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Lowbrow · Jun 18, 2026

Always appreciated their looks and distinctive twang yet couldn’t align with having to adjust my playing to suit the instrument.

Justyn Brando · Jun 18, 2026

It was available later on in a Cobalt blue, and CAR but without matching headstocks. It was Hot Rod Red with a matching headstock on initial release.

MadJack · Jun 18, 2026

cbrwng said:
@MadJack - how are you still liking the bass? What styles have you been playing with it? A shell pink soap is on my next to buy list!

Sorry I missed your question before, I was going through some house repairs at that time.

Even though I've got a Fender Player II and built the La Cabronita Heuca (see avatar), it still remains a top player.

I mostly use it to play some more of the more upbeat Contemporary Christian music at church. It will often come out for general around the house play too.

For comparison, the Player II is a general purpose roundwound equipped Precision. The Cab is a warmer, mellow flatwound sound. I use it for more worshipful, bluesy styles or Motown style sounds. The there is my Bolin Guitars/Dusty Hill Peeler P (highly modified Harley Benton PB50) tribute bass with the SD Stinger pickup, that is straight up Blues Rock.

My taste tend towards Precision style/sounding basses. I do have (Too Many) others, for other specific sounds. Mostly are modified to various levels, budget models, that were acquired in my search for my sound.

smittyxi · Jun 18, 2026

Late to the party, but I have one of these. I think 2-Color Sunburst with Rosewood fretboard was the only option, at least for 2006. I got mine for a couple hundred off Craigslist around 2010.

I don't have a ton of experience with other basses, but this was a big step up from a Squier Affinity P-Bass I started with... just a solid all-around MIM J-bass. The regular J-bass pickups are supposed to be passive, but I didn't get any output without the 9V so it must pass through the active electronics somehow.

But the piezo bridge was really special. Being active, it was louder and fuller, with really nice sustain. I usually preferred playing with just the piezo pickups, unless I was looking specifically for a classic Jazz tone. Unfortunately, the piezo pickup system stopped working on mine a year or two ago, maybe when I switched to flatwound strings, and I haven't been able to troubleshoot it. It bummed me out so much, I bought an Ibanez SRH500F which is even more specialized but has a great combination of fretless plus piezo that is better than I got on the Fender for that specific sound.

PBandJazzBass · Jun 18, 2026

coyoteboy said:
Sorry its been a Minute!

Brite Flats are my favorite now on my Acinonyx V2 from Nordstrand. Their stiffness counteracts short-scale floopiness, the E is just great, not blurry at all. Theyre a bit grindy actually, and the alloy 52 helps keep up with my Cutlass which is louder. Grippyness not bothering me much at this point.

For reference i play finger and pick. These are great under a pick!

How do you think they compare to other GHS bass strings like the Pressurewounds or Boomers?

ernestnewboy · Jun 18, 2026

David Joynson said:
Spoiler alert:

She does say explicitly at some point that she is not an experienced improvisor and for that reason, she doesn't cover it.

I figured yes! The classical world is so different from jazz and popular genres.
A super worthwhile read nonetheless

Thedaivisch · Jun 18, 2026

Thedaivisch said:
900 watts not enough for you ?? What kind of band are you in lol.

More cones might be the fix rather than watts...

Interesting to know the tone comparison with the HR2.

I read a comparison between the HR2 and the Blue Rock (almost identical Pre, but class D power amp) and there were differences purely from the power amp, also confirmed by Udo I believe at Glockenklang.

This. Re Class D Vs AB.

I forgot a couple of other amps I owned:

Hartke LH1000. AB. Big hefty tone with lots of slam. Very loud. Always musical, but relatively subtle passive tone stack preamp. A bit rough around the edges with quite a lot of noise/hiss in the signal chain.

Hartke TX600. Class D. Very similar preamp setup to above which was lovely sounding, and overall cleaner with far less unwanted noise but let down by utterly anaemic power section with no slam and very little volume.

MIJ Fender Guy · Jun 18, 2026

No. Jazz with neck only on isn't that a great sound IMO. If you want that, use a P.

Stevorebob · Jun 18, 2026

Or… I just dial the dry down on the TC Sub ‘n’ Up. I found a knob right on the pedal that does that.

koricancowboy · Jun 18, 2026

I just bought three with c extensions for the high school orchestra I teach. I paid 4k for each. It was hard to find anything near it for the price. The mechanism is great. The pads in the closets sucked but I replaced them myself with leather and now everything is golden. Great for the price

agedhorse · Jun 18, 2026

Good luck then.

BassicJazzy · Jun 18, 2026

SteveCS said:
Strictly speaking, no - it's just an arpeggio, or a melodic phrase based on chord tones.

Inversions are a feature of chords which in turn implies harmonic intervals, i.e. notes played (or sounding) simultaneously, not melodically or sequentially*. As such, the inversion should be considered only in the context of all of the notes sounding from all of the voices at any point in time. If, at the point you play the E, the other voices are sounding C and G, the ensemble chord is C Major. If your E is also the lowest note in the arrangement, then the overall harmony is C Major in first inversion. Is the bass playing this inversion, or contributing, albeit in a crucially important role, to its creation? If you go up to G but there is still a voice sounding that low E, then the overall sound is still C Major in 1st inversion. If then everyone else moves above your low G, the overall chord becomes 2nd inversion (5th in the bass). Again, is the bass playing the inversion or creating it? Of course, if through all of that, someone is sounding a C below everyone else, the C major is in root position, regardless of the arrangement of notes above. So for the most part, creating inversions is a team sport.

* Melodic 'inversion' is something entirely different, and associated more with serialism and atonal composition.

I've found this true when playing modal jazz too. Have to be careful not to get lazy and start playing from the major scale intervals when in minor modes. Changes the whole sound, even though the notes are the same. My ape brain cannot explain it as well as you did here.

ChrisDev · Jun 18, 2026

It's 90+°F here. Too hot for a long walk...

petestrummer · Jun 18, 2026

Thanks all!
Schecter MonsterTone look like what I have.
Apologies for the late response and I appreciate everyone’s input

technikTT · Jun 18, 2026

Here is my beauty. Andrea Capurso is a phenomenal builder who can turn your dreams into a first-class instrument. Among other builders, his signature style reminds me the most of Alleva Coppolo—it’s an instrument with flawless details that also has a soul.

My piece is a Spiral P5 in a nitro finish, featuring a Lamborghini SE30 shade sprayed over Burgundy Mist Metallic. The body is made from 40-year-old American alder, just like the ones Fender used, paired with a roasted flame hard maple neck and a stunning Brazilian rosewood fingerboard! It features a ton of custom details that Andrea and I came up with together to match my exact specs, such as a white pearl binding with a thin rosewood strap, abalone dots, an Italian coin string retainer, a custom bridge, a Lollar pickup, and lollipop tuners.

Sound-wise, it’s an amazing modern P-bass. With the right strings and some foam, it sounds almost like my CS62. Armed with Italian Sansone strings, it reminds me of an Fbass BN5 on the neck pickup. The lows have massive weight, and the definition of the B-string is absolutely breathtaking, all while keeping that unmistakable P-style vibe.

With Capurso instruments, you truly get a piece of Italian flair wrapped in a work of art!

Eilif · Jun 18, 2026

Minor update.

Our Rhythm guitarist continues to impress with his connections and gig-getting. Weekend commitments seemed to have made June and half of July no-go for gigging, but he scored us a gig next Thursday opening for "Jagged Little Pill" Alanis tribute at the Des Plaines theater.

90s ALT ROCK NITE!!! THE ALANIS TRIBUTE: JAGGED LITTLE PILL with SPECIAL GUEST WONDERWALL - TRIBUTE TO OASIS - Onesti Entertainment

Alanis Morissette… The voice of a generation… female empowerment long before it was a hashtag…Jagged Little Pill is one of the most successful albums of the 1990s. Selling over 16...

oshows.com

This will be our biggest venue and the most established band we've yet played with. It also comes with a reasonable guarantee and a free dinner!

We're hiring a photographer friend to get some good footage and photos of us in this, our first proper theatre.

Here's to hoping that Jagged has a good draw on a Thursday night because it's a 900 seat venue...

PaulKing · Jun 18, 2026

Just joining in here. I'm really enjoying my MK StudioP. It's surprised me how close to an amplified acoustic I can make it sound.

I'll be using it at a gig for the first time this weekend (because I have to use public transport), and out of curiosity I wondered how my normal Underwood pick up would sound compared to the built in piezo. I'm familiar with shaping its tone, and comfortable that I can dial it in on pretty much any stage ... so I did a quick and dirty AB test. I think the results are pretty impressive. There's a subtle difference in character, but not huge - easily levelled out using EQ anyway. I never expected that an EUB would so easily give me a faithful reproduction of amplified acoustic tone, especially for rootsy music and slap ... but here it is.

On Saturday I'll start out with the Underwood, so I know I'm in my comfort zone. But I'll be interested to hear the built-in piezo in comparison - I'm pretty sure it'll give me totally usable live tone.

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Tommy Sparks · Jun 18, 2026

Used them back in the day with no issues.
If I remember correctly, there should be a marking next to it to identify max load. And yes…… I plugged a fan in.

maxoges · Jun 18, 2026

Fender neck, Gotoh tuners and bridge, Dimazio pickups.
Stacked controls Vol/tone

DonWarr · Jun 18, 2026

Steven Ayres said:
Happy to help, you can quote me, although 'historian' might imply more than my expertise allows.

My only additional thought is that it's a nice refinish, as these things go. Too bad about the lost volute.

T

Steven Ayres said:
Happy to help, you can quote me, although 'historian' might imply more than my expertise allows.

My only additional thought is that it's a nice refinish, as these things go. Too bad about the lost volute.

Thank you again for your help. The bass has not been refinished during my ownership since 1997, although I don’t know what may have been done before then. I appreciate your observations and the identification. I’ve learned more about this bass in the last few days than I have in the nearly 30 years I’ve owned it.

GTHintz · Jun 18, 2026

DWBass said:
I've been playing Nickels pretty much my entire playing career. I'm thinking about switching to Steels for one of my basses. How many of us prefer Steel over Nickel or Nickel over Steel??

Steel has more definition articulation and longevity than nickel. There are enough options out there that you can find a string stone and feel to suit almost anyone. Sadowsky blue label stainless sound a lot like nickel but last longer. DR fat beams are closer to bright nickel as well as more flexible compared to many steel strings.

Froth · Jun 18, 2026

Alix into QSC K10.2 on a stand (from Fishman Full Circle pup) is my standard setup, I love it.

fourstringbliss · Jun 18, 2026

This is great because I have this coming on Monday:

Now I can wire it up series/parallel.

Jeff Scott · Jun 18, 2026

Collin Bass said:
I'm a little late to the party but LDS cabs LOVE Mesa Subway heads!

Mesa-Boogie Bass 800D-Guild B-301-LDS 1106-DPP-PS-1200_5866.jpg

Pocket Dave · Jun 18, 2026

Lucked out with my first set of 760FL's - no issues.

This past Saturday night: Labella's, Lollar standard winds, Aggie TH-500...

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