chriswareham

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1392635109' post='2370788'] The Russian bass is a fantastic looking thing. If it was a sensible price (under £100 delivered) I'd consider buying it to use as a template to have a decent one made (with 5-strings!) [/quote] If you do a "worldwide" search then these weird Soviet things come up quite often and usually for very low prices. I've bought various music related bits and pieces from Russia (as well as Ukraine), and never had any problems - posting *to* Russia is more risky, as the customs officials that have a reputation for stealing stuff on its way into the country.

I had a Brandoni assembled Vox Phantom guitar, and it was a great instrument. I don't recall it suffering from neck dive, although I do tend to wear a strap even when playing seated, and the "wedge" on the bottom of the body rested between my thighs so it's not an awkward shape either. Perhaps the earlier models were made from different materials to the Eko made ones, which could account for the differing opinions of the Phantom with respect to neck dive.

Nope, not a frothing at the mouth Daily Mail rant about imaginary hordes of immigrants, but a link to a nice looking Eastern European P-Bass: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80s-unique-Vintage-RARE-ORFEUS-ORPHEUS-PB-Soviet-USSR-Electric-Bass-Guitar-/171226580659"]http://www.ebay.co.u...r-/171226580659[/url] I love the look of the wood, but it seems very overpriced for a Communist era bass. Same seller also has this USSR made bass, which I wouldn't touch with a barge pole, but it certainly qualifies as weird: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-RAREST-Tonika-ural-First-Soviet-USSR-Russian-Electric-Bass-Axe-Guitar-/181307699334

On a Rickenfaker related note, my Jolana D-Bass got its first live outing last Sunday. I foolishly decided to change the strings on my Stingray earlier in the day, but thanks to a sharp edge that's developed on one of the tuners the top string snapped as I tried to bring it into tune. I retuned the Jolana to drop Bb and was relieved to find that it wasn't just playable, but actually felt even more comfortable than the Stingray! We videoed the gig, but sadly the best shot I can provide of the bass is this one: The Jolana did me proud though, really punchy sounding.

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1392164663' post='2365639'] If that is a date in the dark stamp, it would translate into a Western calendar as 12th November 1979. [/quote] I'm intrigued by the year - I hadn't realised that the system of numbering years relative to the era had been retained after the Second World War.

Played a kind of battle of the bands thing at the Purple Turtle in Camden, North London last night. Four great bands (and my lot). A night made much more memorable when the stage caught fire! There are a couple of fans under the stage that I assume are there for the smoke machine, but one of them went up in flames as the headline act were partway through a song. The bar staff were useless, wandering off to find the manager once they realised what was going on, so I had to vault over the bar and grab a fire extinguisher. Passed it to one of the promoters who then put the fire out.

The only answer is aversion therapy. Start to associate your bass guitars with the most unsettling things you can imagine, like Simon Cowell playing them whilst he's clad in nothing but a tight mankini. Once you're thoroughly terrified of the sight of them I'll be happy to come and take your bass guitars away.

Simms-Watts AP100 into just about any cab. Clean sound that seemed like it could punch holes in a brick wall! Had to sell it as a hard up student, but recently acquired a Sound City 120 that has a very similar sound, and I've been told that Hiwatt DR103s are along the same lines. The Sound City is paired with Ampeg 410 and 115 cabs, relegating my SVT CL to being a backup.

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1391383494' post='2356650'] Rickenfakers have been around for a while - the earliest ones probably date from when John Hall was in short pants. The Italian-made Shaftesburys (made by Eko) were mid 60s and amusingly were sold through Rose-Morris, official importer of Rickenbacker at the time. [/quote] I've actually got "Shaftesbury bass" as a saved search on eBay in the hope of snagging one of those! Didn't realise they were made by Eko, but it makes me even keener to track one down as my other short scale bass is a semi-acoustic made by them. I got it as my 21st birthday present, bought in installments from Macaris on Charing Cross Road. It was around the time that the occasional Eko instrument would appear for sale from the guy who bought their stock of parts when they went bankrupt. [quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1391383494' post='2356650'] Not a big fan of these funny little Kays, but this one looks very tidy. Some of these early Taiwanese instruments are better than you'd expect. [/quote] Judging by my two their quality control was completely erratic, and things such as bridges were pretty crude. They do have a certain charm though, and if the blue Kay proves beyond repair then I'll probably transfer the electrics into another bass.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1391381765' post='2356633'] This is a common problem with the K-20B. There was one on ebay like that only recently. Many of them i've seen over the years have broken pickup surrounds as did mine when i bought it. I got the Bass Doc to make some for me and although they aren't recessed like the originals but what he made for me does the job superbly. [/quote] Thanks for the tip - I'll have to get in touch with the Bass Doc to see if he can make me replacement pickup surrounds and a scratch plate that actually fits. Hopefully with that and an appropriate bridge I can get the blue Kay into good playing state. Then I can give it to the singer from my band, as she seems quite keen to learn bass and a short scale would probably be a great starter for her.

[quote name='gsgbass' timestamp='1391374975' post='2356506'] A bit of a Rickenbacker body shape, and PG on it. [/quote] I think it might qualify as the first Rickenfaker as this model seems to have been made between 1971 and 1973.

If I was you I'd play safe and buy a Squier Jazz. They can be had new for around the £200 mark, or a little more if you go for one of the fancier "vintage modified" ones. The neck is narrower than a Precision, and should be much easier to get used to. The quality of the Squiers I've played has been excellent.

Despite the occasional dalliance with other basses, I keep on coming back to my Musicman Stringray. It has what is for me a perfectly proportioned neck, and I find the whole bass comfortable to use either sitting or standing for a considerable length of time. Sound wise, the EQ means I can get it to fit well in most of the rock related contexts I play in. I have tried Fenders for extended periods, and while I like the Jazz neck I found the one on Precisions feels like a tree trunk. As for the tone control(s) on a Fender Jazz or Precision, I found myself wondering what they're for as anything other than fully clockwise sounds awful!

I've actually had this bass a couple of months, but it had a couple of issues that I only recently sorted out. It arrived with a bridge cover, but on closer inspection it wasn't the original but a Fender style one that was hiding an equally unoriginal Jazz style bridge. Since this had wider string spacing than the original Kay bridge, the E and G strings were precariously close to the edge of the fretboard. The other problem was that the pickup surrounds were cracked, as the pickguard was such a bad fit that it was exerting pressure on them. I managed to snag another K-20B, and proceeded to put together the best of the parts from the two. The result is a completely original one in "tobacco burst": The scale is 30", and it now has a set of roundwounds rather than the rusty flatwounds it arrived with. The pickups are frankly amazing - I was hardly expecting a great sound from such a clearly budget bass, but it sounds extremely punchy with both pickups engaged. With just the bridge pickup it has more of the short scale sound I remember from my Gretsch Electromatic, and the neck pickup on its own is deep without sounding muffled. The body is some kind of plywood laminate, while the neck looks to be a single piece of wood. Thankfully it hasn't warped unlike many of the necks on these early far Eastern instruments. The bridge is extremely primitive, with two screws to adjust the height and another two to adjust the intonation of all four strings. The intonation is fine though, so I'm not sure why someone felt the need to put the Jazz bridge on it. I'm now left with another K-20B in blue, but minus a suitable bridge and with two broken pickup surrounds. Not sure what to do about the pickup surrounds, but I'm going to try and find a more suitable bridge - Googling around suggests a Bronco one is a good fit.

That's shaped exactly like the cat egg that one of the furry feline babies deposited in my slippers this morning.

In the building industry it's typical for the big building firms to stave off paying the small subcontractors until they go bust. Questions have been asked in parliament about this, but since the building firms give so much money in donations to the political parties bugger all has been done, That's why I didn't follow in the family tradition and go into the building trade, as my parents were determined I wouldn't have to put up with the late payment shenanigans. And that's before you even consider the Kafka-esque rigmarole of retention payments ...

Could be a Greco, as they seem to have had dot inlays. Japanese made, and appear to be more common in the US rather than Europe.

Type O Negative - My Girlfriend's Girlfriend The Chameleons - Souls In Isolation Motorhead - Killed By Death B Movie - Nowhere Girl

I think the Shetgold I played for a while had the E and A strings split from the D and G strings when using the "stereo" socket. I certainly remember sticking one half of the output straight into an amp and the other into a chorus prior to going into another amp. Makes sense as I used to do a lot of Peter Hook style stuff with chorused melodies and double stops on the higher strings over a drone on a lower string.

Loved the Dali's Car album. Didn't he also play saxophone in Japan as well as bass?

Stingray for me. I find Precision necks feel too chunky, and Jazz necks too narrow. The Stingray feels like it has the width of Precision, but with less depth to the back of the neck. Suits my hands perfectly. Sound wise, I find I can leave the EQ flat on rehearsal room or shared back line amps and just use the three band EQ on the 'Ray. Never had a problem with the scooped mids, even with my previous two band EQ 'Ray, although I do find myself boosting the mids on occasion now that I have the option.

Interesting bit of Jap Crap here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1960s-JAPANESE-BASS-GUITAR-SILVERTONE-GUYATONE-TEISCO/181303806222 Strikes me as overpriced, but the seller is open to offers. I've now got two cheap and surprisingly not-nasty Kay short scale basses, otherwise I'd consider giving it house room.

A recent listing for a Hondo copy which had "Rickenbacker copy" in the title was pulled.It was immediately relisted under the same eBay account but with no mention of Rickenbacker, and it then ran to completion. I was surprised, since other people have said that their accounts are locked when a listing is pulled for selling allegedly "counterfeit" goods.

Robert Smith of The Cure really liked his Top Twenty guitar, insisting on using it against the wishes of producers and studio engineers. Later on he transplanted the pickup into a more upmarket guitar that he still uses.

That cabinet is an utter bargain, and only a couple of miles from me. Too short of cash to buy it though :-( The SVT 450 isn't so great though, I had one before getting a CL. The solid state 450 was very aenemic and surprisingly quiet.