Dingus

Sounds like you are on track for Friday delivery .

Leo Fender thought the pickups looked ugly , and so designed the covers as a means of making the bass more aesthetically pleasing to him . They added to the overall automoblie- inspired chic of Fender guitars in relation to the design aesthetic of the time . Take a look at some 1950's American cars and then look ar a Fender bass with the pickup covers on and you will probably see what I mean . The covers also served a practical purpose in so much as they prevented the player hitting the exposed pole pieces on the pickup with a pick or fingers and thus causing an unwanted amplified thump . The rear cover also housed a rubber mute to aid a getting the muted thumpy tone reminiscent of a double bass that was considered the ideal sound when the Fender bass was first conceived of . The covers were also supposed to act as places to rest the palm to anchor the picking hand .

I notice reading the spec on these that the body is made out of American sugar pine . I wonder what that will sound like ? I'm sure they must have had a good reason for choosing a pretty unusual body wood . Weight , maybe ? I know some recent Fender Custom Shop guitars have been made out of American pine . I expect it will sound good , anyway .

I like the Xotic , too . If weight is an issue though , they tend to be a little on the heavy side , generally speaking .

If you can live with 35 inch scale ( I can't ) the Lakland 5 string Jazz Basses are pretty nice , active or passive . If you have the budget for it , one of the best five string Jazz Basses I ever heard was a Nordstrand with chunky pickups on it - either Fat Stacks or Big Singles , I don't know which . It sounded amazingly good ..

[quote name='the boy' timestamp='1368036742' post='2072411'] Ok cool. As before, I assume. [/quote] Of course , my friend .

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1368016548' post='2072053'] This is true, I had completely forgotten about that. GHS Precision Flats are indeed very similar to Lakland Flats. I'll try them next time. [/quote] As far as I know , GHS make all of Laklands strings for them . ( In fact , GHS make a lot of boutique brand strings sold under other labels , but that is no bad thing - GHS are great strings ) . Lakland Stainless Steel rounds are essentially GHS Super Steels in a slightly different gauge , Nickel Rounds are Boomers , and I would expect the flats are very similar to Precision Flats , but I don't know that for a fact . But If you lot like Lakland so much I am sure you lot could get round this little obstacle somehow . Are you all sure it would now work out that much more expensive to ship them from the States ? I regulaly use USPS ( ordinary American mail service ) to send stuff to the U.K and find them pretty inexpensive . Lakland are a fantastic company to deal with and I am sure they would be as helpful as they could possibly be .

I have to say that I am pretty sure that this bass [i]isn't[/i] a Status of any description , but what it actually is I have no idea . The styling looks kind of mid - 1990's to me , but that is just a vague impression I get .

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1367959665' post='2071722'] i find it weird how they list the house as a 4 bedroom, 1 bath house [/quote] It surprises me , too . I'm not an estate agent but I would have thought mentioning that the house has a secure sex dungeon conversion in the basement would add significantly to the value . I know in Chelsea / West Kensington they are all having them done out like that and the prices are going through the roof , despite the recession .

[quote name='the boy' timestamp='1367960742' post='2071749'] Ok.................ammmmmm............dum de dum..........this is awkward............... [/quote] Not for me .

Thanks for posting this . I am still in awe of this track and Chris Squier's brilliant bass playing on it well over thirty years after first hearing it .

Could you approach Guitar Guitar ( or The Gallery ) with an order between you for x number of multiple sets , thus making it worth their while . They might be able to get the strings packed along with a shipment of basses , thus cutting costs . Another alternative would be for you to collectively approach a specialist string retailer like Strings Direct or Stringbusters and let them know your interest in Lakland Strings . They might be inclined to try stocking them if they knew there was a market for them .

Lakland used to be handled in the U.K by Headline Distribution , who are the U.K agents for PRS Guitars . I think Headline used their network of PRS dealers as outlets for Lakland basses , hence them being more widely available for a time . When Headline and Lakland went their separate ways , Guitar Guitar stepped in and took over as U.K dealers , along with the Gallery . That is why they are in less an array shops than before . The naked truth is that for most American bass companies like Lakland and similar , the U.K is not a particulaly significant in terms of sales , so none of them are likely to aggressively pursue it as a market when their efforts are better focused elsewhere . They get far more revenue from the domestic market in the U.S.A and sales in the Far East than in Europe .

Musicman basses - even ones with just one pickup in the classic Stingray position - have got inherently big and powerful bottom end , and I rarely find much occasion to boost it much . I find a Stingray or similar with the eq set flat has got a much more hefty bottom than a typical Precision Bass , for example .

Also worth mentioning that if you are thinking of importing this bass from what is presumably a Music Man dealer in the States you can forget it : EBMM forbid export of their instruments from the U.S.A to countries who have EBMM distribution , except in very special circumstances .

Beautiful basses . I'm sure they will be terriffic . I would prefer a black scratchplate - tortoise shell never looks right on a Music Man by virtue of the fact that the original pre - EBMM ones all had either black or white plates - but other than that , I would love one of these myself .

[quote name='the boy' timestamp='1367936755' post='2071204'] No, that's not what the threads about or no for the other? [/quote] Just no .

Does anybody know if these Fender Original P Bass pickups are what is in the post - 2008 ( but pre 2012 when they upgraded to the Custom Shop pickups ) American Standard basses ?

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1367929134' post='2071085'] I remember visiting a music shop in Birmingham (can't remember the name but they had massive displays of Bass guitars in the basement) in the early 90s that had brand new G&L ASAT basses for £400. It seemed to be a nicely balanced bass. [/quote] Sitting down on a strap they are fine , but standing up with a strap they can tend to be a bit unwieldy , to my tastes at least . Cass Lewis played an ASAT similar to these ones twith Skunk Anansie in the 1990's and sounded great , and I'm sure these will sound superb - all G&L basses do to me - but that ASAT body shape is not the most practical design in terms of comfort .

A couple of great basslines from a classic reggae album . Sly and Robbie at their very best : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wzZclP0OEA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF_S5GRlMaw

[quote name='the boy' timestamp='1367918894' post='2070887'] In so happy you've decided to stop being a knob. That's what this thread is about right???????? [/quote] No.

The major problem with a Telecaster body shape is that it makes the body hang in an unusual position compared to a traditional Fender - based shape bass , with the neck seemingly further away from you . Neck diving is inherent , unless you take remedial steps to counteract it .

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1367863791' post='2070399'] This sounds familiar. What I found was that the zipping up was not the worst part - the extrication was, erm, not to be repeated... [/quote] Yes . Never want to go through that again , ever .

I haven't had a chance to play one of these yet , but if they are made by G&L they will be good basses : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBRCaepunNE

[quote name='iceonaboy' timestamp='1367856740' post='2070282'] I know a guy who got his whole zip up with half his elbow skin hanging out [/quote] What's he doing with his arm down there ? Still , better than catching his foreskin , I suppose .