The Dark Lord

[quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1374417929' post='2148482']
I'm not an Ashdown basher, but to me they don't have the Trace sound I love, no.

The MiBass was very disappointing for me too, totally gutless - LOUD, yes but when subjected to a gig level beating, it ran out of steam. It's not alone in this as I've found digital amps to often suffer from this in a way that old-skool, back pain-inducing amps never seem to.

I've currently got a Fender BXR head - incredibly unfashionable but it can destroy small towns.
[/quote]

This is not my experience. I luuuuurve my MiBass 550. I could never play it more than half way - or the drummer would pass out. And I only play it through one cab which is 8 Ohms. I don't play on BIG stages, but can't imagine needing much more volume if I did. If so, I'd add a Midget to my Compact and run it as 4 Ohms.

Get a MiBass.

This is how to do it. Well done. Also ...... great sounding band. Not my kinda thing, but I can appreciate a decent band when I see one.

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1374322571' post='2147541']


There appears to be a conscious decision not to mention prices anywhere. That means a substantial amount of wedge being required I guess?

[/quote]

..... in fact, about £5K plus by the look of it. Really?

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1374304755' post='2147309']
What do you mean by this? Are you after a bass made by a company that is more than just a "one man band"? Apart from Overwater and Crimson (who are currently in the process of expanding) I can't think of any others on my list that fit this. However just because all the work is done by a single person doesn't make them any less professional. Plenty of the bass makers that I listed do it as a full time job, and IMO when a single person makes your instrument generally the attention to detail and overall quality of construction and personalisation is that much higher. Remember that when you order a Fender CS Masterbuild that individual attention to detail is what you are paying for over a standard factory produced instrument.
[/quote]

There is a lingering worry in my mind about delays. I have seen some interesting reports on here from the customers of one-man-band builders who have been delayed by months ...... and some times even [i]years[/i] with poor communication coming back form the builders.

That aside, there have been some interesting things that have come up on this thread.

You may have seen before that I really don't like people making basses based (sometimes wholesale) on other people's designs. There is even the odd person who will go as far as sticking a Fender logo on them. I can't get my head around that.

I really quite like the look of the Gus basses that you champion. I listened to their sound samples on their website - and a the G3 looks a possibility. It may be a little "out there" design-wise, which fits your image in your band well. I mean, how showy can you be standing next to a bloke with only his pants on?

Not 100% sure it would fit with my "did you spill my pint?" persona while playing. A full matt black one might be different though.

There appears to be a conscious decision not to mention prices anywhere. That means a substantial amount of wedge being required I guess?

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1374262231' post='2147065']
That made me curious as to why you weren't (or didn't sound) keen on the Chinese-made Overwaters.
[/quote]

Actually. I'm not averse to Chinese-made Overwaters really. This has turned out to be an interesting thread for me in that regard. I think I have to settle on the fact that British company is goog enough.

I've never seen or heard an Overwater before - until I had a peek at some pics after starting this thread.

I shall look further.

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1374245281' post='2146873']
Why do you feel that you should be buying British?
[/quote]

That's a good question. There is an argument that, if there is a national drive to buy everything from your own country, then that doesn't encourage home based manufacturers to be innovative and competitive. There was a drive in the UK in the 1960s, complete with a Bruce Forsyth song .... which, ironically, failed to chart.

You could argue the "I'm Backing Britain" campaign in the 1960s was partly responsible for sustaining our "rust bucket" industrial base - which didn't modernise and disappeared. I think that may have been partly true, but there were many other more significant factors.

I feel, if there is a product from the UK, which is of equivalent quality to one from abroad, then I should at least think about purchasing it.

Ashdown make some good stuff. I love my MiBass (ironically made in China) but it is from a UK company at least. If they buy in the product from abroad, badge it as theirs and export it 'round the globe, then that does our country some good. And it's a cracking bass amp.

I feel in the mood to buy a new bass - so I'm thinking along those lines. It's very difficult to identify many companies who are not "toolshed outfits" though. Good on them for doing it for themselves, but I'm after something made by an established manufacturing company I suppose. Rare in the UK bass market.

[quote name='merello' timestamp='1374174428' post='2146171']
And then he bought a Fender....
[/quote]

Sorry mate. I must have missed something here. Is there referring to anything?

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1374163607' post='2146003']
Just playing devils advoctae really but, where are the components made for Ashdown and where are they assembled? Barefaced I know are constructed here but where are the drivers made and where does the wood, grilles and coatings come from?
[/quote]

I know what you mean. I suspect wholly British products of [i]any[/i] kind are rare nowadays. From a British-based company is all one can reasonably attain nowadays.

This is [i]very[/i] nice .....

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Status-Graphite-Stealth-4-String-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Hard-Case-/261237937379?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3cd2fe94e3&nma=true&si=DFOwQFLDK0Jhx0QP7sBQ%252Byf4wLo%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557"]click here[/url]

I would discount anything that is based on a Fender. If I want a bass made by a bass maker, I want one of their own designs. Seems reasonable.

I am quite tempted by Shuker JJB artist which you can see here:

[url="http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/jjpbass.html"]http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/jjpbass.html[/url]

I also like the look of the Wal Mk1:

[url="http://www.walbasses.co.uk/Gallery?img_id=152&gallery=17"]http://www.walbasses.co.uk/Gallery?img_id=152&gallery=17[/url]

..... but at nearly £4K, I gotta ask myself if I will get an extra £3K worth of satisfaction over a Fender USA.

I like Gordon Smith's 6-string guitars - but that bass of his someone mentioned - is a bit out of left field, design-wise.

I will have fun meandering over the issue. Any more suggestions would be welcome.

Well done for all the moral advice.

Anything else would be stealing and I would hang people for that.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1374105216' post='2145438']
By no means definitive, but fairly comprehensive:

[url="http://www.13guitarco.com"]13 Guitar Co[/url]
[url="http://www.acguitars.co.uk/acg_admin/wordpress/"]ACG[/url]
[url="https://www.facebook.com/alpherinstruments"]Alpher[/url]
[url="http://www.mbwebs.co.uk/scrim/instruments.htm"]Andrew Scrimshaw[/url]
[url="http://www.bravewoodguitars.co.uk"]Bravewood[/url]
[url="http://www.brianeastwoodguitars.co.uk"]Brian Eastwood[/url]
[url="http://www.burnsguitars.com"]Burns[/url]
[url="http://www.cliftonbasses.co.uk"]Clifton[/url]
[url="http://crimsonguitars.com"]Crimson[/url]
[url="http://www.eccleshallguitars.co.uk/index.html"]Eccleshall[/url]
[url="http://www.enfieldguitars.com"]Enfield[/url]
[url="http://www.eversonguitars.com"]Everson[/url]
[url="http://www.fret-king.com/intro.htm"]Fret-King[/url]
[url="http://www.gbguitars.co.uk"]GB[/url]
[url="http://www.gedgreen.co.uk"]Ged Green[/url]
[url="http://www.gordonsmithguitars.com"]Gordon Smith[/url]
[url="http://www.gusguitars.com"]Gus[/url]
[url="http://www.purple-chili.com/iceni-zoot/#"]Iceni-Zoot[/url]
[url="http://jaydeecustomguitars.co.uk"]Jaydee[/url]
[url="http://www.jchamiltonguitars.com"]J C Hamilton[/url]
[url="http://www.johnbirchguitars.com/John_Birch_Guitars/Home.html"]John Birch[/url]
[url="http://www.kinkadeguitars.co.uk/acoustic-bass"]Kinkade[/url]
[url="http://www.legraguitars.co.uk/index.htm"]Legra[/url]
[url="http://www.lettsbasses.co.uk/root/jlettsbassesmain.html"]Letts Basses[/url]
[url="http://www.mansonguitarworks.com"]Manson[/url]
[url="http://overwaterbasses.com"]Overwater[/url]
[url="http://www.rimcustomguitars.com"]Rim[/url]
[url="http://www.freewebs.com/rpbasses/"]R P Basses[/url]
[url="http://www.ruachbassguitars.co.uk"]Ruach[/url]
[url="http://www.seibass.com"]Sei[/url]
[url="http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk"]Shuker[/url]
[url="http://www.siggeryguitars.co.uk/index.html"]Siggery[/url]
[url="http://www.simonleeguitars.com"]Simon Lee[/url]
[url="http://www.squareoneguitars.com"]Square One[/url]
[url="http://www.staccato-art.co.uk/HOME_FRAME.htm"]Staccato[/url]
[url="http://www.status-graphite.com"]Status[/url]
[url="http://www.walbasses.co.uk"]Wal[/url]
[url="http://www.wilkesguitars.co.uk/index.htm"]Wilkes[/url]
[/quote]

Thank you .... and you took the time to add links. Well done that man.

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1374100898' post='2145396']
Made in Britain or British company? Either way, as already suggested Overwater, or the Overwaters by Tanglewood for the cheaper Chinese made ones.
[/quote]

I mean made in Britain really.

I sorta mean currently in production and available new.

I'm beginning to feel that I should buy British stuff.

I have an Ashdown head and a Barefaced cab - both of which I am really pleased with. What are my options for actual bass guitars?

I can think of:
[list]
[*]Status
[*]Shuker
[*]GB ?
[/list]
I guess there must be more?

Sadly. I'd say about the £500 mark at the moment - even still you may need to wait for a buyer.

It was always a niche product - and the market isn't kind to niche products right now.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1373493893' post='2138371']
2 pages in and no mention of JJ yet. Hmmmmm.

[/quote]

Point of order though. The Stranglers were never punks, although they say they don't object to being called punk, they insist that they are not.

Their music is too complex and diverse to be referred to as punk.

Having said that, if you ARE going to include them, then you can't beat Peaches.

As a little bit of Stranglers education, here's the lesser known Peaches 2004 (from the MKIII Stranglers with Roberts and Warne) - which was the B-Side of the single Big Thing Coming. The video is terrible, the track is interesting.

http://youtu.be/cDu6EhYj1YU

I am Precision player. Always have been. I bought a new 2009 US Standard Jazz once - as I thought I should also have one.

I liked it. I played it on a lot of gigs. It was [i]maybe [/i]a little easier to play than my Precisions - that could have been the thinner neck, or it could have been that it seemed to be lighter than my Precisions (although some people say Jazzes are generally heavier). I never weighed it. That was just my impression. It may also have been a more convenient body shape? I dunno. It sure was "a looker" though, in black / black / maple. Typical Jazz bark too. I only ever really used the neck pickup - as I found the bridge pickup way too trebly on its own. I didn't even like the sound of the pickup when it was just a bit blended in.

There was just something about the Jazz though - that didn't quite have the mojo of my Precisions.

Also, I like the fact that my Precisions (both 1999 string thru US Standard models) have necks like caveman's clubs. Huge tree trunks that I need to wrestle with. I'm not the most delicate of people. Maybe they suit me.

..... actually, you can see mine. If you look at 42 seconds in the video, you'll see it down to my left (look for the Behringer yellow triangle) ...... or to the right of me in the video .... again if you know what I mean. I prefer it there as it doesn't get in my way and it's angled up a bit anyway.

If you look at this video, you'll see that there is a B205D mounted on a mic stand to our singer's right (although to his left in this video if you know what I mean). It's hidden behind the PA stack, so the audience don't get to see it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCVw2kaYL80

It's very small, and the big bonus is that it is very light and tiny ..... so easy to store and transport.

Works a treat for vocals - we take a monitor line out of the mixer.

We actually have two of these. One for him and one for me - I'm mainly backing vocals, but I sing lead on a couple of songs in each set. You can't even see mine - as I like mine lower (about waist height).

We link the two together. We take a line out of the singer's monitor to mine (they link together) and we end up with identical mixes coming out of the monitors.

Works great.

The monitor comes with an adapter that screws into a regular mic stand. Happy days.

[quote name='Ian Savage' timestamp='1373648604' post='2140250']
Hmm, not sure that's so much a 're-badging' as Behringer pulling their usual trick of ripping off someone else's design and building it down to a price point using their economies of scale and labour exploitation - that said, the ones they're ripping off now tend to have the same EoS and exploitation so there's no reason for the Mackie to cost a ton more :s

Yeah, be worth swallowing your scruples and having a look at the Berry, should do the job nicely...
[/quote]

Yeah. I see what you are saying. It's just if you look at the two units side-by-side, they are virtually identical in layout - so I assumed they were both using the same PCB - but they might be a copy. I don't really know.

I usually don't like the brand, but the B205D works just great. It's a price point where I can just buy another one if it breaks.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1373645460' post='2140172']
I know mate.
[/quote]

I'm not interested in your rants or protestations mate. I've just blocked you from my content. Say what you like to everyone else.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1373452173' post='2137676']
So much hostility on this thread! The album seems to be selling well enough and they're getting higher profile gigs than most of us will ever achieve, so who are you to judge their commercial potential? The idea that something you dislike must have no merit looks a lot like pure snobbery, and I thought better of you than that.
[/quote]

Here. Here.

I didn't say anything about status or money. They get to play at Glastonbury. That's good. That's success for a new young band in anyone's eyes. Apart from your's maybe.

I think calling the young girl on the drums "the bloke on the drums" is offensive. She's a young girl just doing her thing. Other musicians should encourage her - not disparage her. That's just a bit nasty mate.