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scrumpymike

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Everything posted by scrumpymike

  1. scrumpymike
    Dave, just for your info, I've got a TT-800 and an R-400 and have been trying to decide which will be my main gig amp. Given the price difference between the two, that's already a massive compliment to the HandBox and until recently I've been gigging it more often as I just love its simplicity and sounds. Then, while the R-400 was away for repair, I started understanding the full extent of what the Mesa can do and gradually improving how it sounds. Compared to the R-400, its two switchable channels, HPF, Deep switch, O/D Symmetry Control, 2ohm capability and extra wattage do bring a lot to the party - for me anyway. I should also declare that I've been a big Mesa fan for ages.
  2. scrumpymike
    Dohhh! Sorry Woody, just realised your post was in response to my earlier one - so you already knew what my rig is. Must learn to read EVERYTHING! 😐
  3. scrumpymike
    Mine too.
  4. scrumpymike
    A very tasteful custom build, I really like that! GLWTS.
  5. scrumpymike
    No, just the neck pick-up.
  6. scrumpymike
    Loved my D800+, loving my TT-800. GLWTS
  7. scrumpymike
    That's gorgeous, and this is the best s-s P bass out there. Recently sold mine and may come to regret it.
  8. scrumpymike
    Agreed. Had one of these and they are amazing value for money.
  9. scrumpymike
    If you really are a committed Fender P-bass man, it's worth pointing out that I don't think you'll ever match those distinctive, industry-standard tones with any s-s bass. You may get pretty close though depending on what other kit you have. All I can say is that I love the range of sounds I'm getting from my multi-pickup s-s basses strung with La Bella flats through my Mesa TT-800/Barefaced SC3 x 2 rig.
  10. scrumpymike
    Blimey, that's quite a list of things to address! As it happens, I can answer most of them from experience, so here goes. Maybe worth mentioning first that my s-s love goes back to the start of my playing career, when I was just naturally attracted towards Gibson basses - thanks mainly to Andy Fraser and Jack Bruce among others. At that point, I didn't even know there were different scale lengths, so it was a pure stroke of luck that the first bass I bought was a Watkins Rapier that happened to be short scale. So, to your first question. You've pretty much answered that yourself based on the obvious physical differences down to one thing being shorter than another. However, the only things that HAVE to be shorter are the fretboard and the neck. The other things you need to think about are: the body - this can be shorter too (as the bridge is closer to the top of the neck) if you want the shorter reach to the fret (and all the other frets of course 🙂). If you do decide you want your s-s bass with the back of the bridge assembly very close to the bottom edge of the body, you'll have to think about strap balance. This is determined by the positioning of the top strap button and the ratio between body weight and headstock weight. Best case = top button at the F12 sweet spot and the heaviest body you're comfortable with. Worst case = top button south of F12 and lightweight body. An interesting example of this is the Gibson SG, which has a fairly heavy body and a top button on the heel of the neck. In this respect, lightweight tuning machines are your friend. In my case, I've got short-ish arms and fingers and medium-ish hands. So, my custom-made gig bass is designed to give me a short reach for my fretting hand and, having my preferred (large) Fender-style headstock, has a compact body (based on the Fender P Lyte) and lightweight tuners (see below). Re the choice of off-the-shelf basses (including some discontinued), there's a MIC s-s Fender Jazz up on here (OK if you don't mind a body that's on the heavy side and only 19 frets) and a Jaguar (OK if you don't mind neck dive). My pick of the P-style stuff currently available new is undoubtedly the Sandy Lionel - I've had one and I couldn't fault it (as Adee who bought it on here agrees). I've also had the SBMM s-s Ray, which is massive value for money if you like the 'Ray vibe. American owners on Talkbass who are familiar with both versions say that in practical terms the ownership experience of the SBMM is so close to its 'full-fat' brother as makes no difference. Don't know about the Banshee but looks interesting. Re strings, your choices should be adequate if limited Hope this helps.
  11. scrumpymike
    Michael Gillett took the idea of an electro-acoustic bass and re-invented it. These rare and exotic things are in a league of their own. I still have my two fretted Contours - a standard and an ST. GLWTS Frank!
  12. scrumpymike
    Certainly will!
  13. scrumpymike
    Here's a link to mine - they've also got the single Humbie version at the same price BTW. Vox Starstream A2S
  14. scrumpymike
    Posted this a couple of weeks ago and 10 forum members liked it. So, some of you may be interested to know that Vox UK have some more FS on their website at the knock-down price I paid for mine, namely £799 as opposed to the original RRP of £1400. Now I've had chance to get to know mine properly, I can tell you that these are well worth £1400 and are therefore an unbelievable bargain at the discounted price. This is MIJ quality at its best, witness the pic showing the edge binding I forgot to mention in my original post. And I can confirm that IMHO the Aguilar pick-ups ARE fantastic.
  15. scrumpymike
    Dohh! Always did get the male and female spellings (Leslie/Lesley) mixed up.
  16. scrumpymike
    Love mine too, these really do it for me. GLWTS.
  17. scrumpymike
    Lesley just bought my s-s Atelier Z and it was a pleasure dealing with him from start to finish. No hesitation in recommending this forum member to others.
  18. scrumpymike
    Had one of these that I gave to my son. Fabulous basses! Sting used to record with a fretless one when no-one from Fender was looking.
  19. scrumpymike
    Just found these studio pic's:
  20. scrumpymike
    MIJ KenKen signature model signed by hand on the back of the headstock. IMHO this bass is uber-cool, especially the colour in a semi-translucent finish and the mirror-backed clear-plastic scratchplate! Hand-built in Japan by this top 'boutique' manufacturer, it has a 30" scale, a lovely maple neck and is extremely lightweight at 3.4kg/7.5lb. It has active EMG pick-ups and electronics, Gotoh hardware, and was recently set-up with new La Bella flats. Build quality is pretty much as good as it gets, so if you're looking for that elusive premium-quality s-s J bass, you won't find better. The bass and its OE gig-bag are in immaculate condition and as far as I can tell would cost around £2000 to buy new if you could find one over here (UK importer Bass Direct have a new standard-scale Jerry Barnes signature at £2499). It's only up at this price because I got it cheap on here. The flash shot below is the best I could manage today but I'll take some more pic's in natural light when weather conditions allow. Price is collected but I'm happy to drive a reasonable distance from Taunton for a handover or pack for collection if buyer arranges and pays for delivery.
  21. scrumpymike
    Sorry guys, just realised I forgot about this! Amp is fine now after amp tech Pete did the mod advised by Leszek. I don't know what that was because Leszek didn't copy me in to the email he sent Pete. I did ask Pete to let me have a written explanation I could share with you guys (he explained it when I collected the amp but it just went over my head). Not received anything yet so I'll remind him. He charged me £50 for the repair, which I think was reasonable considering he had to ping a few emails across to our Polish friend and had already started to try and locate the fault himself by the time Leszek finally sent the info.
  22. scrumpymike
    Things have moved on since then! I'm not saying the £500 Indonesian bass was bad but mine was virtually unplayable as received with a stupidly low action and nut slots cut way too shallow. I could have fixed those things myself but the bass turned up in a Fender Squier box with internal polystyrene packaging that didn't hold the Vox securely and had virtually disintegrated in transit. As if that wasn't bad enough, it was obviously a dusty ex-display model and the advertised gig bag wasn't there! Basically, I just didn't feel like PMT deserved my money so I returned it - at a cost to me of £12!! I was so disappointed that I decided to phone Vox UK for a whinge and they ended up offering me a twin pickup active MIJ Artist at a massively discounted price. With a RRP of nearly £1400, this is in a completely different league. The differences are subtle metallic finish rather than solid black, premium Gotoh bridge and lightweight machine-heads, gloss maple neck, maple fretboard with mother of pearl square inlays, brilliant Aguilar AG 4J-70 pick-ups and OBP-2 pre-amp. It arrived today and it's the best s-s bass I've ever played.
  23. scrumpymike
    Even without the fish puns, this has now reached an unacceptable scale.
  24. scrumpymike
    For alyctes and any others who haven't been, the buffet is finger-style. You can also take your pick.
  25. scrumpymike
    Just make the decision and stick to it - don't crumble! (I see you've read the topic so I'm chancing an an in joke)
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