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Just got this Spector Euro4 LE1979! Although normally I don't play standard tuned 4 string basses much but the only one I had so far got quite a lot of playing time lately. It is another Spector, a Euro4 LE1977. I love that bass, the playability, the sound, the quality so I thought about getting its "sister", the other limited edition that commemorates Spector's early day and the releases of the two groundbreaking models, the NS-1 and the NS-2, originally released in 1977 and 1979 (hence the naming of these LE basses) These two limited editions were made in cca 50 pcs each in the Czech Republic and are somewhat rare birds so I'm happy to have both of them. Pretty much what you see is what you get, walnut wings, 3 piece maple neck, rosewood board, DiMarzio P and J pickups and Spector's TonePump electronics. It is a light instrument and has a very sleek feel to it, balances perfectly and sounds immense. The quality is excellent as you can expect from Spector. Now on to the pictures!

During the first half of a gig once I noticed my top strap button had worked loose in the last song. I finished the song by holding the neck up with my left to take the weight for fear of the strap button pulling out, and sending bass tumbling groundwards. In the break I tried to tighten it but the screw wouldn't tighten properly so I went to the bar and purchased a box of matches, pushed one into the screw hole and broke it off flush. The strap button screw now did up nice and tight, great stuff, now I can enjoy the second half worry free. How wrong was I? All the way through that second set I could hear that the wood composition had changed in that bass. Like an idiot I had not asked for tone matches. What a fool I felt.

Some leftover oak worktop, an hour or so in the garden with the chopsaw and drill/hole saw, and a bit of rasping and sanding, plus some sticky-back rubber from hobbycraft and some osmo oil to finish…

Great news! The UNF bolts and cup washers have been shipped In the meantime, amongst the final prep stuff for the body, the ferrules at the back have been put in: And the all important 'This is not a genuine Wal body' mark stamped in:

My new LeFay Remington Steele 6 RHT CC CAP Big Block :

I'm as far from a negative individual as you can get. In fact, I'm one of the most positive, upbeat people you're going to come across but experience tells me that the average UK knucklehead is just unable to think of anyone except themselves and that once again this will cause problems for the rest of us trying to stick to published guidelines. I hope I'm proved wrong, I really do, but I don't expect that I will be sadly 😢

I recently read on another forum an interesting viewpoint based on one luthier's long term experience of tone-woods, and it is most likely the best interpretation of tone-woods I've heard so far. You can read the much longer version in the link above, but to summarise: -the stronger/stiffer the structure of the bass, the less the choice of woods matter to the tone. In most neck-thru solid bodies, the wood has zero effect on the tone. In most bolt-on solid bodies, the wood has almost zero effect on the tone. Only the strings and pickups matter to tone. -the more structural weaknesses in the bass - such as cavities in hollow bodies, semi hollow, and acoustic guitars, and relatively soft wood - the more the woods matter to the tone. This is where you can hear the character between different woods and which is what luthiers work with. -even in basses where there are structural weaknesses, you can't say that if it has X wood then it will sound any different to Y wood. It's possible to get a maple body/neck bass to sound exactly the same as what people perceive a mahogany body/neck bass to sound like, and vice versa, by shaping the weaknesses. -for those that believe that woods matter to the tone and those that believe that woods don't matter to the tone, you're both half correct. Discuss.

Woah there, isn’t that how all these diseases start?

No surprises that this lot are French. The repertoire also includes 21st Century Schizoid Man, Peaches En Regalia, Tubular Bells, Atom Heart Mother

I bought a couple of Vicky Leandros albums in a junk shop in Berlin a couple of years ago. I’ve never played any of them, obviously, in case I like them and then have to buy all her records. The sleeve is one of those old school laminated affairs which is great because it stops the ink from rubbing off on my face. That jumper though. If I could get my bass refinished in them stripes I would do it

Nuns & Rosaries

You may consider Custom Shop prices outrageous but when you consider the instruments they're replicating - mass produced by largely unskilled labour using some of the cheapest, most plentiful woods at the time - sell for multiples of even Custom Shop prices, it might change your perspective, no? What's worth considering is how cheap some instruments are, not just how expensive others are. There's a whole lot of exploitation built into your £99 Harley Benton. When you consider the cost of the raw materials alone, never mind the taxes and duties, the transportation, everyone taking their cut along the way, it does't leave much for the poor bastards who built it, does it? Comparing the cost of something made where worker's rights don't exist and living standards are barely above the level of vermin and using it as means to gripe about how expensive instruments made elsewhere is just a little misguided, in my opinion.

This was meant to be posted on Saturday as I selected next day delivery, but between the supplier and the courier, it actually arrived this morning (potential for another thread, all on its own). Anyhoo, there's a back story to this purchase, so bear with me. Last March, just before the world went to hell in a hand basket, I had a video for David Byrne on Saturday Night Live come up on my feed, playing Once in a Lifetime with his Utopia ensemble. As a DB/Heads fan I watched and noticed the bass player using some sort of Hofner-esque short scale affair, sounded good. The next video up was from the same SNL programme with DB playing Toe Jam with the same guys, except the bass player had swapped to a shell pink, 5 string of some description; it sounded incredible. A very quick search on Google for the player, then images to see if I could find out what the bass was, revealed it was a short scale, Serek, 5 string. Now, I heard good things about these basses already, so I thought I'd investigate the price - yikes! However, by this time, my interest was piqued and so I trotted off to my local Guitar Guitar to try some short scales to see if this was something worth pursuing. I tried a Gibson double cut, an Epiphone, a Gretsch and Fender/Squier Mustangs, including the JMJ signature. I was hooked, there was definitely something to this resurgence of SS basses. The 2 that impressed me the most were the Gretsch (good playability and tone and an absolute bargain) and the JMJ, which was in a different league to all the rest. Rather than diving straight in, I thought I'd ponder a bit - then lockdown arrived. After the first lockdown ended and GG opened up again, I needed a new tuner and, as my car was in for a service just round the corner from the shop, I went to buy it in person and also try the JMJ again to see if it had just been a momentary whim; it hadn't. I decided to move my Maruszczyk Jake L on to facilitate financing the new purchase and put it up on commission sale at The Bass Gallery (where it is available should you, dear reader, wish to purchase it https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/443414-maruszczyk-jake-l-in-fiesta-red-reduced-to-£775/ ). I tried the Vintera and a couple of vintage Mustangs while I was there, the Vintera was the best, but not as good as my memory of the JMJ (I also tried a Wilcock Mullarkey, which was brilliant, but beyond my budget). Then... lockdown 2 arrived, coupled with my moving to Scotland, where I'm in temporary accommodation with just one of my basses (Rob Allen MB2) for low end company, the others being in storage and the pause button was hit, again. Well, we all know this lockdown has been tough and I finally snapped and bought a JMJ anyway, without waiting for the Jake to sell and it finally arrived this morning. A quick play and everything was in order, just my usual set up required (it wasn't bad out of the box to be honest, just not my preference). I'm really rather pleased, my only complaint being, if you're going to put modern, albeit 'aged', Hipshot tuners (nice touch), why not put a modern, hex head, easily accessible, truss rod on? Having to take the very well fitted neck off (twice) is a PITA! Also, if you're supplying a SS bass, provide a SS gig bag, not something that is way too long. Will I become a SS devotee? Time will tell, but early indications are good. Enough waffle, on with the show...

How about we have an under played Wesleyan verse ... then drop out for a quiet chorus, another verse then a big chorus ... which is all a Wesleyan build up for that mammoth bridge which is the only bit anyone will Remember, repeat For next ten min ...

It will always be the sum of the parts. Way too many variables to nail any conclusions down.

Funny how things turn out (as Victoria Wood sung many years ago). I've been keeping an eye out for a 5 string version of my bass, a Brawley. They aren't well known in the UK, but were made briefly in the US for a couple of years and are a very nice mid-range instrument. Last year I posted this: https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/398769-brawley-artemis-5-string-but-in-manchester-new-hampshire, which was an observation that there was a 5 string Brawley for sale in Manchester, but it was Manchester in New England not the UK. Earlier this year @Larry D messaged me to say that he'd seen the post, and I was the first person in the UK he had come across who had even heard of Brawley. He also had a very nice 5 string and we agreed we should meet up at a bass bash when we're next allowed. Then a bit later on he PM'd me again asking if I would be interested in buying the bass as it wasn't getting a lot of use. Well that was a silly question - of course I was! He sent some pictures, and the one thing that worried me was the width of the fretboard, 51mm at the nut and wide all along. Not having played a 5 much I was concerned how this would feel, and wondered if there was any way to try the instrument out. Step forward Larry's neighbour, who was working in Birmingham last weekend and offered to bring the bass up and meet somewhere public so I could try it out and if I liked it buy it! She knows nothing about basses or guitars, but what a very generous offer. So on Sunday I met her (and her colleague who very sensibly came along riding shotgun) in Tesco's car park near the M42 and was able to try and buy the bass. Pics now, and opinion afterwards 🙂 Brawley 5 string.MOV It is very pretty - and even better in real life. You can see what I was worried about with the width of the fretboard, but I really needn't have been. The 5 string bass has exactly the same scale length, 35", and string spacing as the 4 string, and the neck is equally shallow - which means it feels exactly the same to play. In fact I make exactly the same mistakes on it 😞 The low B sounds great, and I'm enjoying playing across the neck. Fortunately I've always muted with a sliding thumb, so no change there. The four isn't going anywhere, but the plan is to focus exclusively on the 5 for at least a few months and get good at that.

I go with what looks nice 🙂

For those who haven't already opened stuff up because they never had the problems we caused, yes. Still to be positive. Considering how monumentally badly we handed it at the start, I am impressed with the way things are going now. Maybe the government ran out of friends to organise it and had to use qualified people? Perish the thought

Indeed - it's all about caution. Anybody can write a roadmap. Doesn't necessarily mean that it is anything but a work of fiction. Time will tell - and what you have to remember that grouping drunk people together with no common sense will no doubt lead to an increase in infection. I will be watching the figures in the weeks post 21 June with much interest. Im hoping things will improve... but then again, we are dealing with a lot of knuckleheads in the UK. I'll be also watching all the people getting infected whilst going on holiday and returning to the UK, maybe without quarantine. Yes, the government said you can travel... but you can bet your bottom dollar that the government travel advise on the official websites will be telling a different tale. You've got to keep the people happy - whilst having a get out of jail card in your back pocket. "We said you could go on holiday - doesn't mean we would recommend it..."

SpondonBassed - thanks for the tip. Let's see if this works - I hope so because this is one of my favourite live solos.

I follow him on Instagram, he’s been posting amazing videos up for quite some time now. Definitely would love to play in a band with him 100%. Not on bass, but maybe on Tupperware harmonica, or electric paper bag, or tuned cupboard handles or something. I reckon the gigs would be superb!

I thought I'd try it black and I think that looks better than the white?..... 👍🏻

It is indeed were the costs creep in! A nice thick piece of acrylic stabilised buckeye burl with a complex grain pattern will easily cost as much as a medium priced bass, in fact depending in the luthier, it can cost as much as a USA Fender just for that top wood. But, for me personally, I'm happy to pay that (within reason!) as it makes my bass unique and I love the look. One of my guitars has a blue/yellow stained maple burl top and I could stare at it for days... In fact below is a picture of the section of top wood between the B string (it's a 7 string) and the upper bout, it is worthy of being framed and hung as a piece of art in my opinion. It looks like an alien worm floating through a nebula... I love it. Others may hate it, but for me this guitar plays better that any I have ever had, the tone is just incredible, and it also looks out of this world, literally! For all those reasons I was happy to pay the price, and am glad I did as there is nothing else like it and I would have regretted it if I later saw someone else bought it!

This was a disappointment, i'm sorry to say

Just as a post-script, it's worth going into a bit more detail of the two things that I think have got folks here particularly interested - the Nova headless system and SimS Super-Quads First the headless system. And what a nice, great to use and looks good too is Andre Passini's Nova Guitar Parts headless system! String fitting (2 minutes for a full string change - I timed myself) and tuning up is effortless. The tuners are as smooth as silk and very accurate. The only challenge I had was getting enough height adjustment of the saddles while still being able to clamp then in the normal way - but I have some thoughts how this could be easily and cheaply improved which I will bounce off Andre shortly. But for 'best bang for the buck', this system absolutely gets my vote and I will be fitting them on all future headless builds. And that includes guitars because the guitar versions are just as good The other is the SimS Super-Quad system. They are fully passive pickups - the 9v battery is simply there to light the LEDs to tell you if you are in 'Split' 'Single' or 'Humbucker' mode. All the tech happens in that fancy switch, including some very clever work that means that there is NO volume change from the humbucking to single/split coil modes. And this is fully passive - remarkable. Here are the options: The three switches at the bottom are the SimS Tri-logic switches, then the 3 at the top are simply on/off toggles for each. There is a master volume and master tone and that's it. They are a synch to fit - for each pickup you attach the loom and then solder an earth, the hot out and the 9v feed for the LED. Mind you, it does take up quite a bit of real estate...especially with three!! And this, to Martin Sims' and my knowledge, is the first bass in the world with three of these remarkable pickups Oh...and they sound great

I know this isn't a 'relic rant' thread, but I just don't understand the relic look... in any other industry it would be classed as insanity - 'Come buy your brand new relic'd Ford, we've smashed it up a bit for you to make it look like you've rolled down a genuine Californian hillside'. Why pay 60% over the odds for a bass/guitar that's been sandpapered a bit and had a few rocks thrown at it. They just look like battered instruments to me so why pay more for damage?? I don't get it. Even with true vintage instruments, the better the condition the higher the value, so it just seems like the attraction is people wanting to make it appear like they've been gigging for years and are seasoned pro's when they likely are not. Just my personal 2 cents! Opinion is subjective and beauty is in the eye of the beholder so really who am I to judge!!

Likely my last lockdown purchase arrived (although a short scale EHB Ibanez has been calling...) Aguilar SL112 and SL212 in Poseidon Green.

We have 4 dates in our diary now from end of June to December at our favourite local pub.

I am a restless soul. I don't think I'll ever be able to finalise the chain. Except for my finger tips and my ears everything else is always up for grabs.

Some bloke called Robert Marley (Bob to his friends)with his Wailers... Live at the Lyceum is rather splendid too!

Youll neva catch me

In 2000 I was just getting into metal, and this was the first ever album I bought that turned out to feature death grunts. I had never heard anything other like it and was blown away. It's still a fantastic record today, it was the first of four Opeth albums with Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree as a producer (and guest vocalist). It got me into Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson's solo recordings too, and the excellent album Steven Wilson and Opeth's frontman Mikael Akerfeldt made together as Storm Corrosion.

I know, I'm an idiot. It ruined that gig for everyone. The audience were visibly shocked at the deterioration in sound quality.

I find tone toothpicks have a sharper top end. The wooden ones not the plastic ones, obviously.

Not negativity, simply realism and natural caution. A "Roadmap" is all fine and dandy as long as the reduction in infections is linear, but who can second guess mutations. I want back to normal as much as anyone, but only when it is safe. The last 12 months should make everyone err on the side of caution, and wait until it is safe before hanging out the bunting.

I love Canadian Rock bands of this vintage. "High Class in Borrowed Shoes" by Max Webster is a brilliant record, but I wonder if anyone bought it just on the strength of the cover?

A lot of them included Elton John in the band playing the songs. It was to get around the licensing requirements and the fact that some record labels and artists (where they had enough control over how their music was used) didn't want their recordings appearing elsewhere - remember these were in the days when the record was the product. The producers of these albums would still have to pay the MCPS fees in the same way that a band putting a cover version on their album would, but these would have been a fraction of the costs of licensing the recordings by the original artists. It wasn't until first of all Arcade and K-Tel started doing compilations with the original recordings and then in the 80s the "Now" series - although those were very much biased towards artists that were signed to EMI (IIRC) who produced the Now albums.

I'm liking the thought that many of the posters here, having experienced some very, very loud gigs, maybe several times, are yet still able to discern the subtle differences between bass body tone-woods. ...

This bad boy: It’s got this beautiful booklet that strips away the layers of the figure on the front, so I took a punt on it. It also contained some of the best music I’d heard for a good long while.

I was going to say I'd been saved by the lack of thumb rest string, but then I made the fatal mistake of checking the BD website following your post Eldon and I can no longer avoid knowing that this is there...

Do you think they'll recognise me??

That's better! And they are all spot on 18mm spacing as preferred by @Jus Lukin And forgive the indulgence, but the inevitable arty farty shots : ..and, finally, with lights on: Thanks for looking, folks