chriswareham

[quote name='lowregisterhead' timestamp='1389448767' post='2334262'] As a young boy, I was always hankering after a 'Top Twenty', the Woolies brand. Not sure if they did a bass, but here's the guitar version, perhaps only slightly less hideous than the Satellite and Kay offerings... same factory, perhaps? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Top-Twenty-single-pickup-model-from-the-sixties-/290870375530"]http://www.ebay.co.u...s-/290870375530[/url] [/quote] Found one of those guitars in a junk shop when I was a teenager. Paid £20 for it in 1991 or thereabouts. Took it round to a guitarist friend's house, all excited at the prospect of learning lead guitar, only to be told that it had a neck so warped as to be unplayable. Gave it to another guitarist friend who had built his own guitar at sixth form college, and he cannibalised it for the electronics.

Something a bit left field, Vengeance by New Model Army. But there again I find RHCP and Jamiroquai utterly tedious.

Try Terminal in Londonbridge. Great equipment. soundproofing and facilities.

Not my cup of tea, but I know some on here lust after these: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ned-callan-gigsaw-bass-guitar-early-70s-rare-/321286767730"]http://www.ebay.co.u...e-/321286767730[/url] I believe there was a connection between Ned Callan and Shergold, as well as amp manufacturer Simms-Watts.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1389009157' post='2328629'] As a bass player unless I was expected to just double up the guitar part an octave lower (in which case I probably wouldn't be in the band) I find not matching the guitarists tuning to be far more versatile as it makes you think more about the notes you are playing, and allows you to come up with far more unexpected bass lines. [/quote] For most metal with drop tuned lead guitars, having the bass drop tuned as well is pretty essential. Without it your not going to be able to add the low end when the guitarist needs it (when soloing for example). For a lot of metal riffing, you bass parts will sound like they've got missing notes if you have to go for a higher note just because you're in standard tuning rather than dropped.

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1388928862' post='2327678'] They did not as they were not invented, but comparing them to other instruments of the time, they were comparable. It's more about the brand, where next Fender from Koesung North Korea ? There is always a market for the best, come on Fender ! [/quote] I used to own an industrial model PDP-11 computer that came from a 1970s CNC machine, so they definitely existed back then. Peavey actually undercut Fender and others by offering an extremely high quality, US made bass guitar (the T40) at a very low price thanks to the use of CNC machines. The CNC machining meant they were quicker to make, with much better consistency than Fender could manage.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1388959518' post='2328231'] That is nice, and it's already at a quite healthy price after two bids. If it hasn't finished yet, there's also a Kay which is a very poor copy of a bass by a well known litigious American company as well. [/quote] And a Hondo. It's been listed before, but got pulled for mentioning that word. Listed again minus the offending word, but I'd not be surprised if it's pulled again.

[quote name='Oopsdabassist' timestamp='1388942226' post='2327886'] Love the paintjob, not so happy with the Jacksonesque pointy headstock [/quote] My feelings too. If it had a nicer headstock I'd seriously consider getting it to match my snakeskin tattoo:

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1388949930' post='2328042'] There seem to be a number of not very nice looking Kay basses on ebay at the moment. E.g. this. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-KAY-Bass-GUITAR-/161190918422?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2587ba3916"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2587ba3916[/url] Now, where's that 'Do not want!' image when I need it? [/quote] That's one of three of those Gibson EB type Kays on eBay at the moment. But there is a nice looking later model Kay bass on there as well: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KAY-Bass-guitar-Thru-Neck-Vintage-Japan-/121245668282

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1388945686' post='2327954'] DDDDFDFDF-G-F Or at least that`s what I play and it fits. [/quote] Listening with headphones I get this: [size=3][font=courier new,courier,monospace]VERSE G|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------| D|------------------------|-2--2--3--3--2--2-------|------------------------|-2--2--------2--2-------| A|-0--0--2--2--3--3--5--5-|-------------------3--3-|-0--0--2--2--3--3--5--5-|-------3--3--------3--3-| E|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------| CHORUS G|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------| D|-------2-----2--3--2----|----------------2-------|------------------------|------------------------| A|-5--------5-----------3-|-0-----3--0--5-----5--3-|-0--0--2--2--3--3--5--0-|-0--0--2--2--3--3--5----| E|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------| CHANGE G|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------| D|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------| A|------------------------|-------------------2--2-|-3--3--3--3--5--5--5--5-|-------0--0--0--0--0--0-| E|-1--1--1--1--3--3--3--3-|-4--4--4--4--5--5-------|------------------------|------------------------| ENDING G|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------| D|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|-------------2--2--2--2-| A|------------------------|------------------------|-2--2--2--2--3--3--3--3-|-5--5--5--5-------------| E|-1--1--1--1--3--3--3--3-|-4--4--4--4--5--5--5--5-|------------------------|------------------------|[/font][/size]

Couple of great punk or post punk bass guitar lines on there - Babylon's Burning by The Ruts and Into The Valley by The Skids. Tabbed out Babylon's Burning yesterday morning as all the ones on the web are hilariously wrong, but can't get the first two bars of the chorus to sound right. Anyone got a tab for that bit? It's rooted on // D / F-E //

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1388862066' post='2327086'] Hehe she's a softie really. Best way to defuse a Staffie - put a jumper on it [/quote] Don't try that with a cat - a daft cat sitter did that to the wife's Persian moggie and ended up in casualty.

I wish Washburn would do a Peter Steele signature of the very rare M series bass that he used towards the end of his life. Cool looking bass, probably customised with a prototype Fernandez sustainer (why oh why did that not go into production?).

[quote name='jensenmann' timestamp='1388267478' post='2320306'] Heck, that´s some great synth gear. Congrats to that collection! [/quote] Thanks! It's the result of twenty years of acquiring and discarding bits of equipment. These are the ones that I've never got bored with, and use at least every other day. Only thing I really regret selling is my Korg KPR-77, the first drum machine I ever owned and for me the best sounding programmable analogue one. The TR-77 is great though, very much like the later CR-78 but with a snare that's more like the later TR-606 or TR-808! With the exception of the indestructible Jupiter 4, the synth stuff does need a lot of maintenance though, particularly since some of it even gets used live.

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1388664306' post='2324457'] Betafunk's right - these little comedy Rick copies (Rickenjokers?) weren't Teisco/Kawai products, and to be honest I've not yet encountered any confirmed Japanese-made Kays. Kay was originally a fairly respected US-made budget brand, but around 1970-ish ceased manufacture & farmed out production to the cheapest sources. The early 70s ones like this K20B were Taiwanese and the later, better-built ones were from Cort in Korea, including the sexy through-neck doublecuts that every Ebay seller insists are Matsumokus. I have seen East German-made Kay acoustics so presumably production went anywhere cheap! Decent enough budget instruments, though - never had a K20B so I can't vouch for their quality but the old Taiwanese P copies were rock-solid, sound good and can play OK after a proper setup, and the Corts - if you get a good one - are pretty close to late 70s Japanese quality. [/quote] Seems the (very little) info I could find on the web about Far Eastern made Kay guitars was wrong then! Regarding the quality of the K-20B, it looks pretty crude but a straightforward setup made my one as playable as the brand new Gretsch Electromatic short scale I had until last Summer. I wonder if the differences in humidity and so forth would account for why so many of these Far Eastern budget instruments have a reputation for being in an unplayable state even from new. I know that's why Hammond teamed up with a Japanese consortium to make organs in the Far East, as their US made instruments suffered a similar problem - they would be fine in the typical temperate climates of the US and Europe, but would suffer badly from the humidity in places like Japan.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1388603492' post='2323952'] You'll appreciate this then chriswareham if you are an owner of one of these. My one is exactly the same as the one in the video and has a sticker which says 'Model: K-20B Made in Taiwan' and as you say they are not bad playable basses. I've kept the flatwounds on that i bought it with. I think that they are as old as the bass!. I do love the way that they wax lyrically about it though! [/quote] Hmm, mine doesn't have a sticker saying made in Taiwan, but it would make sense. By the early 1970s Japanese companies had started to farm out construction to factories in Taiwan and elsewhere as labour costs were increasing in Japan. The founder of Ace Tone and Roland went into some detail about this in his autobiography (not a great book - I was hoping for more insights into design of Roland classics like the Jupiter synths, but it's more of a business manual).

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1388601958' post='2323918'] It wasn't just guitars and basses that were poorly made. The same can be said for nearly all household electrical goods. [/quote] Yup, television sets being just about the worst - they had an appalling reputation for exploding, sometimes when they were just connected to the mains rather than actually switched on ...

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1388521584' post='2323136'] I'm hoping that the same will happen to this. In fact it's the only reason i watch Jools nowadays in the hope that my car boot Kay (complete with flats) like the one in the video that i splashed out £35 will become the stuff of legends backstage at Later with Jools after it's been played by some trendy indie types. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZkyw-r34HA [/quote] I've got one of those! As someone points out in the You Tube comments, it's not US made as the guy in the video claims, as the Kay brand name was used in the 1970s for Japanese made basses from Kawai/Teisco. The model he's playing is a K-20B, which is obviously a bit of a Rickenfaker. It's not exactly the finest made bass guitar in the world, but with a decent setup and a set of roundwounds it makes a servicable short scale bass.

[quote name='itsmedunc' timestamp='1388515198' post='2322988'] I came across this on youtube and now I appreciate how lucky I really am. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDn5DXX_1Tg[/media] [/quote] Be very, very wary of anything that was made behind the Iron Curtain. I saw a Russian punk band many years ago in St Petersburg, and had a go on their bass guitar. It was absolutely awful, and I was told it was representative of the terrible instruments that were available under Communism. Amusingly, Soviet synthesisers are now considered desirable, but just like Soviet guitars they are poorly designed instruments with appalling build quality. The exceptions are some of the Vermona stuff from East Germany, which while primitive often has redeeming qualities, and Jolana from Czechoslovakia who managed to build quality instruments.

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1388250524' post='2320007'] ok ok so technically she's not wearing black [/quote] The guitarist forgot her knickers? And her skirt?

"Never underestimate the power of standing on stage, dressed in black and holding a guitar." - Attribution unknown

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1387929619' post='2317408'] Cool story, Chris, and I'm now slightly less frustrated I never bought any of their albums. What a dunce. [/quote] I still love the Catastrophe Ballet and Atrocities albums - US Gothic rock at it's best. The first album with the original singer and guitarist is also well worth checking out, a punky take on early Black Sabbath that pretty much defined what the Americans call "death rock". I guess it's a case of not meeting people whose music you admire, if they turn out to be a bit of a dick as it may colour your perception of their music from then on.

Gretsch Electromatic Jet ticks all your boxes. It's short scale, in your price range, very light and no neck dive. Looks great, and quite flexible sound wise thanks to two pickups. They're made in China, as Fender now use the brand name for a budget range as well as reproductions of the old high end US made models. Build quality on mine was flawless, I guess they can produce them at this price point by using cheaper and lighter woods.

Google Jack's Instrument Services. He's based in Manchester, and has a very quick turnaround for scratch plates and truss rod covers. He made a replacement TRC for my Rockinbetter bass, and is currently making a TRC and new scratch plate for my Jolana bass to be fitted after some other work on it.

Wonder if the seller will experience a flood that destroys the item before the buyer can collect it, then relist an identical item a week later. That's what happened to me when I won an auction for a mixer recently. Sorely tempted to drive to Brighton and see the "destroyed" mixer alongside the other one that had the same distinctive scratch on thee fascia.