Kiwi

welcome aboard hope you hang around for a bit

Someone was spam link baiting and I've deleted all their posts. It's often being done by real people for internet marketing companies and its going to happen more as the forum gets higher rankings on google unfortunately.

[quote name='YouMa' post='413783' date='Feb 19 2009, 12:12 AM']Im with you dude but i think the whole reason i play so well is because i have sort of bought into a dream,so many legends have started with workhorse fenders ,the old mojos a good fuel for good playing. Dont worry though if i get rich ill get a 62 jazz and a fodera,you can keep which ever wins the sound off im sure we will both go home happy.[/quote] I'll be keeping an eye on your posts in the gear porn forum then... I wouldn't compare a 62 jazz to a fodera though, they're dramatically different instruments. I have a 65 jazz with me at the moment and I really like it as a bass. Its lovely and warm and benign. But I don't know at the moment that its worth the asking price. The nostalgia isn't that relevant to me.

[quote name='YouMa' post='413760' date='Feb 18 2009, 11:37 PM']With old fenders and things i think its more of a spiritual thing. My uncle derek had a 62 strat that he never played it was imported from a guy who lived just outside nashville when i picked it up it sounds stupid but i just though about all the guys who played it and the gigs they played,when i wasnt even a twinkle in my teenage fathers eyes.[/quote] I think that's fair comment. If anyone buys a vintage Ferrari, the astronomical price tag is justified by the history. That kind of reflects on what kicked off the whole preCBS Fender thing in the first place, namely nostalgia and affluent baby boomers. However how much is that history worth? Bass players are considered by many luthiers to be more open minded than guitarists but where does the line between open mindedness and gullibility lie?

I think the thing to bear in mind is that if you want "the best" then someone out there is going to persuade you they're giving it to you and ask for a huge amount of money in return. Part of the mystique of Fodera comes from the exclusivity, there aren't enough instruments around for everyone to try and form a consensus. In such situations, the rumour tends to form the consensus and that can be augmented by over excited individuals who have managed to save enough to buy the instrument and want to justify their expenditure. The hype feeds itself in these situations. Its a very clever and cunning psychological marketing strategy based on a premise of exclusivity, aspiration and added value. Try before you buy otherwise don't believe the hype. They're definitely nice instruments but...how much are you prepared to pay for "x" improvement in quality? I would love for BGM to do a blind test of a reissue 62 Fender Jazz against a preCBS 62 Fender Jazz against a 20 year old Jazz bass (which is what preCBS Fenders were when the whole nostalgia thing originally kicked off in the 80's). Even if you noticed a difference, would you be prepared to pay £4000 more for the improvement? What are you buying for your money? Bragging rights? Have you looked at how much it costs in insurance alone to OWN a 62 Jazz? (All rhetorical questions, I might add)

I look at something like that with so many drivers as the work of the devil. I find it difficult to believe that the transient attack will be as crisp and clean as a single driver.

Me too, I forgot to mention that we had to drop the XLR output in the end as there wasn't room for it and there wasn't really a lot of justification for it at the end of the day. But to have the bass fully powered off the MIDI cable will be something! I'm going to take one of the Celinder Jazz basses up with me on Saturday for Jon to compare to the jazz basses he's already made.

The aesthetics are a matter of personal taste, the Beez Elite is the sexiest single cut I've ever seen. If someone considers a fender or musicman their ideal bass then it stands to reason that they probably won't see much value in a Fodera. I personally think they sound a little dry although the necks are reputedly super stable as they're glued up and left to settle in for 2-3 years before being used in an actual bass. I've toyed with the idea of owning a Fodera in the past but there are a lot of other basses out there which are nearly as good and the difference isn't worth £2000 extra to me, personally.

[quote name='dood' post='412777' date='Feb 18 2009, 10:05 AM']For real? ;o) I haven't heard from him very much at all this year! Think I have had about 5 mails total! lol lol[/quote] Well I hadn't heard much from him either until the last few months. Had to call him usually because he doesn't like the way emailing sucks up so much time. So I'm guessing he doesn't do it unless absolutely necessary because I'm still waiting for him to email me a couple of shots of the finished bass which he says are on his camera.

[quote name='basswesty' post='412724' date='Feb 18 2009, 09:11 AM']Oh, how true is that. There is sooooo much tone from [b]how[/b][i][/i] you play a fender. Its not just about plugging a playing.[/quote] Are you seriously suggesting that Fenders are the only passive jazz/precision type designs that are capable of being dynamic?

Alesis Quadraverb, its a little dated but otherwise there's nothing wrong with them. You can often pick the originals up for less than the price of an effects pedal! I've even seen one sell on Ebay for £30.

Thats one of the nicest single cut designs I've seen since the Fodera Beez Elite. Who made it?

[quote name='chris_b' post='412239' date='Feb 17 2009, 05:20 PM']Fenders are cheap, plentiful, can be easily replaced and bounce when your roady drops them. If I was on a tour with dozens of people milling around back stage I wouldn't take my Wal![/quote] Fender Jazz and Precisions are generally accepted as an industry standard and have been for a loooong time.

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='411757' date='Feb 17 2009, 10:11 AM']Have you owned a fender copy CK? If not, you've done well to avoid their designs for so long.[/quote] I had a Fender copy as my first bass for a year and then lasted for the next 16 years without ever owning another Fender inspired instrument. At least until I had a purple, custom graphite necked jazz made in 2002. I'm currently mulling over the purchase of my first Fender but will give myself until Sunday to make a decision. The Celinders are hard to beat as workhorses.

[quote name='matski' post='411894' date='Feb 17 2009, 12:38 PM']Just to add some more info: I own a Cutlass I which is dated as Sept 1983 on the heel of the neck - however it is a little different to yours... It is not 'string through body' and has a 4-bolt neck.[/quote] Most Cutlass basses were made with this neck fixing. Whats the serial number on yours? Is the neck capable of low action? [quote name='matski' post='411894' date='Feb 17 2009, 12:38 PM']The I is the 'StingRay' Cutlass, the II is the 'Sabre' Cutlass innit.[/quote] Yes, thats correct.

[quote name='JPJ' post='411851' date='Feb 17 2009, 12:07 PM']Just make sure your digi cam is fully charged that you have plenty of space in your photobucket account. I'm not saying that we are desparate for finished pictures of this baby, but it would be such a shame if you were attacked by a basschat lynch mob so soon after taking delivery of your new bass. Remember, we [u]KNOW[/u] where Peterborough is [/quote] LOL, I'd better make sure the camera battery pack is fully charged then...

I've never owned a Fender, in 23 years of playing. Other basses have done the job better.

OK Jon says the wiring has been completed and the bass will be ready for collection this weekend!!! He's left the finish matt for now because he didn't want to mark the gloss finish while he was working on the electrics. But it will be glossed up later in the week. He's also going to try and finish both guitar bodies for me this week so that (hopefully) I can take them back with me as well. It'll be like bloody christmas at my place on Sunday with various guitar parts and stuff to play around on. Growing up is overrated.

Status Stealth II 5 string headless is the only bass thing I've still got a genuine hankering for. All my other bass buttons have been pushed. Outside of bass: 1980's Fender Concert (although the reissues look nice too) My strat (still being finished by Mr Shuker) My headless guitar (body is still being made by Mr Shuker) Roland JV1080 synth with the vintage expansion card Roland V-bass Roland TDK drum kit However the reality is that in the current economic climate I'd be a fool to pay for these while the job front is still so uncertain. In any case, I'm pretty much done unless someone ends up making some lightweight wedge bass cabs before I go out and buy all the tools and wood myself.

Love your demos, very early 80's disco and RnB influence. You've definitely got a sound forming. Do you have any tracks that are a little faster or more driven?

We played Boreham House in Chelmsford last night, ironically its very near an independent day school where I've been doing some planning work recently so I'm familiar with the area. We arrived anticipating a Gherkin-esque nightmare load in as we'd been informed (and charged for) that there was a 3-4 min walk from where we were parked to where the venue was. There was also no band changing area supplied but we had a table amongst the guests. Turns out the walk was more like 1 min and was down 8 steps. The percussionist and guitarist were away as well and we had a dep on guitar. We got there on time only to be told we couldn't load in for another 45 mins so we went to the pub across the road to wait. Then when we came back we had to wait another 30 mins so we decided to unload the PA and gubbins anyway and at least get it outside the marquee so we could shift it inside with relatively little hassle. We did that, we set up OK and sort of hung around on stage for the next hour and a half because there was no green room for us. We'd had contact with the venue organiser and it seemed like she had a bit of a bee in her bonnet about the extra money we'd charged the client for the difficult load in. One of the singers who also does the admin and logistics told her it was between us and the client and it was none of her business. Turns out this woman is paying us for the night and isn't going to let the matter drop. So we finished our line checks, get dressed and the singer goes off with one of the staff to collect our fee and comes back looking decidedly hacked off. She has the money but had to endure an ongoing debate over this extra load in fee. Seems like the venue organiser has taken things unnecessarily personally (the venue is difficult to get to) and is now pissed off that we're charging the client extra for what we were told in advance of the gig was a difficult load in. She ends up threatening our singer, telling her that she runs 6 other venues in Cheltenham and she thinks we shouldn't get the money. Our singer does a great job of not getting drawn into an argument and just repeatedly asks for the money. Finally the woman loses her rag and tries to tear a strip off our singer, and ends up phoning the percussionist (who is the manager) who then phones the singer while we're having our first dinner (we got a cold dinner and a help-yourself buffet later on in the evening). Why this venue organiser is taking such an active interest in how much we're getting paid, none of us can work out. But she's harped, threatened, cajoled and indimidated us for most of the evening. Anyone else gigged in Chelmsford at wedding venues and know who we encountered? I know we'll probably refund some of the load in fee but we DID book two roadies to help us based on the information we were supplied with. BTW, the client knew none of this argy bargy with the venue organiser was going on and they were lovely people. We didn't play our best because the dep kept making mistakes but they appreciated us none the less which I'm quite grateful for. (Keyboardist yells out 'Crazy!' and proceeds to play Crazy by Gnarls Berkley instead of Crazy In Love by Beyonce which was the next song on the set list...) One more gig to go and then I'm out of the band. The drummer, who is also leaving, and I had a decent chat about it last night. He and I are pretty much leaving for the same reasons - too many demands being placed on us. The ironic thing is that I'm the most experienced musician in the band! For most of the band, its the first musical gigging outfit they've ever been in. I'm leaving because of a clear difference of perspective between myself and the democratic consensus which I feel was totally avoidable if the band had actually valued more fully what we have musically. Still, I've found a funky outfit in Cambridge who sound really promising. The guitarist is into Chic in a big way (how much more perfect could that get?) and I'll hook up with them next month for a chat and see how interested they are in doing some disco house and club type stuff. They want to do a combination of originals and covers which is totally cool with me. I'd just like to play with musicians who can push and spark off each other. I'd also like for us to be able to do live funky jams in a Prince-style on stage with spontaneous segues, breakdowns, etc. I think some of the guys in my current band aren't experienced enough to do that yet.

[quote name='pete.young' post='409734' date='Feb 14 2009, 09:33 PM']How did you manage that, then? Mine only goes down to 4 Ohms.[/quote] Not sure, I think mine go to 2 ohms but I'll have to check. Maybe I've been guilty of "abusing my equipment"

Maybe consider the [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=40135"]Traynor YBA line[/url]? Also consider a 70's head like Sound City 200/120. 100w heads can sound perfectly loud enough if you team them with sensitive cabs and don't have to compete with a loud guitar. I've gigged my 100w Burman head through an Ashdown 4x10 and an Ashdown 2x15 and it was drowning out the guitarist using a 100w Marshall valve combo. I've also had a go on the Burman this morning through two EBS 212 neo cabs and the sound was lush. Warm, clean and plenty of volume (up to a point).

well you can't fault the website for thematic consistency...