I took the plunge and had an Englehardt Swingmaster shipped over from America in 2002. Such a lovely Bass. I agonised over the expense for a few weeks, but in the end it had to be done. You can't buy new instruments like that in the UK. What would we do now without the internet eh?? I have spirocore strings on my Basses as the bands I've been used to working with have been bordering on psychobilly and I've needed lots of volume. The Thundertones are a lot more traditional though, we're a bit like Go Cat Go really. I'm thinking of investing in some Gut strings again. Last time I played Gut strings was about 12 years ago. I used some German strings back then which had a pure gut "A". I think they were called Rollis or something like that. I have a Rockabilly Bass max pick up now which I had shipped over from Bob Gollihur. It'll be interseting to hear what my Swingmaster will sound like with some decent Gut's.
Best Rockin' wishes from the UK
Mark Limb