BigRedX

Sounds as great as it looks!

[quote name='The Funk' post='159449' date='Mar 18 2008, 10:29 AM']Oh dear. The Star bass looks like their attempt at actually using all the work they put into Jack Bruce's Cream reunion Gibson EB3-inspired bass and applying it to the semi-acoustic Gibson basses.[/quote]

However if it sounds and plays as nicely as the Jack Bruce model then I may well find myself in possession of a Warwick at some point. It would be good if they replaced the standard Warwick headstock with something a bit more sympathetic to the rest of the design though...

[quote name='David Nimrod' post='159129' date='Mar 17 2008, 07:27 PM']Barry's left the 'Runner, he's at the Boat Club now, and the Blues have moved with him...[/quote]

Ta! All makes sense now.

8-0 !!!

Cheers mate!

Unfortunately for you, that one's mine.

Pity I was in London looking at my Sei or I would have been at this.

However isn't 27Brigade your originals band? All the gigs at the Running Horse I've attended (none recently I must add) have been strictly blues based and mainly covers.

Anyway if your playing in Nottingham again let us know and I'll do my best to attend!

If it's the one for sale on TB then it's seriously overpriced for the UK/European market by about 100%!

If I was living in the US and desperately wanted one of these and didn't want the hassle of importing one then it might just be worth it. Otherwise not a chance.

IMO one in excellent condition shouldn't be more than £500 absolute tops.

Does that help

Now that it's bass-shaped rather than some nice-looking pieces of wood, the anticipation is much more real. Especially since it's off to the finishers in the next week or so.

The grey and orange look was inspired by this Nordstrand bass:


The moment I saw this I knew that's how I wanted the Sei to look as it would combine a colourful look with some impressive wood figuring.

I've told Martin not to rush it. The bass is looking great and I'll be happy for it to be ready when it's ready.

The people responsible for the Ritter 'copies' have also started making [url="http://www.atlansia.jp/"]Atlansia[/url] inspired basses as well.

[quote name='urb' post='158572' date='Mar 16 2008, 08:29 PM']Nice one Red - I can't wait to collect it - your new one looks absolutely amazing too!

Sei's totally rock!

M[/quote]

Thanks

And yes they do. I'm now really excited about mine since it stopped being an idea and some nice bits of wood and has taken on a proper bass shape. I can just imagine how you must feel with your bass just days away from completion!

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

I am beyond happy the way this bass is turning out. Looking forward to seeing it with the grey stain and then the gloss bringing out the orange of the darker woods.

The route is for the neck pickup. Normally on a Sei the pickup routes are done after the finishing but because of the placement of the neck pickup in relation to the extended fingerboard (it's 30 'frets') and the fact that the end of the fingerboard isn't being shaped in the traditional Sei style this one has had to have been done now. The second route will be done at the more conventional (for Sei) time.

[quote name='Doc B' post='157522' date='Mar 14 2008, 04:00 PM']Dead Souls came out in 1979 according to my copy of Substance.[/quote]

The dates on Substance are recording dates rather than release dates. Dead Souls was originally released on the Licht Und Blindheit EP in 1980

I spent most of the 80s playing synth. I joined the band as a bassist, but they wanted someone who could slap which I couldn't but I liked the music and got one well with the other members so switched to synth full-time (in the ended we never bothered getting bass player in)

I played guitar in the final incarnation of my last band once again having joined as a bass player. After two years the drummer left and the guitarist decided to call it a day too because he didn't think we'd find a good enough replacement. It turned out we got an even better drummer with a month of advertising but after nearly a year of auditioning guitarists none of whom were suitable I'd taught myself all the guitar parts so we looked for a new bass payer instead (and of course found one straight away!)

Final had time to get to London on Friday and check on the progress of my bass...

And wow!











Everything I had hoped for and then some. It's looking amazing and going off to the finishers for the grey stain on the light woods and then the super gloss finish. The fingerboard wood is just astounding, none of these photos quite do it justice. shaping the body revealed an imperfection in the facing wood, but it's on the back and once the grey stain has been applied it'll be hardly noticeable. Discussed pickup options with Martin and we're going for a pair of Gary Willis Signature model Bartolinis. Martin was saying that if everything goes to plan the bas could be ready in two months time!

I saw this bass on Martin's workbench on Friday when I was checking the progress on mine. I have to say it looks even more wonderful 'in the flesh' than the photos.

From my favourite luthier:

[url="http://www.gusguitars.com/product.php?model_id=4"]28.5" scale tuned to B[/url]

[url="http://www.gusguitars.com/product.php?model_id=10"] 30" scale tuned to A[/url]

On £66 you'll either get charged nothing if you're lucky or VAT @ 17.5% plus the shipper's clearance fee which will depend on who is handling the shipping in this country. You might be able to work this out if you know who's handling the shipping in the country of origin and what insurance tracking etc they have on it.

Of The Top Of My Head

Small parcels are a bit hit-and-miss as to whether they attract customs charges. I always assume that I will have to pay charges and then I'm nicely surprised when I don't have to.

On the whole it's generally not worth importing items that fall between the customs allowance of £18 and about £65 because by the time you've added on shipping costs, VAT, duty if applicable and the UK shipper's clearance charges, you're almost always going to be better off buying from the UK.

Edit: Gifts are still charged VAT it's just that allowance doubles from £18 to £36 and then all the above still applies.

In my experience anything that is handled by ParcelForce in the UK will be subject to VAT etc. However small packets that come via normal Post Office deliveries sometime get through without and even if they are hit with charges their clearance fee is cheaper.

Bassists:
Mick Karn - Japan
Peter Hook - Joy Division/New Order
Jeremy Kerr - ACR
Kevin Bacon - Comsat Angels
Alan Turton - Medium Medium

Great 80s Bass Lines:
"Mind Your Own Business" Delta 5
"Waterfront" Simple Minds
"Dead Souls" by Joy Division
"Shaken" by None So Blind
and Anything from "Quiet Life" or "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" by Japan

Chris Squire
Tony Reeves
Norman Watt-Roy
John Entwistle
Barry Adamson

Before you start just think of the value of the bass you're converting with its frets still on. Plus the cost of any extra tools and consumables you'll need. Plus your time. Then consider the Squire VMJ is around £200.

3/4 scale - that's 41"?

2 1/2 years ago I was in the same situation as you. I thought about converting a bass I didn't use much to fretless but realised that the reason I didn't use it much was because I didn't really like it and was unlikely to like it much more without frets. I liked all my other basses too much as they were to contemplate taking the frets out. In the end I was lucky enough to score a cheap Wesley Acrylic bass off eBay that had already been defretted. That was good enough for me to get to grips with and I didn't have to worry about spoiling one of my other basses if I couldn't get on with it.

If you have a bass you like but don't use much then getting it defretted could be a option. Alternatively get a Squire VM Jazz fretless. That's what replaced the Wesley. Great bass for very little money.

[quote name='wotnwhy' post='154092' date='Mar 9 2008, 06:56 PM']... that elephant one is certainly an absolute work of art! i wonder though if it was actually made to be [i]played[/i] or just admired though?[/quote]



Marcus Miller seems to be enjoying playing it.