molan

[quote name='CHRISDABASS' post='854409' date='Jun 2 2010, 06:42 AM']looks awesome! let me know when you decide to sell it [/quote] You know me too well Anyway - I've only sold one amp & a bass & bought two new basses this week (excluding the WW AC) so my thirst for a 'deal' may be sated for a few days. . .

[quote name='molan' post='838401' date='May 15 2010, 08:26 PM']I must admit that I'm really excited about this one![/quote] And it's arrived! Been playing for the last hour or so & just don't want to put it down It has that great Alleve Coppolo tone - just seems to be impossible to get a bad sound out of it - even in my hands, lol. I'll try to write up a review soon but in the meantime here's some of the original pics the previous owner sent me:

I was very much a prog man (well - boy actually!) back in the early - mid 70's. Yes, Genesis and Gentle Giant were probably my favourites at the time. I used to go and see anyone who might play locally and discovered all sorts of little gems like Greenslade & Fruupp, drifted into Gong and Steve Hillage for a while, struggled with King Crimson & Mahavishnu type bands who were just too 'technical' for me & never really got ELP who I just found too pompous & just a little dull. I've never really listened to enough modern prog to have an opinion - need to try a bit harder I think!

[quote name='bubinga5' post='851013' date='May 29 2010, 12:02 PM']Ill take your 50th Rich.. Other than that i would go for a Custom Shop to my spec.... Leaving Fender behind (which i would for this) i would go for a Pensa Jazz...I would have one of these over a AC, Celinder...i nearl bought this once but it fell through for various reasons Awsome awsome basses....[/quote] That's interesting BB5 - where did you get to try out a Suhr? I've only ever seen them for sale in the States but, like pretty much everything these days, I guess some have made their way over here. They seem to 'only' sell for about $1,500 on the used market so not that expensive at all

[quote name='molan' post='850930' date='May 29 2010, 09:38 AM']Although I think there are so many nice Fender Jazzes out there my vote goes into the 'super' category I'm afraid. Alleva Coppolo who somehow manage to out-vintage an old Fender (and with 5 strings if that's your thing) but with far greater flexibility of tonal options[/quote] Who'd have thought it - my comments on the Alleva Coppolo magic obviously put some positive vibes out into the ether & when the post arrived this morning there was a note to say my latest aquisition was awaiting payment of custos cuties and would be delivered on Wednesday. With a bit of quick thinking I managed to get across to the postal storage depot and pay the duties in person & bring it home with me right there and then It's actually a P bass body with J pickups in it and it's just so nice to play. In passive mode & tone rolled off it has a great vintage tone and the neck, with vintage tint, and rosewood board are just lovely to play. Anyway - it's technically a P bass so I'll stop going off topic and post some more notes elsehwere I would seriously urge anyone thinking of a high end J to try out an AC though, very, very nice basses that, IMHO, do live up to the hype (in fact I like them so much I've already ordered another. . .)

Although I think there are so many nice Fender Jazzes out there my vote goes into the 'super' category I'm afraid. Alleva Coppolo who somehow manage to out-vintage an old Fender (and with 5 strings if that's your thing) but with far greater flexibility of tonal options Celinder for such amazing playability a lovely core tone Sadowsky for luscious finishes and 'that' punchy sound which is still so good live

Try emailing Steve Rowse - he's a top valve amp expert and knows his way around SVTs [url="http://www.stevesamps.co.uk/"]http://www.stevesamps.co.uk/[/url]

[quote name='molan' post='845816' date='May 23 2010, 03:47 PM']I ran the on-stage monitor mix for them once about 7-8 years ago. Absolutely great fun & a really nice bunch. I had a fascinating conversation with Dave Brock about rust problems on '70's Mercs and where to find the cheapest replacement parts, lol.[/quote] ooh - just remembered that 'Brocky' gave me a luminescent star that he had stuck on to the headstock of his guitar after the gig. I still have it somewhere - will have to fix it on to one of my basses, the Bootsy is the most obvious candidate

[quote name='Gwilym' post='849880' date='May 27 2010, 10:22 PM']was just thinking that if Molan didn't change the strings on that Sei Jazz after he bought it from me, it may well have been Hi-Beams on there when you got it.[/quote] Good shout - of course I have no idea if I changed them or not, lol. In terms of DR's I must admit I quite like the Sunbeams but I used for a while but went back to Elixirs because I'm a wimp and they are softer on my fingers!

I'd like to know more about the nitro finish - does it really make that much difference to the 'sound' of a bass? I know it feels really nice but is the potential for it to be damaged more easily an acceptable trade-off for an improvement in tone? I'd also be interested in how he selects his woods. He's 'famous' for having access to some amazing woods - such as the Dalbergia Negra fingerborads. How does he get hold of these rare woods and how does he choose which ones might sound best?

[quote name='birdy' post='847252' date='May 25 2010, 10:08 AM']I would ask about the prospect of a PJ. I think Jimmy hasn't dismissed the idea but was struggling to get time to design the pickups correctly but would be interested to know? Steve[/quote] Well - I have an AC in customs right now with a P body & scratchplate but a pair of J pickups so he can certainly handle the routing oK

I've updated my signature - happy to bring anything that's on there really By June 27th I should also have the Alleva Willie Weeks Signature: Possibly another Alleva Coppolo 1600 LTD in trans cherry spalted maple And, hopefully a Performance Bass P in a lovely nitro ivory finish with a white plate and all black hardware - these Performance basses really are very nice indeed, I'll definitely have my Louis Johnson Signature with me anyway: