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HeadlessBassist

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Everything posted by HeadlessBassist

  1. HeadlessBassist
    Wow, how did you manage to make a Jazz bass weigh 14lbs?! I thought my recently sold Status KingBass Mk-II was bad enough at nearly 12lbs. When playing, watch out for random sink holes appearing underneath you - you may find yourself in Australia for Christmas!
  2. HeadlessBassist
    Duplicate Post.
  3. HeadlessBassist
    Hi Onox, does your Will Lee Signature have a 2-band, or 3-band EQ?
  4. HeadlessBassist
    I'm also going to go for two used options first, mainly because they're the two I own and regularly use professionally. First for that authentic 60s feel is the American Original 60's Jazz. The smell of the Nitro Cellulose varnish when you open the case is intoxicating, and those Pure Vintage 64 pickups are hard to beat. Clay dots and a proper red-based sunburst finish the job off. Excellent bass all-round. To this end, I'd highly recommend the current American Vintage II 66 Jazz. It's not much different to mine and a friend of mine in the States recently bought a new one - he's chuffed to bits with it. Second is the American Elite (2016-2020). Basically, these are the Swiss army knife of the 'American Deluxe' Jazz range with all the best hardware, a great preamp and just an all round great sounding active Jazz bass. Avoid the current American Ultra II. The spec smacks of cost cutting and they've ruined the noiseless pickups! I played a nearly new 2025 build Japanese Hybrid II the other week. It was a lovely looking bass (the flamed red one), but the Hybrid II pickups sounded too bottom-endy, and the highs weren't particularly clear, but maybe that was the strings it had on it at the time. I haven't played an American Professional II yet, but love the 'Dark Night' colour scheme. From what I've heard, they dumbed down the pickups from the previous version, so that wouldn't be my choice - the Am.Pro II is also the basis for the Mod Shop basses, so make sure you've at least played the Pro II model before you order your mod shop dream bass. I'd also have a serious look at the new American Professional Classic series - I've just ordered the faded Sherwood Green Precision for myself this week. The pickups in this series are based on the Pure Vintage series from the American Vintage II, and sound lovely and warm on the bottom end, but with crystal clear highs that aren't at all harsh. By all accounts, they're really high quality too. Enjoy your foray into the Fender Jazz
  5. HeadlessBassist
    Nice to hear a story about mods that actually improve the bass for you, Neephid. I always liked the look of these, but only played one briefly in a shop many years ago. Those Glockenklang (always loved their name!) preamps are fantastic - I had one in the prototype Enfield Lionheart I had for a few years. Lovely job!
  6. HeadlessBassist
    This is very true - I have several friends around the country with stunning collections of basses who intend to sell much further down the road as a pension scheme of sorts.
  7. HeadlessBassist
    Well it would seem I've answered my own question... I ordered a Precision today - the American Professional Classic in faded Sherwood Green Metallic. There's been one in the Gallery in Camden that I've looked at several times, and today I pulled the trigger, so it'll be here in a few days - probably after Xmas. I went for the new model, as [from what I've heard] the new 'Coastline' pickup (apparently derived from the 'Pure Vintage' series pickups) sounds very warm at the bottom, but has clear highs without the nasty nasal honk. Basically quite similar sounding to my previous Am.Professional I. We'll see how it plays after I've set it up...
  8. HeadlessBassist
    Whichever is the most convenient, I've found that there is a difference in sound between V/V/T and V/Blend/T, so I always leave mine as V/V/T. I really liked the passive tone on the John East J-Tone system, which can be had either way. Never really got on with the concentric Vol/Tone stacks. There's something missing from the sound there and they always sound too bright to me.
  9. HeadlessBassist
    Nice 90s Britpop feeling to it, Andy. Great work!
  10. HeadlessBassist
    As with all things, the number increases as time goes on... For me, it's the £2000 level at the moment. I have basses that are in the £3-4000 bracket, but I'd consider £2000 upwards to be an 'expensive bass'. Of course, it's all down to your personal circumstances, but the Fender range is a good place to start, with the entry level American stuff now starting at 14-1500, and the full Corona-ese stuff now nudging the £2000 barrier and upwards. Anyone else remember when the American Standards were hanging on shop walls priced at £700? They seemed unattainable at the time, too!
  11. HeadlessBassist
    Nope, no qualms whatsoever. I'm happy to use a cheaper bass for certain less well heeled venues, but generally I think you need to use the bass that fits with who you're playing with - If I'm playing theatre and Warner shows and the music is all 50's & 60's, it'll be a passive Jazz every time (yes, I know the Jazz didn't appear until 1960!), and if I'm playing lots of 80s and later in my Duo/Trio, I'll take a Status or a GB along. Right tool for the right job. It's the best excuse for having lots of basses - "They all do different jobs." 🤫
  12. HeadlessBassist
    I genuinely had no idea Orange amps went back that far, Jack. As for the Precision/Telecaster bass, I really don't like the sound. Sounds like he's hitting it way too hard, or the amp is distorting. What they had to work with in the 70s, I guess
  13. HeadlessBassist
    Yes, it is. Maybe we're all tuned to different frequencies of said sonic hole..? I always remember a regular bass player at a Jam Session where I was house bass player some years ago, who used to go on and on about adding mids. What he never realized was that yes, adding a bucket load of mid frequency helps you hear yourself very clearly, but in turn always sounds nasty and harsh to the audience. I'm sure there's a balance lurking around somewhere!
  14. HeadlessBassist
    It's nice to see some balanced opinions and experiences here. In my case, I've always been a die hard Status fan, and whenever the Status sound hasn't been appropriate, I'd usually resort to a Fender Jazz (both passive and active are available to me.) I have a few other basses, such as a very punchy GB Spitfire and a couple more, including an incoming new build walnut/graphite Jazz. Then there's my 95 Stingray with Aguilar pickup & preamp, an utterly fantastic sounding bass in isolation, which is currently up for sale on the marketplace here. I've had several EBMM instruments, such as a Piezo Stingray, an older Stingray 5, a newer three band Stingray 4, a Sabre Classic, a Big Al 5 & more recently a nearly new Stingray Special 5. For some reason, the EBMM sound never seems to work for me in a live situation. It disappears into a sonic hole of sorts, just like a Precision. Maybe it's those pronounced upper mids? I prefer some smoother clean treble with the mids set flat usually. Maybe I play too quietly and sensitively, but whatever the reason, whenever I get stung by the Ray (see what I did there?), it sadly ends up staying home and ultimately gets sold. Note to self: Stop buying Stingrays, you eejit!
  15. HeadlessBassist
    NB. As of Sunday 21st December this Bass will be located in Ashton-under-Lyne in the Manchester area. If you would like to view it at my location in Derbyshire, 10 mins from M1 J25, please do let us know. We're more than happy to move it between the two locations if it makes life easier for you travel-wise. Coffee/Tea & Biscuits are available at no extra cost! 😃
  16. HeadlessBassist
    And another +1 for Autumnglo. That's lovely. Hope you enjoy playing it!
  17. HeadlessBassist
    I'll give you that guarantee by all means I'm a classically trained Cellist and Double Bass player, but I don't usually touch fretless electric bass, probably for the same reasons!
  18. HeadlessBassist
    That looks lovely. Are you going to put some sound samples up?
  19. HeadlessBassist
    I love to hear about reasonably priced instruments being valued and players who find them to be excellent value. There's definitely a place for a nice quality, affordable bass at venues where you wouldn't dare to take your £2k pride and joy. 🤩
  20. HeadlessBassist
    Post deleted.
  21. HeadlessBassist
    ... and the rest! I recently did a commission sale elsewhere for my KingBass Mk-II. It's eye-wateringly expensive!
  22. HeadlessBassist
    I had one of the new Levinson Blade guitars (a Tele) come through earlier this year. It was very good quality. I'd like to try one of the basses, especially the 2-band active "Austin Standard". The UK Distributor is Scan.co.uk. I just noticed that the swanky B3-Custom flame maple topped Active Jazz is £1400! But to get Levinson Blade quality for £399 is certainly a good deal. I'll be interested to hear what you think of them, Brian.
  23. HeadlessBassist
    Very nice - I really liked mine too, but as per usual, something better came up and I traded it in. The Pure Vintage 64's are among the best passive Jazz pickups out there. Mixed with the free-breathing Nitro finish and you've got an unbeatable passive combination. I have the same pickups in my American Original Jazz. Congrats, you've got a great bass there!
  24. HeadlessBassist
    In 1975, when fantasy themes were prominent in rock music (think Roger Dean’s classic Yes album covers and H.R. Giger’s eerie pre-Alien artwork on 1973 Emerson, Lake & Palmer epic Brain Salad Surgery), artist Bruce Wolfe illustrated six surreally colorful and cleverly conceived fairy tale-themed Fender advertisements. Elaborately trippy in imagery and copy, these popular ads ran in 1975 and 1976 in publications such as Guitar Player, Rolling Stone and National Lampoon, and in Fender’s highly collectible Collected Works of Fender 1976 catalog. They represent what many consider as Fender ad design at its most artistic. At the bottom of some of the ads, they printed, "For a full-color poster of this ad, send $1 to Fender, Box 3410, Dept.575, Fullerton CA 92634." These must have been the ones the public could order.
  25. HeadlessBassist
    ** This bass, upon being delivered to Manchester, has now been withdrawn from sale - the current owner is utterly smitten with it and has decided to keep it. Thanks for all your interest! <<HB>> 2018 Status-Graphite S2-Classic "Black Beauty" Unique Custom Order in metallic black (yep, you guessed it!) with faux vintage white binding and red wrap-around LEDs.) You may remember that the Status 'Black Beauty' editions were all KingBasses, launched after Mark King's gorgeous black KingBass debuted - Well, this S2-Classic was a unique Custom Order with the same Black Beauty scheme, as well as Mark King's signature 16.5mm string spacing. This bass, [which was ordered by the one original owner who ordered a Black Beauty KingBass at the same time] is as a result, seriously fast to play and sounds utterly amazing. It has that Graphite 'Shimmer' In spades! It has been set up on fresh 30-90 gauge DBE Strings for the full Mark King effect. Uniquely, it doesn't have the usual Board 30(X) Mid Cut/Flat/Boost selector switch. Instead, there's an extra rotary control for Mid Frequency, giving the player even more tonal variations than the standard S2-Classic. There is one very tiny defect in the finish, to the right of the battery covers on the back, but not a chip or gouge. You might spot a small white dot in the pictures. That's it! Otherwise, there are a couple of very small scratches on the lower 'bout, but too small to be picked up by an iPhone camera. All in all, this Bass is in lovely condition for an eight year old Status. Potential buyers are welcome to come and try the bass by appointment. This Status Bass can be viewed and played at either Ashton-under-Lyne (Manchester area), or Derbyshire (10 mins from M1 J25.) Either location is good, and coffee/biscuits are available at no extra cost. We will happily move it between either location. Delivery available for fuel cost, or happy to meet you half way at a distance of roughly up to 140 miles. Interesting trades are welcome towards the cost of this unique instrument.
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