dougal

[quote name='dub_junkie' post='792570' date='Mar 31 2010, 10:15 PM']I'm pretty sure I have your Bongo 5 these days. It came to me in a trade deal with bigwan for a 4HH also sapphire black with moonstone PG.[/quote] This is probably the tell-tale if it is or not: Gorgeous bass. Bought in Ishibashi in Japan. It might even have the original receipt with it?

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='792372' date='Mar 31 2010, 08:01 PM']1) Why should the Bongo headstock suffer damage/knocks/dings more than any other 'headed' bass... or is that just a fallacy? [/quote] It's the shape. You see that 90 degree bit at the tip, and 90 degree bit underneath it? It's a beautiful curve that echoes the top horn of the body. And apparently is a weak spot for paint. I'm sure pointy headed Jacksons suffer from the same thing: there's a *thud*, you've just got too personal with the drum kit. Chip in headstock! Q.E.D. Or something.

I'm in a classic rock covers band, and a party band. The party band plays stuff I never listened to in the late 80's & early 90's cos I thought it was crap (imagine learning the contents of "Now that's What I call music" vols 1 to 3), but for some reason I love playing it. I don't get paid for either Depends what you're in it for I suppose.

Sign me up for "weird" then. Mine: I think it's mostly an aesthetic thing: it might add a small %-age to the weight but (probably) less than a high mass bridge.

Just to add my 2p: I love my stingray. It had an issue with the sound of the G-string. I bought a Nordy PUP for Bass direct for £107. It solved the g-string problem, and made the bass sound warmer. YMMV.

Am I the only one that thinks they look better in a 5 or 6 than a 4? I sold my 5. I can't remember why: all this has made me rather nostalgic. They're great basses, with the afore-mentioned caveat that they'll get a chip on the headstock. I'm still waiting for the ad in the for sale section that says "for sale, bongo, unique, no chip on headstock". Gone the way of the warrior...:

[url="http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2010/03/huge-instrument.html"]http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2010/03/...instrument.html[/url] Ho ho ho :-)

If you're [url="http://www.filmbaby.com/films/60"]loaded [/url]& have no teacher avaiable, you could try "Art of the Bow". [url="http://artofthebow.com/"]http://artofthebow.com/[/url] I have seen it and it has some interesting points: although without a teacher to discuss them with I'm not sure how useful or relevant they are.

The ones I use regularly: bassdirect dv247.com stringsdirect.co.uk Thomann (but as pointed out, the exchange rate isn't in our favour at the moment)

[quote name='green' post='783798' date='Mar 23 2010, 06:39 PM']in my opinion, a bass should shound just right, with the preamp set flat. what woods is your bass made of ?[/quote] Point 1: couldn't agree more. Point 2: Swamp ash wings on a 5 piece maple wenge & zebrawood neck. I read that the fingerboard makes the most difference: this one is purple heart which according to warmouth: [quote]Purpleheart (Peltogyne pubesens): The trademark purple-like color is striking and it is gaining in popularity. A very hard, dense wood for excellent sustain and similar to Bubinga in its thick well defined bottom. Looks great combined with bodies sporting purple finishes![/quote] chris_b: the guy who built it is in the USA: I lived there for a while. Getting it back to him could be awkward. I can do the gallery easily enough. Here is the promised sound file: [url="https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B9bWLouJSKRtYWFkZWVhYjUtMDQ1OC00NTAwLTlkZDktNGI2OGIzYTBhNjUx&hl=en"]https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B9bWLouJSK...hNjUx&hl=en[/url] It's eq-flat & both pickups.

[quote name='Clarky' post='785782' date='Mar 25 2010, 01:20 PM']Is that Warwickhunt's old Sadowsky PJ by any chance? Very nice mate![/quote] Yup. I think it's done the rounds on here a number of times. No idea why. It's beautiful. Now I want to find it's brother....

Here I am with my favourite bass & favourite t-shirt.

[quote name='green' post='782468' date='Mar 22 2010, 12:22 PM']well, i guess you could always get a set of smaller pickups plus wood housings that fit your routings.[/quote] Absolutely: but that pushes the price up for something which [i]might[/i] not make much/any difference. Next stop the Gallery.

[quote]well, if the bass sounds good played unplugged, and it's not the preamp, i'd say it's the pickups.[/quote] Pretty much the conclusion I came to: was hoping it's otherwise as they're matching, and an awkward size to get replacements for. [quote]Have you heard from Grandon recently? Seems to have vanished.[/quote] Nope: 'vanished' would be an apt description. He does have a habit of it in my experience. [quote]my suggestion would be a trip to see Martin at the Gallery[/quote] An excellent idea. I'll give him a ring. Thanks everyone for your input.

So here's the story: I get talking to the guys on uglybassplayer.com and over the course of time I was convinced that Grandon Westlund was the man to build me a bass. So I ordered one, waited the required 9 months, and this turned up (about 2 years ago). There are more pictures here: [url="http://www.gwbasses.com/gallery/Dougal_SC-1_5String.shtml"]http://www.gwbasses.com/gallery/Dougal_SC-1_5String.shtml[/url] It is absolutely gorgeous to play, balances perfectly, looks great (or at least, I think it does). The problem is the sound. To the extent that it's pretty much become an art piece that sits on the wall hanger & looks pretty. Acoustically it has plenty of top end sparkle: when amplified it sounds dead and lifeless, even with the treble all the way up & new strings on. I'll get some sound samples up to illustrate the problem. I've tried hooking it up through a different pre-amp (the current one is an [url="http://www.aguilaramp.com/products_preamps_obp2.htm"]aguilar abp-2[/url] - the replacement a 5-pot east j-retro) without much avail - it wasn't noticeably different. Digital modelers can't help the flat sound being fed in. The question is: what do we think can be done about it? Will new pickups and pre do the job, or is the combination of covered pickups, swamp ash body & purpleheart fingerboard the problem? If it means I start using it I can live with non-matching pup covers. Is it worth it? Should I try & sell it on & buy something (or find someone to swap with) like a 5-string music-man instead? Is there even a market for such a custom build by a relatively unknown builder (I think I have to accept that I'll not get anything like what I paid for it...) Any ideas gratefully received!

[quote]I love the Evah Pirazzi's (orch guage)[/quote] Just put a set on mine: I really like them too.

Sold Dave a double bass bow: no-nonsense transaction, top bloke.

There's a strange echo in here.