Wolverinebass

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1464886391' post='3063567'] Yeah.. I need to spend a bit of time with the knobs and switches. I'm not sure what they all do yet..! [url="http://www.jollybeggars.co.uk/bassforum/hb/rfsheet.pdf"]Here's a bit of blurb about it...[/url] [/quote] Such a pity it's only 500W per side. If it was 800W, I'd probably grab one. Sound samples please!

[quote name='JamesTun' timestamp='1463946905' post='3055265'] Yer, Tesseract are from Reading, Sikth from Watford and Haken from London. So yeah you'd be right in saying that the South East is probably the most prominent area. [/quote] And yet, we find nobody looking for a bass player in this vast progressive metal/djent paradise....

[quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1463643209' post='3052956'] If one buys Prog magazine at WHSmiths you'll realise that Prog isn't really Prog anymore. It's largely metal/math Prog. [/quote] Exactly. But seemingly nobody is up for doing that. Does my head in as it's so frustrating.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1463511815' post='3051998'] Prog is, for most people, a minority interest music, like Jazz. Finding four musicians willing and able to invest the time necessary to develop something intelligent and original will be like searching for the Holy Grail. Investment vs. return ratio would mean it's for a very dedicated few. [/quote] Thanks Bilbo, that's cheered me up! At least I know I should find a like minded group of people to form a band soon.... Ha!!

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1463467693' post='3051489'] Is this actually true? I mean, from this thread there is certainly a strong interest. [/quote] You would think so, but it's just not the case if you're interested in the more grunge type end of the spectrum as I am. I'm not really interested in playing the other end though I like listening to it. In the last 4 months I've found one band I liked that were looking for a bass player and they were in Milton Keynes. Since I live in south east London that wasn't going to work. Seriously though, have a look. You'll find nothing more than a barren, featureless desert if you're interested in what I am which considering roughly 10% of the UK population live in the greater London area is pathetic. That's why I said nobody wants to do it because if nobody is advertising in the metropolis, considering the population density and diversity, where are the folk who want to play this stuff then? Oh well, on with the coldplay tribute band then....

Some really good stuff here. Some I'd heard and some not (really cool though), but in some ways it sadly doesn't really cut to the heart of the matter in that nobody wants to do progressive material anymore. Frankly, I'd sell my soul to Satan if I could join a band that sounded like Tool, Tesseract or Soen. Not only do such bands not exist in London, people don't want to create them. Go on Gumtree/Join My Band and you'll see the usual sort of indie/covers (my favourite recently being the call for members for a Nickelback cover band - like how low does one have to stoop?!! Ha!!) but nobody wants to do more complicated stuff. To illustrate this with some comedy, I tried to explain to a friend once that the section he was trying to play along to was in 11/8. He just couldn't understand (nor play it) and yet professed to be "really technically proficient." I thought that I better not try to explain what a tuplet was as he might think it was some sort of French hat. I suppose what I'm trying to say is where does one find people?!!

I find this really depressing. You would think in London that there would be people who could play progressive metal? To date, I've met one. He was one of the most phenomenal guitarists I've ever played with and a truly lovely man as well. The down side was that he lived across the other side of London from me and when we tried to do file sharing it didn't work very well as we weren't in the same room for the interaction. The definition of the genre was one of the main reasons for the fizzling out of one of my last bands. The guitarist's idea of "progressive" material was Rush, Kings X or Alter Bridge. Don't get me wrong, I love Rush and Kings X, but to me stuff that's for the most part in 4/4 just isn't progressive at all. I was writing songs which weren't in 4/4 and he couldn't be bothered with the effort and I found more conventional material boring. No falling out, but certainly musical differences. "Prog" in itself to me suggests people in capes playing garish keyboard solos in the 70's which I don't care for at all. Ironically, it's modern equivalent of that style a la Porcupine Tree is something I love. For me, trying to find a band that either sounds like Tesseract or Tool is just impossible even in London. I find that statement so profoundly depressing as I realise how it limits my options for doing anything except recording my own material.

Zero fret! Result! Superb bass.

Some absolutely stunning basses here. For those of you that have bought one, how much is customisable? There doesn't seem to be a list of options unless I'm being stupid. Can the nut width or fingerboard radius be changed? As an example.

Both bands I've been in recently have been on hiatus for more than a year each. With one, I've done some recording which has fizzled out due to other commitments from the other members. The other band was stupid enough to put up an ad for bass player wanted (for some really silly reasons) and think I might not notice it. So, surprisingly enough I just said that I wasn't really into it anymore and come get your stuff from my studio before I put it on Ebay. The problem I have is that not many folk want to do progressive material. I'll probably take the rest of the year off from bands and just concentrate on my own stuff and record online. I certainly couldn't be more morose about the whole band thing than I am at the moment so I doubt I'll miss it as much as I love playing live. Sod the aggravation.

Superb work there! Will you be open for business and custom orders soon?

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1459009154' post='3012829'] I'd disagree - I have massive hands and found that playability wasn't a problem, even though I have never played an 8 string in anger. I had more problems with my picking hand, none with my left. But hey, everyone is different and that's fine with me. [/quote] Very true mate. I suppose I'm used to wider necks per se and although a 1.65 inch is fine for a 4, it was just feeling to cluttered for me at the nut end. Looking at the specs for the Spector now I see it's 1.57 at the nut. Since I dislike Jazzes for that I guess I can see why I didn't like it on a simple playability level. Ironically, I don't have massive hands, but I just can't get on with necks that are thin at the nut and taper widely to the heel. It's not like it wasn't well put together or anything, but the neck profile sadly put me off. I didn't like the preamp that much either, but that's not something that would be a big deal to change. I would still say the Dean Edge is a better 8 string for the money, but that's only my view.

I'd get a Dean Edge. At the budget end, it's the best one. If Dood is talking about the Spector 8 string that they had at the recent bass show, I'd avoid. The neck profile is wrong as its just a thin C neck with 8 strings. At 1.65 inch at the nut your hand will bunch up. Lastly, the active eq I found to be lacking. Okay, it was only £400 or so, but it was still just a 4 string neck with 8 strings and more than a tad pants. I say that and I like Spectors. If you were really wanting a conversion, get the neck from warmoth and Schaller 471 bridge. Job done.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1458585830' post='3008880'] Yep... deadly serious but don't ask why, I can't be ar$ed to explain it, tbh. [/quote] Classic. Have you played one to experience the options of the pickups yourself? If not, what are you talking about? On what basis or evidence is this statement built on? You've just put a couple of "meh" comments on someone's nbd thread. What's that all about? On the other hand, I'm sure the op is dying to know why he's wrong to have bought such a gimmicky bass.

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1458510130' post='3008254'] Thanks, that makes sense. So I guess there's still a truss rod? I'm just interested in the tech - not many people manufacturing graphite necks now Cheers ped [/quote] There was indeed a truss rod. I share your concern about lack of graphite instruments. Not in fashion it would seem. It'll come back round though once it's figured out how to making tooling cheaper. If that ever happens.

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1458483245' post='3007927'] So the graphite wrap necks - are they stable or is the wrap mainly for looks? [/quote] I tried one with a graphite neck at last year's bass show. When I spoke to Martin Sims, he suggested that it wasn't for looks but for a marginally different sound. I could tell the difference between it and a wood necked version. The impression I got was that he felt that the low end of full graphite necked instruments sounded compressed and there was maybe a bit too much 6kHz. I know what he means by that of course, but it just depends if you like that or not. With the wrap those characteristics were there but a bit more muted. Besides, after playing your Vigier why would you need another graphite necked bass? I thought it was fantastic!!

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1457970561' post='3003505'] This is a bit disappointing to hear... Not that I'd want to put a downer on anyones day it sounds like a great time was had by all. But I'm only really interested in the trade stands, not really bothered about talks / masterclasses etc. [/quote] I bumped into Paul Herman yesterday actually. Obviously not on a stand. Not that he needs to advertise with a 2 year waiting list these days for a Wal and good for him as he's such a nice guy.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1457970561' post='3003505'] This is a bit disappointing to hear... Not that I'd want to put a downer on anyones day it sounds like a great time was had by all. But I'm only really interested in the trade stands, not really bothered about talks / masterclasses etc. [/quote] I bumped into Paul Herman yesterday actually. Obviously not on a stand. Not that he needs to advertise with a 2 year waiting list these days for a Wal and good for him as he's such a nice guy.

But the main question is "what would John Hall do?"

£750 for a 1x12?!! Pfft. Jog on pal. That's just tonto.

That's awful.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1457640569' post='3000590'] Gosh. What are Mesa prices going to be like with the exchange rate then!? [/quote] I shudder to think. This almost makes Tech 21 prices look reasonable.

Going on Sunday. Will dig out my lanyard! Hopefully see a few of you there.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1457373317' post='2997916'] It's got the usual Andy Baxter "add 40% to what it's actually worth" thing happening. [/quote] Ha! Total genius! 😃 Completely agree.

About 9 years ago I took my buzzard to Rob to get something looked at. We were talking about the streamline (which was the newest model at that time) and Rob said that he'd be doing a bass something like the buzzard next. Since then there has been 4 kingbasses (do we need 9 variants? Really?!!), the S3, and Chris Wolstenholme's. So much for anything new as they're just small tweaks on existing designs. Now this. It's like the buzzard crossed with the series 2 and not in a good way. The shape is just a bit odd. Probably better photos might do it justice. I don't know. For those of you who think that the shape of the buzzard is stupid, you're correct. The headstock it just stupidly unwieldy. However, ergonomically it's fantastic. The upper wing if you rest your forearm on it will relax your wrist enabling more dexterous playing. A few folk on the forum have played mine and some have been Entwistle fans, some not. Even the ones who thought the shape stupid changed their mind once they'd played it. I would like to say that this new model will be the same, but I guess only time will tell.