The Burpster

Really impressed, although I think we should have a contest for the best name.... I'll start with 1. Pringray 2. Stincision.

[quote name='Stealth' timestamp='1360021958' post='1963826'] Why the "oh you dont wanna do that" comments from all in sundry when i suggest hacking holes (not literally) in a 77 P bass. The bass has a great sound maybe one and a half if you count rolling a bit of top off. But i want more so a J pickup or maybe MM in the bride position is what i want. So where do i take it to get a yop job done. Oh yeah and have the neck refinished too. [/quote] I'm not getting into the 'Oh you shouldnt do that to a vintage Fender' argument...... I have my own thoughts and I like you would doing this to an intsrument that I wanted to keep. As to where to get it done, I have one word for you SIMS. Martin and Rob will do a job for you that will surpass easily the QC of the original item. They may not be the cheapest but as you say a top job. Bob.

[quote name='shizznit' timestamp='1360023620' post='1963846'] Hmmm...I am not convinced the resale value of these basses will follow the same suit as the guitars. I have sold two high end PRS Custom 24's recently and didn't lose much money on either despite being in 9/10 condition. They will always be revered as a great electric guitar company, but when they dipped their fingers into amps and acoustics their wheels fell off. Their acoustics are pretty good, so are their amps, but there are other brands out there for less money that can do as good or better job. Hence the book depreciation on 2nd hand market for the acoustics and amps are not as good as the electrics. The guy I sold my 20th Anniversary CU24 to last year didn't even know that they make acoustics and amps and he has been playing PRS guitars for years! When I showed him the products on the PRS website he was chuffed...then I showed him the price list! Strange how he would spend thousands of his cash on their eclectic guitars, but not on anything else that they produce. I dunno if they entered those markets too late or simply just too expensive, but the only thing that still interests their customers are their electric guitars. Their new basses might make waves at first, but I fear that they won't be able to build a profile big enough to tempt customers to buy their brand over 100's of luthiers and common popular brands already out there with a strong and loyal customer base that could build a better bass for the same price or lower. At their retail price range, bassists will commonly turn to a private build. Guitar players don't do that. They will fork out £2500 for a Gibson Black Beauty Custom just because it's a Gibson, even though there are thousands out there like it and even conscience that there are better guitars out there for less money. PRS fall into that category too, but the effect hasn't happened for their acoustics and amps yet and probably never will. Maybe I am being pessimistic and I do hope that PRS will do a good job returning back to bass production because I am a fan of theirs, but they have been out that game for a while and didn't really give basses their full attention first time round. I hope they commit themselves to this in the long term. [/quote] Some good points here Shizz, Firstly resale values, I see mine as £1k notes. Some of them I paid more than that for and some less but as to loosing any more value that's unlikely. As to the wheels falling off? not sure I can agree with you there. Your points about the accoustics and amps are (IMO) being made way too soon to be that sure about the market. They simply dont produce the same numbers of these products as they do thier primary product range (guitars). The guitars when they first came out where seen as very expensive and exotic and only for 'boutique' players.... It took nearly a decade for the guitar range to really establish itself as a viable alternative to others out there. Both the accoustics and amps are up against really established market leaders that have their own established, and often devoted followers. I believe they are selling well just not in huge numbers. The 2ndhand value will settle down to what the guitar playing public are willing to pay. As with the basses they were about £2.4k retail and now change hands for about £1k and they have for the last 5 years so an established value irrespective of what the 'guide' says. Guitars outsell basses 10-1, and a geetard not wanting to spend more than 3s6d on an amp is historic. As to custom luthiers making as good, you are probably right, but speccing an instrument for a luthier to make is almost as difficult as making it in fact I would argue harder, because the luthier will make EXACTLY what you spec. Most players dont know what it is they want until they hear or feel it. That simply isnt possible when you are making a 'one off', besides you only have to look at the for sale section to see how many of these are for sale and mostly at a fraction of what was paid for them. I hope as do lots of others that PRS will bring out an SE bass (maybe based upon the GG or EB IV), and I'm sure that they will sell hand over fist as do thier SE guitars. The GG bass isnt really a cheap option, they have just opened up the client bass by offering ready made instruments to those that dont want to pay the premium for a Private Stock, which was the only way you could get your hands on one of these instruments before. I will seriously look at buying one os these GG basses but only after I have played one. Would I consider a PRS Amp..? yes I would but he doesnt do bass amps. As to accoustics my guitarist has tried one and it was by far the best he has ever played. His problem was the £6.5k price tag, simply more than he wanted to pay. He bought a Martin but hates how hard it is to play compared to the PRS....... He is now looking at the ne SE PRS accoustic..... Writng on the wall..? I think so.

Oh and the bit I forgot to add was that Paul's design brief for the 2nd incarnation of basses ( the EB IV on which this new one is heavily based) was that it should be an amalgamation of a Stingray and a Jazz but with PRS build quality and woods. Certainly the EB IV hits those tags and, the new GG is pretty much the same instrument but with new electrics and for some reason a new bridge.

As I own 7 PRS basses I feel probably the best qualified to assassinate the new basses....? I have picked up and payed a GG 5 and it was truly a fantastic instrument as with any Private Stock I have had the privilege to be near. To address some of your queries/points. Set necks in a deep pocket is a firm belief that Paul has that, this area of a guitar is critical to its tone. I would struggle to argue that point, however I also prefer bolt on necks and have avoided some of the earlier PRS basses because of that design characteristic. Why not paint the neck...? Purely choice I guess however, there is a point to his finish, in some players like a high gloss finish others prefer a matted finish, with his finish you can (light gauge) wire wool the finish and get that non shiny feel without fooking up a paint finish. Price...? Your guess is as good as mine but I have recently seen PS GG4s going for £3.5 in the US so who knows. The last bass that was available (the EB IV and my fave) was retail US$2600 and UK £2400 so if any come over here I guess that would be about right. Are they any good? This one is an undoubted yes, but they won't float everyone's boat for sure. Paul learned a lot from making basses in at they do not sell in large numbers and that bass players are fussy buggers......(indeed I include myself in hat comment). His first commercially available basses beamed renowned as a 'one trick pony' and he smarted a bit at that. His second attempt (the EBIV) was by far his best and these are superb instruments and why I love them. Tonally they can be quite different depending on wood combinations but all are fantastically made. I will make some enquiries with World Guitars as to the details of this new animal as I am very tempted, but I also agree that an SE model is way overdue and have emailed them to that effect several times. My guess is that unless the GG basses sell well hey won't justify tooling up for an SE version.

It's an Ovation for sure, but not sure which model. It looks like a fore runner of the Viper that I had.... Or a copy thereof....

I know I have been quiet for a while, and certainly very quiet in the build or pimping departments. I am about to rectify that situation though, as I have a new PRS project on the go. Anyone that's been around a while will know that I have sold my soul to Mr Smith, but that doesn't mean that his design cannot be improved upon. I have for some years wanted a full Bartolini electrics equipped PRS, to add to the Bart preamped PRS pickuped one that I created several years ago. However this cated a quandary in that Bart pups are a different shape and size to the std PRS single coils. The quandary was that I would have to find a suitable donor guitar to have re-routed and finished. Well late on last year I came across 2 EB IVs on eBay and having secured them I ended up with what I understood was a 10 top inlayed model and what I thought was a CAR solid painted model, this was to be the donor originally..... Having bought them though and getting them home and fettling with them, the CAR one turned out to be NIRVANA for me, a translucent red wash on a Swamp ash body and maple/maple neck. This bass is 1 serial number different from my fist and original PRS bass of the same spec and this was was bought here in the UK with a full history.... There is no way I could do anything to this one other than set it up and string it with Chromes...... Yes it is as fantastic as my first one and, despite not liking red guitars I have fallen for it and absolutely love it....... This left me with ( what should've been / could've been) a 10 top finished in blue. Well it was a pretty guitar when I got it home but it has had a shady past. It still had a PRS preamp in it but had been rewired by 5 yr old following a dubious refinish job. Sadly the guy I had bought it from had been a bit duped by a dealer in the US from whom he'd bought it a few years ago. My (educated) guess is that it was a 10 top that had been either really used or abused (more likely) by a rich kid and then re finished on a budget by a scrupulous dealer and then shifted on eBay. I mean who in their right mind would repaint a PRS body (relatively well) and then put it back together with rusty components that damage the paint finish.....? So a bit of soul searching later I decided to take the original PRS parts out of it and store them and order up new Bart parts from the US. I then took the body and neck (neck had dinks in the face of the headstock probably from string ends) to Sims to see if the project had legs. Well after a few emails and then a visit to Kent the bits were left there for Martin and Rob to do their stuff. So here I am now with the finished parts back and ready to do the rest of the work to. I won't dilute the surprise of what I got the guys to do as I want you to judge it first hand when completed. I have most of the components I need to complete the assembly but need to do the bridge which will be done next week. Once I have his done I will complete the build and put some pics up here. I hope you will be as impressed as I am by the work done by Sims, but I genuinely hope the Bart set up works as I hope it will do......

Clover Marleaux Vigier Oh and of course PRS (but that would only be Private stock as that is all that is commercially available now!)

In my experience Roqsolid are actually better than OEM Mesa and Ampeg covers. Stronger, more padding more durable..... No I'm not on commission, but sadly you get what ya pay for....

I needed some Barts for my latest project (PRS of course) and this was the only place I could get them from for sensible money (actually the only place I could get the options that I wanted AND they were in stock) PLUS they had some offers on and I got a spare D-tuner.... The service was FANTASTIC they sent the packet 1st class not parcel and as such didnt attract any chrages WOW...... (that being said I would've been quite happy to pay legit charges as I couldnt get the PUP options I wanted here in the UK). Best bit was it took less than a week to come from ordering.... Cannot recommend these guys enough.

.....or you can just wait two years and send it off to HG Thor who is renowned as probably the best as this as its his whole business. Oh and incidently Jaco played his work. As I have a neck done by him I can vouch for the his work and the results. http://basschat.co.uk/topic/112736-prs-eb-iv-hg-thor-fretless/page__hl__hg%20thor

Cor blimey, saw the title of this thred and thought for a sec that Heckler & Koch had expanded their production base.....

Got my 11 year old girl a Daisy Rock last year changed bridge and tuner, shielded the cavity and its now very credible bass in its own right. Hoping she will play it the school band this year, it will certainly cut though.......

I only use Chromes - tried most of them on the PRSs and Chromes sound awesome. I have changed from 45-100s to 50-105s as they seem to have more depth of tone (and hold drop D better).... The big secret (if there is one) with flats is dont change them too often - flats seems to get better when they are no longer stretching. If you play everyday you can get at least a year out of them. Rounds (if your after a zingy sound which is the main reason for using them) go 'dead' very quickly. Im my opine of course, its hardly a definative thing tone.

Let me know if your stuck, I'm only at Bingham and can check it out for you if needed.....

[quote name='eude' timestamp='1336146884' post='1641702'] I wouldn't worry dude, we're all pals on here [/quote] Indeed, I'm too used to coming at stuff from the Mod angle, and Ooooooh so many times folks dont read what I actually put - but then this is typical of forums where you only see what is typed...... Anyhoo, I am going to order me a PF 500 and a PF115HE...... I can't resist much longer.

[quote name='eude' timestamp='1336146489' post='1641692'] Juan Alderete from Racer X and now The Mard Volta is using them on tour, 2 stacks with each PF500 going the matching 2x10 and 1x15 cabs. I reckon they'll probably work best with those cabs I love the look, just not ever really been a fan of the Ampeg tone, at least the solid state version of it, but hey, that's just me If I was you, I'd give the head another go with a bit more time and perhaps some more suitable cabs. Good luck! Eude [/quote] Maybe I should've just put that instead, then I wouldnt be missconstrued...... Thanks Eude.

[quote name='wally8' timestamp='1336136040' post='1641410'] Am i classed as one of these idiots? [/quote] Nowhere have I said you are an idiot - Unless you are one of the music shop assistants to which I am referring in that part of my post. Please read it again slowly and you'll see that paragraph refers to music shops, and hence the next paragraph is started with "But back to your thread!"

[quote name='wally8' timestamp='1336121120' post='1641083'] I didnt slag it off too hard did i? Just that i wernt that impressed as others have also said. I'm really pleased how many people have joined and given there opinion, thanks guys. Humm, if the opportunity arises again, perhaps i just might trial one with a decent cab. It's a shame it seems most of the shops now stock cheapy stuff as well as a truckload of guitar stuff and we bassist have to travel far and wide to find specialist shops. [/quote] Well maybe not too hard but, hard enough to put some of our younger viewers off the idea..... I can only find a couple of responses that agree with you and the vast majority seem to say that with a decent cab they are between good/reliable to fantastic......... does that not say something to you? It does to me, I shall get one ordered. As to shops, dont get me on a rant.... I've seen some fantastic gear slagged off by (IMHO) idiots that should know better, and seen very occasionally really good advice and support. The days of staff in shops ACTUALLY knowing much and in some cases anything about their products is I'm afraid long gone, and this doesnt just apply to the music business. But back to your thread, Ampeg have been in the business pretty much since it started, and they are not design dinsoaurs. I find it impossible to believe that they would release an amp (and certainly keep it in circulation) that does not undergo extensive testing and development before its released. Ask yourself this... "would they really make an amp that farts with a 'ray and then try to sell in the US where most of all the 'rays are owned....?" [i](......sorry, just read your original post again and its a Sterling that you auditioned with not a 'ray, but you get my gist...!)[/i]