Owen

It's gonna be great. i love cake.

I was listening to a Podcast with Guy Pratt who mentioned that these look like this cos Mr Ashdown loves Wem stuff and did them as a bit of an homage.

Setting a compressor to make your bass sound fabulous is a tricky business. This is why I like the Spectracomp so much. Someone who knows how has actually done all that tedious stuff and it just works for me. I make no apology for my technical ineptitude. I just don't get it. But I do get great compressionish stuff with the TC.

Sorry, I am letting my grief derail your thread. Yours also looks very tasty!

The aesthetics were very right. As far as I am concerned, if the aesthetic is that good then the design has to be there or thereabouts. I still kick myself for deciding 2 hours to late. As I said, if you are out there, do the right thing and sell it to me. The seller took the pics down. I only have one in a PM. Do I need to get out more?

There was an MPU headless on here last year which I ummed and ahed about for too long and missed it. If whoever bought it is reading this thread then PLEASE sell it to me.

I'm excited!

Your scale, but tuned at bass pitch - hmmmmmm..............

Of course I could just buy the 2nd hand one on here. Actually, I could not.

I have a Korean MTD which cost me £180 2nd hand many years ago. It has my favourite neck, is super light and just resonates in a way I REALLY like. However, the pickups are......lacking. So plumbing something Smithesque in would be fun.

Just for reference, I have been doing my research and have emailed Armstrong Pickups cos internet lore has it that they make the originals

Thanks to this video I fancy a Ken Smith. At £5K from BD that is not going to happen anytime soon (as in at all before I die). Obviously there are all sorts of neck through stuff going on and build quality yadda yadda yadda. However, I have a bass I would happily plumb a couple of Smith Humbuckers into just for the craic. Do such a thing exist for bass bodgers like me to buy aftermarket or does anyone sell/wind Smith-alikes? I have found this but no prices http://www.kensmithbasses.com/parts-accessories/soapbar-pickups/ TIA

Great, now I want a Ken Smith.

I don't suppose anyone coming has a B Amp, a Strymon Big Sky or a Helix Stomp?

There are 3 machine heads which are the same and the D machine head is clearly different - it is an afterthought on the brass faceplate. I could well be wrong on this next bit, but the spacing of the original machines on both sides is also saying 3 stringer - wide apart on one side and the single one being in the center on the other side. I am entirely comfortable with my 3 stringer hypothesis which does put it into older bass territory. My 5 string has a new neck and the original was a 3 string to 4 string conversion. Here is a 3 stringer I found - with guts as well (for the TONE!)

Thanks all. I have clocked the name in searches but this bass is not one like the ones that come up. It is all solid and flame-y and ting so it a different kettle of fish.

Where did you run into the B+H/Excelsior info? I cannot find anything out about Excelsior at all.

It has been extensively patched inside to glue up cracks. There is a patch under the soundpost. The bassbar is there. The repair work looks good to me. And they all seem to be sound. It sounds good. It is set up with spiros so great for that spiro pizz sound. Arco and spiro is not anything that has ever floated my boat but given a nice set of arco strings I believe it would sound lovely.