Basses & Guitars

2013 Sterling by Music Man Ray34CA Classic Active Bass

For many years, I wanted a Stingray. They are very different critters from both the Precision and Jazz basses. Alas, USA-made Stingrays are rather expensive, especially with Brandon at the country’s helm.

I was cautiously optimistic when I discovered that the owner of this particular bass would be interested in trading for a Fender Player P bass that I had.

This SBMM Ray34CA happily satisfied a decade-old itch and was a definite upgrade. With great rapidity, it became obvious that this bass was a “keeper”.

2014 Fender Standard Precision

The Fender Precision (P-Bass) is the Grandfather of all modern electric bass guitars. It was used throughout the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s appearing on thousands of recordings, and is still widely employed today. You have heard the Precision on any number of Motown songs played by the great James Jamerson.

After swapping my newer Player Precision for the SBMM as shown above, I realized that I was still craving the classic, signature sound of a P-Bass. And as much as I loved the Stingray, it does not sound like a Fender Precision.

Thus I began to try and find someone willing to trade their Precision bass for a Player Jazz bass that I had. I was extremely blessed to find a gentleman from the Sebastian area who was keenly interested in trading his older P-Bass for the Jazz.

I was a bit skeptical as I drove North to meet him. The picture he texted me was not the clearest and I was not really “into” white basses. Fortunately for me, when we got together, I was blown away by how beautiful an instrument it was.

When I brought it home, I was equally surprised that it sounded even better than my newer Precision that I had traded away.

2018 Epiphone ES-335 Pro Limited Edition

I acquired this particular guitar in a series of trades, starting with the purchase of an Epiphone Viola bass I found online in Central Florida. Unfortunately, I did not like the feel of the instrument so I swapped it for a Squier Classic Vibe ’70s Telecaster with dual humbucker pickups.

It is only my opinion but, as nice as the ’70s Tele was, humbuckers simply do not belong in a Telecaster.

I, then, traded the Squier Tele (as I already had the one pictured further down the page) for this outstanding ES-335.

This is another guitar that completely surpassed every single expectation that I had. The quality of the build is amazing. This 335 plays well and produces the nicest round, fat tones that I have ever heard.

It was worth wading through the other two instruments to get this one. I cannot see myself ever selling it.

2022 Squier Classic Vibe ’60s Custom Telecaster

Boy! Is that a long name?

There is nothing like a Telecaster. Nothing sounds like it, nothing looks like it. It is the backbone of Country Western music and “Chicken Picker” players. It has a distinct twang that I have never heard any other guitar reproduce. And this one is a Dandy!

When I first “discovered” this particular Telecaster, I had only recently started playing bass again after a many-year hiatus. Before that, I had seen relatively few Teles with bound bodies. And while a custom Fender was out of the question in terms of cost, Squier offered an amazing alternative.

This is a legitimate Tele, repeat with the Signature Telecaster Twang, simple controls, and dual single-coil pickups.

Squier Vintage Modified ’77 Jazz Bass

My latest bass purchase. I am endeavoring that it be the LAST bass that I will purchase.

I picked this up on the Facebook Marketplace. I changed the strings, polished the frets, and replaced the machine heads as one was majorly boogered up.

The reason I am calling this my last bass is that there is a syndrome that affects musicians of all levels and stripes. It’s referred to as Gear Acquisition Syndrome or G.A.S. This is very easy to fall prey to and I ended up buying things merely for the sake of buying them.

In fact, over the course of the past three years, I have had a total of four Jazz Basses pass through our doors. That is beyond crazy. So I decided that I would like to have what I would call “One of Each”. A Precision bass, a Stingray, and a Jazz bass. This Squier completes that trilogy.

It is well made and sounds as good as any Fender but costs a lot less.