molan

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1364739869' post='2030187'] I've had new and vintage (70's) Rics. I think book price for a '79 at 2k is a little adventurous - prices seem to be £1000-£1300 at the moment. Obviously a little more for really clean examples. You can often grab a 4001 for less than a new 4003....but that's a whole other can of worms! Great source of info on this kind of stuff is Joey's bass notes - http://www.joeysbassnotes.com/Rick_maint.htm As for a 'golden era', in Ric terms you'd be looking at a (around) '73 and before - toaster pickup, checkerboard binding, etc. Prices on these are considerably higher than a 'standard' 4001. [/quote] Definitely agree with this. Little variation on Rick prices from anything post '73 to present day. Checkerboard binding definitely adds decent value but still less then a good quality J or P from a similar era.

Need to be very careful about phase matching if you're swapping in a P with a J. My favourites are EMG's in a lower cost bass with 'cheaper' body woods (you'll be hearing the pickups more than the wood with EMG's). Or the new Aguilar PJ for a great hum cancelling quality core tone. I've heard these in a '70's P bass and they sounded great. Another new set that impressed me at the London Bass Guitar Show were Fatboy PJ's. these were, I think, fitted in a very basic Mex Fender and sounded very natural and 'organic'

Well - that was good then! The band were all individually excellent but Paul really stood out tonight. I've seen a lot of seriously good live players in my time but this really was a man absolutely at the top of his game. It's a bit of a cliche but his live sound tonight was tone to die for. Very possibly the best live bass sound I've ever heard. Great depth, powerful punchy mids and fabulous snap and sizzle on the high end. Really hard to describe the tonal quality we were hearing and it sat absolutely perfectly in the mix. For those gear heads amongst us he used his '66 J for most of the evening and strapped on the Alleva Coppolo 5 for one song which added a real 'muscularity' to the, already, great tone. Core rig was an Aguilar DB751 and a pair of GS 4x10's. Paul is usually a DB man but the GS's seemed to add a bit more bite to his tone. Looked like there was Reddi feeding the desk and I think his pedal board had a Diamond Compressor, an Akai Deep Impact, an original Musitronics Mutron plus some more. There was someone filming all night, if a live film manages to catch just how good the sound was it'll be a killer watch!

[quote name='kevin_lindsay' timestamp='1364570055' post='2028327'] Please put positive vibes out to Paul and his family as his oldest son has been in and out of hospital since Tuesday. Still needing further medical attention. [/quote] Heard from Paul earlier today. Band on stage at 21:00 sharp. Paul probably won't be around for long afterwards Everything crossed for his son's speedy recovery

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1364474638' post='2026941'] Fair enough . I played a 70's- style ash bodied bass and that may explain the extra weight . [/quote] Jimmy generally has three main J type ranges: LG - Alder body, 60's pickup spacing RA - Alder body, 70's spacing LM - Ash body, 70's spacing Basically you've got 60's, early '70's & late 70's options. Not as specific with the KBP series though.

Most of the specialist dealers will sell on commission - rates average around 17.5% depending on value, whether final sale is on credit card, etc.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1364473389' post='2026913'] I found Alleva Basses to be meticulously well made - absolutely perfect , in fact - but a little bit on the heavy side for me . [/quote] They vary a lot in weight - I have two J's and both are pretty 'standard' Fender J weight

Pleased to announce that Mrtcat has won a pair of tickets to see Shuffler at the Jazz Cafe in London tomorrow night courtesy of Paul Turner himself. Although the tickets are free it seems that Mrs Mrtcat may be trying to wangle a new frock out of the deal - sounds fair to me Should be a cracking gig - still some tickets available on the night if anyone wants to come along for some serious funk & grooves [url="http://mamacolive.com/thejazzcafe/listings/upcoming-events/8377/shuffler/"]http://mamacolive.com/thejazzcafe/listings/upcoming-events/8377/shuffler/[/url]

Best P bass I've ever played was an Alleva Copollo KPB. The 5's are pretty rare and there's a long wait for a new one - of course, one reason is because Jimmy can sell every one he can make!

[quote name='D.I. Joe' timestamp='1364376869' post='2025498'] I was hoping to really like that head but it didn't sound as good to me as the F1 or the Kilo. It could just be that I needed a liitle more time to play with the EQ, but to me it sounded a little muddy in the lows and the highs sounded a bit harsh for my liking - just not as tight as the F1. Then again, I was using Hartke cabs so it would be nice to try the MB heads out with the matching cabs. Guess I'll have to try a TH at some point too. So...much...gas!! [/quote] Was it a TT500 or an 800? I've not tried them back to back but it was an 800 I used recently (in fact I may even have another go today!).

Don't discount the TT heads either. They partner really well with MB cabs. I tried one with an MB 4x10 last week and it sounded really nice. Personally I prefer it to both the LM and F1 / F500's. For a warmer sound I'd go for an Aguilar TH500 over all of these three - worth auditioning one of these as well.

I've heard of people who have simply posted back their purchases via USPS with a fixed value for insurance (USPS limit is $650). Obviously there's an insurance risk though. Also - Bass Central will negotiate heavily on price. Don't believe their list prices!

I'm with Dingus. For me the USA NT basses knock spots off the Euro models. I've owned a few of both and a couple of my US ones were amongst the best basses I've ever owned. The one thing I would say I that I always found the 5 strings had a something bit special about them and I preferred them to their 4's. Hard to explain exactly why but the 5's just really 'worked' for me

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1364288375' post='2024245'] Markbass amps to me sound great through Markbass cabs. The NY121 is a great little cab, I have it as an extension cab to my Mini CMD121 combo, although I mostly use the combo on its own. For the music styles quoted, and your description of volume, a 1x12 would undoubtably do the job fine. [/quote] I gigged for a while with a Mini CMD121 and a Traveller 115 as extension cab. They sounded great together!

A lot of people here don't like MarkBass cabs as much as their heads but personally I think they can work very well. Especially when paired with an MB head. The little Traveller 2x10 can sound great if properly used and you can find them for £300. I've also used one with an MB 1x15 and the two together are a great full range combination Or you could buy a Barefaced cab and sell it a few weeks later without losing much money - anyone else noticed how often that happens?

That's a pair of 100lb cabs there - price is probably as much due to the weight as anything else

I'm looking forward to trying these head to head with Aguilar and maybe even MarkBass in a little fight of the lightweights duel! Shame my local MarkBass 2x12 has just sold as it would have been really interesting to match it up against the Berg. I know a lot of people don't rate MB cabs but I think some of them can sound really nice with a good head and decent bass. I definitely feel a bit of a shootout coming in April. Will definitely have to put an ATS 3x12 (not a true 3x12 as two speakers are some sort of passive radiator) into the mix as well. I've tried it briefly and it sounds really big from such a small form factor

Copies of the album should be available too - may be band members around to sign

I'm struggling a little to see how a '63 refin with non original pots is a bargain at £2,700? I've seen more original pre CBS P's sell for less than this

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1363962354' post='2020216'] All very, very nice [i]indeed[/i], but they're nowhere near gay enough - I want to see the Ritter, please! [/quote] By popular demand - the much gayer Roscoe SKB & Ritter Cora

So I thought I'd stopped buying new toys to play with earlier this year but succumbed to a few new purchases fairly recently - all of them are basic variations on a good old Fender J but each feels, plays, sounds a little different Thought I'd bung a quick pic up of the new ones next to my trusty old '63 Jazz for reference. Apologies for the pic quality, just a quick snap with flash which is showing a few reflections and some surface marks which I didn't clean off before taking the pic! The basses are, from L to R: [b]Celinder J Update[/b] - very '70's sound, relatively heavy, really punchy & maybe my current favourite of this bunch. [b]Alleva Coppolo #2[/b] - 2nd one ever made before Jimmy decided on a larger headstock. Has Seymour Duncan pickups & pre at the moment. Haven't had this one long enough to really get a good feel for it. Very light weight. [b]1963 Fender Jazz[/b] - classic pre CBS sound & feel, refinished in its original colour of Sea Foam Green, albeit a very long time ago. Again light weight and has an absolute dream neck profile & super worn-in finish. [b]Alleva Coppolo LG4[/b] - Jimmy's take on a 60's J. Finished in nitro and has his wonderful home grown pre-amp & pickups. Just a great gigging bass that's beginning to wear in really nicely. [b]Dingwall AB1[/b] - bit of a departure for me! Just fancied trying one and have only played it briefly. Super light weight with superb balance. Lots of tonal variation from a passive setup. Need to put in some more hours on this one. . . There's a Ritter & a Roscoe currently in the house too but I ran out of sofa space, lol.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1363956407' post='2020093'] What I find odd is that custom instruments obviously offer a massive range of options and the whole prosess seems to be focused on how the thing looks rather than how it sounds. I would be more interested in a builder who (like Jens does with that guitar) sells it on how they built it to have a certain sound. My take on Ritter - I bet they play well, not overly keen on some of his designs, i think he as a person from what ive seen is pretty cool guy, would I buy one? Probably I would go with a UK custom builder myself [/quote] If you speak to Jens he's totally focused on sound of each instrument. I was chatting to him at London Bass Guitar Show with a prospective customer and the whole conversation was about what sound the customer was after and which woods, pickups, electronics etc would deliver what he was after. He then tried different body shapes and neck profiles to get a good idea of how he wanted it to feel. Only after agreeing all of this did they discuss colours and finish options. Sound was very much the key to everything. He took Jens's advice and placed an order

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1363955494' post='2020073'] It would be pretty nice to have an actual price list on his website, not that I'm in the market at the moment but still basic prices for each range and then the additional prices for extras (within reason) [/quote] Jens used to publish prices but because he sells so many instruments outside of € Zone it got really complicated dealing with overseas enquiries and fluctuating exchange rates. If you request a price on anything through his site you'll get a response inside 48 hours (usually faster).