scrumpymike

Gigged my Aguilar-equipped s-s Sandi Cali ll TM bass on Saturday. Relieved to report a big improvement on the OE pickups. Much enhanced presence in the mix thanks to extra heft compared to OE pups. So I'm well pleased with the mod but getting hold of the Aguilar AG 4M/J-HC set was a saga of marathon proportions. My starting point was the decision to get the Aguilars based on how good the J-J set is on my Vox Starstream. My online search proved fruitless as none of the UK or EU retailers were showing any stock. Next step was to call round to Taunton Audio Visual Services for a chat with Kevin, who would be doing the pup change-over. He found the set listed in his Barnes & Mullins catalogue at £285 and gave them a ring to place an order. All B&M could offer was that they had none in stock and delivery would be 'several months'. Plan B was to find a set in the USA, preferably before any UK government response to Trump's trade war doubled the price. Sweetwater were listing the set at USD259.99 but temporarily out of stock. With the weak Dollar that price converted to around £210 although I knew there'd be import taxes and charges to add on. Sweetwater assured me that Aguilar could ship to them 'within a week' so I placed my order after checking with my friend in California that she was happy to take delivery of my order and forward ship it to me. What could possibly go wrong? The first problem was the shipping quote she got from her local Post Office for a USPS delivery was a staggering USD150 for a fully insured 2 to 3-week delivery service. WTF?! So plan B was on pause. Thankfully I remembered someone on here (forgotten who) mentioned that lots of Talkbass members were recommending a service called Pirate Ship. Next stop the Pirate Ship website, where I discovered that they are effectively a shipping broker offering USPS deliveries at massively discounted rates. I won't extend my already lengthy post by going into too much detail. The bottom line is that I got the Aguilars in 3 weeks fully insured for a staggeringly low price of USD29.99. I did have to collect them from the Post Office sorting office in town and pay the £53 import charges though. The final all-in cost of the pups came to £280. Inly a fiver less than the UK RRP but I'm betting that, when/if they finally re-appear in the UK and Europe the price will have increased. Most important of all, I've got mine NOW 🙂 and this is how they sounded on a mobile phone recording at Saturday night's gig. Sandberg s-s Cali ll TM with AguilarAG 4M/J-HC set

Yes to all three questions Dave. Only compromise was I sacrificed the coil-split function. My tech guy phoned me to say that the Aguilar M pup wasn't wired for splitting. He said "I could modify it but that would probably invalidate your warranty." To be honest, it's not something I used much anyway so all it means is that the mini rocker switch doesn't do anything. Here's a link to one of last night's mobile phone videos to give you an idea of how it sounds. Aguilar AG 4M/J-HC upgrade

Great private party gig last night celebrating a 40th and an 80th so wide age range watching. Outdoors in the garden of one of the local farmhouses and all up for a good time. Only the 5th gig of the new band but they liked us so much that they paid us more than the agreed going rate. Same happened last at last gig so we must be doing something right. First outing of my s-s Sandberg Cali since new Aguilar pickup set fitted. Much more heft that OE pups. Didn't realise just how much in fact. No need to engage the 'deep' button on my Mesa D800+ from now on methinks. So nice to see all the old folks having such a good time. That includes me btw 🙂

Got the Sandy back yesterday with the AG 4M/J-HC set fitted. Based on a quick noodle at home, definitely worth all the cost and hassle. Will post the full story after tonight's gig.

As William Shakespeare put it: "The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune". 🙂 I'm just dodging some of those right now!! Nothing that will get in the way of the Bash I hasten to add.

Well said Rich - and seconded by me 🙂

EXCITING DAY!! I've managed to buy an Aguilar J-M pickup set from Sweetwater in the US and get it shipped over with the help of a friend in California. I tried to buy one 'locally' (i.e. UK & Europe) a couple of months ago but no-one had stock and or even any deliveries scheduled. I was told it would be 'several months' at least. Anyway, the set arrived yesterday and I'm just off to see Kevin at Taunton Audio Visual to get my Sandberg upgraded (he also sells guitars). And I am definitely expecting it to be an upgrade based on the wonderful Aguilar J-J set that's standard on my Vox Starstream A2S. Watch this space!!

There was a very nice red one up for sale on here a couple of years back. Probably should have bought it but didn't because I wanted the blue finish that I had. They were £33 new back then.

This design is based on the Watkins Rapier that came out in the late '60s. My first bass was a pale blue one (also available in red) and I'd be all over one of these if the bridge wasn't so far from the bottom edge of the body. It just adds to the weight and negates the 'easy reach to the lower frets' benefit that many s-s basses offer. Even so, I'd still have a test run if I could find one locally.

Just jumped on for a look after seeing your posts on my S-W Bass Bash topic. Top marks!! It's good to see people pushing the design and build envelope using latest technology. I'm speaking as the proud owner of a Vox Starstream btw 🙂

Don't worry, it's organised by yer original Rochdale cowboy (mentioning no names) 😉

A LITTLE?! 😄

You'll be more than welcome to join us and the other 'incomers' from out of area. We've managed to attract a few already. Just make sure you don't have a big breakfast on Bash day 🙂

I think the way Vox have crashed the used market for the s-s Artist is clumsy to say the least. Owners who bought at full RRP (over £1300) or even after the first price drop (to £799) as I did are quite obviously pi55ed off that the second-hand value is now determined by the final 'refurbished as new' price of £399!! Seems to me that Vox have effectively managed to lose a significant number of repeat customers by turning what was initially a happy group of owners into a group with a grievance. I also think the change-over to standard scale length is a mistake for a brand that was traditionally associated with s-s basses. If they had got their marketing right they could have secured a big share of the now significant s-s bass market. Instead they have done what Gibson managed to do - squander the value of a 'heritage' brand name by messing with its DNA.

Well spotted!! I didn't look at the spec, just assumed that Starstream = short-scale.