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scrumpymike

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Everything posted by scrumpymike

  1. scrumpymike
    Ha-ha! That's kind of right. I'd say that I stopped buying because my defective £1500 custom Elwood raised doubts about Maruszczyc quality control - forgot to mention that the Luminlays I ordered and paid for hadn't been fitted. But, hey, don't forget I was just answering gazzatriumph's question.
  2. scrumpymike
    Good question! The first thing to say is that a few years back I decided to limit myself to 3 basses - two for gigging in my classic rock covers band and one more that I'd keep changing just to scratch the GAS itch. My first '3rd bass' was a Mensinger Cazpar that I bought new from the Public Peace online shop for what now seems like a real bargain price of £890. I just wanted something compact and lightweight for home/practice use and ended up really loving it so I sold it to try other Cazpar variants including a fretless and a headless bought off this FS forum. I was so impressed with the quality and value for money that I bought a used s-s Elwood off here with a view to gigging it. That was a nice bass too but the quality wasn't as good as the Cazpars. Anyway, I decided to bite the bullet and get a custom Elwood L made and that was where it all went wrong. When it finally arrived, there were quality issues with bubbles in the paint finish, a chip on the neck near the headstock, and badly fitted screws. You could see from the screw heads in the scratch-plate that they hadn't gone in straight and when I tried to fit Schaller strap locks screw holding the original button sheared off. When I finally managed to extract it from the body you could see it had gone in at a stupid angle and bent straight when it was tightened down on the button. Adrian made me an offer that I was satisfied with but that was me done with Maruszczycs. The Sandy Llionel I bought off here was just perfect in every way and for me was a much better player than any of the Maru's.
  3. scrumpymike
    I'd be tempted to stick with the Epiphone.
  4. scrumpymike
    I bought a new SG re-issue, MY 2008 for just under a grand IIRC, that I absolutely loved - except for the slight neck-dive, which is just a personal thing with me. Also, while the pups and controls definitely lifted it well out of 'one trick pony' territory, I felt I needed something with a broader tonal range as I was doing all sorts of different stuff at the time. By then, I'd got at least 5 years of happy gigging from it though. Re bottom E, it was fine and I was using relatively low-tension rounds.
  5. scrumpymike
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  6. scrumpymike
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  7. scrumpymike
    Just reminiscing - which I do a lot nowadays (can't say the same for remembering unfortunately!). When I bought my first bass in 1964, I knew nothing about scale lengths, string spacing or indeed anything else. As luck would have it, the only bass our local guitar shop had in my price range was a s-s Watkins Rapier. When I later understood that s-s was my thing, the WEM was followed by a series of Gibsons. My point is that, if I'd started on a standard scale, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have persevered with the bass to become the player I am today: vastly experienced but still mediocre 🙂
  8. scrumpymike
    Having had a shed-load of Maru's and one Lionel (which I stupidly sold), I'd go for a Sandy every time.
  9. scrumpymike
    That's what it does on my R-400. Very clever idea IMHO. Getting the mids right is what I spend most time doing on other amps but the Contour pot seems to get me where I want to be much quicker without needing to faff around. Of course, that may not be where YOU want to be 🙂
  10. scrumpymike
    Let's hope I'm not faced with that difficult choice 😉
  11. scrumpymike
    Re the comments about the Acinonyx pre-sets, I get arguably more versatility from my Andy Rogers custom-builds without the use of push-push buttons that are prone to mechanical failure in my experience. Mine have 3 pick-ups and 8-way switching that allows instant pick-up selection - singly or in any combination of two or all 3. Now I'm used to this, I wouldn't be without it and it beats me that the only adoption of this configuration I've come across from the usual suspects was Fender's limited-run s-s Rascal. Its quirky body shape and bridge position made it feel more like a standard-scale and IMHO stopped more players from buying this otherwise superb bass. It's got the best s-s neck I've ever played.
  12. scrumpymike
    Thanks for that, loved everything about it including the gorgeous finish of your Ibby. I congratulate you on nailing the tricky timing on that piece btw! 👍
  13. scrumpymike
    Great bass, great video! You'd need a fairly light touch though!
  14. scrumpymike
    Yes, I had a Ken-Ken Signature and these are definitely basses you can sell to your best friend with a clear conscience, and probably regret it afterwards.
  15. scrumpymike
    These are really nice basses and typical of the great value for money you get from Ibanez. Based on my experience of basses in this price range, this one's the best choice. Love the colour too! GLWTS.
  16. scrumpymike
    As Badscrew suggests, I think you'd need to go for a set of high-tension strings. I gig classic-rock covers dropped to Eb on my 30"-scale basses strung with La Bella standard-gauge flats, which sound great. The s-s bass I keep to standard tuning for other stuff has TI Jazz Flats and they'd be too floppy if drop-tuned. I only play flats and they are generally higher tension than rounds of the same gauge. Can't say how a 'stiff' set of s-s rounds would perform but would assume that you'd have to go up a gauge to get the equivalent tension to flats.
  17. scrumpymike
    I'd say they're equally good at doing very different things. I bought a SBMM to try out that distinctive 'Ray vibe for the first time. I loved the bass but when the novelty wore off realised that vibe wasn't for me. Re the Mustang, I've never owned one because (like Baloney B) I need at least 20 easily-accessible frets.
  18. scrumpymike
    I've always been up for different stuff as long as it's not a case of 'form over function'. Aesthetically, I like the look of the Starstream as for me it somehow manages to convey retro and avant-garde at the same time. Functionally, the innovative design offers definite positives and no negatives provided you're a player who 'fits' the 30" short-scale format. Specifically: the compact headstock and Gotoh tuners don't skew the strap balance; the neck is the perfect compromise being fast without feeling too skinny; the 'gappy' body is intrinsically lightweight; the location of the chunky Gotoh bridge (MIJ Artist version only) offsets the weight-saving body and keeps the bottom frets within easy reach; the inclusion of a second bottom strap-button makes the bass more comfortable to wear for some, and standing the bass on the floor safer for all; as well as being a work of art, the ABS moulding that frames the inner wooden core is kind to your forearm wherever you rest it; the Aguilar AG 4J-70 active pickups and OBP-2 electronics (Artist only) with their classic '70s vibe are right on the money for me (deep but clear lows and highs that ring out nicely); you can switch to passive mode with a 2-way toggle; the overall quality is second to none. What's not to like? (All right, so you can't fit strap locks 😞) Haven't played the H version of the Artist myself but our Dood Dan Veall's excellent review suggests that it's a great choice for anyone who likes those distinctive 'Ray sounds. Last time I looked at the Vox UK website, both versions of the Artist were available for £800, which is a massive discount on the £1400-ish RRP and for me makes choosing the Artist over the cost-engineered £500 standard Starstream a no-brainer.
  19. scrumpymike
    I had one of these for a while and was very impressed. One of the best s-s basses I've played and massive value for money even if you buy new as I did. There's lots of love for them over the pond on Talkbass, including from owners of the much more expensive EB/MM version. I only moved mine on because that's what I do with my 3rd bass so I can try lots of stuff. For what it's worth, my top 5 s-s basses so far have been: 1) Andy Rogers Custom (no. 1 gig bass and keeper); 2) Sandberg Lionel (very nearly a keeper and probably should have been); 3) Vox Starstream A2S (probable keeper); 4) Atelier Z Ken-Ken Signature; 5) SBMM 'Ray. Price-wise, the 'Ray punches well above its weight.
  20. scrumpymike
    'Gypsy's kissed'? Presumably means inebriated. What WOULD our Victorian PC Police do without Cockney rhyming slang to protect us from honest Anglo-Saxon words? Irony is that these two had almost certainly been kissed by gypsies many times.
  21. scrumpymike
    Clinging on to the dream that we might one day come across (?) the best female vocalist on the planet, we got suckered into letting a couple of young lasses take the vocals on Sweet Child Of Mine last night. Will we never learn?! 😲 At least they didn't fall over and trash anything as they hadn't been in the club (?) long enough to get gypsy's kissed yet - only 5 minutes and they needed 10.
  22. scrumpymike
    I'd call that a reasonably happy ending to this chapter of your s-s story 🙂 We'll look out for your post re the s-s solid-bodied bass you're after.
  23. scrumpymike
    Just played your video. Perfect laid-back journey for a Sunday-morning traveller. Loved every minute.
  24. scrumpymike
    These are very nice amps and IMHO well thought-out in terms of what you get. Got this to tide me over when I sold my Mesa 800+ to part-fund a TT-800 then discovered there was a 6-month wait for the TT! I didn't use it outside the house during covid lay-off and by the time we were gigging again the TT had arrived. Amp and bag are mint, unmarked and look like brand new. Price is collected from Taunton but happy to package securely if buyer arranges and pays for delivery.
  25. scrumpymike
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