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Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/04/19 in all areas
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This is Basschat at its best. Knowledgeable, helpful, friendly, a little bit eccentric and not a snide sarcastic comment in sight. Love it.8 points
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Cheers chaps. I think you have pretty accurately summed me up!! I'm certainly no salesman, and I'm not the most confident person in my own ability - if I were ever on 'The Apprentice' I would lose!! For those that don't know me, my day job is in quality assurance and involves reviewing paperwork and writing reports. I started doing some woodwork a few years back as an outlet to make something other than a bigger pile of paperwork, and to physically see something constructive that I'd made. I really enjoy the design, build and learning that I get from making a bass and the recent feedback I've got is genuinely much appreciated. I'm not a particularly good bassist (even though |'ve played for long enough!!) so I really enjoy the bass bashes to hear what my basses sound like in other hands and for the constructive feedback I get. Building basses is something I do as a hobby that fits around my family life which is probably why I struggle when anyone asks me how much I would sell something for!! That isn't the reason I build basses and I don't count the hours it takes to make (I've been asked a few time and I haven't a clue!!). I've got a couple of builds in the pipeline that I'm going to do for a couple of people so we'll see how that goes!! Cheers again for all the positive and constructive comments!6 points
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I think I'm going to have to compromise a little on the shirt. Goes against the grain, but I don't think I have much chance of finding that exact design unless I go and raid the Bohemian Rhapsody wardrobe dept. I've ordered a Limelight - '68 Precision body with rosewood jazz width satin finish neck, big TV logo on head stock, natural finish on body, tort 3 ply pick guard, vintage reverse tuners, threaded saddle bridge, light relic, tug bar in period correct lower position. Officially out of the 2019 Gear Abstinence Challenge and not in a way that I ever foresaw 😂. There's always next year 🙄4 points
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And here's the black-on-black babe. I believe it is still owned by the BCer who bought it from me. I did try to buy it back at one point, but understandably, the owner liked it too much! Good on him I say.4 points
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First update from Jon. Body taking shape so to speak.4 points
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Basscat did you say? 😎4 points
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Hey folks, Just chiming in here. Thank you for the tag! Andy has pretty much answered everything you need to know! I did indeed do two JD tribute basses and my latest Fender is a nod to JD as well. My first, which I foolishly sold was a "Wembley 86 era" tribute which started life as a CIJ (non-export model) PB70-US. I actually had a special order with Fender Japan as they stopped making the all black version at the time. I would highly recommend this instrument to cover the '68 Fender JD had as it is a very close version - but also it has the 40mm nut width which would suit your request in the OP. My second tribute bass also featured a PB70-US neck, but I had Jon Shuker mate it with a stunning piece of timber for the body. This version went with the tortie pickguard and I alter sold it on BC as I knew I had a huge pang for the real thing! Pictures below: My JD tribute, but in this image it has a black guard and Billy Sheehan P pickup. Picture two is a snapshot from Wembley 86. You will see, with reference to the discussion about bridges, that after the refurb, JD had a Schaller 3D (2000??) bridge added. Not necessary if you are going with the natural look. and speaking of natural, picture 3 is my near-UPS-disaster and utterly gorgeous '76 precision bass. (I would have saved up for a 68 and found a couple I liked, but this one is my birth year) I LOVE it!!! Sounds amazing!4 points
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There you go! Just noticed the D is ever so slightly out of tune but just whacked a camera on and went for it. Hope it helps.4 points
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Hi guys Today we started using a better and faster search engine for Basschat. Elasticsearch allows much faster searching, more accurate results and works for shorter search terms which it didn't before. It'll also make the site faster when browsing. We hope you find it more useful. Now go and use it to find your next bass, or to argue with someone about something Cheers ped3 points
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So I recently noticed that my Yamaha BB 424x had got really microphonic and transferred loads of acoustic noise to the amp when tapping the pickups, body, control plate, anywhere on the bass really with the strings muted. gave it to my local tech, the awesome amazing Job Dickinson of Dickinson Amps in Crystal Palace and he did indeed diagnose the pickups as being very microphonic. So we went for it and wax potted the pickups. From a bit of research I know it's a bit of a mixed bag at whether it'll sort the problem so didn't know what to expect. Got it back and had a jam yesterday and it been cured!! microphonic noise reduced to about a 10th of what it was before So the trade off, and Jon did tell me about this pre-potting, was that the pickups would lose a bit of air and top end to the sound. They have indeed lost a fair bit of treble content which was instantly noticeable. Its almost lost too much by a hair, but the strings on it aren't the newest, I also dipped the tone a smidge before anyway and I've got plenty of pre-amp and drive control on my board to add this back in if needed. however losing that air, and I'm guessing shifting the resonant frequency of the pups down a bit and getting rid of the acoustic transfer to amp has also given the bottom and low mids incredible thump and focus!! and doesn't sound scooped at all so no Quarter Pounder syndrome. If you thought the BBs sound was massive before it's even bigger now! So all in all great to get it done and experience the results 1st hand and thou I had to trade a little top end now the bass sounds like a vintage voiced rock monster3 points
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Stupid idea. 😃3 points
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This is why I didn't do any more examples. Everyone's a critic 🙄😁3 points
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The fascination is cos up to 65 fender pickguards were nitrate celluloid which looked very different and started aging very quickly , a 2nd hand pickguard would also be shiny, the nitro paint was also totally different hence why that worn look has become such a thing for fenders Why does every thread about aged stuff get hijacked by people saying you shouldn't do it , it's wrong etc etc There's some styles of bass that aren't for me so I wouldn't buy one however I wouldn't find a thread about em and say I hate them and so should you3 points
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yeah just got a bunch of them downloaded yesterday night. then I jammed a few, then it was 2am. Then my daughter got up at 5.15am........3 points
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Beautiful Mayones Jabba Jazz bass 5, custom special model with Nordstrand big singles PU and passive electronic (V-V-T-T). Very lightweight, wonderful sound. Perfect conditions, with original hardcase.2 points -
A bit unsure of letting this superb bass go - but it just doesn't get enough attention from me. Its a 1968 Fender Coronado Bass I - a rare sight. This bass was apparently made for a trade fair as a show piece - it has the "Special" engraved on the back of the headstock. Its well kept for its age and this old lady just plays perfectly. It has gotten new frets a few years ago and also a new bone nut. Other than that - all original. The neck is just a joy to touch and play. Very easy to play and capable of low action (which is pretty rare also on these old basses). The original pickup has those separate magnets that you can adjust the string volume on which is a cool feature. Controls are as simple as Volume and tone. Currently strung with Daddario Black Nylon Flats but will include a set of Labella medium scale flats for that perfect fit on this bass. The bass is healthy, the truss works 100%, tuners are stable and the bridge works as it should. The bridge has lost its "F" inlay - which is normal on these models. Try and google pictures Bass is 30" scale / short scale. I have NO case - but lets discuss a solution for this if you're interested in the bass. Im sure we can work something out! (I have and old Rockbag for the bass which I can include also). Price is 1550£ / 1800€ and I am open to trades. A vintage Mustang or a nice 34" scale 4 string could be interesting. (Can add money towards the right trade). Bass is located in Denmark. And I am experienced in shipping instruments2 points -
Edit 11 May : **Temporarily withdrawn from sale** **EDIT 17 April : Price dropped to £1600. Also, I'm often up and down between Edinburgh and Manchester so a meet up in either city or somewhere along the M8/M74/M6 is also possible*** I guess it's ok to call this 'vintage' at 42 years old. I'm selling because this is playing second place to my '74 these days and really not getting out as much as it deserves - and I have my eye on something. Pickguard still has the matching serial number sticker underneath. It's got a Badass II fitted - the one with the three pre-cast string grooves. The original bridge, bridge screws and bridge cover are included with the sale. There is a non-original pickup cover also included. When you look closely you can see some of the dinks that have been picked up over the years but the natural finish disguises it well. A previous owner had put a hole (presumably for thumb rest) which has been filled but still visible. The back of the neck has been very lightly sanded which helps avoid the stickiness you get with '70s varnish and sweaty hands. The neck is quite narrow at the nut for a precision (1 & 11/16 inches) - not quite jazz narrow but certainly narrower that on a 50's or 60's P-Bass - is this what they call a 'B'-width neck?. As a result of it's thicker base plate, the Badass II bridge required a shim for the neck in order to keep the action low - professionally fitted by Robert Mould at GuitarGuitar Edinburgh - this is a totally reversible modification. Includes a flight case. According to the bathroom scales, it weighs 10.5lbs. Ideally looking for face to face sale - if you are in Edinburgh, please pop over, have a coffee and try it out.2 points -
On Friday I took delivery of a shiny new Sandberg California II SL Super Light from the good people of Bass Direct. When the box arrived I thought it was empty. Then I was even more convinced the gig bag was empty when I got it out of the box! Its astonishingly light. I weighed it myself at 6.58lb Plugged it into my Helix and studio monitors and had a minor issue with noise... turned out my wireless bug unit was clashing a bit with the preamp. No probs, just out a cable in between the bug and the bass. Sounds very punchy and clear. Piano tone on steroids. As usual I binned the horrible stock Sandberg strings and found a pack of D’addario Nickels I had lying about. It was comfy enough to want to want to rehearse with it on Saturday. But of a head twister as I’ve been giggling 5 strings for a decade. At rehearsal I used a Darkglass M900 and barefaced One10. Its a big band with about 20 horns and woodwind, piano, drums, bass etc. My amp settings needed a bit of a rethink as I usually play a 5 string PJ with flats. Used an Octave on a couple of sections as I didn’t have that B string anymore. But when sorted it was thick, clear, and with a touch of grit from the B3K circuit in the amp. Sounded massive. Did big band arrangements of Superstition, Uptown Funk, 7 Nation Army, Havana, Don’t Worry about a thing, In the mood, and Zoot Suit Riot. Its a superb bass and I’m really happy with it. I’m now thinking I need another one for flats! Easter concert is in 2 weeks and I’m really looking forward to it. Anyway, here is it!2 points
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Wasn’t hidden 😂 It was heavy, and a bit lifeless. Too much going on to get much feedback into the hand. The same with Alembics and a few others I’ve played. Not a connected experience. For me. Preferred the NE-1 to the NE-2. I wanted one and the other was “oh, nice...”2 points
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I’ve no real skin in the game or idea about the whole Yamaha thing- origins, models wood types etc but the vintage neck thru does seem to be what the die hards lust after. As an owner of a 734A it’s a really well put together bass and cracking value (for what I paid). A friend of mine bought a Yamaha bass way back in the day when we were both learning. This must have been the mid 90’s and I could never get on with the look of it and I don’t recall the experience of playing it - It was just wrong in my eyes, a bit bloated and unseemly. As an aside I was big into No Doubt and loved the bass sound on those album (Sunday Morning is an all time fav) but even then I put that down to studio recording over the actual instrument (I was in my teens and knew everything)! These new BB’s really do strike the balance between value, quality and form. I’m a proud owner and it may have taken me quite a while to get here but I’m enjoying it. I’m still not sure of the allure of the older ones but if the current range are anything to go by they’re clearly doing something right irrespective of the colours. I’d much rather have a BB734 (minus the active) in black than spend the extra on a BBP34 but I think I got a good deal on a great bass. To qualify I have a few basses and they all serve different purposes. As Andy alluded above I can tell all them apart and they all do something differently. My Frankenstein p does it’s thing with an awesome neck profile (for my hand) and invokes a previous ‘vintahe’ bass and all the good times associated with it. The 734 pulls me in another direction equally as satisfying. A recently acquired addition has a whole other vibe which I’m really enjoying the nuance of and hope to explore more over coming gigs it’s super comfy, nails that vintage mid range, flat wound thing I’ve always enjoyed as a player and it’s cool as feck.2 points
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For VAT and duty you need to allow an extra 25% on top of the DECLARED value of the item and postage. This will include the courier handling fee for sorting out the payment of VAT and import duty. The important point here is that the VAT and duty are calculated on what the sender has DECLARED on the customs form and there is a good chance that they will declare the initial value of £441.21 rather than the discount value of £378.18. They might even declare a higher value if they want to cover themselves in the event of needing make an insurance claim. Finally and most importantly there is CITES. That looks like a Rosewood board that will be subject to CITES regulations and requires licences at both export (to be paid by the seller who will most likely pass on the cost to you) and import (to be paid by the buyer - you). AFAICS the import licence cost £74 and I would expect to export licence to be much the same. You MUST have both licences, without them the instrument will be seized at customs and probably destroyed. For this reason alone I would be very reluctant to buy any wooden musical instrument from a country outside of the EU. So allowing a worst case scenario expect the import and VAT to be calculated on the original full price of £441.21 plus the shipping cost, and budget for having to pay for both CITES licences. A quick and dirty round up calculation makes that £850 all together. I would allow £1000 in total to cover any unexpected over-valuations by the seller when shipping and whatever the costs of the CITES export licence in Mexico is. That way you shouldn't have any nasty surprises, and with a bit of luck you'll end up paying closer to £850.2 points
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My current home practice rig , Sandberg California tt custom, Ashdown LB 30 , and markbass NY 115 , sounds really nice, the lows are really deep and clear , the LB 30 has such a nice tone 🙂2 points
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70's Glam Rock covers band. Jacket was made by the guy who made Glitter Band, Elton John and few others gear back in the hey day period and is still making some great gear now. Not cheap but its good quality. All part of the show. You should see my boots but that's another topic.2 points
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I’ve only had mine 3 weeks and I’m liking it so much, I’m looking at another one 😀2 points
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I will build another couple of these that will have a slight tweak to the lower horn, based on feedback from the last bash. I've also started looking at making a new neck to try on one of these to give a scale of around 27" rather than 23" just to see how that feels and balances - details will be posted on here as usual to how that goes! I'll be taking these two mini basses to the Midlands Bass Bash next month for anyone that wants to give then a go. Cheers Jez2 points
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Sorry but I couldn’t face putting it on....too many painful memories. Here it is adorning a forlorn Mustang. Oh the shame....2 points
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I thought it was Basschat law that someone mentions the Zoom B1on in these situations. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zoom-B1on-Bass-Effects-Pedal/dp/B00JLEHMG6 It's a perfect headphone only practice amp and so much more.2 points
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That blue sparkly jacket.... Juries out on that!2 points
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A piece of art by Warwick Custom Shop, the bass is really new, buyed few months ago (payed 5000). This is the bass: https://shop.warwick.de/en/Instruments/Electric+Basses/Warwick+Custom+Shop/Streamer+Models/Streamer+Stage+I/Warwick+Custom+Shop+Streamer+Stage+I,+5-String+-+Natural+Transparent+High+Polish+-+17-3706 Specs Matched Headstock Swamp Ash with Natural Transparent High Polish Nut Just-A-Nut III Brass Mechineheads Warwick Machine Heads with wooden knobs Neck Wood Wenge neck with Purpleheart veneer stripes, 5 laminations Fretboard Tigerstripe Ebony fingerboard (Black and White) Led or Fluorescent Side Dots lluminated Side Dots Fingerboard Radius 26" Scale length 34" (long scale) Width Nut 45,0 mm / 1.8" Width 12th fret 60,8 mm / 2.4" Width 24th fret 69,11 mm / 2.7" Fret quanitiy material and size 24 Jumbo Bronze (extra hard) frets (width: 2.9 mm / height: 1.3 mm) Frets IFT - Invisible Fretwork Technology Body Shape Curved Body Shape Bodywood (Topwood / Backwood) Solid Swamp Ash Body Pickups Active MEC J/J Electronics Active Warwick 3-way electronics with rechargeable Lithium Battery Pot layout Volume P/P / Balance / Mid / Treble and Bass stacked Bridge system 2-piece solid Brass Warwick Bridge with 16,5 mm Normal spacing Strap system Warwick security locks Construction Neck-through Colour possibilities Natural Transparent High Polish Finish Hardware colour Black, Chrome or Gold hardware String label / String gaues Warwick EMP strings 045" - 135" (38301M) Weight 4.7 kg Included accessories Warwick User Kit including hex key tools and Cleaning cloth (RB PROD 50990 B COMP) Packing Handmade Genuine Leather Bag by RockBag ( RB 20205 B W) Certificate Individually issued certificate of authenticity 1 Matched Headestock 2 Alternate Fingerboard Wood 3 Alternate Body Wood 4 Alternate Neck Stripes ID Code 0265081004GWASH5WW Number --- Matched wooden electronics compartment2 points
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I’m a font of knowledge mate. I just only set it loose when I’m asked 😉2 points -
Worth adding the basses you linked to are NOT 'decorative' ones. Harley Benton is Thomann's own brand and has a decent reputation of good budget instruments; the deco ones are QC fails and the mere fact they weed out the bad ones should give you some confidence in the full price ones!2 points
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*does a quick homage to Dood's picture* 😀 It's JD's desert island bass. If he was washed up on a desert island, and a Westfield was all that was there - he'd have to play it. 👍2 points
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I think learning a bass line and learning a song are different. It's one thing to learn a bass line off by heart, and practice improves my playing and phrasing. Last weekend I met up with the guitarist and drummer from the 'weekend warrior' event I've signed uyp for. My first time playing with people who aren't family for a quarter century! I was pleased to be able to more or less run through some of the songs we had lined up. I was more pleased that we managed to jam our way through some songs we hadn't planned on trying. To me knowing those songs well enough to improvise a bassline and anticipate the changes was more satisfying than rote learning.2 points
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"Better" is subjective. For me there's much more enjoyment in making a song your own than learning it verbatim. I know some people are the exact opposite. There's no right or wrong as far as I'm concerned. As long as it's enjoyable for the band and the audience then everyone's a winner either way.2 points
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Look at Squier basses. I bought a Jaguar VM SS and I've hardly put it down since.2 points
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Fair play. Horses for courses really. I'm in a weekend band, we don't get paid, every gig we do is to raise money for charity, and I have an extremely full and busy life outside the band. I enjoy playing, but I have absolutely no interest in spending hours and hours repetitively playing the same part of a song over and over just to learn it note by note. I have no ambitions to be a professional musician and I'm actually quite content to be an average bass player. For me it's all about enjoying it otherwise it just becomes another chore.2 points
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I've always argued that we are a covers band, not a copies band. I like to put my own spin on things, as long as it isn't to the detriment of the song and I'm not being paid the big bucks (I'm not being paid the big bucks) then I don't see it as a problem. Also being strictly in the 'amateur' camp, slavishly copying songs would soon get boring and it would turn into yet another job,at which point you'll find my gear on the market place. Saying that I do agree on the 'known' bassline argument, for example I do try to get Cream/Who/Beatles etc stuff as right as I can while adding a little of myself to the sauce.2 points
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Just a philosophical thought. Someone made a good distinction between tributes and cover bands. A tribute is like an impersonator or an impressionist -and those two different words imply different things. Outside 'popular music' it is the norm for the performer to put their personal stamp on a performance. In classical music, orchestras vary in their composition and conductors vary in their styles. An classical soloists have their signature styles. Bach's Tocatta and Fugue sounds very different on depending on the organist and organ. Jazz is all about improvisation developing the themes in a piece. Folk music is all about a huge canon of music that gets continually reinterpreted. Perhaps the question should be 'why do covers bands try so hard to sound like the originals'?2 points
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Yeah, but at least here that a shared and safe space space for me to bore the tits off people.2 points
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Indeed I went down this road. Separate octave/fuzz/filter to EHX BMS to MB SS to Panda FI. Finally found sometime this week to jam and setup my Future Impact and it is all that and a chicken Biriyani so far. The journey wasn't that interesting just needlessly long. I'll let you know when I start just taking a MIDI keyboard and laptop out with me to gigs 😂2 points
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If one of my farts slide I believe I am in trouble.2 points
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Final pic and all done! Been playing this evening with my Warwick bc15.1 using the left and right outputs from the zoom and am very happy with the results! Job's a good 'un!2 points
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Are you sure it's not a Westfield? My P bass is a Westfield, and it's awesome! 😃2 points
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John was, for most of his professional career, a Fender Precision bassist. He was given a 1965 sunburst model by the record company in 1972, and by late 1974 he had another one, which was made in 1968. The two basses are almost identical and they sound 99.99% alike. The only slight difference is on their logos: the 1965 model has a grey logo, the 1968 model has a black logo. John used both of them interchangeably for most of the 1970s, and then mostly the 1968 model from then on. Those basses underwent several changes on their finish: in summer 1975, John stripped off his 1965 model and left it natural, one year later he did the same with the 1968 model, and by the time the Magic tour began in June 1986 he had his 1968 bass refurbished and painted black.2 points
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In regards to another bass shoot out....I'd like to see a blind folded seminar where attendees get to play a number of basses of varying value to see if they can distinguish between low end/mid-rage/high end basses. After my recent adventure collecting a £200 Yamaha for another BCer I'm pretty sure that most won't be able to. A friend of mine bought a guitar on this basis - expensive Gibson LP -v- budget copy - he claims that he actually preferred the cheaper model which is why he bought that instead of the Gibson.2 points
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G---E--- | C---D--- | G---C--_ | G--D_--- hyphen = picked underscore = ringing C is below G on bar 2 and above on bar 3. In the 3rd bar, where the guitar plays a B note and bass plays C, this seems to imply a rootless inversion of D7/6 where the guitar plays the 6 and bass the 7. Unusual, but that's Wilko for you. Just remembered who I lent my copy of Down By The Jetty to in 1978. Time to track him down...2 points
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Just play the bassline from Sweet Home Alabama ... nobody will notice.2 points
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The tiny basses built by @Jabba_the_gut do put one into a terrible quandary, they are items of such beauty that once you are actually holding one you simply don’t want to give it back. This is a pic from the BFSW Bash and let me assure you I’m considering the distance to the exit, how many people I’ll have to knock out on the way and whether of not I can vault over two rows of collapsible tables after eating that many roast potatoes and falafel. I regret having seconds.2 points
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Just picked up an extremely fine '87 MIJ BB3000A. These basses are really, really good!2 points
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Dear friends, I’ve started to build these 2 basses in 2016.... end of that year my life has changed & I wasn’t able to finish these basses... now in 2019 I felt that the time was come to finally finish these 2 basses ... many thanks to all of you for your comments !2 points
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