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Showing content with the highest reputation on 19/02/21 in all areas

  1. Good afternoon fellow Basschatters, Have any of you seen this article.. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-56115602 What do you think..? Seems like a great initiative to me and good on a bass player for coming up with the idea too! Nik
    14 points
  2. Just an observation and thought for the day. I find it quite amusing how, irrespective of the intial subject-matter, so many of the threads here just descend into the opportunity for people to post photos of their gear. My wife asks me frequently whether I like looking at gear on here and my response is generally that I honestly do, but feel that you could be reading a thread with a title like, 'I lost my arm in a freak sawmill accident' and within a few posts people would be posting beautifully lit photos of their Shukers reclining on a sofa. Right. That's the today's message. You can start posting bass photos now. Go! Go! Go!
    7 points
  3. fender jazz 1977 sunburst color ..all original whit accessories...not original case ..
    7 points
  4. You could try @KiOgon his work is top notch☝️, here
    7 points
  5. Scientists: We're going to send an unmanned spacecraft on a 7 month 120 million mile journey, where we will land a vehicle in a precise place on another planet to spend 2 years making detailed studies. Public: Wow, that's amazing! I can't even begin to comprehend how you'd do that. Scientists: Also, if you wear a simple piece of cloth ply over your face, like surgeons do every day, you can keep from spreading a nasty virus to other people. Public: Oh f*** off, you know nothing.
    7 points
  6. I recently bought the HB PB SBK body from (Martyn) Bagsieblue to use up some of my spares, things don't always go to plan though, I decided I fancied a matt black and gold colour scheme so basically spent as much on bits than a new HB would have cost but hey ho thats how it goes. Pickup wise I might have discovered a hidden gem, I've installed a Maida Vale Lockdown pickup, never heard of them outside of ebay but thought I'd give them a go, mucho impressed, seems they might have been a limited run as theres only one left now. Shame! Anyway, this is my Hardley Benton.
    6 points
  7. Starting to get ready for the assembly of the body components and electrics. I soldered the bridge earth wire so I didn't forget it and then turned my attention to the jack plate. First is the scarily large hole you have to bore to fit a standard-sized jack (the Wal is pre-wired with a connector and earth but it's still a standard switchcraft stereo jack): Then marked and drilled the screw fixing holes: Note the round nut. It isn't a rounded nut...it's a round nut with spanner flats machined - an 'everything is a going to be a bit different to the norm' step too far, perhaps? And this, of course, is how you would get your $8000 Les Paul Custom. But far, far too safe for Andyjr1515. So he's going to hit it with a chisel. 'Take that, you lump of wood!' : And then abuse it more with another couple of chisels: Still got to sand, stain and tru-oil the edges, but that's going to be better... Over the weekend, the plan is to get the scratchplate on and see if the 30+ year-old circuit still works
    6 points
  8. ACG (UK) Salace Headless 5: Custom (Specification Level). Top/Back Wood: Holly top with Bloodwood accent; Body Wood: Black Walnut; Body Finish: Satin Lacquer; Neck Wood: 5 piece Wenge/Bloodwood; Finger Board: AI Birdseye Maple; Scale: 34″; Neck Finish: Satin Lacquer; Pickups: ACG RFB ACG PB in Bloodwood ramp; Hardware: ETS Bridge/Tuning unit, ACG Headpiece Dunlop Straplocks; Pre-amp: ACG EQ03 5K filter pre. Exceptional instrument in really excellent condition (see photos). c/w Blake-Apex semi-solid case (designed for guitar/s but works well for this headless bass with an overall length of c. 100cm or 39"). Narrow(er) string spacing of 16.5, although the saddles are adjustable. @ nut/zero-fret: c 9mm). Initial photos show bass as-is, with a small dark cover (25mm) over the gold-sovereign designated by the original owner (this is recessed/flush with body top). Also a photo(s) with coin w/out cover. The coin itself has a value of £340-550 (conditional) but is pretty much impossible to remove w/out damage to bass, coin or both. Exceptional bass acquired via BC trade but I can't adjust to the narrow string spacing & frustrated in being unable to unmodify the personalised modification. https://www.acguitars.co.uk/project/093salaceheadless5/ £1234
    5 points
  9. Since a long time I've been latently lusting after a proper EB-3 bass: shortscale, set-neck, 4-way rotary switch. With the emphasis on latently. The prices on Gibsons have exploded the last 2 years, with even playergrade late 1960's EB-0's fetching 4-figure sums, and since I'm a rather picky person, I wanted an EB-3 with the pre 1965 specifications (deep-set heel, wide control spacing), which would further bloat the price. I was aware of the Japanese versions of those (Greco, Burny, Orville, Epiphone), but those seldom if ever appear outside of Japan, and if they do, top-money gets asked for them. So I let that idea of owning an EB-3 for what it was. Then I started browsing eBay in search for a deal, and there I saw a Japanese Epiphone listed with a very short & poor description, but also at a rather low price (just a smidge more as a regular longscale Epiphone EB-3 would cost in the local store), located in Kyoto. Four people were advertising that bass so I had my suspicions it might have been a scam, as one seller had a low price, and the others were asking nearly double of it, more alike the other offerings of different instruments. So I asked the cheapest seller how that was possible, and he said that it's a central pool of instruments, and each independent seller can ask their own asking price, and the instruments are also sold locally outside of eBay. His ratings were absolutely perfect, with almost everyone saying his packing & protection was superb. It would need to be, because it's an all mahogany instrument with a Gibson-like neck (1 piece mahogany, 17° tilted headstock, big hole for the trussrod), and no case included. So after pondering on it for some weeks (hoping Epiphone would announce something for Winter-NAMM, which they didn't), I noticed 2 Sundays ago he offered a 5% discount on top of his already low price, so I thought to myself: "you know what, fck it, I'll bite. His ratings are good, I'm paying via Paypal, so I do have decent protection,...". So pressed the BIN-button, paid and then wholeheartedly expected to receive a message stating "yeah, it sold locally, I'm sorry"... But that message never came... instead I received a thank you for the payment, and a promise the item would ship on Thursday via FedEx. Could it be that that bass didn't get sold for more than 2 years, at that low of a price? On Thursday morning I received an SMS that FedEx received my package, and it was scheduled to arrive next Monday... Then a delay in Memphis, so it would be Tuesday, but on Tuesday no-one is home here, so I had to postpone to Wednesday... And on Wednesday, a white van stopped and delivered me a sturdy cardboard box (all hail FedEx' method of pre-paying customs & duties, so it clears fast). In it was a layer of bubble plastic, a layer of newspapers, another layer of bubble plastic, a gigbag (got that for free), and inside that a shape that reminded me of an instrument, in a layer of bubble plastic & foam... I peeled away the protective layers, and there it was, undamaged. I now also have enough padded plastic foil to last a lifetime. A quick test on the amplifier learned me the bridge pickup was cutting out, unless I pressed on it, meaning that a wire was shorting somewhere, but the pickup itself wasn't dead. So I opened up the patient for an overall inspection and a bit of cleaning, and saw an exposed wire touching the baseplate of the pickup. Insulated it, and the pickup worked again like it should... But then I noticed someone had been tampering with the wiring. The bridge pickup is the original GOTOH PAF-bucker with plastic-coated coax cable, but the neck pickup had been changed out for "something with a really old braided cable"... So I removed the cover of the neck pickup, and I was greeted there by something that was distinctly not a GOTOH-version of the sidewinder pickup. It was old, dusty, had a wooden spacer between the coils and measured 30k Ohm... Yep, that is a vintage Gibson mudbucker. So now I have a proper EB-3, with a really chunky 1960's neck, and the one thing the Japanese versions are considered "inferior" for (the weak neck pickup) already been replaced by a vintage Gibson unit that absolutely blasts. Ordered a set of shortscale flatwounds, will then further dial in and adjust to my likings. These crisp roundwounds aren't doing it for me. Also DIYed myself a string cover and wooden tugbar.
    5 points
  10. no longer for sale. jimelliotbassist is no longer for sale!
    5 points
  11. 5 points
  12. 5 points
  13. I bring a spare SM58 so if my bass amp breaks down I'll be able to sing the bass lines. Luckily the amp has never broken down as my singing is terrible.
    5 points
  14. This one is definitely stealing the thunder from its 5 string brethren in my herd (with one notable exception!):
    4 points
  15. As @Reggaebass says, @KiOgon his wiring looms are great.
    4 points
  16. Plywood = Heavy Heavy = Heft Heft = Good Good = End of thread. Job done 😄
    4 points
  17. Ah, but which piece of information does a vegan with a degree from Oxford/Cambridge with a pre-CBS Fender tell you first?
    4 points
  18. It's not the size. It's what you do with it. Well mine's tiny and I've got no clue what I'm doing. 😆
    4 points
  19. Considering Alembics are really plywood I'm going to say no - not a bad thing. If it's built right, then it's built right.
    4 points
  20. Can't possibly comment. Last time I said that people were more interested in the gear than the actual threads I was accused of trolling. 🙄
    4 points
  21. You emotionless heathen!!!! Be gone from this forum... BE GONE!!!!
    4 points
  22. I went for it. To heck with being sensible. I have updated the firmware. Had a little fiddle. Changed a few effects. I got a little tired and left it for now. However, I had a noodle, and so far I've discovered that it sounds really, really good. The most encouraging thing about it is how utterly simple and intuitive it is. More to come.. oh, who fancies a picture?
    3 points
  23. Let me first say that I had too much gear already. However, just look at this rig! I had an SVT years ago and we didn’t get on. But my valve thing wasn’t quite done, so when this came up locally I couldn’t ignore it. Top bloke did me a great deal. Honestly I’ve hardly tried it out yet but the tone is unreal. Gonna have to re-evaluate the other stuff now.
    3 points
  24. Damn it, this guy is giving all the good stuff away! I'm not sure whether to be thrilled at the detail and brilliant information, or a little peeved. I've spent years working like this, it is the one true way. If you want your mixes to continue to suck ignore all his advice. Enjoy!
    3 points
  25. I'm sorry, I have absolutely no idea what either of those things are - I am a bass player.
    3 points
  26. If they "Want more attack" whack them over the head with your bass 🙂
    3 points
  27. Given my capability with electronics, I think the reality is, in the unlikely event that it doesn't work, that it would need to be sent to someone who knows what they are doing. I know I don't really know what I'm doing with the building stuff...but I REALLY don't know what I'm doing with electronics
    3 points
  28. Don’t tikka the p...what a curry on!
    3 points
  29. So made some progress with the control cavity screening and completed the wiring. Control is thro 3 position switch for Pup selection then through a @KiOgon volume & tone loom. Each Pup has a series- single coil- parallel switch offering a broad palette of tones from 51’P’ish, to Neck Humbucker, to Jazz’ish 2 single in parallel, to Jazz'ish single coil bridge, through to passive Stingray in series or parallel. The body was advertised as an old Performer 4 Classic and was an unused second surplus stock from China. Following some research I could not find any reference for the “Black Ice” finish Performer 4 Classic, basswood, Spector bass with a curved body. Production of the curved body Performer 4 Classis ceased in 2008 and production of Performer 4 was moved to Indonesia where only flat body, basswood basses were produced. So I am a little unsure of the true origins of the curved body. The 32ins scale neck from Retrovibe was a real gem of a find it is a typical Gibson EB3 type neck and the maple fret board fits in with my preference for “Black/ Maple neck” basses. I finished the neck with Tru-oil and the feel of the bass is very satisfying, indeed the acoustic sound of the bass is fantastic, vibrant, resonant and quite loud especially with the s/h Labella Deep Talking strings care of @Osiris of this parish. All in all I am really pleased how the Bitsa SpectorRayVibe has turned out I enjoy creating basses that are “out of the ordinary” with different tonal options. That’s for watching
    3 points
  30. Blimey, an Indian restaurant wallpaper scratch plate. I haven't seen one of them before.
    3 points
  31. 3 points
  32. Exhibit 1 Guitar body apparently made from Cotswold stone. Sounds like any other distorted guitar.
    3 points
  33. I'm very much a believer that in terms of tone, pickup position is the number 1 factor, followed by pickup type and electronics. Everything else, including body and neck materials has far less impact on overall tone than those three. I strongly suspect that you could mold a P bass out of concrete and as long as it had the split P pickup in the correct place and the usual passive tone and volume it would still sound very much like a P Bass. Might weigh less than plywood too.
    3 points
  34. ...or they degenerate into J vs P; the merits of relics; you're wrong, I'm right stuff. Obligatory random bass picture.
    3 points
  35. Black label gives a nod to vintage, but is very much more modern and punchy sounding inherently - within the Sandberg range, broadly speaking, Sandberg non black label are more vintage sounding, Delano’s more HiFi and Haüssel in between but also very high output. I am a Sandberg fan boy, but for me their split coil (not black label) seems to be the weakest pick up in the range. The pick up is standard size so the world is your oyster. Does yours have active electronics? No matter as you can still make it passive either removing the pre-amp or just bypassing it. For my Money Creamery 58 P is probably the best split coil I have ever heard/played EMG GZR is good Aguilar is fantastic Lindy Fralins Ulyate Tic Tac as a left field choice Seymour Duncan APB-1 is another left field, it has some good grind. All of those esp the first 4 will give you a fantastic classic P. Creamery also do a 60’s and 70s so it depends what you like. Pop in a Stellartone Tonestyler and you have all territory covered
    3 points
  36. <tongue in cheek> Colour reminds me of a Fender Precision bass I owned that was finished in Mocha. </tongue in cheek> It's really that easy!
    3 points
  37. Putting my cherished NS5XL up for sale as it's hardly been used. It just sits in it's case unused which is such a waste of a brilliant bass, the Hazlab pre-amp is rightfully a legendary piece of kit. It's in mint condition as it's only been used a few times as I prefer to use my NS5H2. The 'Spector' picture is the actual bass, it's the picture from the BassDirect site when I bought it from Mark 5 years ago. I've also added some more pics, the bass is a lot more 'blue' than the pics suggest it's just that I'm not a great photographer. As you can see, it's in 'as new' condition and includes the Spector case with all the appropriate case candy. As you all probably know, Spector was sold to Korg in 2019 so this one is from the 'Stuart Spector' era. There's a new Korg NS5XL for sale at BassDirect for £5,500, I had a word with Mark at BassDirect and he valued this one at approx. £4K. If it doesn't sell on here then I'll probably take it up to BassDirect and let mark sell it for £4,000. Of course, if you have any questions at all please don't hesitate to drop me a message, many thanks for looking.
    3 points
  38. Using 'grab in a fire' test, and given that I have two hands, I'd go for these two: ACG fretless, the first custom bass I ever owned, stunning to play and quite easy on the eye too: And slightly surprised myself by chosing my '66P bass for the other hand.
    3 points
  39. im trying a new technique that was suggested to me for marking the fretboard for inlaying the branches. holding the branch down and using a spray paint to mark the area to be cut away: im pretty pleasantly surprised by how well this seems to work, very easy to mark the edges with a scalpel and chisel, and then just work up to the line. once id got the 2 branches cut out and the areas for the inalys chiseled away, i set them in place with some CA glue and flooded around the edges: This is the lower of the 2 branches, and you can see the colour contrast with the macassar ebony fretboard. should look really nice with the leaves in place over the top Meanwhile, im getting ready to cut out the 2 top pieces with some laser cut templates: these have been made to leave a perfect 2mm gap down the S shaped join in the body, so once these top pieces are cut and trimmed, i can run 3 layers of veneer (white, black, white) down the middle. this should give an effect similar to the rendering on page 1, and should look pretty cool with the flamed redwood top. im not sure this approach would look quite so good with a burl top or something like claro walnut, but with flamed wood with a grain running one direction and the chatoyance running perpendicular, i think itll be a nice effect. in the future if i make any more of these with those woods ill just to a straight bookmatch. I also cut the laminated beam that will make up the body wings into the 2 pieces i need. this also lets me line up the laser cut template with the top to make sure the carbon fibre extends down the the right distance all looks good to me, so time to cut the wings out. again, i am missing a bandsaw bigtime here, but patience can normally replace industrial equipment: here you can mostly see the pattern that will be visible at the top and bottom of the body wings. the innermost piece of walnut doesnt extend all the way to the end, however, as it only needs to match up where the wings meet the central beam I also put together another little helpful gadget for this build: its a test prototype for the preamp, that allows me to test lots of different component values without de-soldering. the 8 dip switches let me test 3 different values for the top and bottom of the frequency sweep and the top and bottom of the resonant peaks without endlessly swapping out resistors. its a bit too big for installation inside a bass in reality, but its a useful tool in understanding how these things sound. im just using it plugged into one of my other basses at the moment. the single pot controls the frequency sweep, and the push/pull function selects between high and low resonance. im hoping that once ive got this all buttoned down, i can get another version of this made smaller for retrofit into another of my bass guitars.
    3 points
  40. Because a bassist usually knows when to shut up whereas a guitarist....
    3 points
  41. History of Goodfellow basses OK, I'll attempt to answer as much as I can. Bernie was one of the first electric bass luthiers in the country (Wal, Status, Overwater being the others). Bernie started building basses in his shed at the bottom of his garden. Out of the small beginings of a hobby turned business, Bernie partnered Mike Freston (Managing Director) and Phil Harris (of Star Guitars, regular contributor for a guitar magazine and owner of a sizeable collection of vintage guitars) to form what would would become Goodfellow. Following a run of prototypes (I believe 10-15 basses), the first Goodfellow basses (with serial numbers) were marketed. The prototypes were all slightly different in design as Bernie was still finalising what would become the Goodfellow shape, the selection being a mixture of passive and then later, active basses. The whereabouts of these original pre serial basses are unknown, they may still be with either Mike or Phil. If they were to surface, although they are without serial number, they do bear Bernie's signature. The marketed basses (i.e. the ones with serial numbers) were of two designs; the Player and the Classic. The Classic is a Goodfellow that has pretty facings, usually quilted maple, elm burr, poplar burr which were all bookmatched to give the bass it's attractive front. This facing was flanked by another 2mm veneer before being glued to the main core body. There are a few rare examples out there that have both front and rear facings. The Player was a series of Goodfellows that had unusual veneers and finishes. I'm sure anybody following the Goodfellows that have surfaced on here will realise that they belong to this range - the Harlequin has a multi-coloured wafer thing laminated top, with a subtle burst around the edges. Other finishes in this range include the Herringbone laminate, as seen on #003 above. Some of you may have seen the zebra burst, a grey white and black burst Player. All of the basses in this range have a mahogany core with front and back laminates. I believe Lowden stopped producing the Player series when they ran out of vaneers - but they may have kept calling the basses they were producing Players anyway. The necks of both guitars are 5 core laminated necks, bolted on to the body. When the Lowden era came, Bernie was employed for 18 months to 2 years but was out come 1989. That makes the start of the Lowden era to be 1987/8. So, what's the difference between the Lowden era basses and the original "Bernie era" (for lack of a better phase)? Well, there are a few telltale signs. What you have to remember is that these basses went from a small handmade operation to a more mechanised/automated assembly. When Goodfellow was initially taken over, there were numerous components that were inherited - such as pickups, half finished necks and bodies, facias, circuits etc. There are numerous tell tale signs however that give a clue to whether a Goodfellow is a "Bernie era" or a Lowden era. The obvious one is a low serial number. The lower the number, the greater the chance of a bass being a Bernie bass. It's estimated that Bernie made approximately 150 under the original Goodfellow company in Wandswood and Deptford before production was overseen by Lowden. It's not clear what happened to the serial numbers during the transition period. Looking at the headstock, the original logos were the big G logo with the Handcrafted England footer. When the production moved to Lowden, this footer was removed - however, due to the stock of parts that came as part of the Lowden deal, there is a chance that a Handcrafted England neck made it onto a Lowden era bass. With regards to a "sandwich layer", it depends if it is a new stock or old stock neck. On the rear of the headstock, the original Goodfellows have Schaller M4 tuners with the G insignia on the rear of the casing. Of course, the originals have the handmade wooden buttons - these have become a bit of a Bernie signature what with them being common place on the modern GB Rumour. Again, as stocks depleted, these were changed to cheaper metal buttons. In fact, I believe that the hardware, including the bridge were sourced elsewhere (Far East?) later in the later period of production due to lack of original stock and a bid to cut cost. The milled bridge (with the Goodfellow wording across the rear of the unit) was a Bernie original design, but Bernie sought permission from Helmut Schaller and Rene Schaller to make use of Schaller saddles on those bridges and also use the alternative buttons on the M4 tuners. The keener eyed of you out there, may have recognised the Schaller saddle design. Like other pieces of hardware, alternatives were sought when stocks ran out. Circuit-wise, the preamp was only found in Goodfellow basses. The original circuits were all handmade, as they are with todays GBs. The original Goodfellow active circuits however, were much different to what we see now. They were small circuit boards that clicked into place to the loom that was connected to all the control pots and switches within the control cavity. A smart idea, but a very labour intensive process. The stock of boards may have made their way into Lowden Goodfellow basses, it's hard to say but these were later switched out for alternative preassembled circuits. It's worth noting that the Bernie era basses have the disk around the most forward placed pot. Maybe some Lowden era basses too whilst stock was available but from the Goodfellows I have seen, they seem to be without this disk. I believe that some of the prototype basses have a pickup selector switch as opposed to a pan pot. Finally, the pickups. The pickups are quite famous for having a thumb-rest indent on the top surface and having a wooden grainy appearance. Often mistaken for wooden pickup covers, they are in fact solid resin blocks with the pickup encased within. The reason they have a wooden grain appearance is the fact that they are cast from a mould that was made from a wooden master. The wooden master in question, was actually a piece of London Plane (Lacewood) that Bernie carved by hand in his shed in Forest Hill, SE London. Of course, the mix of parts depending upon availability can mask a Lowden bass but a Bernie built Goodfellow will have all the components present. Its estimated that 100-150 Lowden Goodfellow basses were built before Bernie left Lowden. As the process became more automated, Bernie's role there was removed and Bernie was left without work. Following Bernie's departure, the body shape did change somewhat, specifically with regard to shape of the horns. A five string was developed but again, was significantly different to the 5 string design in the plans that Bernie had drawn up. With regards to the "kit" Goodfellows, this is true. Parts, or rejected parts for that matter, were "leaked out" and assembled outside of the Goodfellow production line. The quality of these basses cannot be guaranteed as the pickup routing, neck joint routing and cavity routing would all have to be done to assemble a complete product. As shown through various parts and complete examples turning up on the used market and eBay, the quality of the final product can be pretty poor. After Lowden, Bernie set up Nightingale guitars with Neil McDonald and with a familiar Bernie designed shape, started producing basses. These basses notable included an early incarnation of the Bernie designed GB style circuit (comprehensive circuit board (for the time at least!) with PCB mounted pots) that would evolve into what we see in the GB guitars of today. Interestingly enough, the Lowden Goodfellow basses adopted this style of circuit. Whether this was coincidental or not, I wouldn't like to say. After Nightingale, came GB Guitars, Bernie's latest creations. The modern Rumour bass definitely shows a resemblance to the early Goodfellow design but they are two very different beasts. The electronics and pickups are unique to his GB instruments and help give the instruments a sound like no other. A Goodfellow bass is not a GB (Goodfellow Basses) guitar - buyer beware! His current basses are certainly a mile away from the humble beginnings of the shed builds but I think the Goodfellow history is an interesting story. A move from his Croydon GB workshop to Brighton followed and Bernie now has the chance to pursue both of his passions. His love of bass building... and his love of fishing. Originally sold via the Bass Centre, the Classic has a retail of around £1250 and the Player retailed at approx £950. The more interesting examples of the "Bernie" basses, (e.g. made by his own hands) still sell on the used market for anywhere between £750 to £1500 depending upon it's facias and condition (and whether it still has a Goodfellow branded Hiscox case. Check the GB porn thread for a look at some of the early Goodfellows that have popped up... and check out Graham Gouldman playing a genuine Bernie bass on his TOTP appearance with Wax (with Andrew Gold)... also the bass on stage with the Style Council at Live Aid is certainly worth a look... It's funny, there has been quite a lot of interest in the original Goodfellow basses in the last month. It seems they are pretty popular out in America! Hope that somebody has found this interesting!
    3 points
  42. Squier Classic Vibe 50's precision Bass in blonde. This belonged to my late brother who was a rhythm guitarist so not played much. Condition seems as new. Original packaging.
    2 points
  43. Yep! Some overly pious PC twerp is bound to come along claiming that a positive act (for once) of discrimination in favour of musicians - who still are and have been for centuries, completely discriminated against - is somehow a discriminatory act! The mind boggles (especially at my age!!). 🥴😬😁
    2 points
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