LukeFRC

my playing sounds better once you get far enough away you can't hear it.

so I was looking at that... thinking, that looks nice but I don't like something... is it the neck, what about the neck.... is it the tree of life.... no don't mind that too much ..... but the headstock... going to do anything with that?

[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1371149867' post='2110616'] Might just be a case of good ones /bad ones? I've played a few not so good pre CBS guitars and basses, wood will always be unique so there will always a bad example out there. Plus, it amazes me just how many guitar shops have basses on the wall that seem awful as they need a set up or simple truss rod adjustment. So many guys in guitar shops (and bands) these days can't even adjust a neck, it's not exactly rocket science!!!! [/quote] maybe, could just have been a duff one. In my limited experience the good instruments tend to resonate and feel alive as you play them (unless they specifically are built not too) whereas cheaper instruments tend to feel more dead and plastic like - which isn't to say they can't be ok instruments - just i'ld expect more difference between a £1800 bass and a £280 one. but yeah - could have been a differ. Poorly trained staff fiddling with truss rods.... hmmm

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1371115985' post='2109913'] I keep seeing 'I bought a Stingray for £600' everywhere. If you did, and its immaculate/not modded, that's fantastic. I hope I see one! The market will be forced to change as a new Stingray 4 H is now £1600. The prices are across the board with virtually all shops. A 5 HH, with an uprgraded guard, will cost around £1800-2000 now. Add a matching headstock, and it's a little more. I was lucky to get my collection just before the prices went up, but if I wanted my Ray 5 HS with Tort guard now, its about £1800 or more. The Ray 5 is an industry standard 5 string for a reason. IMO, its a timeless design. One thing that I like about the Musicman 5 string basses is that the B is so tight and defined. It just appears very powerful, and even. This is probably because its usually a massive HB near the bridge allowing the pickup to pick up the tighter vibrations of the string. [/quote] doubt 600 would get you immaculate, but I don't mind play wear at all. actually the more the better

[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1371148505' post='2110589'] lol, I know, crazy prices eh?!!!!! Seriously though, the 1960 Jazz Bass was insanely good, (best bass I ever played, period), the wood Fender used between 59 and 61 was something special for me, but 18k special? Only for the rich i think. That Jazz Bass inspired me to get my 1964 Jazz Bass, which was a refinish. I got it in 2004/5 for £2200 but sold it 2 years ago for £3500 to buy a flat. I wish I still had it, especially at that price! Thing is, I now have a 63 Custom Shop which I got second hand a few months ago for £1000. The CS and my old 64 are very different basses indeed, but they are equal in their magic and quality, just in very different ways. When you can buy a Custom Shop Fender Jazz new for £1859 (Coda) why would you pay a little less for an American Vintage? I'm not saying that the AV is a bad bass, I just don't get the price! NKR Guitars all the way for me, they have some stunning stock at times and are the last real old school rock n roll shop left that i know of. [/quote]AV = not bad, absolutely nothing special. Seemed a step down from the older AV range which i quite liked. Who buys all the nice resonant timber or are we just running out?

well it's real as in it exists. Doubt it's what he's half pretending it is.

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1371047140' post='2109063'] Don't disagree, i personally wouldnt pay £2500 for a late 70's Fender, because i don't want one, and think there are better basses out there for that money, both in playability, and also from an investment perspective. But, if I'd always dreamed of owning a vintage Fender Jazz, and now found myself in a position to buy one, for whatever the reason, and had a budget of £2500, then I would want the best bang for my buck. At the present time, that would be a really nice example of a mid 70's Jazz. if they find a nice one, then its still a good buy. Are there better basses out there for that money?, maybe, but will they scratch the itch you've had to own an old Fender?, No. [/quote] talking of which did you ever score yourself an old jazz bass? [quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1371060512' post='2109361'] The original post talked about an investment and I quote 'The idea is buy it for as close to 1k as possible then sell it in 15 years for 10k ;-) In 1999 I worked in Rose Morris in Denmark Street and sold a 58 P Bass for £3200.; I sold one for £7000 10 years later in another shop. In 2000 I worked in Two-5 in Denmark Street and sold a 57 Strat for £5,000 which I though was super expensive then. In 2008 NKR guitars sold one for £25,000 when I was working there. In 2006 when I worked in Regent Sounds in Denmark Street I sold a 1960 Jazz Bass for £10,000. In 2008 the exact same bass was sold in NKR guitars for £18000. Now those are what I call investments, but those margins are most likely to never be repeated again, guitars and huge margins have had their day. Saying that 70's stuff will go up accordingly is bizarre, did 70's stuff increase that much too, answer is no. The build quality is poorer, there are way more out there and they are not as desirable to collectors, and unfortunately collectors push up prices. You can still buy one for a grand if you look hard enough, you can still find a joker selling one at £3200. The market is so false now due to people misunderstanding why the right stuff goes up in value. Everything goes up though, so has late 70's gear. Petrol goes up, cans of beans etc. I cant believe a 60'sRI Jazz Bass is over £1700 these days, wtf?!!! People price vintage gear at silly prices, not always prices to sell. They hit and hope, because people have bought into a myth that may earn a few quid more than a crappy 2.5% ISA, but won't be what the original poster requested. [/quote] I think you maybe prove that NKR guitars are good at selling, if nothing else! But I do think it's daft that the new RI basses are over £1700 new - I don't understand why anyone would buy them, I tried the new 70's jazz (74ri??) and... it was... well it wasn't very good at all.

Two thoughts.... do you not think the pickups would look a bit more stable on two rails instead on one? and... isn't it refreshing to have a "sig bass" being something some pro actually wanted and was excited about rather than just a slightly different from stock bass?

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1371075655' post='2109651'] They normally go for around £700 on eBay. My mate got his for £680. They are good functional studio basses but they look way too '80s for gigging. [/quote] really?

hmmmm nice jazz bass he doesn't have too! and lots of high end bikes all of a sudden....

as with any bass you have to balance the pickups. [quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1371052751' post='2109201'] Regarding the tonal imbalance between the P and J on a typical PJ bass , it is an inherent problem , and a pet hate of mine , but some designs deal with it far better than others . Unfortunately , the ones that deal with it best tend to be pretty expensive . Two that spring to mind are the USA - made Lakland Bob Glaub PJ and the Yamaha 2024/25 Super BB's . The Lakland uses a specially designed for that particular PJ model linear humbucker in the Jazz position that seems pretty even in relation to the P pickup , and the J - style pickup on the Yamaha is so beefy it would match any Precision pickup . [/quote] mind you I'm sure you could get a set custom made for you that would do the same without the cost of a US Lakland or Yamaha 20xx!

have you just described the East U retro? or are you wanting to build something yourself? there was a load of guy on talkbass who designed a modular pickup- think it was vairable Z preamp, active blend, bass treble and mid sweep, and probably a few other options. TB11 http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f38/tb11-preamp-project-669517/

Go for something either dirt cheap now, or very original, or something very rare. Best thing is a combination of the three. That overwater original in the for sale section is cheapish, very original and fairly rare- but your guess is as good as mine that in 30 years time it will be worth much. Something like my JV Squier isn't really original (it's a fender for pete's sake) but it is pretty rare and is pretty cheap when compared to the less rare 70's and early 80's fenders of similar type. again... will it rise in price at all?

So a bit of background.... I have a Warwick streamer stage one - it's got a very clear top end and upper mids and also a big fat bottom end too. I wasn't happy with the tone so stuck in some barts (passive at first, sounded good) and the Glock 2 band. What did I think? I you like a clear transparent preamp this is good, not as much colour as say a aguilar or the MEC preamp- set flat it pretty much sounds the same in active and passive modes. It has a very powerful bass control... shelving at 30 or 40hz (can't remember) very powerful. It has a very very very high treble control - daftly high, so it doesn't boost the top end like most preamps do - in fact this isn't a bad thing as it adds more top end presence rather than hiss.... In passive mode it has a passive tone role off- which is quite a nice feature. so why did I rip it out of the bass after less thanr two months? well... this preamp didn't suit that bass. The low end was very powerfull but combined with the big bottom the bass has naturally to just add boom. But in a way that it sounded thin without any bass boost. The top end of the streamer and the glock also didn't get on - boosting at all just didn't make much effect and that it did didn't sound good. After weeks of just using it in passive mode it came out. So you didn't like it, would you use it again? I didn't like it on the streamer. But I would possibly use one again. All the time I was struggling with where they had stuck the voicing on the preamp I had two thoughts in my head- one the mid control would have been good. and two - this would sound epic on a jazz bass. The voicing would seem to match a more traditional bass sound - it's relativly uncoloured, pretty cheap and not a bad bit of kit on the right instrument....

tried the two band if that's a help?

[quote name='redstriper' timestamp='1370885849' post='2106921'] The clue's in the name [/quote] wow that's clever!

I'm trying to work out who's who!

[quote name='mart' timestamp='1370872801' post='2106641'] I've just put it up there to see what they say. [/quote] I got there first last night

Thing is according to the Warwick history PDF thing JD thumbs started in 1985... and this is july 1986. - it is odd compare it too another JD thumb... the bottom horn is two frets worth longer - where it joins the body looks a wee bit futher up towards the neck... but the top horn is more cut away but seems to be similar length- but not the same shape.... it's just an utterly different body shape - even the body isn't offset in the same way... would you expect the rear strap button to be dead centre? very odd - posted it on the warwick forums yet John?

Rasta on here traded me this old Aria thing, beaten to hell, different pups in, messy looking. sounded glorious. rather than selling it on i should have just had the frets put back on

I'll b in the mosh pit at the front WoT

mmmm nice looking! i do want to try an ACG

odd how they changed the look of them from the outside

this whole thing is utterly confused on the idea of what pop is. All the time, every decade you'll have good and interesting stuff being made. And you'll also have the popular mainstream stuff made to make money for the industry. Most bands will have nods to both and every so often you'll get something that either mixes to two to be great music and pop. Radiohead would be a modern example of that maybe - very successful, sell a lot - but still can go and record OK computer and then random should have been unsucessful stuff like Kid A. Every so often maybe you'll get a band who are pop and good and manage to hit a resonant frequency on society and culture... like the beatles did. To pull examples of good stuff from pre beatles and then someone say "oh but that's not pop" misses point or two I think.