martthebass

Nicely rescued!

Have a look on www.warwick.de - forum. They're a friendly lot and you may find a nice 5'er if you post a want ad. I got my BO Thumb off the site last year, couple of months old and mint for well under shop price. Warwicks aren't everybody's favourite bass at the mo so you can grab a bargain. FWIW also I would go for a non-ash body standard 'vette they don't hold value too well (maybe excepting a $$) - I found this out last year when I was trading up to the Thumb! IMHO I think the bubinga or ovangkol bodied versions have a tighter sound and the body stands up to wear and tear better. Good luck

Went for the Thumb meself. I had a Corvette and really liked it but got fed up of the singer in the band making fun of the upper 'phallus'.

OTPJ, A friend as one very similar to the first photograph but in a natural (waxed?) finish like a Warwick. Sounds ok - a little thin, would benefit from pup upgrade but I thought worth the money. Personally tho cash wise I'd probably go with something Squier at the mo - like the Pete Wentz you posted.

The JJ MEC set in my Thumb BO4 sound just fine to me, sufficiently different to the sound of my Fender P and Lakland. If I hadn't liked the sound of the MEC's I wouldn't have bought it. They can be a bit clean and dry (until you dig in) but I find them less dry in the Thumb than in my old ash bodied Corvette. IMHO they suit the bass well, can't think of a reason why I would change 'em. You might also want to think about the amp? Through my TE I'm happy - but I couldn't get a sound I liked through the house Ashdown MAG300 the other week. Regarding the Jazz thing - Outtoplayjazz might be able to help you there....he uses a Vette $$, don't know if he uses it for jazz though. Don't play jazz me'self, but strangely enough I think my DJ5 would cover this best out of my 3.

[quote name='BassBalls' post='109999' date='Dec 27 2007, 07:25 PM']Im pretty sure the neck is lacquered, it feels smooth not grainy.[/quote] My old 1990 'Ray had a satin laquered neck. I think the oil finished neck came in quite a bit later.

Do Schaller still make leads? The one's with the lifetime guarantee. If so, the one I have was bought back in 1988 and has been used on upwards of 500+ gigs (and probably as many practices) without a crackle and is still going strong despite winding it up like a fool and throwing it into the bottom of my gear bag.

That red tort would look real nice on my black sparkle DJ. Must get rid of the standard white guard, was going to get a black one - this may have changed my mind.

Thanks for a great review OTPJ. You got me seriously thinking about one of these to take along to open mic nights so my MIA copy of this (w/o the hideous bat thing) doesn't get bo*****'d.

Really nice collection there Nick. Yes you're mother would be proud. So many basses......so little time.

It's a shame if you do have a bad experience out of this. Personally, I prefer to deal with individuals on this site and have had nothing but good experiences whether a deal was concluded or not. At the mo I haven't found it necessary to look in the feedback section - I hope that doesn't end up being the case, but I do look to see how long they have been on BC and the contributions they have made to the site. A lot of us on this site have serious GAS and enjoy nothing more than buying, selling and trading (you know who you are - Beedster), I'd hate that the outlet for this GAS was sullied because I seriously hate ebay and can't afford shop prices!

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='106033' date='Dec 18 2007, 04:47 PM']You only have to look at a CIJ Fender like my Geddy Lee. It makes all the American ones look and feel shoddily made. I'd go to one of the Japanese importers & get one of the 75 reissues with the badass bridge and save some money compared with an MIA.[/quote] Bit of a generalisation OTPJ? Like saying all MIM's are cr*p. Like many on here I've had both Jap and MIA. I would put my current MIA 2004 in the same sort of league as my old 1982 JV in terms of build - maybe I got lucky? If you want something made better buy a MM or a Status but it won't sound like a Fender P.

As some said above the tone did change a bit more trebly - not sure about the midrange tho. TBH, I think the change to my ears would have been more successful on a fretted, I know a few BC'ers swear by the sound of graphite for fretless so this is a personal preference only. The feel and general quality of the Status nech however was superb. My neck had Hipshot ultralites - suited it nicely.

No problem OTPJ - I am currently skint. Also the gig money from this years 'festivities' have been claimed by Daughter one for next terms drinking bill at Uni. How will I cope without trading basses every few months?

[quote name='mcgraham' post='105089' date='Dec 16 2007, 10:20 PM']A Status neck does tempt me very much so, but I'm unsure as to how radical the tone change would be, also I love the look and feel of the original neck, so I'd perhaps need to get a Warmoth one or similar. Mark[/quote] Couple of years back I changed the stock neck on my MIM Jazz fretless for a Status Graphite fretless. Very stable and could handle the small relief much better - didn't move at all in the year or so that I had it. The tone did change a bit - bit more trebly even with flats but not un-nice. One thing I would suggest if you went down this route is having it fitted at Status. I was lucky and had two MIM Jazzes - it only fitted one of them! I would have had to do some pocket work on one of them (plus a shim) as it wanted to fit at a slight angle. It was perfect in the 2001, not in the 1996.

I've watched this one do the rounds. When I've cut my 5 string teeth on my DJ5 maybe it'll be my turn?

That is so............ Glad I didn't see it before spending my last GAS cash.

[quote name='David Nimrod' post='104926' date='Dec 16 2007, 02:37 PM']My opinion would be that there is really no need to spend anywhere near £1500 to get a really excellent bass. Half that should suffice, leaving you the option of two basses, a bass and amp setup, or just some money ;-) Seriously though, ask yourself this, would even a £500 bass actually hold your playing, and your music back?[/quote] +1 If you feel the need to go this much then its a custom with pretty woods or a vintage that will hold (investment) value. One of these would be lost on me - I'd be scared of using it, every ding would cost about £100. IMHO £7-800 will buy a good bass that shouldn't hold anyones playing back.