hamfist

Basses that I've owned that I thought were a lot of bass for the money ..... Status Energy 4 Westone Thunder 1a x 3 Yam TRBX504 Schecter 004 90's MIA Fender Jazz deluxe MIJ Ibanez SR720 Yam BB424 Yam RBX270 Hohner LX90B P copy Basses that I've owned that I was distinctly disappointed with ..... Farida Jazz Squier Jag Warwick Streamer $$ (german made). Tonally I was very disappointed and the neck was not the straightest I've ever seen. Westone Spectrum (tonally, the body wood kills it IMO) 90's Status S2. Very underwhelmed MIJ Fender Jazz 70's re-issue Plus loads of others which didn't strike me as being particularly wonderful or poor for the price.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1392884192' post='2373720'] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/214045-nbd-yamaha-trbx504/"]You need to speak to Hamfist[/url] [/quote] Great basses. Lovely slim, playable necks, Build quality is excellent. I loved the neck pickup particularly, but I know that Mornats, who bought it from me and has had it a lot longer than me, likes the bridge pickup particularly. I loved the bass, it just didn't quite have what I was looking for at the time. I would consider buying another one at some time though.

[quote name='Razor' timestamp='1392720652' post='2371887'] That's an idea, wonder if a jazz neck would fit the neck pocket ? [/quote] No idea. Get that Blazer's neck off and get measuring !

I would suggest that it would be far more economical to simply fit a new neck.

The GK MB500 and MB200 heads are superb, and have proved reliable. Well worth a look. THeres lots of great amps out there though, for very reasonable money. Get out to some shops and play a few.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1392455476' post='2368898'] An unusual and interesting collection! I've become a big fan of the dual split-pickup config since acquiring my Hayman 4040 - it sounds absolutely massive - now just one split pickup doesn't seem quite the same, somehow. [/quote] I quite agree. I can't see myself putting a different type of pickup in another bass again (hope that quote doesn't come back to haunt me !)

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1392557645' post='2369973'] Bung one of these on! [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New-Metal-Chrome-Disable-Grab-Rail-Mobility-Rail-Grab-Rail-Grab-Hand-Rail-/141170901433?pt=UK_Health_Beauty_Mobility_Disability_Medical_ET&hash=item20de7101b9"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New-Metal-Chrome-Disable-Grab-Rail-Mobility-Rail-Grab-Rail-Grab-Hand-Rail-/141170901433?pt=UK_Health_Beauty_Mobility_Disability_Medical_ET&hash=item20de7101b9[/url] [/quote] I actually think that would look rather good, and they're much more ergonomical than your typical amp/cab handle. Hmmmm ... thinks.

What you need is this .... [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/004-sunday-body-front-b.html][/url] http://basschat.co.uk/topic/229917-schecter-004-black-twin-ps-3-band-eq/ Unashamed vested interest alert here too !

[quote name='thebassman' timestamp='1392547663' post='2369831'] I found the easiest way to get into the cab is just take one of the side handles off. This leaves quite a big hole to reach inside. [/quote] COol. That's a good tip.

First a family shot ... [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/all-3.html][/url] Can you guess what my favourite pickup configuration is ? Two of these basses have been through more looks than Kate Moss, one is relatively new. So I'll start with the one I've had the longest and is my number one bass. [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/w-body.html][/url] [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/w-and-sch-main.html][/url] Nominally it is a MIJ Westone Thunder 1A. However, all that is left of that is the body and neck plate. Some recent major changes are ... Fitting of a Fender-sized Precision copy neck. The Westone body's neck slot is 63mm wide and the fit was perfect. The slot is shorter than a Fender slot, which is no problem fitting a Fender neck to a Westone body, but if you tried to fit a Westone neck to a Fender body, the neck would be a bit "inset" into the body and wouldn't look great. Anyway, I far prefer the aesthetics of a 4 -in-A-line tuner headstock, and am pleased with this. The neck and tuners are actually from an old Hohner P bass. I have slimmed the neck down and refinished it in oil and wax. I'm mulling over whether to put a "Westone" logo on it. The pickup config (as with all my basses now) is a double P. SPB-3 in the neck and a Wilkinson pickup in the bridge position. I don't blend them, it's one or the other. The bridge pickup is roughly in the MM sweetspot and is great for punchy fingerstyle tones. When the pick comes out, it's over to the neck pickup. Next up is my Schecter 004, which has had quite a re-image into it's current black and ivory look. Also boasting an SPB-3 in the neck position and a Hohner pickup in the bridge pos. It's got an Artec 3 band (plus parametric mids) EQ in it (absolutely incredible value for £35). This bass used to have a UNion Jack pickguard on it, which I quite liked but others seemed not to. I have to say this bass looks absolutely stunning when worn, and I think will look excellent on stage with my band. The alder body is also light and the neck is slim and Jazz-like so it's easy to wear and throw around for a couple of hours. [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/sch-body.html][/url] [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/w-and-sch-main.html][/url] Last up is my latest creation, which started life as Hohner LX90B precision copy. However, all that is left is the body wood and the pickguard. Once stripped, the body came up very nicely with an attractive grain finish. Still not sure what the wood is, but it's very hard, this I can be sure of. Finished in oil and wax, routed for my favourite double P pickups, this bass has a brand new Mighty Mite P neck and Wilkinson Tuners (Oh, and a Fender neck plate !) ... so it's definitely a "pretend Fender" now. This bass is currently passive although I did rout out the control cavity to a good size to accept a preamp, and also routed out a battery compartment. The bridge is an 80's Matsumoku-made hefty brass job. What is amazing about this bass is it's incredible resonance. It is the most resonant bass I have ever played. Every note rings acoustically like a bell. Even passive it sounds great, and the balance between the two pickups (a Wilkinson P in the neck and an 80's Westone P in the bridge) is excellent. My only gripe with this bass is that it looks a bit "traditional" to me now. I seem to favour slightly unusual looking basses (eg the other two) and this one just looks a bit ""normal". I'm torn, and could be persuaded to sell it I guess. It is just so resonant and sounds so good, but I'm not thrilled about the looks and if I'm honest the neck is about a mm too wide for me (and I'm loathe to butcher a brand new MM neck to slim it down. I'll have to think about this one a bit more. [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/bitsa-main.html][/url] [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/bitsa-body.html][/url] Posting this just for fun, and maybe to give some other of you bass tinkerers a few ideas !

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1392372723' post='2367830'] She's a keeper! [/quote] Could she be ""the one"" ??

I like sweepable mids, and particularly the John East version, which I think is very musical in it's implementation. I find that for neck pickup and using a pick I tend to want to boost at rather higher mid frequencies than when using more bridge pickup oriented sounds, fingerstyle, which I boost more lower mids. So useful for me.

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1392140528' post='2365253'] Although one thing that does bug me on many of Fender's tuners is that the capstan has a "sucked in waist". This makes it difficult to guide the string low enough to maximize [size=4]the break angle (typically on the A) thus causing the famous "A string rattle".[/size] [/quote] There is definitely merit in this reason for changing tuners, but obviously only if you get rattle in the first place. Different Fender and Fender-type headstocks can actually have very different geometry and A (and even E) string rattle can be a real issue with some unless you can get the strings wound real low on the tuner (which can be tricky with an "hourglass" stemmed tuner.