Russ

Yep, Shuker singlecut. Rather nice it is too. Looks very much like something I’ve seen before though… wondering if someone saw my Sei and decided they wanted their own version.

It's been a while since I ordered a Sei, but I've done it twice before and will be doing it again soon. I guess the trick is to take advantage of Martin and John's experience - particularly Martin's, as he's been doing this for a long, long time. You do want to go in there with some idea about how you want the bass to look (which body shape - original, Flamboyant, single cut, Jazz/P, etc), what woods you like the look of, some idea of what sort of neck dimensions you find most comfortable, and so on. If you have a bass with a neck you really like, bring it with you so they can measure it, or just find something at The Gallery you like the feel of (as you know, they've got, like, 150 basses hanging on the walls there). If you have strong opinions on the sort of sound, pickups, etc you want, tell them, and they'll make it happen. Otherwise, just describe the sort of sound you're after, or play them a track with a bass tone you like, and they'll advise you the best way to go. Word for the wise though - don't go in there with too many ideas set in stone. Let them do their thing and take their advice. Let them have fun with it, and you'll end up with a better instrument. It'll be a long 12-18 months while you wait for it to come to life (don't expect anything at all for the first six months!) but the anticipation is one of the best parts! And there's nothing like that day you go in and collect it, when Martin opens the case in front of you and hands you your bass. It's a journey - enjoy it.

The GWB35 plays brilliantly, but the electronics aren't great. The Bartolini Mk1 pickup is quite low output and the electronics only have bass and treble controls - IMHO, you really need a midrange control for fretless. Stick a replacement pickup and circuit in there and you're in good shape though. Or just get the SR375EF. The Sires are great value, especially with their electronics package. Just depends on whether you want to go down that more traditional J-bass route.

No way to rewire the bass and treble controls onto a stacked pot? Or use a circuit that isn't the standard Zon/Bartolini one? Something like an East Uni-Pre wouldn't irritate any future buyers as long as it was cleanly installed as it's clearly an upgrade from the stock setup.

I've got a Fusion S 1200, running into a Barefaced Big Twin II. It's a great head, very loud, with loads of different sounds available if you're willing to do a deep dive into the controls. That's the only downside really, the controls are complicated and not very intuitive. Basically, every knob on the front of the amp serves two purposes and you switch between them by pushing the knob in. I think I'd rather have had a fussier front panel with more knobs if it meant you didn't have to muck about with the dual-function thing.

Hi Chris! In which case, I stand corrected about nobody else making multicoils with separate outputs. Thanks for clearing that up. Bassculture in Germany also make multicoil pickups (I've seen them used in various Maruszczyk basses), but I have no idea if they offer a version with separate outputs for each string.

Doug Wimbish. He's got over 40 years' worth of brilliant session and gig stories (ask him about how he got the Mick Jagger gig), he's hilarious, he's a complete gear nerd and a lovely bloke to boot. He's also in the UK quite regularly, so hopefully it shouldn't be too hard to pin him down.

They'll still make a Calibas to order, but they no longer offer the push-button pickup selector - you'll have to settle for the regular 5-position knob.

Jaydee are supposed to be bringing back the Celeste range, and, in the meantime, will make one to order, so he can't be charging too much! I'd say he'd be looking at maybe £400 for that.

I love Thundercat. But he's either a really little bloke, or that Ibby six-string he plays is just comically big. I've been playing a sixer as my main bass for over a year now. Getting comfortable and loving the sonic possibilities, but I still find myself skipping over the D string occasionally!

That's Amanda Lehmann. She's played with Hackett off and on for years.

For the djent-y crowd, he was also helping out the Blackmachine guys with their production backlog for quite a while, and they were/are fantastic guitars if you like a big dose of "chug" in your life.

Yep. As someone from the Cronx, I know Jonathan pretty well and he's worked on my basses on multiple occasions. Lovely bloke and he really knows his $h!t. His custom stuff is really nice. He mostly does guitars, but he has made the occasional bass. He made a couple of copies of the Alembic Spider (the Explorer-shaped one) for a guy who played Entwistle in a Who cover band and they were fantastic basses. This is their site: https://felineguitars.com/pages/feline-bass-guitar-models

It's OK, but doesn't sound very "fretless" - no noticeable mwah or growl. It was the same with Ibanez's SRF7xx range. I'm very glad a mainstream manufacturer like Ibanez make and sell a wide range of basses and are not afraid to try new things, it's just a shame they always seem to be "unfinished".

I have four Bongos, including a sixer. Polite is not a word I would use to describe any of them. The trick to EQ'ing a Bongo is the two midrange controls. The instrument's voice is tied up in that one concentric stack. And a good compressor will be your best friend, especially if you can get heavy-handed with your playing techniques.

Ah, Fixed voltage then.

For anyone who has one, can you check and see if the power supply is hardwired for 240V, or if it's a universal 110V-240V one? I've flicked through the manual and I don't see any mention of it. This might affect my decision to purchase one because... reasons.

Might it be worth contacting Carlsbro themselves? Not sure how many of the people who work there now would be familiar with the Delta stuff, since they're 25 years old at this point, but might be worth a try. Failing that, Chris May at Overwater was involved in the design of the Delta range, and may know people who have worked on them before.

I remember seeing a Wal in some Cash Converters-type place back in the mid-90s for £400. 😮 They weren't seen as particularly rare back then, or particularly special!

I'd say Lakland? That's pretty much their value-prop - a more versatile Stingray. It doesn't quite nail the Stingray tone (the MM pickup is a bit further back than in a proper MM) but it gets you pretty close, and it's got the 19mm string spacing. Incidentally, over at "the other place", there was a lot of interest from various posters about MM producing a Stingray 5 with 19mm spacing. Sterling Ball got involved, and said if they could get 100 orders they'd do a run of them, but not enough people signed up.

It's very 80s in style - the Simmons drums, the DX7-style synth... it's like the theme tune from some American 1980s cop show. Which is OK by me. Grew up on that sort of stuff.

Do a folk-power-metal version like this. I'd watch.

As others have said, it's mostly about two things - having good contacts, and "the hang". Being able to play is obviously important, as is being easy to work with and being someone who can nail a bass part in as few takes as possible. I'd suggest there's quite a lot of us on here who can do those things and who aren't professionals. But so much of it is who you know, and what you're like to spend time with when you don't have a bass in your hands!

They're fantastic basses for the money but they have a very odd passive electronics arrangement (two volumes, one for each coil of the pickup, and a passive tone control). If you want the full active Stingray experience, you'll have to fit aftermarket electronics. The Retrovibe guys do a copy of the classic Stingray active circuit (link below), and others are available that match the Stingray EQ curves (John East does a custom U-Retro, or whatever he calls it now, with the EQ frequencies set to match those of a Stingray). https://retrovibe.co.uk/product/retrovibe-stinger-77-classic-mm-stingray-bass-eq-pre-amp-2-band-pre-eb-circuit/

There's a new fanned-fret version of their Bass VI thingy - the SRC6MS: Looks nice. I really, really wish they wouldn't use the rubbish Bartolini BH-2s in their basses though. I'd happily pay a little more for the Nordys.