If you're a beginner, just get your hands on anything you can and start practicing. There's always time to upgrade to a better rig later.

Aye, sound advice if I ever heard it and don't worry 'bout upgrading too soon. I still regret buying my Fender to this day and It'll be a long time before I'm in that sort of financial position again.

Well was it American made? Mexican? Korean?

Mexican but that's besides the point, The Jazz Bass although fitting the style I play for myself doesn't fit the music style I play publicly as well as other bases might have also it being a short-neck 4 string bass I would be inclined to say it's somewhat restricted my playing on top of this I just don't think I got what I payed for I mean it's a stunning bass but I could have got another bass or two other bases that OK might not have been made to the same standard but would have been good enough and opened up my playing to other areas and might have been better suited to the stuff I'm playing now.

I hear ya. A Mexican-made Jazz bass is what I learned on, so I'm partial to them. But depending on what kind of music you play in a band, it might not be the bass you need. I assume that it has passive electronics, so there goes the boost that active can give you, and if that's something you want, then another bass could be the answer. But just as important is what you're playing it through.

Aye Passive pickups I've actually never been more satisfied with an amp than the one I have now, best buy I've ever made. Hartke ha3500 head and 4 speaker hartke xl cab, sounds lovely alright it might lack in features but if I wanted any I'd always buy into a floorboard. The amp itself is quality, reliable so far and has a fair bit of bollocks to it. In terms of the music I'm playing now a precision or rickenbacker would have been best (sort of the Jam's more angry songs) but knowing what I do now I'd take a bit more time and find a cheaper alternative with a quality sound. In fact I'd probably buy a bass for the band and a bass for my own messing around for the same money I bought that Fender just because it said Fender on the headstock.

Word. Never buy the hype just because it has the famous shit on the headstock. Luckily, I haven't fallen prey to that yet. Although, I would like to add a Rickenbacker to my collection. That Hartke head, is that the Transient Attack?

To be honest I have no Idea which means it's probably not but to make things easy this is it...

Hartke HA3500, - Online Music Store | Sounds Live with the xl cab of course. I nearly bought a Gallien Krueger instead but I've heard a fair bit of **** about them since which makes me kind of glad I went for the hartke.

Yeah, I used to play through a similar Hartke head, but when I bought my cabs, the head couldn't handle them, so I upgraded to this.

http://www.rockinn.co.jp/shopping/am...eg_svt4pro.jpg

Thing's a fuckin' beast. I might get my hands on a '71 Blue Line SVT, though in the future. fingers crossed.

beautiful!