grayn

I'd been hankering for another 5-string. Even put an ad in Basschat for a decent fiver. Last saturday I went over to Promemnade Music, in Morecambe. Spent a couple of hours, trying a bunch of quality basses, including Pedulla, Shuker, Cort, Fender and Warwick. But I couldn't make my mind up and went home, empty handed. But whilst there, I'd had a very quick go on a Cort A6, 6-string. It didn't feel as hard to play, as I'd feared. So a seed had been planted and I returned to Prom again, today. There were 4, very promising sixers to consider. The Cort A6, a Yamaha TRB1006J (both new), a custom, US Carvin & an Ibanez SR1206 (both used). After a lot of time playing all 4, acoustically and amped up, I narrowed it down to the 2 used models. Both were really nice to play and had great tone. The USA Carvin was twice the price and was a real class act, with great woods, finishing and hardware. It even had locking tuners. The Ibanez is a discontinued model and was in, as new, condition. Although very differently styled, the wood combinations of wenge, bubinga, mahogany and ovangkol, reminded me a little, of Warwick. That, with the top class Nordstrand Big Single pickups, created a gorgeous sounding bass, with a very comfy neck. I don't really like switches on a bass but the active/passive and mid-boost switches are useful. So the Ibanez came home with me. Housed in a rather nice, hard foam, Ibanez case. You also get a rather nifty, swiss army style, multi-tool. My apologies for the pics., I found the satin finish hard to photograph, without getting annoying reflection.

Very cool score. Luv the red with maple neck. Squiers are just very good instruments.

[quote name='Pedro1020' timestamp='1486665299' post='3233714'] I must admit, it does give it a classy look. Imagine this with a tortoise shell or black pickguard mmm.. all in all a lovely bass. I'll have to try one sometime. [/quote] Mmmmmm....yes, with a tort scratch plate and cream covers for the pickups..............very nice. How about a matching headstock?.

[quote name='Pedro1020' timestamp='1486637401' post='3233389'] A pickguard on a Warwick will always look weird to me.. but I bet it sounds incredible! [/quote] I think the pickguard is a lovely finishing touch, with the high gloss sunburst.

[quote name='dieseldalziel' timestamp='1486640670' post='3233426'] Beautiful! If you don't mind me asking what did you pay for her? [/quote] Sorry, a gentlman never tells. It was definitely worth it though.

Took the CV to rehearsal, last night. I forgot how good those MEC jazz pickups sound, in a band context. Real deep but somehow, still punchy. Great breadth of tone and a very comfy bass to play, equals big smile. Band loved the sound too. Although there was mixed responses, as to it's looks.

Things took a turn for the better. I took the Warwick to band rehearsal. last night, Using my gigging amp and there was no problem at all. Must be a problem between my home amp and the Warwick, as it's OK with my other basses. So, that's pleased me. Loud and proud with no earthing crackle. Cool!

Thanks guys. All things to get sorted. Sounds like a small but niggly problem.

Thanks. I'm certain it's not the jack socket, it's just not that kind of effect. The bass is passive. It's strange how when the brightness of tone is reduced how the problem seems to disappear. My hope is a stray wire/connection.

I recently acquired a Warwick Streamer CV. Great bass that sounded really good, even with the old strings,it had on it. I put some new Elixirs on it, yesterday. The bass came alive tonally, with a lot more brightness, as you'd expect. Unfortunately it also brought to light an earthing issue, I'd not picked up on, with the old, dead strings. The bass seems to randomly crackle, when playing. I can stop it by resting my hand on the anchor of the 2-peice bridge. It's not the lead, amp or room, as all my other basses are fine. What makes it unusual is, that the bass has passive treble & bass controls. If I turn the treble control from full on -10, down to 6 or 7, the problem is resolved. And infact, I prefer the tone that way but it's still something I'd like to resolve. I'll take it to a tech but just wondered if anyone has had a similar experience?

My head was in an odd place. I'd recently picked up a couple of cheapie basses, to add to my herd. One was an Epiphone Viola bass. A primitive instrument but full of charm. I was really enjoying it's short scale and slim neck. And it's semi acoustic thunk, as well. Anyways, I'd pretty much played it exclusively, for over a week. Trouble was, when I went back to my "serious" basses, they seemed rather large and unwieldy. So I decided I'd better concentrate on the gigging basses, to re-acclimatise. But I'd got the idea in my head, that perhaps I was better off with short scale basses. Which didn't sit well, with having 3 really good, long scale basses. Then I saw a beautiful Rickenbacker, 4004, Cheyenne bass, for sale, at a very good price. Well it is 33 inch scale and Ric's have nice slim necks, don't they. So this morning, I headed off to check this beauty out. It was in mint condition and as lovely as a femme fatale, in her undies. All fireglo and no industrial hardware, like you get on the 4003. Trouble was, the neck was pretty chunky, which was especially surprising, on a Ric. And even with lovely low action, I didn't enjoy playing it. Oh dear! The seller, a bit of a gear head, like myself, had brought out another bass. To show me, rather than trying to sell it. It was a Warwick but quite a different looking one. No wenge, no ovangkol, not even bell-brass frets. Instead it had a lovely sunburst, high gloss, Streamer style body. Passive electronics and nickel frets. And to top it all, a cream coloured scratchplate. Turns out it was a CV (classic vintage) Streamer. Part of the German Pro Series. I've owned a couple of Warwicks before. A Corvette $$ and a Thumb. Both superbly built, German basses. Though the Thumb did feel like you'd need to catch a bus, to get to the bottom, F fret. Now I can see how, many long time Warwick fans might not like these CV models. They are not all dark and organic. But what about the tone? These passive MEC, J-style pickups, in a swamp ash body will obviously sound different. And yes they do. But there is still some Warwick growl, mixed in with that, more classic, vintage sound. I'd say solid and punchy, yet quite a broad tone. Like most basses, with a vol-knob for each pickup, they often sound best, with one on 10 and the other on 8. There's a lot more in there too, as instead of having a tone cotrol, for each pickup, you get passive bass and treble controls. It all works rather well, I'd say. It's funny, as the Streamer was never my favourite Warwick, looks wise. But with this finish, IMO, it really works. And on second thoughts, those long term, die hard Warwick fans, who perhaps, like to own more than one bass, should be grateful for the choice, the CV series offer. Yes the CV Streamer came home with me and I'm really looking forward to band rehearsal, this week. Specifications: Machineheads: Warwick, angled. Nut: Tedur Just-A-Nut III Neck Wood: Maple Fretboard: Rosewood fingerboard Inlay: Dots Side Dots: Fluorescent F/board Radius: 9.5 " Scale length: 34" Frets: 21, Jumbo Nickelsilver frets Frets: IFT - Invisible Fretwork Technology Bridge: Cast Alloy, 2 piece. Pickups: MEC passive J/J Alnico 5 Controls: Passive - 2 volume, 1 treble & 1 bass Body Shape: Curved Body shape Bodywood 2 piece, US Swamp Ash. Strap system: Warwick security locks Construction: Bolt-On Finish: Vintage Sunburst, Transparent High Gloss. Weight: 3.9 kg Accessories: Allen key Tools & Polish Cloth, in small Warwick bag Case: Starline RockBag Pics: http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo78/grahamsmike/E_2.jpg~original http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo78/grahamsmike/D_2.jpg~original http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo78/grahamsmike/C_2.jpg~original http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo78/grahamsmike/A_2.jpg~original http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo78/grahamsmike/F_2.jpg~original

Cheers Winny. And that's good advice. These violin (viola) basses are just so different from pretty much anything else.

My gigging basses are 2, 4-string Sandbergs. I've no desire to replace them but still like to acquire gear. I'd thought about getting a cheap 5-stringer, to dabble on. But decided I wanted to collect, lower priced, short scale, semi acoustic basses. There are quite a few about but I thought I'd start with one, I'd owned some years ago. An Epiphone Allen Woody Rumblekat Bass. So I went down to Reidys in Blackburn, as they are local and had one in. Their shop is huge but their stock is larger. So I had to wait half an hour, whilst they got the bass from their warehouse, down the road. So I took the oppertunity to try out an Epiphone Viola Bass. I'd owned something similar, donkey's years ago. It was an Ibanez or Antoria, I think. Anyway, these copies of the iconic Hofner Violin bass, are nicely built. When I picked it up, it had that familiar, light-weight, vintage feel. Slim neck, short scale and tiny body, give this bass a unique touch. What did surprise me was the punchy tone, from the pickups. Trying various balances of the 2 mini-humbuckers, gives some very good and usable sounds. I don't want to offend Hofner owners but I find the Staple pickups of the Hofner Violin bass, kind of dead and thunky. OK, the design of these diminutive basses, lends itself to that 60s, thick, slightly muted tone. But IMO, the Viola works with that design, rather better. It can't achieve the ringing tones of many contemporary basses. But it merges the vintage with a slightly more contemporary approach. This results in a very usable, if primitive bass. I was quite impressed. I also had time to have a quick play on a Squier, Deluxe Dimension Bass V, MN Black. At under £300, I was very impressed. Good build quality, nice design and active electronics. The action was lovely and low, too. The pre-amp isn't going to set the world on fire but overall, I really liked the feel of this fiver. The Rumblekat arrived and reminded me, what a nicely built bass, it is. Again, amazing quality for not much cash. In many ways, a step up, from the Viola. But tonally it is just far too limited. Both it's pickups are near the neck. So it does warm and vibrant very well and sounds good with a plectrum. But the Viola has far more variety, punch and definition. So I went away with the Viola and the Dimension. Talk about opposites. And also, very different from my 2 Sandbergs. What fun I'm having with these 2 cheapies. Cheap but very tasty, in my book. Specs: Epiphone Viola Body: Maple Colour: Vintage Sunburst Neck: Maple, with Sloped Dovewing Headstock. Neck Joint: Set-glued Scale: 30.5 ins. Fingerboard: Rosewood, with a 12 inch radius. Nut: 1.65 ins. Pick-ups: NYR mini humbucker Controls: Volume for each pickup and a Master Tone. All with, classic inlaid gold tailpiece, a rosewood bridge, with a compensated rosewood saddle. SQUIER Deluxe Dimension Bass V MN Black Body Shape: Dimension Bass Body Material: Basswood Body Finish: Gloss Polyester Neck Material: Maple Neck Shape: "C" Shape Scale Length: 34" (864 mm) Fingerboard Radius: 12" (305 mm) Number of Frets: 20 Fret Size: Medium Jumbo String Nut: Synthetic Bone Nut Width: 2.008" (51 mm) Neck Plate: 5-Bolt Neck Finish: Gloss Polyester Fingerboard: Maple Position Inlays: Black Dot Pickup: High Output Humbucking Controls: Master Volume, Active 3-Band EQ (Bass, Middle, Treble) Special Electronics: Active Electronics Bridge: 4-Saddle Fender Hi-Mass Tuning Machines: Standard Open-Gear Pickguard: 3-Ply Black Control Knobs: Knurled Flat-Top PICS: Viola http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo78/grahamsmike/100_2322.jpg~original http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo78/grahamsmike/100_2340.jpg~original http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo78/grahamsmike/100_2331.jpg~original http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo78/grahamsmike/100_2326.jpg~original Squier http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo78/grahamsmike/100_2308.jpg~original http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo78/grahamsmike/100_2309.jpg~original http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo78/grahamsmike/100_2317.jpg~original

Good score. Looks a beauty. Congrats.

It's almost certainly a rubbish bass but I like it's retro styling. Cool!

I've always had great service from them. I had heard that the company had new owners though.

Ashley went to the same school as me. Riddlesdown High. I seem to remember he started in the basement workshop of a music shoip, in the south end of Croydon. Might have been called Wholmes but I'm not sure. Must have been late 70s. Before he went onto the Alembic style basses, he was working on an aluminuim fingerboard bass. Same time as Travis Bean etc. Nice guy.

A truly beautiful bass. Fantastic choice. If that doesn't get you back into bass playing, nothing will. Congrats.

To one of my best friends, Robin Richards. Great percussionist and muti-instrumentalist and also a fine artist/painter. We met in the mid 70s and he died, prematurely, 20 years on, in a house fire. Much missed and often remembered.

I had one of these, a while back: Apart from that god awful Gibson bridge, I liked it.

Keep fancying another go, with a fiver. It's not that I find them hard to play but I keep reverting to 4-stringers. Quite fancy one of the Ibanez Premium models. Or an EBMM. Yummy.

Love their early 70s stuff. RIP Rick.