Duarte

Slammin. I also prefer the black guard for that 70's thang.

Thanks for the input guys. The Fernandes catalogue is useful, but it's still kind of guesswork, considering there doesn't seem to be any serial number system in place. These basses are absolutely abundant in Bangkok, so I guess I just have to go and try some out!

Quarantine bass shopping is taking hold... I live in Bangkok. Here there is an absolute abundance of Asian instruments (as you'd expect), and I'm seeing Fernandes a lot. THIS one, in particular, looks wonderful. 9000 Thai Baht is equal to £225. What's the deal with these basses? I need the vintage japanese expert! Any knowledge you can share would be greatly appreciated

I think I've come up with a good way of having simplified controls, great versatility and being totally unique. Have you ever seen a bass with this layout... 3 way switch: Neck, both, bridge + 3 way switch: Bass off, bass on with bright tone, bass on with dark tone OR 3 way switch Neck off, neck on, neck on with dark tone + 3 way switch bridge off, bridge on, bridge on with dark tone. I like the idea of having just 2 switches and no knobs. I think both of these configurations have their advantages. And truth is, that's more tonal options than I'd need anyway.

Spam away, brother!

Very interesting. They don't mention that they don't ship to Thailand, however that might be because it's never come up. New possibilities of control plate bring new ideas... one knob. Rotary switch: off/neck/both/bridge/off Maybe I'm overthinking the "simplicity" aspect to the point where it's actually becoming quite complicated!

This is looking very attractive. Certainly within my limited capabilities... Anyone know of anywhere to get a Jazz control plate with just 1 hole in it?? haha!

Yeah that's quite an incredible resource! Had a little flick through but I'll delve deeper tonight

The Caprice and Cutlass have been discontinued, perhaps unsurprisingly. I'd still love to get my hands on one, but I suspect I'll never see one in the flesh.

It certainly would look cool. There probably IS a reason for not having only switches, I can't think of one however. If there's an on/off switch, that would make up for not having a volume knob, right!?

Good idea, I have a 4 hole plate, so that would work! (with no woodwork)

That is something I've considered. It would certainly look really cool on this particular bass. Not sure I want to go down the active route - I have an EB Sterling which covers active duties. However, some kind of switching has also crossed my mind - a rotary neck/series/parallel/bridge/kill switch could be cool. Would just need to figure out how to wire the damn thing!

I've been threatening to buy a Sub Phatty to keep me occupied through lockdown - it would be my first keyed instrument. Nice to join somebody else's journey since you've done exactly what I'm gonna do. You simply must learn this.

Hi all, Just got my hands on a beautiful CIJ Jazz bass at a local music store in Bangkok. Plays great, cosmetically great and (I thought due to the pandemic) a suuuper low price. They "didn't have" a bass amp in the shop to plug it in to, no problem, took it home anyway. Turns out the pots are all broken, and turning them causes buzzing sounds, silence, unwanted pickup combinations etc. So, I'm in the process of deciding what to do with the electronics, I'll be re-wiring them myself and would like to strip it all back a little bit. My original idea is 2 on/off switches for the pickups (I have never used the volume controls to blend pickups), NO volume control and possibly NO tone knob. I only want to do something wacky for the sake of it, since I have to re-wire everything anyway. My question is... what would YOU do? and what WOULDN'T you do. Inspire me! Nice one! z

I was trying to explain the genius of Jamerson to my non-bass playing friends, ended up coming across this great visual representation of his playing which communicated it much better than my words.

That has got to be it. With a little more research it's confirmed - Bernie Worrell mentions it in an interview. Thanks folks! Now, where to find one...

Hello BC! It's good to be back. I am here with a quick question. What is THAT sound? To me it sounds like rubbing a pane of glass. It's apparent in many, many P-Funk tracks - which is where I've noticed it moist prominently. I'd often wondered what it was, and I didn't know what to google and nobody I know has the answer. I bet it's obvious and I'm being stupid. Basschat, what is that sound? Here, it kicks in around the 20 sec mark. Cheers!

I like the Funkadelic vibe. Sounds like it could be a cut from "Standing on the verge of getting it on"

Such precision. Joe Dart is wonderful. I gave Dean Town a go, and the best I could do was get just past the first verse Notice the well placed fade out. Tell ya what, a short scale bass is useful for this kinda stuff.

Or indeed, anything!

Sold Bert my Freqbox. Super easy, diamond geezer. The sale was stress free. I'd happily let him give me money again.

I love it!

So that's where it ended up! I miss the BIG Bongo dearly. I think it's just too good a bass for me, totally wasted. My 1993 Sterling 4 is the one for me.

Do it. 5 string Bongos are the sh!t. BONGOS by Zak Duarte, on Flickr