Bigwan

I spoke to Mike at Iceni about these. They're going to be stupid money in the UK by the sounds of things...

I know where there was an Ashdown ABM 500 watt 4x10 combo going for £400 if you don't mind a drive up north of the border to pick it up. PM me if you might be interested and I'll see if I can get hold of the guy...

[quote name='Russ' post='52695' date='Aug 30 2007, 11:31 AM']Lakland 55-02 with the Basslines pickups. Nails the MM tone, has 19mm string spacing at the bridge, and has a fair bit more versatility than a regular, single-pickup MM.[/quote] My No.1 choice also but I would refer you to my comment above... [quote name='Bigwan' post='52686' date='Aug 30 2007, 11:16 AM']The ones I can think of (without going custom) are MTD imports (kingston and heir), Lakland 5502 (out of my current pricerange), mid-90's ATKs...[/quote] Well outside my £400 budget at the minute! Would you flog your ATK Russ?

Hi guys, Just looking other people's input here. I'm looking into a budget/mid-priced 5 string at the minute. I'd ideally like something that sounds like a Musicman 5 but with wider string spacing (19mm if possible). I sold off my MM5 I had because I couldn't get along with the string spacing. Can anyone think of something that fits the bill? I was really excited when I heard that Ibanez were re-releasing the ATK range, until I heard that the spacing on the new 305 is 16.5mm! The mid-90's version is 19mm but they're as rare as rocking horse poo! The ones I can think of (without going custom) are MTD imports (kingston and heir), Lakland 5502 (out of my current pricerange), mid-90's ATKs... Looking to stay around/under the £400 mark. Anyone think of anything else? Cheers Ian

Last night I lost an auction for an Ibanez BTB1205E. Not usually the sort of bass I'd be interested in but I'm on the lookout for a cheap and reasonably good quality 5 string so thought I'd give it a rattle. Was the highest bidder with 5 seconds to go, and was pipped at 2 seconds with a bid £1 higher than mine. My question is how can I be beaten by £1 if I was only able to increase my bids in increments of £10, or is it anything goes once the reserve is met?

It would be 5 string i'd look for, especially the J+MM pickup version, but they seem pretty rare in the UK. Also there seems to have been a version some time ago with wider 5 string spacing (19mm rather than 17.5mm on the 405 and 16.5mm on the new 305). That'd be my first choice, but the 17.5mm I could maybe live with. If you're ever selling the 405 Russ give me a shout!

Anyone played the 5 string yet? It's tight spacing but for that money I'd maybe put up with it if the B was any good (I sold a 'Ray 5 because of the string spacing, but if it had cost me 350 nuggets I think I would have kept it!)

Looks like alder, poplar or cherry to me... but with that neck it's only going to sound like one wood - WENGE! I love wenge... As Mr. Shuker says, it's the King of tonewoods.

Yup - rereleased. Look great and great reviews so far. A stingray at 1/3 of a 'ray new price. Only problem with them as far as I can see is with the 5 string versions string spacing. I'd love to get my hands on one of these to try...

[quote name='lwtait' post='50078' date='Aug 24 2007, 12:38 PM']Thats not [i]too[/i] bad, but theres no way I'd ever buy it.[/quote] Especially not at that price!!!

I always keep Rick's auctions in my favourites on my PC. Every so often he sells something really special and it's worth checking every time I'm online just to see what he has! I used to have his phone number and he's a real nice guy, overwater and swr fan. The sort of guy if he had something he thought you'd be interested in he'd give you a shout before going to the 'bay. And he's just down the road too Steve! That's a pisser...

IMHO they're not in the same league as Warwick! But then I've never played a good MIM Fender and have always bought Fender clones as they do the job better for the money (again IMO)...

Hey Ped, That's a nice one. I've always been curious about Vigier basses but I've never been able to get my hands on one. What's the string spacing like on it? Looks a bit tighter than your Bacchus 5's!

I've just refitted a set of EMGs to my Corvette at 18v with a BT concentric preamp and it sounds like the dogs danglys with the bass boosted a wee bit. I find the EMGs don't distract from the 'sound of wood' at all. The EMG BT pre is clever as you can select the boost/cut freq of the treble pot using wee selector switches on the pcb. Maybe this would be the sort of thing you need. Boost the bass a bit, set the appropriate freq for the treble pot and trim out the noise you're having trouble with. I love the sound of this bass, it's the best sounding Warwick I've played, but they do have a specific sound which is quite a way from a jazz bass (a long way from my Lakland JO4). If a pre of some description doesn't sort you out then you might have to put the Warwick on the block...

Well done that man - as I live in Northern Ireland I have virtually zero chance of playing bass gear that I'd be interested in buying, so most of my purchases are over t'internet. If I hadn't been talked into keeping my Ashdown ABM 1x10 combo I'd be very interested in one of these (I'd already done the whole research phase of the purchase, which is why I pointed you in the Lowdown 110 direction - it's what I was going to buy!)...

For me there's no comparison - I wouldn't consider 5 string musicman (musicmen?) basses as the string spacing is too tight for me. Having sat down a few years ago at the gallery and A-B-C'd a US Sadowsky, 2 Moon 5 Jazzes, a Lakland JO5, a Marcus Miller 5, a USA dlx Jazz V and every other 5 in the place (including 2 Sei 5ers and quite an old Shuker 5), there was nothing that could touch the Lakland JO5 in any price range. I even preferred it to the Sadowsky 5, which although s/h was almost double the price of a new JO. As to what OutToPlayJazz sats about a lakland DJ, it's the one lakland model I've never played but I'm surprised that the experience was a negative one. The only Lakland I don't like is the hollowbody - but hollowbody basses aren't for me anyway. Just my tuppence worth... I'm at the penny counting stage of a JO5 purchase... Next one to appear here will have my name on it (if I'm quick enough!).

So lighten up on the string guages to get less tension!

Skyline JO5 is the way to go. Period.

As Rick Turner says - "too much shielding is just about enough"!

Err - I've just fitted a MIM control plate to my JO and it isn't an exact match (close, but where the plate meets the pickguard there is a slight difference). However - the fender plate replaced a factory fit J-retro, so maybe the factory fit standard plate is the same as a fender...

It could have one of those pxb lightbulb fuses in the crossover. Could explain it...