New Kid In Town

On February 16th this year I blipped a picture of my newly acquired MusicMan Stingray Bass, confidently predicting that this was “the one”. That guitar featured in seven other blips over the next six months as it was modified and gigged, before a blip on 2nd September saw me declaring it was a definite keeper. It featured in two more blips after that, most recently on 27th November. It even features in a variety of screensavers and avatars across my devices and social media. However, the more observant amongst you will have spotted that the bass in the picture is not my “beloved” Stingray…
Even as I played it on the 27th, I knew I was going to look at another bass the following day though, at that stage, I was thinking of just getting an extra one to use at gigs. Unfortunately (fortunately?), the following day I found that the bass I had my eye on had been sold and I came home with a new acoustic instead.
But as well as getting the acoustic, I spotted a G&L Fallout Bass that had just come in. Not only did it look - and sound - superb, it had been sensibly modified with a set of Hipshot tuners. The rest of the spec was as good as - if not better than - the Stingray. But I couldn’t have both. The deal offered was a straight swap and it took only a few minutes of thought before I agreed. I’ve set it up through the amp this afternoon and am looking forward to using it in anger later this month.
There is a common thread running through my bass guitars though. The Squier Bronco, the MusicMan Stingray and the G&L Fallout all have one man in common - the genius that was Leo Fender. His eponymous company is probably the best known, but after he sold it to CBS he was instrumental in setting up MusicMan before moving on to become the “L” of G&L Guitars a few years later. Each fresh start enabled him to tweak and improve on his original Precision and Jazz basses of the 1950s, and I can certainly see that heritage in my latest acquisition.
Will this bass be “the one?” Hmmm. I don’t think I dare make that claim again, given my previous track record. Let’s just wait and see what I’m playing this time next year…