortunately both my main purchases this year have fallen short somewhat. First was a Squier Paranormal Jazz 54 in black with an anodised gold scratch plate. This is at least a fun bass to play - it definitely looks the part with its ‘54 P bass stylings and stacked pots - but it’s let down by some seriously underpowered pickups and noisy electronics, Second, and even more disappointing, has been my hunt for a smaller, lighter amp to replace my TC Electronic Blacksmith. Ideally, I’d been looking for a Bergantino Forte HP but they’ve proven to be hard to source and probably on the wrong side of my budget ceiling. So instead I went for a GR Bass 1400Duo. Out of the box it just looked and felt cheap and the quality of the build left something to be desired. Plugging it in, I spent about 5 hours fiddling with the controls trying to get some decent tones out of it, but to no avail. The built-in tuner left a lot to be desired too! It was winging its way back to Bass Direct the very next day. I’ll keep trying to find a cheap Forte HP, but in the meantime my ever-reliable Blacksmith just keeps on delivering gig after gig. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassist_lewis Posted December 29, 2023 Share Posted December 29, 2023 Best purchase: Iron Ether Xerography Deluxe. Easily competes with my Moog Low Pass Filter and takes up a quarter of the real estate. Worst: harder to answer as nothing was expressly bad, but the Origin DCX Bass wasn't quite what I thought it would be. I also bought a Sandberg Florence, which is very cool and well made, but I'm just not finding the opportunities to use it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted December 29, 2023 Share Posted December 29, 2023 (edited) 23 hours ago, Al Krow said: Oooh pics please! Very tempted to get another active PJ 5er at some point and I could never quite bond with my Yamaha BB735A. Guess I need to check out what the key differences between the Sire P5, P8 and P10 models are - have to fess I was totally unaware of the 8 series! I was amazed at how good it is for the price. I've swapped the tuners for Gotoh Res-O-Lite: it wasn't neck heavy but now the balance is perfect and it's trimmed the weight by 7oz to make the bass bang on 9lbs. Also added Dunlop Straplocks, but other than that I will keep it stock. No hum from the pickups and the 3 band EQ is great. Honestly can't say enough good things about it. Oh, and it also came with a really good gig bag as standard. Edited December 29, 2023 by franzbassist Pics added 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodyratm Posted December 29, 2023 Share Posted December 29, 2023 I bought a Dingwall Afterburner 1 and it’s absolutely amazing. Got a kemper player ordered that I’m hoping will be fun. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 30, 2023 Share Posted December 30, 2023 10 hours ago, woodyratm said: I bought a Dingwall Afterburner 1 and it’s absolutely amazing. Got a kemper player ordered that I’m hoping will be fun. Had a Dingwall NG2 5 stringer for a couple of yrs mainly for a Prog project i was working on but i prefer 4 strings. It was a terrific bass tho and i would buy another 4 string Dingwall. Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodyratm Posted December 30, 2023 Share Posted December 30, 2023 2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said: Had a Dingwall NG2 5 stringer for a couple of yrs mainly for a Prog project i was working on but i prefer 4 strings. It was a terrific bass tho and i would buy another 4 string Dingwall. Dave I had a few Dingwalls over the last few years but never fully committed. This year I’ve fallen majorly for them. Completely replaced my Status basses (bar one). If you decide you want a Dingwall 5 or 6, hit me up 😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 30, 2023 Share Posted December 30, 2023 7 hours ago, woodyratm said: I had a few Dingwalls over the last few years but never fully committed. This year I’ve fallen majorly for them. Completely replaced my Status basses (bar one). If you decide you want a Dingwall 5 or 6, hit me up 😂 At the moment i'm pretty happy with my 2 Sandbergs. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumOne Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 2023 was a year of buying/selling stuff I've already owned. I had already bought an Ibanez EHB 1005 MS and Boss GT 1000 Core (both brand new) and sold them, only to then buy other ones (both brand new again) and sell again....and I've done it before with Zoom B1 four, NUX mighty plug, MXR M82 and probably a few others. Next up will be Boss Waza air bass that I regret selling. I suppose it's good for the flow of goods through basschat marketplace, not so good for my bank balance! There's probably a lesson to be learned for 2024, I won't be learning it though! 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Bit tangential. But needing a new desk chair - got one for Christmas that has flip up armrests so I can play bass/guitar seated in front of mixer without awkward manoeuvring. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilebodgers Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 1 hour ago, rmorris said: Bit tangential. But needing a new desk chair - got one for Christmas that has flip up armrests so I can play bass/guitar seated in front of mixer without awkward manoeuvring. What did you get? It’s a problem I need to solve too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Earlier in this thread I said I bought absolutely nothing last year. Well, the other day I tilted my head 90 degrees while laying in the couch position and caught eye of an Orange two stroke. I had bought it a couple of months prior and forgot it. So I told a lie and thought it best to come clean now not dragging a lie into the next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 1 hour ago, nilebodgers said: What did you get? It’s a problem I need to solve too. I'm interested too... currently put up with removed armrests so I can play instead of work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Bought almost nothing the entire year... until late in December when I got a Rickenbacker 4003 off a drummer pal who got it in a trade. I cleaned it up and fixed the wiring issues (pickups and bridge had been upgraded) but I'm just not getting along with the ergonomics. I'll be moving it on in the new year, and hopefully replacing it with something short scale and fretless. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 (edited) On 31/12/2023 at 19:46, nilebodgers said: What did you get? It’s a problem I need to solve too. Argos. https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9203176 It's a bit "Boy Racer" but actually rather good without spending £100s. Lots seem to be "mesh" material but I don't think they would survive our cat 😳 Edited January 3 by rmorris typo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 12 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said: I'm interested too... currently put up with removed armrests so I can play instead of work... https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9203176 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbandit599 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 (edited) Two good purchases for me. Sire P5, 5 string passive. Never had a P bass and I wasn't shelling out for a USA Fender. It's rather good now I'm getting used to the tone ( different from my Warwick!) even put flats on it. The tort scratchplate had to go though 😉 Also, my GR208 cab. 500 watts and 4 ohm, only 10kg. As we always have full PA now think this may be the death of my big rig. Awesome little thunder box. Edited January 2 by redbandit599 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 1 hour ago, redbandit599 said: Two good purchases for me. Sire P5, 5 string passive. Never had a P bass and I wasn't shelling out for a USA Fender. It's rather good now I'm getting used to the tone ( different from my Warwick!) even put flats on it. The tort scratchplate had to go through 😉 Also, my GR208 cab. 500 watts and 4 ohm, only 10kg. As we always have full PA now think this may be the death of my big rig. Awesome little thunder box. What flats did you put on there. I'm thinking of giving flats another go on one of my basses but wary as didn't get on with previous go. Happy New Year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbandit599 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 3 minutes ago, rmorris said: What flats did you put on there. I'm thinking of giving flats another go on one of my basses but wary as didn't get on with previous go. Happy New Year. These are Dunlops that I had previously tried on my Sandberg and not really liked. But they work well on the Sire. Can't string through body though. I'm not Flats expert, always been a rounds guy but think I get them now 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 I quite like the tone from flats but i need to slide a bit in some songs and i find the flats burn my wee dainty fingertips. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbandit599 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 (edited) 1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said: I quite like the tone from flats but i need to slide a bit in some songs and i find the flats burn my wee dainty fingertips. Dave I'm liking the flats feel, one thing I think they do lack compared to rounds though is an aggressive slide sound. But the reduction in finger noise is good overall. I usually play active, but with the passive Sire and flats I find I can abuse the strings a bit more without getting 'too much' - still getting used to them really. Edited January 1 by redbandit599 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snorkie635 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 (edited) Yep, started as a beginner on flats and still have some of the herd strung with them. 👍 Edited January 1 by snorkie635 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewie Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 Crikey, what a GAS inducer this all is............!!!!! Love it though........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewie Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 On 16/12/2023 at 17:36, chriswareham said: Best: An Acoustic Control Corporation 136 combo, purchased from a fellow BassChatter. Replaces an ACC 140 head that I used to own, as it's the same head combined with a 15" speaker. Worst: A Rickenbacker 4003. The neck on my battered Hondo Rick copy broke at the heel (it was a bolt on with most of the heel routed out to fit the neck pickup). Since I play in a Joy Division tribute act I needed a suitable replacement quickly, and this 4003 popped up locally on Gumtree at a reasonable price. Having now played it live several times, I find that the neck flexes leading to intonation issues (perhaps the more recent ones with a proper truss rod are better). Sorry to hear about the flexing........... that sucks.......... you wouldn't imagine that......... Get it insured and leave your front door open maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewie Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 On 01/01/2024 at 07:20, MoonBassAlpha said: Bought almost nothing the entire year... until late in December when I got a Rickenbacker 4003 off a drummer pal who got it in a trade. I cleaned it up and fixed the wiring issues (pickups and bridge had been upgraded) but I'm just not getting along with the ergonomics. I'll be moving it on in the new year, and hopefully replacing it with something short scale and fretless. Wow........ that'll go in a heartbeat....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 42 minutes ago, Chewie said: Wow........ that'll go in a heartbeat....... I dunno, I'm guessing it's a bad time of year to sell stuff. I'm asking among my acquaintances first before advertising, but it's not good atm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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