kwmlondon

Wow. If this was closer to me I'd be tempted by this just for the hell of having something so damn powerful in such a small package. I mean, that's crazy isn't it? https://www.facebook.com/commerce/listing/1903544047254617/?ref=share_attachment

Yep. Fender USA ‘75 Jazz. Took it out of the box plugged it in and was hugely disappointed. Bad fit and finish and the E string had no oomph sent it back the same day. Instant loathing.

Look. I started a whole thread in irrational prejudices... I just can't stop thinking of it as wall paper, you know? Anyway. It's fine. It probably looks great from the audience. Better than my custom Dingwall!

Well, you've got me curious now. I'll lift the lid over the weekend and take some pics!

Lord knows. I don't know if I want to lift the lid on it, to be honest. I have a bit of time this weekend though so I may be tempted...

Yeah, Paul told me the previous owner to him had used the things as a bit of a test bed for stuff. So, not sure what pickup is in there or what the preamp is but I have NEVER had anything that puts out that much signal before. I'm worried it'll give me a shock if I touch it!

Is it? Really? At that price? I'll have to look closer. Really quilted maple? Really? The neck is fine - reminds me a bit of my MusicMan stingray. Not something I'd pick out of choice but with my playing it doesn't really matter what size neck I have - nothing's gonna make me any better!

I'm just breaking a set of DR Dragon Skins, I made a terrible mistake and got stainless steel instead of nickel.... oops. When I move up and down the freatboard there's a noise like someone making baloon animals. Odd. Very odd things. Gonna take a bit of getting used to...

Oh. Yeah. That pickuard is gross but I’m not worried about tue looks really

I've been a bit worried walking home late at night with a £4k+ Dingwall strapped to my back so I got a cheap bass from a kindly basschatter to use when I know I'm going to be walking the mean streets of New Cross in the dark (it's not bad around here to be honest, it's just I've never carried anything this valuable around before). So, I met up with Paul walbassuk in a service station on Saturday (as I've done so often before) and handed over some notes in exchange for a bass (great transaction, lovely guy - huge thanks!) It's A BASS! First impressions. The output is HOT. I mean, you could power a light off it, very very hot. Heavy but comfortable. Neck is quite nice, but chunky baseball-bat like while narrow string spacing. Frets good. Nice satin feel. The finish is horrible. I HATE photoflame but hey. doesn't really matter. Tuners are fine. Bridge is fine. Action is high, will probably take that down a few notches. Strings are fine. Should have asked what they are but it doesn't really matter. Tone is pretty Musicman like, but blimey I need to back off the active. I mean, the centre detent is higher than I'd ever use for bass, mid and treble. Taking it down to bass 2/10, mid 2/10 and treble 5/10 and backing off the volume gets you a rather pleasant sound. This is just the job. More than adequate for any of my needs. BUT that means the one-in, one-out rule will be put into action this weekend. My '89 Stingray will be going on the market. I'll miss owning it, but I won't miss the bass itself.

This is a personal review and very subjective but I'm going to try to give some useful info in case anyone wants this kind of thing. Disclaimer - I bought these by mistake, I really wanted the nickels. Score 6/10 Packaging - good. No plastic at all. Nice. Fitting - no problem, they are just the same as any other string Feel - okay, as far as coated go. I prefer Elites as they feel more natural and these have taken me a few hours of playing to get used to. I'm not sure if that's me wearing them in or my getting used to the coating but the first couple of hours were really odd and my timing was rubbish but now we're getting on okay together. Sound - hmmmmmmm. This is where I was NOT happy. I'm comparing with the original fitted Dingwalls on my bass and my only criticism of those was that the G string was a bit lacking in oomph. The Dingwalls were gutsy, bright, rich and stayed vibrant for a few months which I didn't used to find with their own brand. So. By comparison these DRs are much weaker sounding. They have decent low and and a nice ping when you attack them with slap or a pick but finger picking they seem really scooped and lack the midrange that cuts through. They also sound like a pice of wire rather than a string, a bit fence-ish. I was so put off I checked the packet and realise I'd bought stainless steel strings by mistake. I've never had them before but I won't ever buy them again as they are not to my taste. However. It was my fault so this will be my sound for the next few months! To be fair, with a bit of playing in the tone is levelling off and I'm warming to it a bit, but I'm going to ask the team at Bass Direct if I can swap the other set for nickels.

I do brew beer sometimes tho…

Paul and I did a dodgy meet up in a service station when I gave him a few dirty notes and he handed me a bass. Great comms and I’m very happy with my purchase- thank you! A lovely fella and a credit to basschat

Ace session bassist and all-round nice person Yolanda Charles also said she doesn't use a 24-fret bass for slap work out of choice. However, my slap game is so rubbish it won't make any difference to me. I practise every day but I've got a pretty poor strike rate when it comes to hitting the string!

Fun is mostly for when I'm playing with other musicians, though that's been off recently. When it's just me I like to go into the zone. It's like running or going to the gym - those have never been fun but I've been doing it consistently for the last 25 years because it's satisfying and I miss it when I don't do it.