dmz

Ah, Crosskeys ! Do you ever go to the Iswyn Acoustic Guitar club meetings in the Crosskeys Hotel ? - Steve Lawson turned up a while back and did a great set - as did Nick Beggs on Chapman Stick. Not very acoustic I know but they seem to be open to bass guitarists as well as acoustic/electric players. They have Adrian Legg playing the Blackwood miners institute on March 15th - one acoustic guitarist you should not miss. Jim Lampi - another Chapman Stick player - is doing a gig at the Crosskeys Hotel on Fri 25th April. The url of the club is below; [url="http://www.geocities.com/jenks436/islwynagc.html"]http://www.geocities.com/jenks436/islwynagc.html[/url] Any way - yes, I'd be well up for a mini bassbash in your prac room. The more the merrier..........

Hmmmm, interesting thread..........do you think Mr Shuker could make 5-string classic bass with a fender style headstock ? Would be good to meet up with you guys to have a mini Welsh bass bash - say in the next few weeks - I could bring along my US Glaub and bound and blocked Japanese P-bass for starters. I have a Bill Nash 63 P-bass on order now (Dakota Red)/Tort pickguard/Ebony fingerboard and P/J config - could bring that along to another mini Welsh bass bash later in the year. I like the spec of your JJ Nash - look forward to hearing it....... OldGit - what pickups do you have on your JJ 5string ?? Cheers

I think the postage was £23, pickups were around £150 when I bought them a couple of years ago - they are around £100 a piece now. I was lucky on that occasion not to feel the wrath of HM customs........doesn't happen much these days..........bloody computers !

Lovely looking bass ! I will always have a soft spot for Musicmasters as my first bass was a blonde 1978 model - bought from a history teacher at school in 1980. Hope you enjoy it in its newly refinished guise.

Low End (Benavente) J-basses 7-String "Geddy Lee" Jazz anyone ? [url="http://www.thelowend.net/thelowend/soldbasses.htm?c=6"]http://www.thelowend.net/thelowend/soldbasses.htm?c=6[/url] I like the spalted top 5-ers and 6-ers - especially the one with the 59-burst. Today I am especially liking the thought of a 5-string with 24-frets - spalted maple top over ash with an fretted ebony fingerboard/maple neck. Or even all black ash body with a birdseye maple fingerboard. I know the logo and headstock shape are a talking point, but the more I look, the more I like. They also have a part of the site that shows piccies of sold Bill Nash basses - the heavily weathered 58-Pass looks fab !

Nice P-bass - I know what you mean when you say if felt just right....... When you find a good 'un it's best to keep hold of it.

Soundclips of Darkstar pickups on a P-bass can be heard at the makers website below [url="http://www.basspickup.com/soundclips1.htm"]http://www.basspickup.com/soundclips1.htm[/url]

OK, The P-bass started life as a PB62FL (Google to see what I mean) - I took the neck off that and put it on an ash Jazz body (e-bay), fitted with DiMarzio UltraJazz pickups and badass III bridge and dual concentric pots (e-bay). Strung through the body. Open strings sound like a piano - with bags of sustain. I'd love to get the fingerboard epoxied............. The body of the P-bass (basswood) was mated with the fretless maple neck from a PB70US-84FL - essentially an early 80's Sting type bass - natural ash body and black pickguard - sold the body on e-bay. The P-bass sounds killer ! - it's a funk monster. My first fretless bass was a Maya P-bass copy - sunburst with an unlined maple fingerboard - circa 1983/1984 - so this is a bit of nostalgia for me. Trying to cop lots of Percy Jones licks and not doing so well.......... . Pretty much nails the John McKenzie sound on "Unzipping the Zype" if that means anything to fretless lovers out there. What ever happened to him after Hillage - I loved his playing ! Can anyone recommend any albums with him playing on it ? [attachment=5801:fjb1.jpg] [attachment=5802:fjb2.jpg] [attachment=5803:fmpb1.jpg] [attachment=5804:fmpb2.jpg]

Two beauties ! A few questions - are those Nordies on the fretted bass - if so - what do they sound like and can you readily switch between humbucking and single coil on both pickups? Finally, who did your epoxy job on the fretless ? Cheers Bill

This started out life as model PB70B-87US - see avatar above ! Got two Darkstar p/u's fitted as well as a badass II bridge and dual concentric vol/tone controls - black pickguard obtained from Jeannies - I have a white pickguard as well for an alternative Geddy vibe. [attachment=5679:dspb1.jpg] [attachment=5680:dspb2.jpg]

This really is a good site for new models on the scene - I especially love Fender Japan basses. The models they bring out with subtle tweaks to well known vintage instruments always keeps them a step or two ahead of Fender USA in my opinion. I noticed when I went to see Rush at the NEC last October that his main bass - the 73 Jazz - now has a Fender Japan neck and not a Fender Custom Shop neck. That knocked me out that did ! I am also interested by what Bacchus, Crews and Atelier have to offer as well, and yes, the thought of a 5-string Jazz style bass with 28 frets is quite appealing ! Who spotted the Aria bass with the whammy bar - never seen one of those before........ Cheers (with square eyes now) Bill

I apologize in advance for introducing you to this site if you don't know it already. A better collection and a more varied collection of basses I've yet to see ! [url="http://www.ikebe-gakki.com/shopping_20.php?cate=2&s_cate=1&brand=&state=1&img_flg=1&page_cnt=12&order=1&state2=&start_index=48"]http://www.ikebe-gakki.com/shopping_20.php...;start_index=48[/url] The Japanese seem to love basses with wammy bars - even 8 strings (dual course) ! Enjoy ! Bill

What's the nut width and string spacing at nut and bridge on the 5-string version ? Cheers Bill

I got a Japanese 51 re-issue two years ago off a Japanese e-bay seller - think it was bluezy guitars - highly recommended chap - superb to deal with. My bass came with the Seymore Duncan pickup - model 51-OPB-105SD I think and is the two tone sunburst version, which makes it look more like a 53. Anyway - plays great - built like a brick ****house - I wanted a retro sound from this particular instrument so put some Thomastick Flats on it - doesn't dissapoint. Can get very funky if need be - not in a slappy sense - more a James Jamerson vibe. The slab body is not a problem for me. I love the big neck profile. If you want a vintage vibe - go for it. Would suit a darkstar pick up (or two !) and a badass bridge such is its versatility. I'd go for it.........

"What strings have you got on there? " Nickel roundwounds (Elites) - the coating on the fingerboard is pretty damned hard and shows no signs of scuffing - although I could be tempted to try half grounds just to try something different.