LukeFRC

[quote name='skelf' timestamp='1458683427' post='3009894'] Does that include the roughly 25% that will be added when it gets to the UK. [/quote] how much are the import duties out of Moffat?

[quote name='skelf' timestamp='1458670897' post='3009725'] My top of the range does not even scratch the bottom of the range Skjold/Elrick/Fodera/etc.Possibly time for a rethink. [/quote] is that a hint I need to decide if I go for a custom bass from you soon!

out of interest: if you loved the look of the [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Monarch Standard Classic .... but the company didn't have a UK distributer so were off the list... what other companies basses would you look at? [/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3](Q for Molan as much as anyone else) [/size][/font][/color]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1458594104' post='3008991'] Stage one is to move to another country No UK Fodera retail options any more. [/quote] which is a bit rubbish. I was just looking on the bassgear website and saw they had gone. Only place i've ever picked one up (as in to try for a bit, not buy) was bass gear. Though Thomann have them which seems a bit mental

[quote name='OutSpoon' timestamp='1458498208' post='3008092'] Or is this just the cost of doing business and he should Do The Right Thing? [/quote] If you're asking yourself this already... then yes. Less hassle too.

[quote name='skelf' timestamp='1458388926' post='3007154'] I can't imagine any builder building a bass without sound/playability as a major factor. I use many fancy woods but I don't see how that means that playability/sound is not taken in to account.You seem to be equating plain with playable not sure I can agree with that. Every builder I know is on a constant quest to improve all aspects of their instruments Mr Stenbeck is in no way the exception in that respect maybe his marketing is better than most, in which case well done to him. [/quote] fair challenge, maybe it was wrong to pick on fancy woods. Stenbeck has got good marketing, it's a very good marketing preposition. For what it's worth the maker who I most regularly hear people say "the bass is really responsive to playing variations." About is ACG. Is stenback just shouting about something that everyone does?

[quote name='Cameronj279' timestamp='1458342206' post='3006908'] Any good instrument is built to play. [/quote] though I would have thought there are a fair few companies that design the product that will give the best return to their shareholders, and playability comes second

Hey Ended up reading something on here last night that got my brian thinking... in a way I wanted to type out and get other folk's oppinion and thoughts, hell it will probably become another thread where 90% of people say that any Fender Precision is the be all and end all of everything... but.... [b]Dafonky[/b] started thread looking for a [b]Stenback[/b] bass, interesting - I had never heard of them so did a little web browsing... first a photo of Basschatter Davlovski's bass for those who already have seen too many words, (yes, precision, ampeg and good cab handles I get it.... anyway... ) and found Tom Stenback's website [url="http://tomstenback.com"]here http://tomstenback.com [/url] Finnish luthier - making jazz bass basses - available in black, white or natural only. Seemingly hand making most the hardware and... well not being stupid when it comes to their marketing. Some lovely shot videos where it seems him and the other guys sit around making minute adjustments to basses to improve them.... Probably the video makers/that american fella, fault but It's all a wee bit too much hipster/makeing-movement-porn for my liking - very Kinfolk reminded me of this here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBb9O-aW4zI and before we start on the "how much is it costing?" thread like the fodera:worth it? thread something struck me... I've owned dozens of basses now, and tried out dozens more. But comments on the videos about the musicality of an instrument and ability to get different tones out with changes in hand technique really made sense to me, My main bass has that evenness across the fret board and ability to just change the sound with how I attack the strings, or just moving the right hand slightly. My other basses have a lot less. (In fact playing the BB1200 at a gig the other day I was getting so confused by how it sounded until mid-gig I realised that digging in in the way I normally would didn't work the same way...) And then I thought about how a lot of bass makers I've seen seem, from their stock instruments and things on here at least, be more interested in some rare and fancy top wood and triple accent lines or something, than how the thing sounds. I guess that's audience as much as anything, Sadowsky have always seemed (to me at least) to be designed around a decent 'working' instrument, overwater seem to go for similar goals.. So I guess my questions are how does that musical responsiveness get designed/built into the instrument*? What are you looking for? Can it be built in, or do you play a ton of instruments to find it**? Who else apart from Stenback focuses on this first? [size=2]*If that is even the goal. I know some basses are designed more a a flat stable platform, for example the PeaveyT40 almost totally uncouples the strings from the body with a massive bridge and heavy body. It's the least resonant instrument ever... and a joy to play live because of that. ** cos that is one way to do it, and also why yes your harley benton may very well be the greatest bass ever made... or even that precision you play with through an ampeg and a cab with proper handles... [/size]

I almost bought Jack Bruce's Warwick Hellborg rig when it was being sold - looking at the mark up his ownership seems to give maybe I should have!

this bass comes with bluetooth. That's pretty cool - never seen that before http://webshop.cashconverters.co.uk/auction-item/1159889/hondo-2-bass-guitar-with-bluetooth-free-pp

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1457961652' post='3003346'] To pick a few things: Single coil pickups Ash necks Natural finish Banjo frets The complete absence of frets Basses that balance well on the knee as well as the strap NS body shape Most varieties of Jazz and Jazz-type basses [/quote] ash neck? Never seen that

sandpaper would get rid of it maybe?

ten years old, how many miles? From the sellers POV, dependant on the cause of the fault, I don't know how you would have expected him to know the gear box would only last a month. I'm guessing you had a mechanic have a wee shifty over it after you had bought it for basic safety things, and them didnt pick up on a possible problem in the gear box. To me it sounds like bad luck on your part more than something you can take back or get recompense on. If you had bought it secondhand from a dealer or from auction then after a month you wouldn't be able to take it back.

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1457788857' post='3001797'] Basses with broad response to plucking intensity and position for flexibility [/quote] this is a big one for me.... do you think it's a model/design type atribute or do you think it's down to the individual instrument? My main bass (streamer stage 1) has this flexibility, I've had a P bass that started to growl like anything when you dug in and was so so responsive - but other basses I've played seem to sound the same however you hit the strings.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1457713607' post='3001280'] This has been in the back of my mind since I put my Ritter up for sale. Almost certain that the proceeds of the sale will go towards an ACG Harlot SC like my existing one. The plan is for:[list] [*]Harlot SC body, Natural finish, burl or spalted timber - preferably light coloured (Sycamore?) [*]Headless 5 or 7 piece asymmetric thru neck - ebony/maple/purpleheart [*]Plain Ebony fretboard (no markings) [*]I'd like black frets but haven't seen these on anything - does anybody do black frets?? [*]Black hardwear - pick up covers, knobs, bridge, nut [*]SIMS p/ups (15 different settings from 2 pick ups) [*]Black tapewound strings (Status do 40-100s) [*]Internal strap locks - like those on early Warwicks [/list] Just need to sell the Ritter... [/quote] 15 settings on the pups plus a filter preamp???!!! what won't it be able to do?

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1457685130' post='3000871'] [list] [*]Natural finishes that show just the wood grain, nothing 'showy' [/list] [/quote] this The thing I like about my Warwicks is the wood choice is part of the design. When you've got some daft top on a body and it seems little more than decoration - not a fan. Even worse is fussy fretboards

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1457624785' post='3000328'] I really like the standard series... especially the classic ones. Unlike the custom stuff, the prices are comparable with similar builders and the quality still looks top notch. ... been GASing for a Monarch standard classic for a while now. Classic vibe and modern pickups / preamp etc, would fill the gap in my current stable for a modern sounding fretted four very nicely Would have to swap out the PG for a black one though... [/quote] I like how that looks

As the OP I thought I would chime in and say.... the bass that caused the musings that started this post did alright at practice.... sounded good. Not amazing. But good. Great instrument... still not sure that the tone is me. Oh and I tried 2x18's Rickenbacker - it's the one that doesn't look quite so vintage. Did not know what to make of it. It was good but from a very different position to your standard Fender derived basses (which 80% of designs are*) was odd. Didn't make me want one [size=1]* I have no facts to back this up[/size]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1457384187' post='2998066'] Do I count as a working musician? My band do about 40 paying gigs a year playing our own material and have just released our first full-length album which is currently getting airplay on 6 Music. If so... That's a Gus G3 5-string. Last time I asked - about 5 years ago - a new one to the same specification would have set you back just over £5k. I bought it because it's a fantastic looking, sounding and playing bass. Stingrays and Maruszczyk might be far more affordable but they simply don't do anything for me and I find Fender basses and their copies awkward and uncomfortable to play. [/quote]crazy to think thats, and the standard series Fodera, is half the price of a Warwick these days....

[quote name='silverfoxnik' timestamp='1457259994' post='2996719'] Having owned and played so many different basses over the last 40 years, I've come to the conclusion that there's no rhyme or reason to this at all... Twenty years ago, I had a '66 Jazz, but I never really got on with it.. Had an 80s Tokai Jazz that I loved. Apart from playing a great sounding Warwick Streamer 5 string at the first South East Bash in 2007, I've never got on with the feel of the 3 Warwick's that I've owned. I also had 3 Stingrays over the years and never got on with the sound when playing them. Had 2 or 3 Wal Custom Mach 1s, including a 5 string, but didn't like them at all, yet loved the Wal Pro models that I've owned.. I've had a few budget Yamahas too - BB300, BB400 models - and really enjoyed them,but last year I quickly moved on a beautiful TRB5P that I bought here that I was absolutely convinced I was going to bond with when I bought it. Like I say, no rhyme or reason! It's been a real blast trying out so many different basses though.. [/quote] I think that's the nub of it - no rhyme or reason. One of the nicest basses I should never have sold was a japanese jazz copy that cost me £45. Back then (all of 7 years ago) £45 was a lot of money so I justified it by buying it to do up "for a friend". The friend still loves it. The bass for me that started this thread is my very old BB1200 - utterly amazing instrument. Lightweight, smooth and even sounding across the fretboard... yet doesn't click with my playing style at all. I picked up the Stingray I built after playing it (Bart and my own DIYcopy of the 2 band preamp) - utter dog to play not fun at all - but the tone is there with my fingers. Not really sure what to do, maybe move the BB on - but it seems a shame as it really is such a nice instrument. Just not for my playing style... but then in a year or two my playing style and tone goals might have changed and it fits? Anyway I'll take it to practice tonight and see how we get on - it really really didn't work well the last time I tried it out so could go horribly wrong!

[quote name='EmmettC' timestamp='1457275322' post='2996921'] I'm not working as much as I'd like, but most of my time on Basschat is when I'm travelling to gigs, or waiting to play. I didn't resurrect this thread to bash Fodera's or even have other people bash them, I guess I was wondering if I should bite the bullet on a very high-end or custom instrument, or if I should get another good mid level bass which is replaceable or repairable if anything happens at a gig. I'm thinking a five string Precision and a Fretless Jazz would compliment my Stingray and Sandberg (Jazz) and would give me all the basses I need for any gig I'm currently doing, or would I be better off to sell what I have and get one super-bass. Edit to say I consider Musicman and Sandberg hight-end, but in comparison to Fodera they are mid-level at least in terms of cost. [/quote] I don't think you would be better with one "Super-bass" IMO with one exception to that... A selection of good basses are probably really good basses - that if you had no choice you would be quite happy playing and gigging for the next 20 years aye? At the moment the "super-bass" is only super cos of the reputation and the price - and it could turn out being a worse instrument for you than main bass you've currently got. so it's probably GAS talking - not logical sense... But - if you go to Bass Direct, or BasGear of Moffat Bass bash or somewhere and pick up a bass that is just amazing for you - and you can tell it works for you... and if you have to sell your current basses to afford it, but you know you would regret it if you didn't.... then do it.