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molan

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Everything posted by molan

  1. molan
    [quote name='kevbass' post='917252' date='Aug 6 2010, 06:06 PM']Way out of my price range but have to say that is one good looking bass[/quote] It really does look nice in the flesh - can't quite explain why but it does feel just 'right' somehow Of the various basses I have up for sale this is actually the one I'm most likely to hang on to as I can't think of a nicer P bass that I've played and you never know when that 'rock' gig might come up that just demands a P lol
  2. molan
    So here's something quite different for me that I picked up in a PX deal recently. Great fun to play & looks really nice but I'm pretty serious about culling my bass collection so this is the third of my basses to go up for sale. . . There's a stack of information about Nash in general and this bass in particular [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Nash_63_Jazz.html"]HERE[/url] Basically it's a really nice heavy relic bass designed to look and feel like a very well used '63 Jazz. Not quite sure how they get away with it but it even has a Fender decal & looks very authentic. Previous owner was Clarky and his views on it are [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=89963&hl=nash"]HERE[/url] Happy to answer any questions I should also say that there's already some interest on this as a few people expressed interest over the last day or so
  3. molan
    [quote name='Spoombung' post='917320' date='Aug 6 2010, 07:22 PM']Molan, take it easy.... I'm not suggesting they're 'swimming in profit' - just that making a box and putting a speaker in it is a lot easier than making a bass! And if you can charge (in the worst example) an eye-watering, mind-boggling, grossly inflated [b]£500[/b] for it (like EBS do) - even calculating all the expenses you mention above - I'm sure it's just a little [i]bit[/i] more profitable that making basses! To concede to you -less so, perhaps, with speakers costing £200 - £300.[/quote] Sorry if it sounds like I'm splitting hairs and/or trying to be argumentative - it's really not my nature I guess I'm finding it difficult to grasp the concept that there's such a huge profit margin in speaker cab manufacture. My point is that if it was really that easy to make huge profits then lots more people would be doing it instead of making guitars. The only luthier I know that I once asked why he didn't think about making speakers told me he couldn't make any money out of it because margins were much tighter. He said that the core margin in guitar making was his time and not materials &, therefore, he could charge himself out at a higher rate than he could buy raw materials for. Personally I think the cabs out there in the £500 bracket generally tend to kick the cheaper ones in the ass so i have no issue in spending this sort of money because I simply get something that's just so much better than a cheaper option. Obviously I'm generalising here and there will be some great cheap cabs & some rubbish expensive ones but people like Bag End, EBS, Genz Benz, Bergantino etc can only charge these prices because a lot of people think they are worth it.
  4. molan
    [quote name='Spoombung' post='917282' date='Aug 6 2010, 06:40 PM']Well, you asked for two examples and I gave you two - then I explain how the profit margin is bigger making cabs than making basses...and you don't seem to want to believe me! [/quote] I guess that basically I don't - sorry about that If it was that easy to make £400 profit for every £100 in costs then everyone really would be doing it. In fact I have a pair of 10" PA speakers sitting unused in my shed & I just looked up to see how much they would cost if I wanted to buy more & start putting bass cabs together They are £131 plus VAT plus delivery so probably £165 just as a start price. They are made here in the UK so it's not import duties etc that's whacking them up. Bearing in mind these aren't exactly high spec bass speakers that were designed for high powered use (mine are 125W only) either. By the time there's costs of decent building materials, hardware, wiring, a crossover, an additional cost for a decent spec tweeter, labour, storage, distribution etc etc then I don't see how you can make a decent speaker for £100 & flog it for £500. I've met quite a few luthiers & the odd cab builder and none of them are swimming in profit, in fact most seem to be just about ticking over & covering costs so I really struggle to see how margins could be as great as you suggest.
  5. molan
    [quote name='Spoombung' post='917262' date='Aug 6 2010, 06:16 PM']Well, two examples; Mike Walsh's cab making business has eclipsed his bass making by some considerable margin. And Matte from Prometheus has started making cabs too. It's a lot less time consuming and a lot more profitable - anyone can see that - if your materials cost £100 and you can sell for £500. It's just a box.[/quote] Sounds like you've hit on an excellent money-making scheme here. I'm surprised more people aren't doing this if there's an easy £400 profit to make on every sale. . .
  6. molan
    [quote name='Spoombung' post='917195' date='Aug 6 2010, 05:35 PM']I can see why a lot of bass guitar builders switch over to the more mundane area of cabinet making; the profit margins are [i]far[/i] bigger.[/quote] Are the margins really bigger? I don't see many UK builders giving up their luthier jobs to make cabs - which ones have done this? I can think of a couple who make cabs as well as basses but they are still pretty rare?
  7. molan
    [quote name='warwickhunt' post='917220' date='Aug 6 2010, 05:47 PM']Fickle... FICKLE... Oh I we are aren't we! [/quote] Of course I am as bad as anyone, lol. Having bought my Performance Louis Johnson Signature I was amazed at just how nice it was & snapped up this P bass when it appeared. If I was going to keep a 1.75" nut P bass then this is definitely the one I'd have. I always thought it would be just a great bass for a rock gig with all that black hardware against the ivory white body Here's a bigger pic of just the body :
  8. molan
    It never ceases to amaze me what a fickle bunch we are Since listing this last night there's been quite a few people looking but no comments or enquiries. Meanwhile a Sadowsky that I haven't even put up for sale yet has generated three PM's about it. As an owner of both Sadowsky and Performance Guitar basses I'm happy to say that I think this P bass is easily the match of both of the US Sadowskys I've owned in terms of build quality and core tone.
  9. molan
    [quote name='Alec' post='917067' date='Aug 6 2010, 03:37 PM']Possibly the smallest & lightest is the Genz Benz Shuttle 10T cab, available [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Genz_Benz_Shuttle_Cabs.html"]here[/url] from BassDirect. Still pricey at £420 delivered, but puts out an outstanding amount of sound, and weighs less than half (16lb compared with the Bag End's 33lb).[/quote] I own both of these cabs at the moment and, good though the Shuttle is, I can honestly say that the Bag End is an altogether different league. Punchier, clearer, cuts through better & way more projection than the GB. Construction is much more robust & looks bomb-proof (probably where a lot of that weight is coming from). It's also very 'loud' which I'm guessing is due to some sort of high sensitivity. I know bag Ends are generally known for this so I'm assuming they must have carried it through to the new smaller cabs. Obviously what this means in practice is that you can get a lot of volume and projection with a lower powered amp. At home I use it with an SWR 220 which can't be pushing out more than about 150W into 8ohms. I generally have the pre-amp set at about 9 o'clock and the master at 8 o'clock (7 o'clock is 'off'!) and it's still pretty loud!
  10. molan
    [quote name='Spoombung' post='917004' date='Aug 6 2010, 02:17 PM']Thanks. [i]Very [/i]expensive, though...[/quote] It's the Hi-Drive versions that add a fair bit to the price. It definitely works as a standalone cab though. I'd happily gig with one in smaller venues
  11. molan
    I think the new one should 7-8lbs lighter - you could have a go at weighing it & that'll give you a pretty good steer on which speaker it has
  12. molan
    [quote name='RhysP' post='916970' date='Aug 6 2010, 01:52 PM']Bump for an awesome bass that I really want but can't afford. The cases for the new Vinnies aren't as good as the one with this bass - they just come with a gig bag now. I think the newer ones may have bolt-on necks too (it says bolt-on on the Zon website), unlike this one which has a lovely set neck.[/quote] This case really is a perfect match, so easy to just throw onto the back seat of the car & off to a gig or rehearsal, fits just about any size of car boot as well The new ones are bolt ons, I think the set neck is a much nicer finish - obviously a personal preference but I do have a bit of a 'thing' for set necks, lol.
  13. molan
    I was offered one for about £850 not that long ago - I was also warned off about some build quality issues with some of them so didn't go for it.
  14. molan
    Nice - I've been chatting to PJ this week - such a helpful guy and really concerned about a small tech issue I had
  15. molan
    Bag End 1x10 is a killer cab. We had an impromptu little session last weekend with four different people playing a Genz Shuttle 3.0 through one & it was sitting next to a much larger 1x12 cab. Everyone thought the sound was coming from the 1x12 until I pointed out that I'd wired up the 1x10 instead and the head was simply sitting o top of the 1x12 Cue lots of people checking leads to make sure I wasn't winding them up, lol. The one I have has the Hi-Drive co-ax tweeter but they do one without this as well. They don't actually list these on their site but I have a copy of their price list and both the standard 1x10 & the 1x10 with Hi-Drive are listed as stock items [url="http://www.bassgear.co.uk/products-page/bag-end1/bag-end-s-10-x-d-single-10-enclosure-ax-hi-drive/"]http://www.bassgear.co.uk/products-page/ba...re-ax-hi-drive/[/url]
  16. molan
    Is this the older Drome or the newer Neo-Drome? Just checking as you've got a new speaker so maybe it's the Neo?
  17. molan
    I joined this a while ago but there hardly ever seems to be much going on. I also looked at some of the wanted ads and they were un-moderated and had more spam ads for stuff like "amazing opportunities to work from home" or "win an IPhone" than actual musicians ads
  18. molan
    [quote name='BassBod' post='916517' date='Aug 5 2010, 10:51 PM']Will someone [b]please [/b]buy this...quick....before I do something I can't afford![/quote] Phil takes credit cards too
  19. molan
    Built at Performance Guitar in Hollywood CA, by Yasuhiro Yokote; an amazing custom builder with a client list that reads like a who's who of LA guitar gods! There's a really good article about Performance Guitars here [url="http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2009/Feb/Hot_Rodder_to_the_Stars_Inside_Performance_Guitar.aspx"]http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issu...nce_Guitar.aspx[/url] They have been making a very limited range of basses with the most notable being the Louis Johnson Signature Black Dragon. Not really sure of the history of this one & they don't list a P bass design at all on their web site. However I think they did make a run of both P & J shapes for a while. This one came to me from a regular gigging & session guy in LA & he added a few upgrades to the already very high base spec. He swapped all the hardware to fit black units which, I think, look really cool against the faded look of the ivory white body and tinted guard & neck. There are a few small dings in the body (which make me think the nitro theory is true). All the original chrome units plus the stock pickup are included as is a very nice G&G hard 'vintage' case. It's now got a Badass bridge, Hipshot lollipop tuners & Bartolini pickup which has a great growly P bass sound. Really meaty with lots of power. I was told the body finish is in nitro but I don't really know how to test this so i can't confirm 100%. The neck is a lovely dark rosewood which works well with the body colour and feels great to play. This bass is also residing at BassGear in Harrogate if anyone would like to try it out [url="http://www.bassgear.co.uk/products-page/pre-owned/performance-guitar-p-bass/"]http://www.bassgear.co.uk/products-page/pr...-guitar-p-bass/[/url]
  20. molan
    I've had a couple of people query the price on this with the intimation that they could get a new one for about the same amount. The Zon site says: [i]"The VB bass is a limited-production instrument that is only available factory direct and will not be found in any stores. Price shown is the actual purchase for the instrument. No additional discounts apply"[/i] Base price $2,050 = about £1,350 at recent exchange rates (which, I'm guessing is why people have queried my price). However, in order to get one in Europe you'd have: Insured delivery $175 = £115 VAT @ 17.5% = £255 Duties about 3% = £45 (I'm not sure exactly how much these work out at but it always seems to be somewhere between 2% & 3%) Total = £1,765 If you take the £30 delivery cost off my valuation then I'm asking for £1,320 which is a 25% discount for something that's pretty much unobtainable new over here without a long(ish) wait. I really think this is pretty reasonable - it doesn't mean I won't listen to offers but I do refute the fact that it's possible to buy a new one for £1,350 delivered in Europe. . .
  21. molan
    [quote name='blackmn90' post='916419' date='Aug 5 2010, 09:27 PM']Yes i saw that, it must be an amazing bass because when i saw them he had his 66 jazz bass next to him and he never touched it. Maybe one day when im touring [/quote] I've heard it played live at a gig as well & it really does sound just 'right', full rounded tone & sits in the mix perfectly but can also really cut through when played more aggressively.
  22. molan
    And that very bass is for sale at [url="http://www.bassgear.co.uk/products-page/pre-owned/alleva-coppolo-lg5-classic-supreme-pre-owned/"]BassGear[/url] I've played it and it really is quite special. . .
  23. molan
    I dunno Clarky, what are you like eh? This really is a great player's bass - super versatile and can do everything from old school P to modern J sounds with Jimmy C's fabulous pre-amp and pickups
  24. molan
    [quote name='sixshooter' post='916353' date='Aug 5 2010, 08:11 PM']I have been asked a number of questions about this bass so here are the answers: Weight is 9lbs 2ozs Nut Width 1 3/4 inches Not good at describing the neck profile, but it is slim rather than chunky, I would say nothing like a 70's neck. Date is March 59 Hope this helps[/quote] If it's an early '59 should it not have an anodized pickguard? I thought the tort guards didn't come out until mid/end of '59? Mind you - who knows with Fender's general dating policy, could be that some parts are early in the year and others later, lol.
  25. molan
    I had Optima Gold strings on a Warwick for a while (the bass arrived with them fitted). They chewed up my fingers like no other strings I've ever played! I am mildly allergic to gold though, lol.
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