BigRedX

[quote name='Musicman20' post='522768' date='Jun 24 2009, 05:49 PM'][url="http://www.fender.com/products//sear...tno=0257702300"]http://www.fender.com/products//sear...tno=0257702300[/url][/quote]

Well IMO that's the best looking Fender I've ever seen...

;-)

Edit:

Blast! the OP has replaced the link with a picture of some horrible looking sunburst J-bass...

[quote name='ped' post='521968' date='Jun 23 2009, 06:53 PM']Any sound clips?

ped[/quote]


Nothing in isolation, but my fretted Overwater is the bass on the SugarBox tracks (link in my sig)

I play basses with a variety of string spacings, scale lengths and other variables and the conclusion I've come to is that the numbers don't matter, it's all about the feel and you can only tell if a bass feels right for you by picking it up and playing it.

Reading through all the advice I think that the best thing you can do is get out there and try as may 5-string basses as you can, and buy the one you get on with best, that is in your price range, or if there isn't an affordable one good enough, wait until you have saved enough so you can afford something you like.

Advice about scale length and string spacing is all well and good, but ultimately these are things that only you can decide upon. My advice would be don't look at the numbers, play the instruments. If it feels good and plays nicely then it's worth considering, if not put it back and move on. You'll soon work out what is going to suit you and your playing style.

My first 5-string had a very narrow neck and tight string spacing (much tighter than anything I've come across since), but since it was the first 5-string I owned and I was just coming back to playing the bass after 7 years of synths and guitar, plus my previous bass was a short-scale 4-string, it didn't really matter. I could play what I wanted to on it which was what was important.

Also IMO with your budget 35" scale is a bit of a red herring. Getting a good sounding B string is from my experience much more about construction rather than length. A 35" B may feel better but until you get into the £1000+ range it's unlikely to sound any better than 34" B. I own 5-strings with 34, 35 and 36" scale lengths and the high quality 34" scale basses have by far the best feeling and sounding Bs of the lot. The 35" scale instruments (which are in the £500-700 range new) have the weakest Bs of the lot, except for the cheap 34" with the tight spacing.

So don't worry about the numbers just concentrate on plays and sounds good. The only reason to know about the scale length is when you come to buy strings a standard set may not fit some 35" scale basses. Other than than go on when feels good to you.

Pity about the non-matching bridge on that, plus the string spacing looks a bit too wide compared with what it should be at the bridge end.

Is that an "Original" at the back? Lets see an unobscured pic please.

In light of some wonderful Overwater basses - both old and new - being posted on BassChat recently, I though it would be an idea to group them all together for everyone's viewing pleasure.

I'll start off with my two, both Original shapes.





This was my first really good bass, bought back in 1993 second hand from Carlsbro in Nottingham, and was my main bass for 10 years until I got my first Gus. Made in either 1985 or 1986, and 36" scale (which I didn't realise until I bought my first set of normal bass strings for it and the silks came past the nut into the first fret area! In all original condition with just a few dings on the body and bit of pitting on the chrome machine heads.





Got this fretless 5-string off eBay last year. I believe that this was the first 5-string Overwater made and dates from 1983. It's been modified with a Ken Smith two-band pre-amp replacing the Overwater electronics, and as a result the DI circuitry is missing which is a pity as I find it very useful when recording. This one has had a harder life than the fretted, with a couple of places where the finish has worn through to the wood, but considering that it's over 25 years old it's in remarkable condition. Plus it sounds fantastic!

And here's both of them together...

How about a multi-coloured splatter finish?





Done by dropping paint on the body and then spinning it.

This was a Fender limited edition finish but I can only find Strat pics, did they used on any of the basses?

Try the snare sounds with side in the name.

Never understood the fascination for the covers on Fenders. Was there a practical reason for the pickup covers? I know that the bridge cover held a foam string damper, but I can't see any possible use for the cover over the pickup. Were fender taking stylistic cues from Rickenbacker where the 'pickup cover' on the early models was actually part of the magnet assembly?

Also from a retro PoV all I can remember is reading interviews with bassists in the 70s where they were nearly all saying that the first thing they did on getting a new Fender was to remove the covers...

Wow both of those are really interesting! I love the Overwater Original shape basses. My fretted 5-string was the first really good bass I owned, and I've had a fascination for them ever since.

Barnacle Bob, There's some interesting contouring going on on the front of the body of yours, plus the bound neck is quite unusual. I've seen another 4-string (fretless)with similar pickups, but I don't recall the contouring on the front of the body being like that.

JanSpeeltBas, The body shape on the one you've posted isn't quite as extreme as the Originals, but then it appears to be later than the ones you usually see. £450 is about the right price for a second-hand Original-shape 4-string at the moment, so if it's what you want go for it.

Hopefully Chris May will be along soon, and give you some more information. If not post the photo in the Overwater forum (under Basschat affiliates and you should get a reply).

Having seen these I think it's definitely time to start and Overwater thread in the Porn section!

Buy a Mac. Garageband come free with it, and is a great way to get started with home recording. If, as you develop, you find it becomes too limiting then Logic is a sensible upgrade and a complete steal at around £300.

Once again mixed...

First gig with my new originals band. Disappointing lack of audience (forgotten how poorly originals gigs can be supported...), but those who were there were appreciative. Played well and my bass sounded great - especially the fretless. Definitely want to do more because the music is fantastic. The band need to learn some more about performance and set pacing but right now I'm just the FNG so that will have to wait for a while until I'm an accepted part of the band. However not a bad start.

Just a bump to remind everyone that this is on tonight.

Any bass chatters going, come and say hi - I'm the one playing the Gus basses!

Big Helicopter Girl fan...

She's made three albums: "How To Steal The World", "Voodoo Chic" - which is the album that Angel City comes from, and then last year's Metropolitan.

Her MySpace page is [url="http://www.myspace.com/helicoptergirlmusic"]here[/url].

Before packing it all in and selling up, think very carefully about what you're going to do with the time you'd previously used for band/musical activities.

For me pretty much anything from my [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5525"]Weird & Wonderful thread[/url] that I don't already own.

If we're talking a specific bass then Mick Karn's fretless Travis Bean.

I don't think anyone is ever as good as they want to be.

Just get out there and go to some auditions. The worst thing that can happen is that you don't get into the band.

IMO every hour spent playing with other musicians is worth at least 10 spent practising by your self.

First gig with the band I joined earlier this year:



There will also be copies of the new mini album on sale.

For a sneak preview have a listen [url="http://www.myspace.com/mableshusbands"]here[/url].

Just like doublecut basses some are beautiful and others lumpen monstrosities. I can't get on with them because their construction interfers with my terrible guitarist's technique.

Of my main basses, 6 were made in the UK (Gus, Overwater and Sei) and the other three were made in the US (Born To Rock, Lightwave and Pedulla).

The Wal site is just a holding page at the moment, but once production is up and running again it will be [url="http://www.walbass.co.uk/"]here[/url].

You're also missing the following luthiers/manufacturers (all from my bass collection)
[url="http://borntorock.com/index.html"]Born To Rock[/url]
[url="http://www.gusguitars.com/"]Gus[/url]
[url="http://www.lacemusic.com/index.php"]Lace[/url]
[url="http://www.lightwave-systems.com/"]Lightwave[/url]
[url="http://www.seibass.com/"]Sei[/url]
[url="http://www.tokaijapan.com/"]Tokai[/url]

Also it would be nice to see [url="http://www.mickkarn.net/"]Mick Karn[/url] on the players page.

I've tried both and bought the Squier VMJ. I preferred the feel of the ebanol fingerboard and the look of the glossy finish. To me even leaving the relic'ing aside the finish on the Vintage looked nasty much too matt and the colours looked like a faded photocopy. Also the neck didn't feel quite as good to me. (I also tried the Fender Jaco sig which was a nice bass but nowhere near £1k nicer than either the Squire or the Vintage.)

Of course that's just my opinion and what suits me for feel and looks might not be right for someone else. However neither were bad.

In the end though I sold the Squier on as I really don't find Fender-style basses comfortable to play - the basses I ended up replacing it with each cost over 10 times what the Squier did though - so not too bad for a starter fretless.

You'll be after a [url="http://www.knuckleguitarworks.com/what/quake.html"]Knuckle Quake[/url] then?

Personally I think that a lot of the time people over-spec custom basses and this can lead to disappointment.

I don't care what wood is used provided that it looks the way I want it to look and it results in a bass that feels and sounds how I want it to. Matching these too things up isn't my job, it's the task of the luthier building the bass.

As a player pick the things that are important to you: Sound, feel, shape and finish and then let the luthier get on with what they do best.