WHUFC BASS

Saw this just now. Apart from being attacked by woodworm, there's something dodgy about it to me. Not sure what, but the wear on it seems too excessive. Could be completely wrong - I'd like to see the neck and neck pocket stampings before I even set off to take a look at it in the flesh ... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-fender-jazz-bass-1971/333022565574?_trkparms=aid%3D777001%26algo%3DDISCO.FEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160801204525%26meid%3D087715536efa4490bbca7d614201e864%26pid%3D100651%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26%26itm%3D333022565574&_trksid=p2481888.c100651.m4497&_trkparms=pageci%3A7f31e3ae-2700-11e9-a599-74dbd18017d2|parentrq%3Aaedbd81e1680abda5a24a0f7ffd84a13|iid%3A1

If you're on a budget the Kent Armstrong P bass pickups (with covered pole pieces) are cheap and put out some serious thump. If you've got the cash, Wizard Thumpers or Bareknuckle do some very decent P-bass pickups.

That looks really nice. Surely an aftermarket pickup would be the jewel in the crown on this?

Well said. I can't think of any other guitar that was designed correctly straight off the bat. It's been copied and imitated countless times, has a unique, instantly identifiable sound and is ergonomically perfect IMO. I'd go as far as saying that sound-wise, in a quality recorded mix, there wouldn't be much difference between a Pino and a Squire VM or CV with a quality aftermarket pickup. I'll never understand the 4k price tag for one of them basses.

I've got one at the moment, along with an SVT3 Pro. The cab is great sounding and loud as hell. Mine is on wheels which is standard and has a handy handle which you push with. Just tip back and push (or pull). There's two handles to lift with which isn't too bad weight-wise. I'm actually selling mine for a stupidly cheap price if there's any interest in it.

I saw this advertised on Gumtree the other day and having vowed never to buy another Stingray previously, due to not being able to get a decent sound out of the ones I'd owned, I was advised on another thread to try a 2 eq version (something I've never owned). I saw this one and was tempted but in the end let it go in the end. Oh well, it was a great price either way.

Interesting, not my thing though ... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-USA-Custom-doubleneck-Jazz-bass-Stratocaster-late-70s/362537932551?_trkparms=aid%3D888007%26algo%3DDISC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D55676%26meid%3Dae0d2f94ab0e486a8f667f4e588e0493%26pid%3D100009%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26sd%3D143097794522%26itm%3D362537932551&_trksid=p2047675.c100009.m1982

It'll be interesting to see what Korg have planned for Spector and the future line of basses. I think the prices of "pre-Korg" Spectors has just gone up slightly.

Last three digits will be month / year / year. You might want to open it up and check any QC stickers that might be dated in there but if it's really old then they might have faded considerably.

There was something about Status basses along with a Trace Stack back in the 80s which was the pinnacle of bass gear excellence. There was a connection between the two companies too both being based in Essex, UK. I remember going up to Witham in Essex to get my Trace Elliot head serviced and in the factory were a number of Status basses that they used to test the amps out. At the time, I'd go as far to say Essex was the centre of the bass universe - certainly in Europe!

I remember the interview with John Entwistle in which he explained some of his techniques on what I think was a black Buzzard bass (could be wrong). He reffered to slap bass as "that thing" and proceeded to launch into a killer riff. I also remember Ian Paice form Deep Purple on there giving a drumming demo like a boss. I'm assuming you didn't check out Bros and their Status bass offerings from Craig Logan. I don't think I ever saw it plugged in!

Thanks for that! I remember Rockschool really well as it goes and watched it when it was on TV - I was about 13 or so at the time. I remember Henry Thomas and his Westone Thunder III as I had a Thunder IA at the time. They interviewed some great muscians at the time. Shame there's nothing like that on TV now as it was really popular.

I think Trace heads had "no user serviceable parts inside" which I think was a deterrent to stop people tinkering or trying to fix stuff themselves.

I had two of these back in the day - mid 80s to be precise. One black and one pink which were bought for a stupidly cheap price off a guitar teacher I knew who wanted shot of them. They were very light with a unique string arrangement. Ball end of the string went into the bridge and the string was pulled through a small hole at the other end and secured by a grub nut. The excess string was simply cut off so you always had sharp string ends at the top. They were extremely light with not a massive amount of bottom end. The necks were quite comfortable from what I remember and finger and slap playing was quite easy on them. They had two volumes and a tone, but I can't remember if they were active - I'm assuming not as I don't recall changing batteries on them. They came with a leather gig bag which had hardly any padding and fitted the basses extremely tightly. I gigged with them for a while but moved them on when I got a '62 Precision.

^^ I don't know how TE rate their amp sound-wise but they do underestimate their outputs, especailly on their 80s models. I defy anyone to tell me that the max output of an AH250 is 250 watts. They're much louder.

Me too. That was the ultimate status symbol for a bass player back in the 1980s and when I finaly got one, it was like I'd made it. The weight was immaterial, knowing what I'd have on stage both looks and soundwise.

That is hideous. I'd rather play air guitar than that monstrosity.

Lovely bass ^^^ I think Spectors really are the best kept secret in the world of bass. When I got my Euro and plugged it in for the first time, it was like a revelation. Everything just fell into place, MASSIVE sound, great ergonomics and everything just felt "right". Believe me, I've gone through 30+ basses in the 35 years I've been playing and they really are the best basses I've ever played. I'm currently on the lookout for a 4 string Spector too, which I think will be my final bass purchase. The 4 and 5 sting Euros really are all I'll need for the 4 bands I'm in at the moment.