Dingus

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1380380739' post='2224534'] See, I have the following and I have put a mirror plate on it, but I was convinced 'Arry's was a slab and that the binding wouldn't work.[url="http://s1354.photobucket.com/user/Karl_Altdorfer/media/EC4BD2BC_zps91b3bd06.jpg.html"][/url] [/quote] That bass will easily do as the basis for Harris tribute axe , but if you wanted to really be pedantic then I think Steve's bass is a true white rather than the usual Olympic White , which has more yellow in it . Not sure what effect the Toon sticker will have, though - you might find the bass gives a poor performance despite costing you a fortune and provides you with year after year of dissappointment and broken dreams .

I am sure the Bass Doc is right , and I bow to his superior knowledge of all things Fender , but if you look round I am sure you will be able to find the odd 1 3/4 inch nut width 70's Precision . A while ago I helped someone set up a pair of '78/79 Precisions, one with a maple board and one rosewood. Both had the C width , and the rosewood one was massively chunky front to back , whereas the maple one was shallow but wide. It just goes to show how varied Fender necks were at that time. Good luck finding a light one though... When I look at the prices some 1970's Precisions are going for, considering what they are , I would get a custom build or a new bass instead , but each to their own .

If I recall correctly , that bass is actually Steve Harris' original early 70's Precision that started out black , was later metallic blue and was subsequently tarted up by the Fender Custom shop with its' current West Ham F.C -inspired livery. I don't think it is actually a slab body , it just looks that way because of the painted- on binding. You could easily get a used Fender Steve Harris bass and have it refinished white with the West Ham crest on ect. Steve is an incredible player, but I personally find Iron Maiden unlistenable, and, when I think about it, I have only known one person in my entire life who openly admits to liking their music , and I know a lot of people . I suppose lots of people out there must like it because they are without doubt one of the most enduringly successful bands ever .

[quote name='NJE' timestamp='1380360457' post='2224198'] I am after a bit of info on Precision necks and haven't really found my answer anywhere, so I am hoping some precision experts on here can help. I am after a Precision but I like the big necks found on the 57 and classic 50's precision (and now the new vintage reissue precisions). The twist is I would quite like an older bass with a bit of character and have been looking at vintage instruments. Obviously the original 50's and 60's precisions are really expensive but some of the 70's precisions around are pretty reasonable. So the question is (finally) do any 70's precision basses have the 'C' width neck like the 57 or are they all narrower A and B profiles? [/quote] Plenty of '70's Precision basses have C necks, and I have also come across a fair few with a tree trunk neck profile to go along with it, if that is what you are after. The B and C neck profies were more common in the '70's , but the A profile was still the standard width, as far as I know. Late 1990's/ early 2000's USA -made P Basses also had a very wide nut and with a fairly shallow front to back profile, from what I can remember, so maybe finding one of them would be a lower cost option.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1380306025' post='2223657'] A friend of mine who is a pro player with a very good and well-established functions band had an Svt 3 and he used it extensively for a couple of years.The sound was fantastic but he sold it because it neede re-valving more often than he had anticipated. He was usually gigging about five nights a week most weeks, and found that particulaly in the winter that the valves were prone to needing replacing .He thought it was because of the warmed- up valves going from a warm environment indoors to being loaded in the van in the cold outside. Whatever the reason , he got an endorsement with another company and sold it. I emphasise , though, that he was using his amp day in and day out as a workhorse, and it had no other reliability issues, as far as I know. I played through it on several occasions and it sounded absolutely amazing, both with an Ampeg 8x10 and also with the Hartke cabinet he later replaced that with. [/quote] Just checked, it was actually an SVT 2 Pro. Sorry about that. Great sounding amp, though.

Craig Logan from Bros. Spent a lot of time in hospital and then packed it in and got a big payout just before the other two ended up skint.

A friend of mine who is a pro player with a very good and well-established functions band had an Svt3 and he used it extensively for a couple of years.The sound was fantastic but he sold it because it neede re-valving more often than he had anticipated. He was usually gigging about five nights a week most weeks, and found that particulaly in the winter that the valves were prone to needing replacing .He thought it was because of the warmed- up valves going from a warm environment indoors to being loaded in the van in the cold outside. Whatever the reason , he got an endorsement with another company and sold it. I emphasise , though, that he was using his amp day in and day out as a workhorse, and it had no other reliability issues, as far as I know. I played through it on several occasions and it sounded absolutely amazing, both with an Ampeg 8x10 and also with the Hartke cabinet he later replaced that with.

I think that Olympic White Precision is now in a display case at Graceland.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1380284829' post='2223254'] Ta for that - I'm not sure if you meant to quote me, but my post was just me wondering out loud why Mesa's UK pricing seems so extreme compared to, say, Aguilar. [/quote] I need to learn to read the post properly before I reply. ( Then again , it has never stopped me before...) Maybe Mesa see themselves as having more upmarket and exclusive products than Aguilar . Going back to when they first came out in the '70's, Mesa Boogie amps have a certain mystique to them , and the company will ( and should) be aware of that and want to exploit that perception of their products to the full .

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1380259214' post='2222868'] Damn good indeed, it's very obvious listening to him just how much Jaco took from him. [/quote] I remember reading that when he was a teenager , Jaco used to hide in the toilets at Criteria Studios in Miami to listen to Jerry recording with Aretha Franklin and King Curtis [i]et al. [/i]Jaco credited Jerry with being his inspiration for the stuttering, syncopated sixteenth-note grooves that became his trademark .

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1380269008' post='2222954'] He's still keeping busy. He even does lessons via Skype... [url="http://www.jerryjemmott.com/"]http://www.jerryjemmott.com/[/url] [/quote] Glad to hear it! I have absolutely no doubt that Jerry Jemott is still an awesome prospect . I just think it would be great if a major artist utilised his skills and gave the wider public a chance to hear his playing . When you listen to the bass on that YT clip and think about how much that sound and that feel are back in fashion nowadays, it's clear to me that Jerry would rip it up on any soul, hip hop, R&B track made by the hippest contemporary artists nowadays. Jerry Jemott should be playing on the same kind of projects that Pino Palladino has been doing.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1380282155' post='2223186'] The DB751 is about £1800 in the UK and £1500 in the US.. unless my figures are wrong (which is likely). [/quote] The point I was trying to make earlier ( but not very well , probably) is that if you are looking at the Dollar price and then comparing it to the price in U.K Pounds then that gives a very inaccurate idea of the true relative cost of consumer goods in Britain and the U.S.A. Not least of all , the domestic buying power of the dollar is not dictated by the exchange rate, and vice-versa. You need to start by looking at what a dollar will buy you in America and compare it with what 62 pence will buy you in Britain. You would find that in most instances a dollar would buy you closer to what a pound would rather than 62p , meaning that , on the face that alone the goods are even more expensive than you think. You then have to factor in wages, and levels of taxation and social security and a whole host of other factors. All told, we pay a bit more than in America in real terms, but , very significantly, we don't really pay any more for American goods than Americans pay for imported goods from the U.K , undermining somewhat the idea of "ripoff Britain". The most feasable way for companies like Mesa to sell at a more competitive price in the U.K would be to set up production in Europe to take advantage of the E.U , but would you want to buy the same products made in a "satellite" factory? How long would it be before we were having threads on Basschat discussing whether the Mesa amps made in Denmark were as good or sounded the same as the ones made in California? We all know which ones would end up being most desirable.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1380278658' post='2223123'] With reference to an earlier question - there is no fixed pricing agreement in place for Mesa Boogie products. Dealers may choose to stick to RRP but that is their prerogative and not anything that could be enforced by a manufacturer (I have a feeling it's not even allowed legally in the EU). [/quote] As I understand it, retail price fixing is even more illegal in the U.S than it is in the U.K . However, [i]resale price maintainance [/i], was ruled by the Supreme Court to be legal in the U.S.A in 2007. In the U.K it is illegal except when granted exemption in very special circumstances , but in practise it can be very difficult to prove in isolated cases , I expect. These amps look the business to me . I hope they sound as good as they look! I wonder if they are going to do some specific cabs to pair it with?

[quote name='machinehead' timestamp='1380229201' post='2222681'] Health care is not "free" in the UK. Neither are prescriptions (they are only "free" at the point of service) and all the other things you mention aren't free either. Someone is paying. I have been paying for all these things, every month, by way of a deduction of a percentage of my wages, for 40 years and 23 days now. And my parents did the same, as did my grandparents. And part of our deductions are used to pay for those who rarely or never contribute. Those non-contributers get those services free. I don't and neither does any member of my family. And, and, and, I own a Mesa amp. But I would be a difficult person to convince that there isn't an inflated profit to the UK importer - just because they can. Frank. [/quote] Frank, the point is that we pay less for these things overall than you would need to do in America for the same levels of service and security . In the U.K, you have the peace of mind of knowing that certain things will always be provided for you and your family whether you are able to contribute a lot , a little, or nothing at all . You and your family may contribute towards the NHS , but even with a lifetimes contribution you might well not actually pay for the actual cost of the care you may need to receive. And prescriptions are subsidised by the State for everyone , bearing in mind the actual cost of the drugs to the NHS. You and your family are paid for by others better off than you in just the same way that you pay for people who are unable to pay as much as you and your family . I have spent just about my entire adult life living between Britain and the U.S.A , and in America you have to pay a very significant portion of your income for far less security. Do you really believe that if you had a similar level of income in America as you have here that you would have a lot more disposable cash to spend on these cheaper goods ? Anyway, trying not to stray too far off the point, if you consider the cost of shipping, import duty and VAT , I really don't think the importer will be making an excessive profit . Most businesses work to fairly similar margin of profit, and in retail the magic figure is usually around 30%, in so much as that is what you can use as a starting point to discount from . That is what retailers want to make to remain profitable and therefore viable. Bear in mind that they are in business to make money, not to provide a public service, and these are luxury imported goods. It isn't really reasonable or realistic to expect them to be sold at anything less than the maximum price that the market will pay. If the Government make it so that imported goods with a reasonable margin on them are quite expensive , then that isn't the fault of the importer, It's the fault of the Government . The consumer has then to make the decision whether the imported goods are worth a premium . Just like always with American- made equipment , you have to weigh up if you want to pay in pounds what the gear costs in dollars in the U.S.A when you could potentially get better value for money buying British-made goods. That is big part of why the powers that be deliberately make imported goods expensive, i.e to protect British companies and promote British-made goods to the domestic market . . It's the Chancellor of the Exchequer who is doing very well out of the price of Mesa gear in the U.K , not so much the importer. ( Westside Distribution up in Glasgow , I think?) That money the Chancellor gets from Mesa amp sales goes towards paying for the aforementioned services and subsidies we [u]all [/u]rely on and take for granted , hence the justification for the price in relation to what they cost in America.

I love those amps. Easy to get a great sound and reputedly very reliable . Enjoy it.!

Yes, he was/is brilliant, but if I recall correctly, his career never really recovered after an incident in the early Seventies when his wrist was broken by the NYPD is part of a wrongful arrest. It took years for his wrist to heal properly and by that time he had lost his place on the scene to some extent. In the late Sixties and early Seventies though , he was one of the most in-demand and influential session musicians in the World, and you can easily hear why. He was a major influence on Jaco Pastorius and countless other bass players, and he deserves more recognition than he seems to have gotten . Last I heard he was playing in a hotel house band in Memphis or somewhere similar. I'm sure it's a decent gig, but Jerry Jemott should still be playing with the biggest names in the business, in my opinion .

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1380218880' post='2222523'] Nice paragraph work, by the way. [/quote] I'm trying.

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If I might weigh into the whole pricing debate, (this thorny topic seems to crop up quite regulaly on Basschat) regarding U.S -made products in the U.K , trust me when I tell you that overall you are getting a fair deal on these goods in this country, especially if you consider that VAT is 20% , and that is hurting the retailers just as much as the consumer. It's very tempting to look at the dollar price of certain items and convert them into Sterling and feel a bit miffed, but that is [u][i]way [/i][/u]too simple an equation to accurately assess the relative cost of these goods in the U.K compared to the U.S.A. If you want to get really specific, in the U.S.A these products are actually even cheaper than they appear because wages are higher in real terms , and retailers offer substantial discounts off retail prices as a matter of course. What you are talking about here is called Purchasing Power Pairity, but that pairity( or lack thereof) has to be assessed with the wider social context. Significantly, if you lived in America you would almost cetainly have to deduct all kinds money from your income to pay for things that we in Britain can( for the moment at least) take for granted as being free or already taken care of to some extent in one way or another. Consumer goods and also other things such as utilities tend to be substantially cheaper in America, but only because they are a low- taxation culture that places an emphasis on self-reliance and self-provision. The money you will save on your Mesa Boogie amp in America could very likely be swallowed very quickly by medical bills, dental fees , tuition fees (oh hang on a minute , we've got them here now, what a great idea...), paying for medicine for yourself or your family, particulaly if you have elderly parents who aren't well off, and whatever is left you would be well -advised to save for a rainy day, because if you lose your job or are too sick to work then there is scant provision from the state to help you. America is the land of milk and honey ( and Mesa Boogie amps) providing things are going well for you, but things can quickly take on a very different complexion if you suffer any reversal of fortune. Ordinary people whose circumstances mean they would be in reciept of unemployment benefit, housing benefit , free prescriptions and cared for by the NHS here in the U.K would soon end up homeless, destitute and without medical insuranceif they found themselves in those circumstances in the U.S.A . That is the ultimate price of your Mesa amp in America , so , in light of that, does it still seem so cheap?

[quote name='Dronny' timestamp='1380179763' post='2221790'] Good point -- I suspect (but of course cannot be sure) that it was there when I bought it, as I explained it was generally so much better overall than any other bass I'd ever played, I reckon that kept me happy for a long time! The "dead spot" is as you describe -- quieter / weaker sounding notes at those frets (and also the octave above on the D string, which tends to suggest a resonance rather than fretting problem). Certainly, at higher volumes it is less noticeable, it stands out to me when practicing at home, and particularly when playing with my current band, who rehearse in someone's house and hence tend to keep the levels lower than we might in a bigger rehearsal room. Well, that's encouraging, thanks very much for that, I think I have got quite "wound up" over the thought of it being a big problem, and maybe I am over-reacting. I still wonder whether getting someone else to look into the problem is worthwhile, but I feel like I really need to move it on and find a replacement for my "sunday best" bass. I'm not a hoarder of basses, I only have this one plus a backup (a Vintage) that I keep around just in case, so I'd have to find a replacement before I could think of selling this one. Interestingly I've never seen anyone mention "dead spot"s in for-sale ads, so I'm not sure how I'd go about advertising it! As you say, it would be best if the buyer tried it first and used their best judgement. First-world problems, eh? ;-) [/quote] I too strongly suspect that the perceived deadspot was always present on your bass, but the other overwhelmingly positive aspects of the sound and playability distracted you from it for a long time. If you think about it ,though, it's a win-win situationfor you in so much as, if something has changed on the bass to cause a deadspot then ultimately that is something that can be diagnosed and fixed by putting it back how it was. On the other hand, if the bass has always been like this then you just have to accept that as part and parcel of having an Overwater and can keep it or sell it secure in the knowledge that it isn't an unusual or defective example. To put this kind of problem into context, vintage Fenders that sell for several thousand pounds and are so highly sought-after have inherent problems with often quite severe deadspots , so much so that most players accept them as part and parcel of those basses, and indeed one of the idiosyncracies that make them so desirable. The reason Leo Fender designed the distinctive headstock shape and three+1 tuning peg configuration on the Music Man Stingray was to combat a pronounced deadspot at the 5th fret on the E string that he found on the intial prototypes . In the present, Roger Sadowsky refuses to use lightweight tuners on four string basses because he thinks they increase the instance of deadspots on his basses. The overall point is that , because wood is an unpredictable and widely varying material, even the best quality basses have a varied level of consistancy in their sound, especially regarding deadspots. Most deadspots are caused by the neck of the bass resonating at the same frequency as the note you are playing,. The corresponding vibrations cancel each other out and thus make that specific note( or notes) apparently quieter and less full-sounding that the other notes on the fretboard. That's why adding mass and thus changing the resonant frequency of the neck can sometimes alleviate the problem. Trying a different set of strings is a very good suggestion , and potentially a cheap fix, but also might I suggest recording your bass at home and seeing if the deadspot is noticably quieter when you listen back. There can be a big difference in the way the sound of you bass is perceived by you as you play it to how other people hear it when they listen. You may find you have got so wrapped up in a minor flaw in the sound that the problem has become exaggerated in your own mind ( it's very easily done in this game!). Part of the problem may well be that the rest of the notes on your Overwater are so consistant that any slight deviation from that is very apparent. High quality basses can spoil you in that respect. The way you EQ your bass can also change how prominent the deadspot may sound. Try setting all the tone controls on your amp and on the bass flat and see how that affects the sound , and then experiment from there. If you do decide to sell your bass, I wouldn't bother flagging up the deadspot as a problem with the bass, because I really don't think it is worth mentioning any more on your bass than countless other ones that people use and sell quite happily . Your honesty and integrity are admirable, but you have to put this supposed "fault" in context. If Overwater have serviced the bass at considerable cost to you and given it the O.K that it is working at factory spec then that is much more of a guarantee than most other secondhand basses will have. There is such a thing as "leading with your chin" as they say in the world of boxing, and making an issue of the deadspot is only making an uneccesarry problem for yourself in selling the bass for a decent price when in fact it has recently been certified as being in perfect working order by the manufacturer. I can absolutely guarantee that no bass shop in the world would warn their customers that your Overwater had a deadspot. As I said previously, your bass wouldn't neccesarilly seem to have any such problem to another player, and countless other basses , including some very expensive high-end ones, are subject to the same kind of sonic discrepancies.

Just to be clear, by "dead -spot" you mean a noticably quieter note with less fundamental to it ? And when you say the bass developed a dead- spot, are you sure that the problem wasn't on the bass when you got it and you just didn't notice it? If you could describe the perceived problem a little more specifically that would help clarify things a little. Dead spots can be a bit of a bastard to cure and are not uncommon in the scheme of things, but unless the problem is particulaly chronic, it shouldn't affect the resale value of the bass unduly, unless ,that is ,the dead-spot is due to some kind of extraordinary mechanical or structural flaw in the bass's construction, which is very unlikely if Overwater have serviced it recently . Dead spots, to a greater or lesser extent, are part and parcel of wooden instruments and there is a certain element of let the buyer beware. It might bother the heck out of you, but another player might not even notice it or even care that much. It can be a very subjective kind of fault, again , depending on how extreme the apparent problem is. There can be a bit of a grey are between "fault" and "inconsistancy" in respect of this kind of a thing, and many or even most basses have inconsistancies to them , so you wouldn't neccesarilly be comitting any kind of an underhand or dishonest act in putting the bass up for sale and letting the potential buyer use their best judgement.

[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1379703161' post='2216013'] [indent=1]You'll get used to 'finding' the notes on a fretless but the best advice I had from my teacher is to think about what a fretless does that a fretted can't and take advantage of it - otherwise you might as well have a fretted. For example, you can 'slide' into notes, have a real vibrato from very slight to great big 'sweeps'. harmonics sound very different... in all, experiment with the unique sounds you can get from it rather than thinking of it as a fretted guitar with the frets removed (if you know what I mean)[/indent] [/quote] By way of contrast, this is exactly the opposite of what my teacher used to tell me about playing fretless. He drummed it in to me to studiously avoid doing all the cliches like sliding into notes and melodramatic use of vibrato, except where they were the right choice for the music. Back in those days of the early '80's there was an increasing amount of very bad and very amateur - sounding fretless playing appearing on a lot of records ( as well as some great playing , too) , and in light of that trend , I am grateful for the good advice he gave me that has served me well all these years. Just the very occasional fretless "trick" is enough to let people know you are playing a fretless without making it sound as if you trying to show everybody what you got for Christmas.

Mega! Now I can make my own Fender from authentic parts complete with a gaping neck pocket , sub-standard fretwork and a mis-aligned bridge and then return it to... myself and ask for a refund or replacement. Genius marketing ploy from Fender. It's the bass manufacturing equivalent of those self-service tills at the supermarket . They act they are doing you a favour but really they are getting you to do their dirty work .