mcnach

Proud Jake 4 owner in Edinburgh here... P/JJ configuration passive. Another Jake 4 variant has been ordered. Really well built, these basses.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1438795362' post='2837455'] I got an email today with Fedex tracking number... no bad! week and a half, maybe two weeks from placing order to receipt, it seems. [/quote] and they're with me today!

[quote name='Muppet' timestamp='1438845684' post='2837841'] If I order and receive an unplayable guitar and I get the guitar that I ordered and it's unplayable, err, I've got what I wanted! [/quote] Not necessarily what you wanted, as illustrated earlier , but you did get what you ordered

[quote name='the boy' timestamp='1438838316' post='2837792'] Huh?..... Are you sure about that. [/quote] Dang!!!

[quote name='Naetharu' timestamp='1438821697' post='2837768'] I'll be sure to post! Adrian tells me it should be here in three to four weeks...the longest month I have ever experienced I expect [/quote] I know the feeling!

[quote name='Naetharu' timestamp='1438810664' post='2837695'] Hi folks, Thank you so much for all your replies its been very helpful. After some careful consideration and reading what you all have to say I've bitten the bullet and ordered myself an active Maruszczyk Jake. Best wishes James [/quote] Don't forget the compulsory pictures on the Maruszczyk thread!

[quote name='jonnythenotes' timestamp='1438812140' post='2837725'] I find it more than just a coincidence that the word 'Fender' and 'ghosts' both have six letters in them. Also the word 'Fender' contains the letter 'e' which also appears in the word 'evil'. This cannot be explained away by modern science.... [/quote] Furthermore, Fender backwards is redneF! Coincidence??? I think not!!! edited because obviously I can't spell backwards

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1438797567' post='2837484'] Current listings say clearly "Decoration without warranty, without money back" [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_b_450_black_progressiv_deko.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...ressiv_deko.htm[/url] [/quote] I guess they got tired of people returning them

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1438785647' post='2837298'] I'm not complaining when they don't play, I'm taking advantage of my consumer rights to return the item if I decide I don't want to keep it. That's quite different from complaining. Being able to return an item bought at a distance within the time limit and by the prescribed means without having to have any particular reason is the whole point of the consumer law concerning distance selling, which has even been strengthened recently. [/quote] I never claimed it was not within your legal rights... only that it was, well... cheeky, in that situation. I am sure I have at one point or another taken advantage of a situation where I'm not breaking any rule but I'm being cheeky nonetheless. I'm no angel! But I will not try to convince people that I'm not being cheeky about it. That's all.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1437914214' post='2829906'] I just ordered two for my Barefaced cabs... let's see how long it takes. [/quote] I got an email today with Fedex tracking number... no bad! week and a half, maybe two weeks from placing order to receipt, it seems.

[quote name='stuckinthepod' timestamp='1438774008' post='2837071'] I inherited this old P Bass once. Strings were decades old with an unplayable action. I stripped it down to get the action to something approaching normal and noticed some dolt had carved FUNK into the neck heel. Restrung it with fresh round wounds but could never get a good rock tone out of it. Just a thump thump thump like the strings were dead again. Plus, whenever I started to play it my right hand would cramp up to the point I could only play with one finger- Weird huh? Final straw was when I started to dream about impossible bass lines and apparently woke up one night screaming out the name Bernadette. I’ve never met anyone called Bernadette. Part ex’d it on a nice Ibanez SR and never looked back. [/quote] it would have been more spooky if you had indeed looked back, and found the old P bass following you...

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1438777564' post='2837126'] …and can be a sod to fix if they go wrong; not that any of mine have failed. Nor have I ever had to use passive as a failsafe, possibly because I change the batteries every year on the same day and I have those low battery warning lights. [/quote] no, they're very easy to fix! You just replace them! (we didn't say it'd be cheap )

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1438779663' post='2837173'] I wish I had not written my above post at about 4:20am before leaving to catch a coach with no wi-fi, there was no opportunity to rewrite it before it was read and replied to. However, I'll continue on from where the conversation has reached. While Thomann do state that these instruments are not suitable for music, it is widely known that the vast majority of them are perfectly usable for music. E.g. my taking my PJ to a bass bash and challenging people to find something wrong with it. Thomann's disclaimer does not match the facts. It is not, IMHO, unreasonable to expect that a newly purchased deko is more or less of the quality that instruments sold as dekos have been in the recent past. In the seemingly very rare case that a deko actually fit Thomann's disclaimer, then that would be a deko of near or actual unprecedented poor quality. And in that case I see nothing morally wrong with returning the instrument bought online should it not match typical deko quality. Actions speak louder than words, and Thomann's actions are that there is typically hardly anything wrong with them. [b]This makes it a very different situation from a case where Thomann had described the instruments as unsuitable for actual playing and they were actually unsuitable for playing[/b]. In which case I would agree with you that it would be strange to buy them and return them if the description fit. [/quote] Seriously? They were labeled as unsuitable for playing. Instead of being happy if you take a gamble and find that you can, actually, play many of them, you think it's ok to complain when they don't play... despite them advertising clearly that this is the outcome you should expect. Mindboggling. So I sell bottled water and label it "not for human consumption". 100 people drink it and they are ok. Person 101 gets a upset stomach, and complains... You think they have grounds for complaining? Sure. We're going to have to agree to disagree about this one, my friend.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1438744959' post='2836859'] I do think it's right. In the same way that I can go in and check if any bass guitars in my local shop have lumps of gold stuck in the wood, and not buy them if they don't. And these are my legal rights (no quotes), not "rights" (with what the quotes imply). It's a fundamental precept of online buying that I have the right to return the goods for whatever reason I choose. And there's no way that I'm going to feel bad about doing so. Given that the overwhelming majority of the Deko instruments are playable, and are therefore being mis-described by Thomann, if anyone is sad about people buying dekos and returning them if they aren't playable, Thomann are hardly blameless in that transaction. BTW: You haven't supplied an evidenced counter-argument to what I wrote before, you've just disagreed with me. Hence, I don't need to rephrase anything, I think my previous post still stands. [/quote] erm... "you win"? hey, if you think it's right to return something that is sold as "not playable" because it wasn't playable... I have nothing to add. You may not be contravening any rules, but you're exploiting a loophole and you know it. You're happy with it? Fine. I wouldn't do that but you live however you want to live

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1438757535' post='2836879'] Which would be a great solution except that it doesn't magically make the neck of the bass wider or narrower to compensate for changing the string spacing. On a well made bass the outer strings should be equidistant from the edge of the neck along its whole length. Simply altering the string spacing at the bridge is going to change this, and IMO affect playability. The reason bridges like this exist is not so players can mess about with string spacing, but so that Schaller can sell a single version of it to all their manufacturer customers and it will fit the bass irrespective of the string spacing that has been chosen for of the OVERALL DESIGN of each different bass that the bridge is fitted to. Also having owned a bass with this particular model of bridge, I couldn't possibly recommend it as IMO it is one of the most over-complicated and difficult to adjust designs I've ever come across. I can only think of one (by Wlkinson) that was less user friendly. [/quote] Haven't you ever changed the bridge spacing on a bass? It is noticeable, the bass is playable, and it's beautiful. We're talking small changes, but noticeable small changes. Take my 75RI Jazz bass. There is a LOT of space between the edge and the 1st and 4th strings. Using the Fender threaded saddles I widened the spacing at the bridge to just over 20mm-ish. That difference is small overall and it didn't do anything... except feeling better on my plucking hand. It is a nice option for a lot of people, whether you want to believe it or not

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1438724799' post='2836783'] Adaptive channel selection allows you to use up to 4 of these at a time without having to configure or select anything. [/quote] Thanks! I hadn't noticed that part. That sounds alright then! I like the design much more than the G30, I have to say. If it performs similarly (or better) that would be hard to beat!

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1438717903' post='2836699'] Hence, I don't feel that there is anything immoral in any way in returning anything bought online for any reasons I choose to do so. (Note: I haven't actually returned something bought online yet, but I like having the option to and will advise others of their rights - even for dekos.) [/quote] But the dekos were never meant to be playable... the fact that most were was a "bonus". So returning it because it didn't play well is just not right, even if you take advantage of "your rights"... Now phrase it as you wish.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1438717106' post='2836685'] It's a moral issue really, its not nice to take advantage over such fair policies. I read in another thread on here that someone had bought a 'Deko' instrument from Thomann (for those who don't know, these are instruments for display only as they are sold as unplayable) and was going to send it back...because it didn't play well enough for him. How can that be right? Its a great policy, but not one I would ever consider taking advantage of. If I have purchased an instrument, I have made the decision. Unless there instrument fundamentally has something wrong with it, I would never consider returning it. Effects pedals and small items, different kettle of fish really as they are much easier to ship, restock and sell again with no fuss, but instruments must be a pain for them. [/quote] I agree with every single word.

[quote name='R.I.P.' timestamp='1438720431' post='2836726'] Thanks. I'm running them on a 4 and 5 string. A millimeter doesn't seem like a lot, but it does make a big difference. And if you like your current bass but want to change the spacing, its a great way to go. [/quote] Oh, I know how 1mm can make a noticeable difference! I've been using those old threaded saddle Fender bridges on a few basses precisely so that I can adjust the spacing. It's very rudimentary but the difference it makes is nice, for me. I like that on the Schaller I can set the spacing more easily, and it'll stay unchanged through string changes. I had no idea these bridges existed!

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1438705233' post='2836567'] If you haven't, take a look at the Smoothhound. It's about the same price as a Line 6 G30, half the size, has a metal transmitter and the battery life is much much better. [/quote] looks good! but it doesn't seem to have a channel selector... what do you do if you have two (or 4) people in the band using these?

[quote name='R.I.P.' timestamp='1438648096' post='2836146'] If your into modding, here's a great bridge and you can space to your liking [url="http://guitar-parts.biz/hp135112/Bassbridge-2000-4-string.htm?ITServ=C5ad2c08eX14ef6171416X145d"]http://guitar-parts....4ef6171416X145d[/url] [/quote] very nice!

speechless!

[quote name='Naetharu' timestamp='1438705218' post='2836566'] Humm, I was assuming that having the option of active eq and thus more tonal variation would just be a bonus. Can you see a down side to that? If so I would be very interested since it adds around £100 to the price of the bass to have the active electronics. [/quote] I don't think there's a downside to having more tonal options... just that having more tonal options is not necessarily such a big deal, and what makes a bass better is not simply having an active onboard EQ or not. It's really personal preference. I have some passive basses, and some active. Some with one pickup some with two. I tend to favour single pickup options because if I have too many choices, I invariably end up fiddling with the controls, and not necessarily achieving anything better You can get a million slightly different tones from a particular set up, but most people end up using just one or two sounds that cover 95% of what they play. For that reason I think some people go off the multi-switch multiEQ all singing bass control options. But it's a purely personal choice... neither is better than the other. Those Glockenklang preamps are pretty good. If you're not sure, and you think you might like having it... go for it. An extra £100 is not so much when you think about how many years you may own the bass. If you don't use it much, then you don't use it much, but it would suck to go "ah, I wish I had gone for the preamp version". You can always add it later, but it's a faff and may require cutting some wood away etc...