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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

Way too cryptic for little ol' me? Here's a clue: A limited edition 4-string from a US manufacturer that's not Fender. Not in the shops quite yet.

+1 to that, as also an Alembic and Wal owner Mine's an early one; a 1976 S1 long scale. Love it, but have to admit I tend to use more for recording than gigging. We're so familiar with the design now, but when you think what was around when the first Alembic basses came out, they must have seemed from another planet.....

Stripped the satin black celly off. Steve at Manchester GT told me there was a clear sealer under on the Hi1s - makes life a lot easier I think. I got down to almost clear with various abrasives, then used clean cellulose thinner to wash the last of it off, taking care not to disturb the base coat. It then got flattened (was flat anyway) and finish-keyed with Abranet 400 (actually an old well-used bit so way finer than 400 anyway). I've put a very thin grey prime coat on - I used it as practice to dry-spray, taking the advice of the more experienced regarding the application of the metallic later. Couldn't resist a dust along one side with the lake p-lacid blue, just to see the colour tone and metallic effect. Problem is there is very little contrast between the grey primer and the dusting of LPB. I may cut it all back smooth and put a white primer down. I fashioned a 'neck' to hold the body at various angles. Later I intend to do some soft-edge masking in the neck cavity to get the overspray as per - need to p[rotect the date stamp etc. The pup and control cavites were fully sprayed black so they will become LPB. Happy so far, the LPB metallic dust coat seemed to work and the metallic is nice and even (I think). It may be that you really see how good your metallic is when you put the laquer on top. AND, being patient - plenty of time to harden between stages. I may be in with a shot, but must not tempt fate. more later

Fence sitting over. Have PMed Stevie.

I’d love one, would have to wear it Entwistle style high up though 🤦🏻‍♂️

Looks awesome...and bass of the week on No Treble too...!! https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2019/04/15/bass-of-the-week-brooks-telebird/

Ahh, Trace - to me still some of the best gear out there (love the classic Trace tone) and at the prices that these go for now, it’s a no brainer. Always know there’s going to a great bass tone when I walk into a venue and see a Trace stack

May still be old school but my Trace rig just keeps delivering.... GP12 SMX combo (1x15) + 2108X cab (2x10+2x5) + GT-6B At rest.... At play....

Don't think the Briwax has lemon oil. I remember it has a mix of Carnauba and beeswax tho. I use that on my Overwater, Warwick and Rosewood necks and Autoglym car polish on my lacquered finished basses. That's because i had run out of guitar polish and brought it in from garage and its remained in the bass cave since.

Would it be imprudent of me to mention the Fender decal?

A quick trawl through the FS section revealed this being sold by @eubassix...

Just taking this quote out of context 😂

Before you write off Airbnb, keep in mind that there are a lot of properties on there which have been bought specifically for this purpose and aren't peoples homes at all. I had to travel to Hull a lot for work last year and found a lovely flat which was the same price as the premier inn across the road and a lot more comfortable and spacious. Also did the same for my folks when they came up to visit earlier this year.

For some time now I've been keen on the fabulous basses being made by Alan at ACG. The idea of having a bass which was made in your home town was rather appealing, especially when your home town is a tiny wee place like Moffat. The fact that they look amazing and had consistently great reviews also helps. I wouldn't quite have called it GAS, but I was certainly an interested observer. A few years back I had big plans for a 40th birthday commission, but having tried a couple at a Bass Bash, I discovered I really couldn't get to grips with the asymmetric neck carve and flat board. Coupled with the fact that I wasn't playing in a band anymore, and I couldn't honestly justify the outlay. So, back to a watching brief... Until, that is, Alan advertised a couple of stock basses he had, on here recently. Oh dear. A couple of hypothetical "What if..." conversations with the Management; a quick calculation of the finances; and a trip to Moffat under the pretence of visiting my folks so I could try it out... As mentioned in the Gear Abstinence thread, I was kidding no one, least of all myself and was doomed. But in a good way! 😉 I am now the proud owner of an ACG RetroB, J5! - Maple body with an acrylic impregnated spalted maple top, and a Black Walnut accent layer. The spalted maple is just amazing. - 3 piece Wenge/Maple with Wenge headstock and a spalted maple overlay. Fingerboard is the same acrylic impregnated spalted maple as the body and it runs together beautifully. 20" radius board and although it has the asymmetric neck carve, it's a lot subtler than the normal ACG profile. - John East Uni pre-amp, which has such a bewildering array of tones, it'll take me a while to get to grips with. Linky thing to ACG website If anyone has any helpful tips or resources for transitioning from 4 to 5 strings, especially when you haven't played at all for a long while, it would be muh appreciated!

There’s some info here on oils 🙂 https://www.guitaranswerguy.com/12-lemon-oil-debate/

Les Claypool with his Whamola, Cuica solo at 3:00. Also put to good use in The Chili Pepper's 'Walkabout', fits perfectly with Dave Navarro's wah pedal.

This might help. https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/338662-making-a-pickguard-scratchplate/

Comparison sites - obvious call maybe but they do vary a lot. I've found booking.com frequently offer the best deals, along with Trip Advisor. Both Expedia and Late Rooms seem to have lost a bit of ground lately IMO. My band used to use Travelodges all the time, but we've now found Premier Inn can often undercut them especially if booked far enough in advance. Keep an eye out on the voucher websites for promotions too ( Vouchercloud etc and even Money saving Expert ). If you're happy with guest houses etc then the local Tourist Office is often worth a call too.

I've just done a deal on one. Can't wait for it to arrive and I'm also a bit scared to be treading into new territory.

😂

Slapping whilst wearing a chain mail glove.

^ This^ As someone who has always looked after my gear, I just do not get the relic thing - at all. Don't get me wrong, my own basses show many signs of years of gigging, but to deliberately 'damage' a bass to make it look used just does absolutely nowt for me 🤔 Just my opinion

Marleaux Signature NT-4FL (lined) :-