Paul S

I also have a mid 80s Power Jazz Special - which is not really what you are asking about but I guess everything about the build quality etc will be the same - simply phenomenal. I love it to bits. HUGE rock sound - when played active or passive there is a grittiness to it that really blasts out. I found the tbx control a little odd to start with but there is a sweet spot in there that just sounds like nothing else I have played. If you know the start of Black Country by Black Country Communion that is exactly what it can sound like. Great slim neck - narrow AND shallow. Mine is pearl white with black headstock and hardware - the lack of scratch plate I find more attractive than if it had one. Comparatively lightweight, I think under 9lbs, and felt comfy from the moment I put it on.

At the moment I am going from extremes. 'Paranoid' Black Sabbath, which took about 1 min to actually learn, having listened to it all my life. And 'Into The Arena' by Michael Schenker Group which I am still working on. It seems to me to be the bass playing equivalent of a tongue twister.

Another vote for SGC Nanyo Bass Collection. Mine weighs a whisker under 7lbs. I also have a Fender Precision Lyte - this weighs a shade over 7lbs. Also a Hohner B2ABD headless which, given the microscopic body and no headstock, surpisingly weighs a fraction more than the Bass Collection, so about the same as the Fender. If I had to grab one to save it in a fire it would probably be the Bass Collection, despite being probably 1/2 the value of the Fender and 2/3 the value of the Hohner, as I prefer it.

I just moved from a big 'ol Trace Elliot rig to a TC Electronics Classic 450 through a Barefaced Compact and couldn't be happier. 16kg (vs 62kg) for a rig with more clarity and power.

I bought one recently after being on the lookout for a while - they seemed to go for £300-£400 depending upon condition - I've seen more asked in shops secondhand. I paid £300 for mine (90-91) and it has had a bad paint re-finish job and a problem with one of the boost/cut pots which means maybe, if the bit isn't available, a new pre-amp.

Westone Thunder 1A or SGC Nanyo Bass Collection, depending upon what style is preferred and how strong your mate's back is.

Hi, welcome aboard. I hope your bass playing is better than your maths...

But added onto the list now and possibly even ahead on points - a Pantera Deluxe X790. Sounds like my perfect Westone - active AND black - *if* it is light enough. Does anyone on here have one they could weigh?

My pleasure to be the first to deal with Stuart on the forum - he bought my vintage Trace Elliot stack. Easy and painless - be careful how you lift it! - a nice lad. Cheers Stuart.

He says it's had a knock but, hey, £300... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-1980s-Power-Jazz-Special-Bass-Made-Japan-/260804069098?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3cb92246ea"]Link here[/url]

Brilliant - thank you Mr H, very helpful. Too heavy, so crossed off the list

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Hiscox, 'cos I don't trust anyone not to walk into/smash against/knock stuff over onto it.

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.

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?

Interesting. I agree, now I think about it. Thanks.