Leaderboard

I will state that my first hand experience of these only goes to 1993 - Wal, 1998 - Alembic but I don't think that much has changed with the philosophies of either company in the meantime. Both are top quality instruments built to the highest standards and use mostly unique, purpose built hardware and electronics. to my mind, Alembic set the ball rolling with filter based preamps but Wal developed the concept to its optimum regarding variety of tones versus simplicity of use. ACG/ John East has since developed the Wal concept even further albeit the complexity is increasing again. A couple of things not mentioned in the original thread you referred to in my mind influence the sounds of these instruments as much as the pre amps - Construction and pickups. The Alembic sound is without doubt partially due to its complex, multi-laminate, through-neck construction, just as the Wal is similarly shaped by its bolt-on construction. That is partly I think, why the Epic basses seem to slightly fall short - they are set-neck construction, not through-neck. Apologies to all Epic owners - they are fine basses but that basic construction setup in a way changes the character of the sound. And again- pickups. The Alembic pickups are voiced to enhance the Alembic sound and as such are probably integral to the sound of those basses. Likewise, the Wal Multi Coil pickups are a huge part of the Wal sound. Do Alembic and Wal ( and Fodera, Sadowski etc. etc. ad infinitum) justify their high price tag? Well, factually they do - they're still in business after all these years and customers are still ordering new instruments from them so the price is justified in that respect certainly. But in relationship to general cost of living price indices, some of these makers have been able to push their prices far beyond inflation levels. According to an inflation calculator I looked at, the Alembic Essence 6 bass I ordered in 1998 at a cost of £2k should now cost about £3.5k But if I look at the Alembic price list, it starts at $8000. Only the individual can decide if anything is worth that sort of premium to them. I love my Wal. I love my Alembic. I love my ACG. I love my Antoria fretless Precision Copy! I just like basses and I like the little differences between different ones. Whilst the prices of the boutique builders can sometimes be hard to swallow, there is no doubt that at the mass market end of the bass spectrum, it has never been easier to afford a quality instrument.

Another lost cause saved from landfill. Roland PK5 Bass pedals, bought for £200 locally, non functioning. No battery pack, burn marks on battery leads. No PSU. Someone obviously tried plugging in the wrong one via the wrong input... Roland and Boss historically were a bit weird on their power delivery methods for pedals back in the day but a former owner has been even weirder. Proper 9V PSU obtained, new battery pack fitted, some minor track cleaning and repair, D1 diode replacement, fried (cracked) npn (Q3) to replace, hopefully nothing else downstream, caps all ok. can’t get a service manual (http://servicerepairmanuals.netlook like they are not functioning) so I am flying cautiously. And yes, the inductor tests ok. The (D3) 5v6 zener Is untroubled, I even read 9v up to the npn so I was cautiously hopeful the custom chip is ok. Parts arrived. Cleaned the board, made me a broken trace with clippings from the diode. Fitted a battery pack as well. worked first time Discovered to my great joy I can have multiple synths running, so a few classic old synth VSTs have all been chained to MIDI channel 2, (Taurus Plug-in seems to be fixed on 2) so tap into poly mode and *MASSIVE* sounds ensue... mellotron VST next...

Here is my latest build. The Brooks Telebird. It is my take on the legendary Fenderbird that was built by Peter Cook for John Entwistle. However I decided to combine the characteristics the Thunderbird body with a 51 P (aka Telecaster bass). The specs are as follows - Two piece Swamp Ash body - Allparts Maple 51 P neck. Bolt on - Vintage blonde finish - Jess Loureiro 51 P split coil pickup - 34" scale - Tusq nut - Wide travel Thunderbird bridge plus tailstop. Nickel - Matte black single ply pickguard - Gotoh GB528 lightweight tuners. Nickel - Allparts push/pull Volume pot - CTS Tone pot - Silver reflector cap knobs - Telecaster jack cup. Nickel - GHS Brite Flats 49-108 I'll post pics of the build process in several answers below.

Yeah, I have - thank god. Bought in 2011 as a treat to myself for a messy breakup. Sold in 2013 to get married to childhood sweetheart. Who bought it back for me in 2017. A very special CS 1 of 1 (weird neck profile) 64 jazz bass relic.

We've reached the ten cabs target. 🤩 Anyone who wants one now will have to go on the waiting list - if we do any more in the future. Thanks to those ten early adopters!

A harmonica mounting clip

One.

Yeah, realistically it was bound to happen. There’s only about 4mm of plastic left over when making the rebate for the pickup. it snapped on the last cut. Serendipitously, within a gnats chuff of where the original basses pickguard is snapped. so...I’m going to leave it as is. And maybe I will age things up a bit more.

No, but I've sold two back to their previous owners Nothing expensive, mind.

I acquired my first Spector last week (courtesy of our own Psycoandy) - a very fine NS200/4. I'm very impressed, especially with the lovely narrow string spacing at the bridge which is very much my bag. Very comfortable to play, if a tad weightier than I'm used to, but a wider strap is helping that somewhat.

If you like the Stingray sound and feel then a USA built SUB would be a great budget option. This model was made on the same production line as the "real" Stingray but some economies were made. The most noticeable ones being a painted neck (many owners sand this off and use oil to refinish), no body shaping, and different paint finish on the body. Oh yes, and an ugly scratchguard which is an easy change if you don't like it. It has the same hardware and electrics as the Stingray. They were made from 2003 to 2005. (I stand to be corrected here.) They change hands for under your budget and they deliver far more than the cost. I've owned mine for a long time and gig it occasionally and I'm always impressed. Frank.

Today is my birthday and I just had the dispatch note to say the book will be delivered today! Thank you Geddy for pulling whatever strings you did for me

The gerlitz stuff is fantastic! They do "smudge off" which is great for hardware and guitar honey for the fingerboard. I've used it for years 😁

Don't suppose anybody could clean my car? I mean, I could do it myself.... but why should I?

Did some shielding for the pickup cavity and the control cavity. And I stringed the bass to check if everything was in place ;-) Oh yeah, this was the sketch that I drew before I started the build

I do, but not in the way you're asking. The shame never entirely fades...not really - you just learn to live with it. 😢

About 40 if it's Napalm Death

Just had this video come up on YouTube. Looks like fun!

One of my favourite heads of all time, not in the best condition, but a decent price... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acoustic-370-bass-amp-head-vintage/254204770984?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D41e0d75aa9f541af8c3fcd5d2c1b27e7%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D254204770984%26itm%3D254204770984&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A770ea5d4-62b2-11e9-a052-74dbd18025a6|parentrq%3A3613c04a16a0a9e3ae844cfdffe90d4e|iid%3A1

Just taken a booking for the Grateful Dudes to play in Tavistock on the Friday of the late August Bank Holiday weekend. As this means a fair drive for some of the band (one guy lives near Leeds - and I'm probably the closest at 200 miles or so away) we would like to slot in an extra gig on the way back home on the Saturday. Anyone know any venues worth pursuing for a Grateful Dead tribute band around the Bristol/Bath/ Swindon/Oxford corridor (anywhere not too far off the M4, basically!)? We are a band with a decent following, playing Hebden Bridge Trades club, Half Moon, Putney, Tavistock Wharf and various festivals here and abroad (as the headline band). Any help or advice would be gratefully received.

You mean checking with your tongue isn’t an appropriate method?

Well. Now I know how it happened at least. debating just leaving it like it is. semi replica.

You spoke too soon.

Of course I'm going to blame the bottle of Rioja that I'm getting well stuck into atm.

-

I saw one in the flesh last Saturday in Andertons and it really caught my eye. It looked stunning and I wanted to buy it there and then. Tempted to buy one and stick a Status fretless neck on it with a black pickguard. Beautiful colour and even better in the flesh.

Frank Black is to blame, had he not brought his Rob Allen Mouse to the SE Bass Bash, it would not have led to my being able to show the attached pictures.

Dave sold me a Shuttle amp. It was exactly as described, well packaged up and posted quickly. Dave's communication was good and he was a pleasure to deal with.

Can’t decide if that blows, or sucks. I’ll leave now.

That is the mutt’s nuts!

You see, there are many ways of getting over the Basschat system automatic filth-catcher! . Pink torpedoles? History, mate

especially with a brass band

That looks good 🙂

I had the BSF always on with my Streamliner and p bass. Sounded great as it boosted the mids in a good way, adding clarity and helping my being heard with three guitars in our mildly loud rock band. Then it blew up!! so, bought a Scrambler. To me it is poor. Hissy when switched on and the drive sound seems poor, to me anyway.

Here is a quick video that I made to show you how the Brooks Telebird sounds. The bass is plugged into my MarkBass SA 450 with Eden D210XLT cabs. Mic is a DAP PL01. Via my Minidisc recorder into my iMac. Video recorded with Photobooth.

Sounds like a cuíca to me too - probably played by Carl "Butch" Small or Larry Fratangelo… Not the very best of Parliament, though still better(*) than the very very best that most other bands can come up with! * I mean that in a completely subjective way!

The other school of thought is that Eastwood are overpriced dodgy knock-off merchants.

Have you considered the elf and safety implications?😁

I try to record my fretless as much as possible so when a Dutch singer/songwriter/author asked me to play bass on a couple of her new tracks I immediately brought my inner Pino to the surface and went berserk. She edited some licks out of the song but still pretty proud of the result. Music is in Dutch. Bass used here is still the only fretless I'll ever need:

Nothing wrong with an old bass that's got itself worn after years of gigging. What I don't like about "relicing" is that it falsely conveys the impression that the player has worn it out themselves via years of gigging, and that it's a much-loved but slightly abused instrument being played by a similarly seasoned "road warrior". What other possible reason is there for chiselling away at a perfectly good bass to make it look "road-worn"? It's fake news, is what it is.

Never been a fan. A proper time-served, well gigged bass maybe. I've always tried to look after my kit and mostly it is in decent condition. The odd knock is inevitable, and something that has been played for hundreds of hours may show some signs of wear. However something that looks like it's been run over by a tractor is just "fake news" and trying too hard. All imho of course

Sounds about right. I would say most jam nights are more damaging to your enjoyment of music than you'd think.