LukeFRC

Looks great!

that's rubbish, 'aint it?

[quote name='funkle' timestamp='1384099906' post='2272730'] Thanks man. A shorter review could have been: An excellent cabinet whose only contender is another extremely specialised cabinet with fancy DSP, compression, and limiting built in. As for other passive cabinets... Of course not everyone wants a 'flattish' cab. If Alex starts doing powered cabinets or PA equipment, I think there's some incredible possibilities there. [/quote] My tecamp Puma 1000 has the same powersoft amp module as your Berg IP - if I knew how to programme DSP hacking into the Puma to add the DSP board to pair it with a BB2 would be the plan!

thanks for the review funkle!

i can see it

good question

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1383778388' post='2269156'] I think this is where owning a 'vintage' bass becomes really interesting. For people looking for a certain sound or vibe then owning an original '64P and a similar era B15 represents the absolute pinnacle of tonal nirvana. Whether most people can hear any difference between these and modern equivalents is a, very, moot point. However, for many people, there is so much more to the enjoyment of playing than the simple sound that others can hear. For these people there's some sort of mystique to flipping the power switches on a B15, waiting for it to warm up and smiling as the Ampeg logo comes to life with a warm glow and then going to full power whilst caressing a silky smooth worn in neck from 50 years of gigging and with perfect fretting and a gorgeous feel. For a lot of people that genuinely is the definition of 'magical' This experience is pretty damn tough to replicate with modern kit and I'm absolutely sure that's why lots of people think nothing of dropping thousands on vintage gear. It makes them feel great and inspires them to play in a way that modern equipment never will. I'm not judging these people or saying that they are crazy to spend this sort of money on a couple of planks of wood, a few bits of rusty metal and some out of date electronics plus an amplification system that has its roots in a bygone era but I can completely understand their passion. If, simply by owning these ancient artefacts, they play longer and derive greater pleasure playing then that's only a good thing as far as I'm concerned. The difficult part is justifying cost. If you could remove cost from the equation would you have kept the '64 and B15 because of the amount of pleasure you got for them. If the replacements are not definitively 'better', however you might define that, then maybe the older models might have been more fun to play. The thing I always, without fail, find odd about discussions over expensive objects is that people so often deride others just because they've lashed out on something that may not have an intrinsically greater value than a far cheaper item. If it makes them happier then where's the harm? [/quote] Molan - I am interested - how do you find your modern vintage styled wes steed compare to your real '63 Jazz? how would you describe them tonally?

I think there's a article on barefaceds website saying why they make 8ohm cabs onthe mobile so can't link to it...

RE: sounds changing…. Given that if the body was carved by hand or made by CNC - as long as it is within the same tolerances it will make little to no effect on sound (but may on how the thing feels) … I think there are two things here that we can say (reasonably and logically) could change the sound of an instrument over time…. Pickups - different pickup winding techniques, different magnets (?) and the magnetic deterioration… and the wood…. now I'm not enough of an expert to know if a bass played over time changes the wood as it resonates (in that case a pristine 60's fender that's hardly been played wouldn't have this effect) - I think it's more likely to be the effect of being under tension for x number of years myself rather than vibrations… but hey ho - I don't know enough to argue that (and haven't been on a magazine cover either, been in the fine art section of the Skinny before…) But I think it's true to say that the wood stocks that would have been available for building guitars in 1957 at the scale Fender were will not look much like the wood stocks available for building guitars now in the scale that Fender/Gibson/Cort et al knock them out. I doubt they are from as old or natural growth, or have been naturally dried for as long and so on. Warwick in the early 90's had the selling point of "the sound of wood" and proudly showed off wood stacks that they kept to dry for years. It's interesting that when they increased production, and the quality was perceived to have dropped - they also stopped showing off their wood piles. I think recently they've scaled back production and started talking about how long they keep the wood to dry before they use it. But I dunno - Molan, your wes steed bass is a blend of old bits and new wood is't it? how does that sound?

speakons are cooler, and blue and go click. Much better

[quote name='clashcityrocker' timestamp='1383634488' post='2266723'] Interesting thread. I've got a decent job paying up soon so (obviously) thought I should get a nice jazz. I am thinking jv. How do they compare to late 70s fenders? the 70s always seem to look great,but not sure in QC [/quote] I think both Dingus and I would agree on - play them and see which you like. the 70's one will have 70's pup spacing, the JV 60's pup spacing - which do you want. If I were thinking of buying a nice jazz…. I would get richardd's valenti which is probably still for sale, or one the the recent '75 ri from Fender's AVRI range….

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1383598225' post='2266490'] Just to digress slightly for a moment , what if Squier made basses exactly like the JV Series ones again nowadays , priced around the £500 -£600 mark ? There is probably no real reason why the couldn't do it if they wanted to , and they would sell by the container load . [/quote] then nobody would buy the ones in the £1000-1700 range…

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1383592547' post='2266376'] I will try and take a picture of where it is and where I am etc, as I pretty much do this. The volume I've had it on doesn't have that much(if any) low end and I can barely hear it in the other room (wireless system) which why I am perplexed at them having heard it. [/quote] so if the amp was in the other room… would they be able to hear it….?

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1383591278' post='2266350'] Was your JV one with the Fender logo as the main headstoch decal ? They are the sought-after ones. You are getting a little confused in all of this , Luke , by virtue of your own reasoning , which by and large , I agree with . You say the mistake I am making is assessing their worth as instruments on the basis of the original selling price , but you are making a far greater mistake in asessing the worth of these basses on "how good they might be". That is a very difficult quality to quantify . Therein lies the potential for hyperbole . The reputation these basses have garnered in some quarters has become somewhat eggagerated . The fact is , they were good , but when I look at the prices they are now selling for , they were never [i]that [/i]good , simple as that . The fact is people are paying a lot of money for a thirty year old budget bass , and I only hope they are doing so with their eyes open . The Roadworns have probably sold in fewer numbers than the JV Squiers , by virtue if the fact that the Squiers were cheaper and more accessible . Give it time and the Roadworn mojo will get to work in people's minds and they will become cult basses. And those early '80's Tokais you mention , I remember them well and they were brilliant . I seem to recall that the JV Squiers were actually built for Fender by exactly the same people on the same production line in the same factory in Japan . [/quote] JV Squire were made by Fuji Gen-Gakki so same factory as Greco not Tokai… I think we're more or less saying similar things but from the opposite direction.

turn down, cut the low end on the amp… it will sound crap but be good enough for practicing. Shut all the doors and windows and beware of volume creep…. Oh and what I do, if the cabs on the floor sit on the floor next to it right near your ear. Or I currently have it on our spare bed - decouples it from the floor, points at my ear and lots of soft stuff around to soak up too much BOOM! You might just be finding out that your barefaced is a lot better at kicking out sound than whatever your old cab was!