Dingus

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1397474144' post='2424164'] No ones answered my question yet, how come Talkbass allows sales of Rickenbacker basses ? And how do they vet (if they even do) whether a bass is the genuine article ? [/quote] I pointed that out, too.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1397408311' post='2423638'] I had an NYC which was so light that the neck was really unbalanced. I spoke to Sadowsky about possible ways to cure this and they simply told me I was wrong and they never released basses with neck dive! I 'cured' it by fitting Hipshot Ultra-lights and noticed, a year or so later that these were standard fit on a lot of new Sadowskys. . . I've tried an odd one since then that wasn't perfectly balanced and each one was really, really light weight. It's generally been the chambered body ones that have had the imbalance. Obviously there's a compromise in play between weight and balance so I couldn't complain too much. [/quote] Funnily enough, the last time I spoke to Roger it was to ask him to make me a bass with lightweight tuners on, They were using them on the five strings and I asked him to put them on a four to improve the balance even further and he said that he thought the traditional tuners sounded better in terms of affecting the resonance of the neck . It sounded a bit far-fetched to me, who knows ? I passed on that bass, but I myself have never noticed a [i]particular[/i] problem with neck dive on Sadowsky basses of any weight more than other Jazz-style basses , that do tend to have an inherent "tug" at the neck end . However, the weight of the body is not the significant factor in deciding whether a bass neck dives. I have read this quite a lot on Basschat, and it appears to be a common misconception. Most basses prone to neck dive would do so just as much if the body was twice as heavy. What affects neck dive far more is the shape of the body and the relative balance points of the strap buttons. , not the weight. Lightening the overall weight of the neck can help improve the balance further, but the converse approach of making the body heavier [u]does not[/u] really help.

They are O.K , but not that great in certain respects, to be honest with you. As I previously alluded to, generally speaking they tend to be very heavy due to the body being made of dense Northern Ash as opposed to Swamp Ash, and the preamp is not that good either. If you can pick up a used one for a good price and you can live with the weight or find a lighter example , they are decent enough , and you can upgrade the preamp to the East J Retro made for that model and improve the tone 100% .

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1397334370' post='2423006'] Nicely dodged. Not really, no. What I meant to ask was, 'what would you have done then?' [/quote] What I'm telling you is when you ask "what would you have done then ? " is that it's a moot point, because I am not Ped or Kiwi, and I have very different motivations and ambitions. How I behave is not a prescription for others any more than how others behave is a prescription for me . If you are trying to get me to say they have done the only thing they could under the circumstances then that depends on your assessment of what those collective circumstances actually are and what their real priorities are. You and I can only guess at that, but if they are like most people, it's fair to assume they want the maximum possible personal benefit for the least possible effort and financial investment . That's certainly what I want from my own businesses , and I wouldn't expect whoever owns Basschat to be any different.

[quote name='JazzBassfreak' timestamp='1397330507' post='2422949'] Yup Staffordshire about 45 mins from Brum, John Diggins? [/quote] John is a great craftsman , but try and get him to give you a realistic turnaround time for the job. He is usually snowed under with work due to his long-held reputation as one of the best in the business. I'm sure there are some other excellent luthiers in your neck of the woods if JD is too busy . Someone on this site will have someone they can recommend, or ask Mark at Bass Direct if he can suggest anyone in the area to do that kind of a job. He must have a repairman he uses.

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1397329588' post='2422937'] What would you have done then? [/quote] Well that's not really a fair question because I doubt Ped and Kiwi have the same resources available to them as I have at my disposal. If what you really mean to ask is whether I think Ped and Kiwi have done the right thing under the circumstances then all I can really say is that I am not at all surprised that they have chosen to react in the way that they have.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1397329476' post='2422934'] OK - I'll be Zebedee. [/quote] I always wanted to have a daughter so I could call her Ermintrude.

Why not have an actual merry- go- round with bass guitars on it? Like a kind of jazz funk Magic Roundabout? You could get really dizzy, disorientated , feel generally weird and experience what it's like to be Bootsy Collins. It would be like astronauts undergoing training for G-force in a centrifuge , as you try to knock out the bassline to "Fire" by the Ohio Players while you spin round in a compromised state.

[quote name='col.decker' timestamp='1397325614' post='2422891'] Namely a Mexican Marcus Miller mk2. Unless you know of any horror stories of course. Put me off and save my marriage [/quote] A lot depends on how nice your wife is. If she is attractive, obedient, a good cook and enthusiastic about housework then I would say pass on the Marcus Miller Jazz Bass, because they may sound quite good but they do tend to be fairly heavy due to the ash body , and as far as I know they don't clean the toilet and have your tea waiting for you when you get home from work. .

[quote name='Guinness21' timestamp='1397328222' post='2422919'] YES! I'm a student with debts and no income and just bought a stingray [/quote] Excellent choice. You will most likely be unemployed and on the scrap heap after you graduate, so at least you will have a nice bass to play to keep yourself occupied.

Crikey, if that's the crud on your pickups then I can only imagine the state of your underwear !

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1397325818' post='2422893'] Maybe John Hall has never used bully boy tactics against TB or sent them cease-and-desist notices with dire warnings of law suits? [/quote] Or maybe he did and they were better equipped to respond.

[quote name='geofio' timestamp='1397324246' post='2422869'] John Hall has won either way you look at it, he does not care one jot if rics are advertised on here or not, it will not affect him in the slightest, the losers are the genuine advertisers, buyers and sellers !!! [/quote][quote name='geofio' timestamp='1397324246' post='2422869'] John Hall has won either way you look at it, he does not care one jot if rics are advertised on here or not, it will not affect him in the slightest, the losers are the genuine advertisers, buyers and sellers !!! [/quote] John Hall stands to benefit a great deal by stifling the secondhand market in his basses. It can only serve to help the sales of new ones.

I have no interest in buying or selling Rickenbackers, real or fake, so I am not bothered either way, but I wonder why they seem to be able to trade Ricks with impunity over on Talkbass?

Actually, I'm quite good but you can't really say that about yourself, can you?

[quote name='bassman344' timestamp='1397318678' post='2422787'] This makes funny and interesting reading. When you say novices how novice do you mean. Is it like the bloke/girl at the golf course with the latest and greatest in gadgets and golf clubs who nearly takes out the rear window of the secretary's Porsche at the first tee funny? If you have ever played golf you know this person. Or is it just that they have too much money and they think expensive basses will make them a better player? Expensive basses maybe look nicer in some eyes because they cost more but if you aren't plucking and fretting right and haven't a clue about even tuning the instrument you are in bother before you start. [/quote] When I say novice I mean if you picked a stranger off the street who had never played a musical instrument before and asked them to have a go on your bass for a laugh , like that. Some of them were good enough to be described as poor players, but I can only remember one chap ( who I sold my pre-EBMM Stingray to) who I could say was a ( very) good player , and much better than me at the time . The rest of them , I can honestly say, for the most part they were not competent enough to play the bassline to a simple song all the way through in a band, which is one of my general rules of thumb. I think that such folks really[i] want[/i] to play the bass, but lack the patience and application to learn, and so buying gear is effectively the only way for them to participate in something that they are attracted to and maybe even fascinated by. I'm not being snooty about it or trying to be scathing of them, but it makes me sad because the most fun to be had with a bass is learning how to play it properly . It's a lot more rewarding to play well and have a less expensive bass than it is to have a great bass and struggle to find anything to do on it to amuse yourself. I was useless when I first started playing, but I had lessons , practiced and stuck with it. Now after all that hard work, I am average to mediocre

[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1397313564' post='2422733'] Ouch! Good observation, I know what you mean about players who buy high end guitars and yet are still going through the gears in their learning. I'm just glad that they are having fun in the bass world and that they have got a cool instrument that makes them smile and PROUD to own. No matter what level you are, if you can enjoy playing then that's all that matters in my personal view. Equally, I get a buzz out of seeing awesome players buy a bass off me and take it to levels that I couldn't. For me, as long as it makes them buzz, I'm buzzing too. Oh, and the cash is always nice. [/quote] Absolutely, it's their money and if they want to buy basses with it, that is their prerogative and if it makes them happy then I can't see the harm, but imagine how much more fun they could have if they learnt to play a bit? . I'm also sure there are plenty of people out there who are much better than me and would be critical of my own playing and I have no pretensions or illusions in that respect. However, what was shocking about some of these punters was that they really were just like complete novices, despite having pro quality gear, and it has happened on numerous occasions over the years. Who knows, when it comes to bass playing maybe I have got high standards and I don't realize it? Anyhow, I felt pangs of conscience in taking their money rather than telling them to buy a decent Squier and spend the rest on some lessons. Still took the money , though.

I am not at all keen, Gareth. It's a bit too Dame Edna Everage for my taste, or perhaps even a touch too Danny La Rue. ( That's Danny La Rue the drag artist, ,[i] not [/i]EBMM- endorsing artist Dave LaRue , in case you are a bit confused ).

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1397211521' post='2421798'] Materialistic purchase is an [i]addiction[/i]...i.e. there is a definite, short term high following the acquisition of a new "item" (bass). But here's the thing...as with any addiction the high doesn't last and the subsequent "come down" leaves the addict with a desire to [i]recapture the high.[/i] To compound this[i] the law of diminishing returns is at work[/i]...the high [i]weakens [/i]after each hit (purchase)...leaving the addict forever seeking the same high that the original hit provided! A word to the wise...this site is populated by and large by bass purchase addicts. It's almost as if the central, most important core of the activity ....the human being interaction of playing the instrument to make music...is of no importance! Don't believe me? Compare the amount of gear related posts to playing tip inquiries on bass chat.......... [/quote] You are indeed a wise man. This is site as much ( if not more) for bass guitar owners as it is for bass guitar players. Collecting basses is a hobby in its' own right, and a perfectly legitimate one that I personally have no problem with whatsoever. However, I cannot help but note that when I have been selling basses in the past, they have usually been relatively expensive high quality basses and I have fielded fairly involved technical questions from many of the prospective buyers about various elements of construction ect. When these individuals subsequently came to my house to pick the bass up and try it out, almost to a man [u],NONE[/u] of them could play for toffee. With only one exception I can think of , with the best will in the world, they were all utterly useless players, and many of them were adding my bass to a sizable collection of similarly high-end instruments. They spend their time agonizing about technicalities and academic issues to do with construction because it is somewhere to direct their energies elsewhere than confronting their shortcomings as a player.

[quote name='JazzBassfreak' timestamp='1397251474' post='2422336'] The YYS is amazing in every sort of situation, but I'm not a fan of taking out the house too much! I've sold a few of my other basses so I think a Sadowsky 4 is my next buy. Btw I've been looking at getting a ramp made for my YYS, can you recommend anyone? Cheers [/quote] I would have though any decent luthier could make you a ramp. Where are you located ? The Gallery in Camden could do you one no problem , or at the other end of the country Chris May at Overwater in Carlisle would do a great job. Jiimmy Moon in Glasgow if you are north of the border , or John Diggins in Birmingham if you are in the Midlands.

Sadowsky basses , are they worth it ? Well, I would say yes, they are worth it in the same way that your Fodera is " worth it ", but whether they are good value for money if you are buying them in the U.K is another matter entirely. Even though they are very different styles of bass respectively, both Fodera and Sadowsky share the same fundamental principles of guitar building , i.e do the basic things to a very high standard and you will probably end up with an impressive instrument at the end of it. I firmly believe that the excellent reputation that both companies enjoy is due to the fact that they are run by people who understand that there are certain fundamental mechanical processes that you have to do correctly to make a bass that plays well and sounds good- selecting the right wood, cutting the nut , fretwork, truing the fingerboard, tight neck join, et cetera - and despite their growing reputation and big demand to turn out more instruments,as quickly as possible they have both steadfastly refused to compromise those values because they are smart enough to realize they would be undermining what makes them special . I have known a few people who were disappointed by Sadowsky basses when they eventually got to try one after years of reading about them., claiming that they "weren't anything that special". Well, I certainly see how that could happen, because superb basses as they are, they are essentially pretty simple instruments. A Fender- style bass with a slightly scaled down body and a very straightforward preamp. But to me that is also their great strength and why they are such useful basses. They are comfortable to wear , very easy to play, the boost -only preamp sounds very musical and is perfectly tuned to that bass, and overall it's a bass you can spend you time enjoying playing rather than messing about with. If you live in the USA they are a great buy, certainly not cheap but a high quality bass at a fair price. If you live in Britain and are thinking about buying and importing a new one though , always bear in mind that in any normal circumstances , Roger Sadowsky doesn't discount, ever, and that includes his export prices, so the stated price is what you will pay, unlike some companies who will discount from their direct retail price for basses exported overseas. That means you can add approximately another 25% to the retail price by the time you get the bass in your hands in the U.K , so you have to decide if a £3000 bass is worth £4000 to you, or at least some approximation of those figures depending on what bass you choose with whichever options. You see quite a few used Sadowsky basses for sale, and if you find a good one at the right price I think it could be a great buy, and a bass you could easily love. Another option is to get a decent quality Jazz Bass of some description ( there are lots out there nowadays) and got the Sadowsky outboard preamp to play it through. It has exactly the same electronics as what is in Sadowsky basses, and gives a very big chunk of that Sadowsky sound to any half-decent Jazz Bass. Fairly affordable, and strongly recommended.