Kiwi

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='321468' date='Nov 4 2008, 12:12 AM']When Nick & I were at the factory on Friday Rob mentioned that he wasn't very happy with said review, but we'll see. Nick has the review bass at home with him at the moment. He's using it for demos at Music Live at the NEC next week, I think.[/quote] Well, so long as the reviewers were honest and sincere, surely thats the main thing? Noone's perfect and we all live and learn.

[quote name='sgt-pluck' post='321360' date='Nov 3 2008, 09:41 PM']surely by the time you've got it home and into different temperatures/humidities etc it all becomes hypothetical doesn't it? Bung a new set of strings on you back to having to tweak again.[/quote] I agree completely. But some necks are more stable than others, it depends on construction, grain orientation and seasoning. But with the exception of Alembic and my Pentabuzz, the best playing necks I have ever tried have all been graphite for that specific reason.

TBH, its really NOT that hard to do a fret stoning by hand. Jon Shuker showed me how to do a refret and stoning on a guitar neck and excellent results were not difficult to achieve. If I can do it then anyone can! The only draw back is the cost of the tools, but if you're otherwise considering spending 80 quid and own more than one instrument, its worth paying for the tools instead and finding a friendly luthier to show you how to do it. You'll repay the cost of the tools with every stoning. [quote name='grossey' post='321086' date='Nov 3 2008, 04:56 PM']I don't know how much but please be aware that there are two shops in that area of Surrey. Candlers in Kew and Charlie Chandlers Guitar Experience in Hampton Wick. Both have a Plek machine (I believe the only two in the UK). The two shops are unrelated (in a business sense) but are by family blood I understand. Anyway CCGX as they are commonly known as have a high opinion of the Plek system. Both have websites, google Chandlers Guitars and CCGX respectively and you should find them.[/quote] Charlie Chandler started Chandlers and sold the business on before starting CCGE. It could be said he has a vested interest in the Plek system because he was originally the sole UK distributor.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='321290' date='Nov 3 2008, 08:22 PM'].... anyone do a 4 string with 17+mm spaging at the bridge and 9mm spacing at the zero fret and I'll have one, why....?[/quote] Status standard string spacing for 4 strings is 18+mm at the bridge, I don't know about the zero fret string spacing though. [quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' post='321292' date='Nov 3 2008, 08:24 PM']I have a few basses , but this has been the main bass most of the time. I managed to get a Steiney custom xm2 a few years back , from a German evil bayer. After a small repair it may be my fave bass now. I really want the Trans trem /whammy bar one tho'.[/quote] I've seen one on Ebay recently, but it was the XL2 rather than the M-series. The transtrem basses are very uncommon, not many were made. I would be VERY careful about buying a transtrem as the string anchor jaws are known to be brittle and you need to be careful about wear on the arm and pivoting parts. However its possible to buy replacement parts but at a cost. There is one company in Korea who are offering a replica TransTrem for guitar but, because the original units have been going for $700, they've priced theirs at only slightly less.

I've tried calling Jon quite a few times in the last 7 days and his phone isn't taking incoming calls and he's not answering his mobile. Rob's been off sick with a sprained ankle too so I'm wondering if Jon has battened down the hatches and is steaming through as much of the order back log as he can right now.

I was all set to take my Smith 6 down there a couple of years ago and Chandlers talked me out of it! Apparently the plek machine they have cost them thousands of pounds and they don't use it. Although it takes into account the neck relief under tension, apparently it doesn't take into account HOW the neck bows under tension. Its calculations are based on an assumption of an even curve along the length of the neck instead of allowing for the flat spot we all know exists above the 14th fret. Consequently they've found that plekked instruments don't play very well in the upper frets. Chandlers say they can do a better job by hand.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='320615' date='Nov 3 2008, 12:40 AM']Surely some of this is due to associations with star players. Would anyone in their right mind want a Framus Star Bass or a Hagstrom 8-string if it weren't for the Wyman and Hendrix/Redding connections? Also eBay and the Internet generally has opened up a worldwide trade in used instruments, which has pushed up prices. It'll be interesting to see to what extent it survives a protracted recession.[/quote] Definitely, in fact it has been suggested that nostaligic baby boomers were responsible for driving the demand for vintage gibson and fender instruments in the first place during the early 80's.

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='319466' date='Nov 1 2008, 08:33 AM']It's something like Lancester or Lanchester - bet CK knows. My mate in Palmy,North Island has furniture made from it and was going to look at a body for one of his Precisions.[/quote] Yep, the Langcaster instruments are made from the same acrylised ancient swamp kauri. I remember the original asking price was fairly astronomical as well, but nowhere near that Spector. The prices seem to be a bit more reasonable now.

We played our last gig, a wedding, until early December at Wolsey Hall in Herts. Great venue, the staff were really helpful and had obviously been working together for a long time. A stark contrast to the bitchy golf clubs and chain hotels we've played at. The load in was reasonably easy although a long walk. The set up was reasonably easy too, lots of space although no stage as such. I also took the opportunity to give the Smith one last go before shipping it to its new owner. The first dance was one of the best we've seen because the couple knew how to dance properly and the song they picked was a great choice. When we started the first song, everyone was on the dancefloor which was an excellent sign. We also had a last minute drum dep who is best friends with the percussionist's son and he faced the prospect of learning about 34 songs in a week. All things considered he did an outstanding job, there were a few fluffs but we've had a lot worse from other deps who have considerably more experience under their belts. As the night wore on, the crowd were very entertaining to watch. There are occasional gigs we do when there's so much love in the air, that its palpable and this was one of them. Everyone was friends and dancing inhibitions were left at the door. There was one couple who trotted out every single disco cliche in the book and were just grinning from ear to ear while doing it. They could have probably danced more conservatively but they were going to have fun and clown around instead. Watching the punters do that is great, it makes the job of performing that much easier and enjoyable. Occasionally we get a cracking crowd like that and we know the nights going to go well. There was a free bar as well and, although we didn't go overboard it was nice to have a glass of decent red between sets and free run of the cheese board too. Our band also sold out tickets for our only public gig in January on Friday afternoon in about 3 hours. Turns out that 7 of those tickets were bought by another band who are effectively in competition with us. Hmmmm! Hinteresting.

Headless makes so much practical sense to me as well, especially for 5 strings or more. For me its mainly the balance. The lack of a headstock makes the instrument feel much more comfortable to wear. The looks aren't such an issue, although some body shapes work and others don't. There's definitely a modern aesthetic associated with headless instruments where the body shape is that much more important, its not just a question of whipping off the headstock on a p-bass and saying there y'go. However I don't believe they're making a "comeback" as such.

[quote name='dood' post='320675' date='Nov 3 2008, 08:56 AM']I think Steve (crazykiwi) said that Jon is a perfectionist and wont rush a job just to get it finished, which is very true. I'd rather he was happy with his work, than just lobbing stuff out the door! - It's his reputation on the line after all and anyone who has seen his work, knows it is stunning. Stunning takes time![/quote] I think its fair to say Jon's probably astute enough to know that his reputation isn't ultimately going to be based on how well he meets deadlines, its going to be based on his instruments. It will be 12 months next week since I placed my order on an original build time of 3-5 months.

I'm ambivalent about the specific influence of age. What I do like is battered basses though because in my experience well worn instruments don't put up so much of a fight when you play them. My stingray is a result of 2 different basses but because the donor instruments were both heavily thrashed the instrument still has that mellow growl.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.de/Schack-Carbon-B2-400-Headless-E-Bass-4-Saiter_W0QQitemZ220300017997QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item220300017997&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318"]http://cgi.ebay.de/Schack-Carbon-B2-400-He...%3A1|240%3A1318[/url] Kai Eckhardt was playing these basses IIRC.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='319433' date='Nov 1 2008, 12:50 AM']JOIN A BAND Or, more specifically. JOIN A GOOD BAND Bass player - band = bored musician. Or anorak musician.[/quote] +1 join a band that pushes you. Not excuses for not being motivated if you risk public humiliation

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