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Paul S

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Everything posted by Paul S

  1. Brilliant - thank you Mr H, very helpful. Too heavy, so crossed off the list
  2. Yeah, I think most of the Westones are solid maple - my Thunder 1A was extremely heavy which is why I sold it. But the Thunder Jet and Concord were Alder. One or two later models were ash. Something like that. Not keen on the Concord shape, tbh, but am still a fan of the Thunder shape and the whole Westone thing, really. I am on the trail of my old Thunder Jet to see if the current owner a/ would kindly weigh it for me and, if light enough, b/ sell it back to me. Except I hadn't mentioned that bit to him yet I quite like the shape of the Pantera, which is why I mention it, and the body is a good deal smaller than the Thunder and also carved, so I would guess lighter in weight.
  3. I just bought the Barefaced Compact cover - fits like a second skin. Before that I had them make some for two Trace Elliot cabs - top quality kit IMO.
  4. If so are you able to weight it reasonably accurately? I used to own a Thunder Jet and a Thunder 1A. I sold on the Thunder Jet a while back as I preferred the active sound of the Thunder 1A and they were otherwise too similar to keep both. But one significant difference is that the Thunder Jet was lighter - made of alder, I am told, rather than maple. At the time it wasn't an issue. Now because of back problems I have had to sell the Thunder 1A but am already missing the idea of owning a Westone bass. And so, of course, I am now regretting selling the Thunder Jet - it may be that it is light enough to be comfortable. Same might apply to a Spectrum and Pantera basses, which are maple (I believe) but more carved than the slabby Thunders. ta.
  5. A quickie - I took the neck off mine when giving it a clean up and there were no clues to be had as to model number leaving just detective work to try to pin it down. +1 for the build quality - I recently bought a Fender P-Bass Lyte and my SB-310 is better built and cost considerably less. In my limited experience these (and Westones) represent the best value basses you can buy. Someone buy this soon, please, to stop me looking at it
  6. Damnation, that is gorgeous. I think the '88...' serial no means it was made in 1988?
  7. This is the kind of thing I have been seeking. I don't get on with fat necks but like the P-Bass sound. My own personal thing is now to have lightweight basses, as well as skinny necks, so a lot of the contenders don't get off the blocks. My SGC Nanyo Bass Collection is the lightest of all (actually about the same as the headless Hohner cricket bat) but doesn't sound much like a P-Bass to my ears - it seems to have a more 'modern' sound. I recently bought a Precision Bass Lyte - same shape (but smaller) body as a P-Bass, beautiful skinny neck. From the little I have played it before packing it off for some repairs, it sounded more like a P-Bass than the Bass Collection but still not exactly like a P-Bass. But I haven;t lived with it for long enough to have a major fiddle as yet. My #1 favourite bass is my Power Jazz Bass Special - P-Bass body but 'relatively' lightweight (under 9lbs), gorgeously playable skinny jazz neck. Sounds absolutely immense - great for rock - but, again, not that much like a P-Bass to my ears. Of the basses I have owned I would say a Westone Thunder 1A sounded more like a P-Bass without actually being a P-Bass than any other P-Bass-a-like mentioned. If you see what I mean - it has that special woody tone. The neck is *slightly* fatter than a Jazz neck - 40mm compared to 38mm, but not as fat as some of the P-Bass necks, which I believe can be up to 44mm. If only it wasn't so bloody heavy! Ditto Washburn Scavenger (eyes left) - 40mm neck, nice woody P-Bass tones.
  8. It is my pleasure to start off a feedback thread for i.clarke. Iain bought my Westone Thunder 1A - a painfree experience - a friendly, easy guy to deal with. Thanks Iain, hope you make use of it more than I did. Cheers Paul
  9. I have been using OBBM cables for a little while now and they are absolutely brilliant. The head to cab 4mm cables look like tow ropes. But... ...I recently bought a Barefaced Compact and a head to speaker cable from Alex. He sells cheaper, thinner ones because [quote]We use lighter gauge cable because there's no sonic reason to use thicker on such short runs (though I admit really fat cables look cool!)[/quote] If that is what Alex says then it is good enough for me. He seems to know what he is talking about
  10. Hiscox, 'cos I don't trust anyone not to walk into/smash against/knock stuff over onto it.
  11. That is a superb idea. It hadn't actually occurred to me to work with what was there, only to replace it or forget it.
  12. Put some of the ceramic ones in my Washburn Scavenger and it was a major improvement over the stock pups, whatever they were. As JTUK did - teamed with a J-East P-Retro the bass now sounds awesome. Shame it weighs so much otherwise I'd use it all the time as it sounds sweeter and has a broader spectrum of sounds than any of my other basses. I get the impression, maybe wrongly, that they compare to Seymour Duncans as Gotoh bridges do to Badass - better VFM but not the ones people first reach for. Is it just branding?
  13. Interesting. I agree, now I think about it. Thanks.
  14. I'll consider offers on these - again, I can only say no
  15. There's both a Little Mark Tube 500 and a Barefaced Compact just popped up on the For Sale section - this has to be the best VFM lightweight rig ever!
  16. I picked this up recently unseen - a red '90-91 Fender Precision Lyte. Sold by a daughter whose bass playing father had recently died. [attachment=82330:lyte1.jpg] [attachment=82331:lyte2.jpg] [attachment=82332:lyte3.jpg] [attachment=82333:lyte4.jpg] [attachment=82334:lyte5.jpg] I paid a reasonable price for it - £300 - but must admit I was disappointed to see the condition of the bodywork as it has been badly refinished at some point in it's life, although the colour is right I think. A few little other minor issues - jack socket and 1 pot need replacing, clean and set up mainly. But so far as I can tell from bedroom levels it sounds great and plays fantastically well - superb neck. And really lightweight and comfy. In fact everything it said on the tin, really. What would you do with it if it were yours? I am *really* undecided. The paint is so bad that I look at it and think 'I could do much better myself' and am tempted to have a bash - especially after reading a lot of the refin threads on here by novices. In which case I would probably want to paint it black (I know, not an easy colour to paint but anything would be better than it is now). The major issue with a re-fin is the headstock decal has all the info on it - serial number etc. Is it too cheeky to get this reproduced? I guess not and maybe this way wouldn't completely devalue the bass. My inclination is to completely stealth it, change all the hardware to black Gotoh - I would prefer the look of it but imagine also it would devalue it considerably, especially if I did away with the original style of headstock decal. But does that, in fact, matter? Or should I just leave thing alone, get used to the paint finish and stop being so shallow? It doesn't affect the playability, after all, and is a part of the basses history. Be really interested to read different points of view and tips.
  17. Long shot - I would also consider some trades (not amps/cabs though). For example - a decent wireless kit 5 string SGC Nanyo SB-310 or similar lightweight 5-er. Doesn't hurt to ask, I can only say no.
  18. The only thing I would recommend here is a word of caution to try before you buy if at all possible. From a cold start and no preconceptions I tried all of the available gear in my budget range, hoping to spend as little as possible. I dismissed the Promethean as soon as I played it as, to me, it just didn't sound right. That's not to say it won't be right for you - there are a lot of endorsees on here for it, after all - and if it does you would have saved yourself a pile of dosh. But what it offers on paper and in reality might not match your expectations. It didn't mine.
  19. I recently 'downsized' from a monster vintage Trace Elliot rig to a Barefaced Compact teamed with a TC Electronics Classic 450. I haven't gigged this set up yet but rehearsed with both bands (but both rehearse at gig volumes, for some reason) and reckon it is easily powerful enough for any situation I am likely to encounter - small pub, large hall or on-stage monitoring for outdoors. And talk about portable - the cab in particular is just phenomenal - as well as the actual output the clarity and range of tone is simply unbelievable. Alex is a genius. He says in the blurb on the website that it sounds more like a 2 x 12 than a 1x15 and it does - but is not lacking in the bottom at all. Just having one set up for room practice/rehearsal/gigging really isn't going to be a problem - one head, one cab - not really very time consuming.
  20. Shameless plug - selling my MkV AH-250 together with an 18" cab for next to nothing. If vintage Trace gear is your thing this is worth considering. Link [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=140129"]here[/url]
  21. I am up and running with my new lightweight rig so the remains of my old vintage Trace Elliot gear has to go - both head and cab are probably at least 25 years old - maybe someone who knows can chip in here? Firstly my Trace Elliot AH250 GP11 mk V head. If you know about these skip the next paragraph. Size-wise 53 x 42 x 18cm and a lumbar wrenching 22kg. I bought this about 6 months ago on Basschat for £250 - wasn't able to use it much because of my back issues. I've just spent £96 on getting it fixed and serviced at a Trace Elliot approved service centre, so it is ready to rock. The guy in the repairers reckons this is the best head Trace Elliot made, so who am I to argue? No real issues - the sliders on the EQ have had non-standard knobs glued on, which makes access to the back tricky. not a problem for me, I can assure you. One of the rubber feet is missing from the end, so when you stand it up up end it leans a bit. Pretty good nick, tolex is used but not abused - not perfect but it *is* old. Sounds immense and tone is, er, more than immense - plug in, switch on, engage the pre-shape and you will rule will world. If that wasn't enough it lights up prettily from the UV bulb, too! 'El Gordo' the leviathan Trace Elliot 1x18 cabinet - 61 x 79 x 43cm and approx 40kg. This beast is rather tatty but works perfectly well - I paid £220 for it from PMT in Southend some time last year. Perfect for old school rock or anyone starting a hobby in siesmology. I had intended to buy a can of satin black, take all the metal bits off and give him a makeover - the tolex isn't too bad - but, well, won't bother now. On 4 casters, 2 are lockable. Actually seems to have a broader range than the Trace 1X15 cab I had - seems to register the highs a little better for some reason. [attachment=82083:TErig1.jpg] [attachment=82084:TErig2.jpg] [attachment=82085:TErig3.jpg] [attachment=82086:TErig4.jpg] [attachment=82087:TErig5.jpg] [attachment=82088:TErig6.jpg] The two together are a match made in Rock Heaven - simply sublime. Hard to better IMO - my new rig is just as loud and sounds just as good but it somehow doesn't quite melt the heart the way this stuff does. Still, needs must and I have move on. Ideally I'd like to sell them as a pair, in which case I am after a ridiculously cheap £300 including a kettle lead and jack-jack lead. That's 1 x Trace Elliot Watt per pound sterling. Sold separately I would want £250 for the head and £100 for the cab. Because of the weight and size the logistics of sending this via courier would be complicated and expensive so collection only from Benfleet in Essex or I can deliver for the cost of the diesel. Cash on receipt.
  22. Quite like the look of [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330573727793&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]this Westone Spectrum ST bass[/url] that has just been listed. Looks good in white with a black headstock. I reckon it will go for next to nothing.
  23. You know I am 99.9% certain I read the Fender website spec a while back and it said a P-Bass width neck. Could they have changed it? I have a pearl white PJBS and it makes me warm inside every time I pick it up. Love at first sight and I love it more each time I play it. The sound is just soooo.....
  24. Greens on my Bass Collection. [attachment=81857:DRNeons.jpg] Particularly cool (or a pathetic affectation, depending on your viewpoint) when I had UV Trace Elliot head. Going to stick some Black Beauties on it soon as I prefer them.
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