LukeFRC

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1355093522' post='1894039'] was being facetious about the chunk of chrome. I'm a Stingray devotee, P seems a little flimsy and tinpot after playing a Stingray for a while. A appreciate the qualities of a good Jazz but just can't get on with them myself. Sound and ergonomics of a 'Ray is what and all I need. (Nothing wrong with a P, classic design and I have two, but improved with the Stingray). [/quote] and again with the G&L L1000

When I was looking I asked in my local shop- they recomended the Fender Mustang 1 as the best option - I can see why. I thought about it and picked up a line6 wee thing from gumtree and would spend my cash on something with valves if I ever learn to play enough to warrant it

Hmm so this has turned into the whole procreation Vs' bass owning debate!

[quote name='GreeneKing' timestamp='1354640521' post='1888574'] Black hardware, ACG03 pre-amp and a 10 coil ACG MC5 pickup at the bridge with a same sized humbucker at the neck (allowing an upgrade to two MC5's later if so desired - I suspect it will be). [/quote] you know you will... just go for it! (baring in mind I don't have a clue how much more they cost!)

if it's new just take it back to be fixed

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1355070177' post='1893620'] When I left school I had three ambitions ; to buy a Wal bass , to save up a thousand quid and to get my hands on the girl who worked behind the cheese counter at the local supermarket . [/quote] cos she was a looker or cos you wanted cheaper cheese?

has this topic been bumped from 1992?

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1355051045' post='1893276'] Have you tried the Warwick in question? Is it definitely more suitable for the music you want to play than the JV? I don't presume to know anyone else's financial situation, but there does seem to be a point from what I read in threads like this when there is no more money available for music gear. Why? You obviously had money to buy gear in the past. What's wrong with saving slowly in anticipation of finding the bass of your dreams? Put something aside every month and then when something you like turns up you can buy it and compare against your other basses in your own time before making a decision. I think that the minimum number of basses for the gigging musician who likes to swap their gear about but wants to avoid disappointment is 3. A main bass that you use most of the time. A second bass that you'd be be happy to use if the main bass was unavailable. A trading bass. Then if you see something you think you like you can sell or trade the 3rd bass for the new one. [/quote] good answer, thanks [quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1355061249' post='1893457'] Sorry, but what is your point? Of course if things took a turn for the worst and it was the choice of basses and the roof over our heads the basses would go. Isn't that completely obvious? If you want more basses then go find a way to make it happen instead of bitching on here about it in some sort of attempt to make me feel guilty for any success that I have worked hard to achieve. [/quote] some folk don't get how you make choices spending priorities and that defines how much you have to spend. No doubt if I ever have kids less money will be free. I really don't get people on the net trying to double guess how folk make their decisions. We're lucky enough to have on this forum folk who are struggling pros, old retired fellas, school kids, students, folk at the top of their profession, unemployed and everything. I really don't see the point on making any comment on how this relates to the amount of basses someone has at all. Like you say neepheid you work hard and spend it how you see fit. No doubt there will be some student in your town who just about scrapes togerher enough for a £30 bass on gumtree, and also a managing director of some oil rig firm who can drop £50k on a vintage fender. Who cares too much where anyone is between that?

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1355042682' post='1893171'] Sorry neepheid, but you sort of prove my point. Your description of your situation sounds really quite well off compared to an awful lot of other folks. Are you trying to say that if your financial situation went to the dogs you would not consider moving on some of your collection ? [/quote] i don't think that was his point. It would be possible to have two folks on min. Wage, in a cheap house with no kids, low out goings, no drink or fags, shop in lidl and have a reasonable amount of free cash for something like basses. Equally you could have an income of 100k, 6 kids, drink a fair bit and live a high rent area and shop in saimsburys and be really hard up for cash.

[quote name='DarkHeart' timestamp='1354996962' post='1892876'] Darkstar its looking good in orange/red. Crushed black pearl pickguard would be my choice, darker rather than lighter than the body. [/quote] yeah that would look good - in natural light it's more of a fiesta red with balls, i've gone for a vintage white guard for a more classic look.

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1354976196' post='1892522'] [thread hijack] what are the best type of spray paints to use on bodies? I fancy a white/tort number...[/thread hijack] [/quote] Best for what? Speed? Finish? or Price? Acrylic/poly paints will dry quick and hard. Nitrocellulose will be easier to touch up/sand back/polish but will take a while to dry. I didn't have the money for nitrocellulose so using nitro-alkyd which seems to have the benifits of both- its easy to apply and soft enough to sand back but not as evil fumes wise and not as long to dry. By nitro-alkyd I do mean Molotow graffiti paints - which are great and only £3.50 or so for a can. Cos it's made for graffiti it has great coverage and doesn't run which is nice - for a matt finish it would almost be impossible to get a bad finish - gloss.... we shall see, put first coat of clear coat on today....

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1354993648' post='1892823'] Now I'm confused . I think JD ( Bimingham U.K luthier) did make at least one Basschatter a Thumb Bass style bass , but I have never heard of any Warwick Thumb signature model except Jack Bruce's . Do you know what the difference between this JD Thumb and a regular Warwick Thumb are ? Are they useful to you or is it desirable just for rarity value ? [/quote] so a bit off topic.... Nothing at all to do with JD the UK fella. Not so much a signature model but designed for him way back. How it differs depends which era of regular warwick thumb you are talking about! Quoted from the Unofficial History of Warwick Bass (Novello, Huygen) PDF [quote]THUMB JD 1985-86 The Thumb is the first bass designed by Warwick, if we exclude the Nobby Meidel. The initials JD on the first Thumb represents the initials of an American bassist, who played an active part in the creation of the Thumb. (John Davis) John Davis is a U.S. military serving in Germany. John was a professional player and he was quite „busy‟ on the stage. Because of this he wanted a bass that was small and easy to play. He heavily influenced the shape of the bass resulting in the Thumb as we all know it now. First the neck through neck is made with 7 stripse of wood instead of 5 on the Streamers. The foils are separated by 3 edges of Wenge and Bubinga (the latter is larger than the 2 sheets in Maple / Cherry of Streamer). The neck provides 26 frets like Nobby Meidel, and the neck is concealed from the front through the body. (a feature that will be reused in the near future with the Streamer Stage II and the Dolphin Pro I) In practice, the neck-through thins considerably when it enters the body, when it is applied to a block of Bubinga. This block houses the pickups and the bridge. Bubinga is also used on the wings of the body. The neck is slightly wider at the nut than the Stage 1: 40.5 mm against 40.0 mm nut, both measured at the 24th fret instead of 60.0 mm. For pickups the J + J configuration is chosen, however, the positioning of the pickups is not standard, because the bridge pickup is placed sideways, with the aim of increasing the blow of high strings and the growl of low ones. Apart from some details, this first JD has all the specifications as a contemporary Thumb. In terms of sound, the Warwick goes firmly in the path already taken by the Streamer. The use of Bubinga wood instead of Cherry makes the Thumb a much naughtier cousin, resulting in a much harder sound. Low midrange growl at his maximum improves the overall sound with great projection in the mix. Playing this bass hard accentuates the mids even more, resulting in a auditory mix like few others. In short, the Thumb sound is sort of a Jazz Bass sounding very hungry. The Warwick Thumb soon becomes the Warwick par excellence, helping to give some visibility or face to the brand.[/quote] Note in the comparisons to the streamer they are refering to a wenge neck/cherry body streamer (stage one)

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1354991652' post='1892779'] You could , when your finances allow , get JD to make you a Thumb to your dream spec . He is a fantastic builder and a wonderful bloke too , and considering the superb quality of his work , very reasonably priced . A Precision Bass is a pretty essential tool for any bass player in my book , and a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush , as the saying goes . This bass is a good 'un , whereas the Thumb represents a gamble . Ideally ( stating the obvious ) you would add to your existing basses rather than trade one for the new addition . Hold your fire a bit and you could still do that in the not- too -distant future . [/quote] sorry a Warwick "JD Thumb" bass- they were originally named after some american player called John D-something-or-another

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1354990346' post='1892749'] You'd have trouble playing this without an upright: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwI0gbGEyuI&feature=youtube_gdata_player"]https://www.youtube....be_gdata_player[/url] [/quote] and this http://youtu.be/Zp4_r8_MMho - electric doesn't sound right, ive tried

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1354984701' post='1892664'] Good basses that you like / love are not that easily come by , and if you like your P Bass then I would keep hold of it and make picking up a Thumb a long term project . There are loads of them about and you might see a bargain if you wait long enough. You will almost certainly miss your JV Squier , and you might not be able to sell it for as much as you might hope to in the current depressed market . [/quote] agreed I prob wouldn't get as much as I might hope for it. And yeah would probably miss it- the thing I didn't put in the OP was that the thumb in question is a JD thumb so not as common as a normal one- though not as uncommon as a 1st ed JV squier

use threaded inserts and bolts to fasten the neck rather than screws - that way you can take the neck on and off till the cows come home and not worry about it!

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1354983550' post='1892639'] I think a huge amount comes down to available finances. The poorer you are the more ruthless you need to become with one in/one out etc. I think a good test is seeing really how much, if at all, you actually play a particular bass. Individually we are the only ones who really know about how our finances and situation stand, and whether it's reasonable to buy/sell/swap or whatever. To be honest it amazes me how well off a lot of people must be, to be able to own so many basses. [/quote] Yeah, I think if I had the money to own both for a while it would be easier. Buy the JD thumb, play them for a few months, sell the one that Idon't like as much. As it is not much money.

Short question: How do folk decide to change basses, or sell ones that they love? I don't mean move ones on that you don't really care about - but ones that you still like but want something else? That's the short question. The longer one is... The second bass I ever played was an older friend's 1992 Warwick Thumb 5 string. I had recently been shown my first ever song on another friends bass (a 6 string oddly enough) and the friend with the Thumb got this very expensive and wonderful looking and smelling bass and gave it to me and told me to show what I could do, then gave me some tips and techniques. That was the start of me playing bass. And I've just had something about those early warwick's ever since. I picked up a Status shark and learned, started playing in bands, bought a P bass cos it was so so so much better for the band. About this time I sold the shark and got one of Warwickhunt's streamer stage one's- amazing to own a Neck through Warwick. Over time that SS1 got swapped for another one (my main bass today) and the P bass got upgraded to the JV P bass I have now- the best Fender type bass I have ever played bar none. I went through a phase of trying out other stuff, jazz basses, T40 and a few others, mostly they came and went quite quickly- picked up a jazz in a trade recently that's a keeper though and great fun to play. But still part of me wants a Thumb, it's the one bass left on my "would like to have" list. and I've found one- a nice looking one, at a good (but not amazing) price- but (and herein lies the rub) to buy it I would have to sell something. The SS1 is going no where, I need my amp, and the jazz and my Yamaha SG combined wouldn't make enough. Which leaves the JV. Which I love as a bass- but on the other hand selling it would let me get the Thumb. Do I play the JV much anymore? -not really. Would I cope without a P bass? Eventually. Do I want to sell it? not ideally. So all this is playing over in my head, do I start dropping the price I'ld ask for the JV in order to free up cash for the Thumb - or do I just forget it and keep what afterall is an exceptional bass. So all that going around my head - and this thread isn't really hopefully about me and my situation, it's not a "what should I do" type question - more - how do you decide?

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1354887809' post='1891643'] The problem with Sandberg as a brand is that they haven't really got any big name or high -profile muso players using them , and when it comes to bass values , rightly or wrongly , that makes a very real difference . Indeed , who plays what brand you are trying to sell makes a big difference to whether you can sell a bass at all , let alone for what price . I haven't played one yet , but these Sandbergs look very good quality basses from what I have seen , and all it would take is for a star player like Flea / Geddy Lee /Justin Chancellor / him out of Coldplay ( spot the odd one out ) to start playing one to launch them into the big time . It's all about marketing strategy . Very few brands sell well without conspicuous pro player association , and that is something that will always be in the Stingrays favour . People still buy them because Flea used to play them over twenty years ago . [/quote] That and their marketing is just a bit odd. Like from what folk say- quality wise there is little that touches them in their price bracket - but they don't themselves tell you that! The stuff that looks like fenders are always going to be half popular - but looking at the range the basic stuff looks the most interesting - and from my guestimation the pups are in the MM sweet spot - but they don't say that - or tell you much.

free pickup, from Shetland

In researching JV Squiers on ebay (and if it was worth listing mine) I found this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Precision-Bass-60s-Roadworn-JV-Squire-Fullerton-White-/281035227943?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item416f014327 which I think wins awards for the most meantions of types of Bass it might be.... original 1960's? Roadworn series? JV Squier? Fullerton? can we think of any fender types that are well renowned that he's missed?

Vintage white pick guard bought!

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1354612692' post='1887928'] [/quote] You know they can programme computers to act as a Bilbo-bot in threads such as this, making post such as that..... not that we all know what you're going to post or anything!

[quote name='2pods' timestamp='1354897956' post='1891818'] Once upon a very long time ago, when I was just getting out of gigging and selling my stuff, I advertised a Ashdown mini stack (ABM500, and 2 x Mini 4x8) on here. A regular (as was I and still am now)came to see it with a view to swopping me a "brand new" Ibanez SGR500 plus a little loot. At least thats what he told me, even specifying the shop he'd bought it from. It was just a pity I had been looking at the same bass the previous week on ebay for a very cheap price from Wales.....and I knew his ebay handle. I was suprised to say the least that he'd try and pull this, but just said "No Thanks". Life's too short, but I have wanted to get it off my chest for years. Luckily, all the other guys I've sold or bought from on here have been great ! [/quote] there's the odd one on here, you see a distinctive bass go cheap on eBay/gumtree, and then next week some fella on here has to offload his fave bass ever (for the 3rd time this year)