Beedster

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1386922935' post='2306362'] I hope it doesn't come across as inappropriate. I have taken into account how (I think) Alex may feel about this, and would be perfectly happy to remove it (or ask a mod to) if he took umbrage. As someone else said though, it is a form of publicity - and that is rarely a bad thing. Not trying to sound flippant or dismissive there... I totally agree about the critics who have no actual experience of the products. Or who have tried one for a few minutes in their house but never gigged one in anger. I think because Alex has been so open and transparent about his products, everyone who reads a couple of posts feels like an expert. And says so. Ad nauseam... I am genuinely interested in the results of the poll, but I have no plans to "do" anything with them. If they are of any use to anyone (BC or BF) then it will have been a worthwhile exercise. If not, it will still have been interesting and a bit of fun. No harm intended. I've added another poll choice which will hopefully fit your criteria better. [/quote] Fair enough Conan, I was probably over-reacting. Having said this, there's a lot of people would say that the old 'no such thing as bad publicity' maxim lost much of its merit with the advent of the internet, when bad publicity can hang around a very long time. I'm sure both Alex and various mods are keeping a keen eye on this thread anyway Cheers C

Roland, that's extremely kind of you, many thanks. It looks like Bass Doc is going to be doing the work for me. At present this is going to include 1. New unlined ebony board with side lines at each fret 2. New PUPs (this is going to be a big issue......) 3. Restore as far as possible the facade of the bass to something like original I don't know how much Wenge costs but I am imagine it's not cheap so I'm very grateful and would like to take you up on it. If you won't take anything from me for it please let me bung a few quid at a charity of your choice? If ot's OK, I'll PM you once I've sorted everything with Howard? Many thanks. Now PUPs, what do you folk think? Here's some things to keep in mind 1. I was never a great fan of the Wal circuit or sound 2. I like passive instruments 3. I have a fretless Precision so there is little need for anything that sounds Precisiony! 4. One of my favourite fretless sounds was a Ric with very heavy nylon flats. Problem is, that did one sound and one sound only I was looking at things such as Darkstars and am keen to explore these http://lhnborn.com/page3.htm, which sound lovely with flats (waiting for a soundclip with rounds). I'm also keen on some passive MM style humbuckers (although I'd also tempted to get an East circuit in there just in case!). I've contacted Paul at Wal re PUPs but I've yet to hear back (something that was pointed out to me earlier was that if Wal do the work the instrument will retain some authenticity, but I'm thinking a lot of work would be required to get it to that stage and I suspect that a new build would make more sense. There's also the real risk this bass could end up like Trigger's broom in Only Fools and Horses). I've also looked at Martin Simm's Super Quads which I have to say might be the safest bet all around, unfortunately they don't retro fit the Super 8 which I would have loved in this bass. Your thoughts on PUPs would be appreciated. I don't see this as a restoration project as much as an opportunity to build a unique bespoke instrument, albeit one with a vintage pedigree. Cheers Chris PS thanks again Roland!

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1386852849' post='2305335'] I have chosen most of the poll options to reflect opinions I have already seen expressed in a number of threads relating to BF/BF products. [/quote] That's the problem to my mind, you're possibly suggesting opinions people wouldn't otherwise have. You've also put more than one idea per selection, which means that I can't select, for example 'not tried them' without also selecting 'don't fancy them' with also selecting 'cheap looking but expensive' (not that I would select this of course). I've had a long week so perhaps I'm being a prat, but if i were Alex I probably wouldn't be overly happy about this thread, and given it's his (and I assume his family's) livelihood, it seems inappropriate. If he posts saying that he's happy, I'll accept that I am after all being a prat. Not for the first time I will add that the last person with whom I discussed BF cabs offered an extraordinary level of detailed criticism, yet on further discussion it was evident that he'd never played one or even seen one, he'd just read a few threads on here. I do see your point re a definitive answer, I'm not sure this is the way to get it, as a lot of the responses will be from similarly uninformed (or poorly informed) people, whichever way they choose to vote. C [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#5a5a5a"][size=3] [/size][/color][/font]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1386847817' post='2305238'] It's Conan's poll and he'll answer for himself, but I'm certainly interested to see how this pans out. Like many on Basschat I have been fascinated by the polarisation of opinion when it comes to Alex and his cabs. The impression I get (and that's all it is, my impression) is that there is a very small number of Barefaced haters who compensate for their small numbers by being extremely noisy, and that there is a much larger number of Barefaced lovers (and yes, of course that includes me) who don't understand their hate. This poll offers a first serious effort to take impressions and replace them with actual numbers. Got to start somewhere ... [/quote] Fair enough, if it were Fender, Ric, Warwick I don't see a problem, seems potentially unfair on what is after all a one man show. The web is a big audience?

Yes, I think that went very high for what it is. I wouldn't be surprised to see it for sale again soon, or parted out

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1386843494' post='2305163'] The definitive answers at last.... [/quote] Why exactly are you doing this?

[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1386683971' post='2303040'] listen with your ears, not your eyes. At least try practicing in the dark. you will be surprised how the mind adapts [/quote] Fair point. However, most of us rehearse to gig or record. Ears, or more accurately the perceptual centres of the brain, become fatigued deceptively quickly, especially in situations in which they are having to work over extended periods or in extreme conditions (e.g., very loud band or hard to hear bass parts). All perceptual organs/processes suffer from fatigue eventually, so of course the same is going to be true of the eyes when looking at fretlines so I'm not saying lines are better per se. I am though suggesting that the more resources you have, the less likely you are to suffer from poor performance, so ears plus eyes will for many people beat ears alone. And unless you've rehearsed it, you can't just assume that on the day you can use the lines, because the lines are not as easy to use as you'd think, as pointed out above, it's very different to DB (my DB intonation is way better than is my FLB intonation bacause the relationship between the instrument, my body and my eyes stays pretty static with DB, it doesn't with FLB). An extremely important thing to remember - and a lesson I learned harshly - is that practicing on an unlined fretless at home in an acoustically easy environment is a very different thing to having to play the same line over and over again in a live recording or on stage with all sorts of competing noise. It can of course be argued that 'muscle memory' (which doesn't exist but is a useful term to explain learned/automatic brain/motor learning) can certainly be developed as suggested above - that is using ears only in a dark room - but can probably be even better developed using both ears and eyes in a well lit one. However, there's no rights or wrongs, the true test is what works best for you as a player. Don't however do something just because someone - me included - tells you "it's better this way"

Anyone tried these or know anything about the PUPs or the builder? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bi-Sonic-Darkstar-type-NuSonic-Pickup-/200989484654?pt=Guitar&hash=item2ecbe8266e"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2ecbe8266e[/url] Cheers Chris

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1386685367' post='2303058'] Listen, the solution is simple. Simply have the maple routed out, source some Wenge (your top is Wenge btw)...match the grain as closely as you can, shape the Wenge, glue into place, plane then sand smooth for a perfect patch up. Its not exactly the low cost, or simplest way to go...but it is the best way. Any luthier worth their salt could do it in a day. Trust me, I build furniture. [/quote] Thanks for your advice. I agree 100% and I hope the cost is doable. I have a budget for this bass (which is in part why I'm selling the case) and the board and PUPs are the first point of call. The PUPs will require work to the area in question so it would likely be a false economy to do half the job now and then come back to it later (e.g., to install PUPs now and then do the work with the Wenge in a year). Do you know where I could get the correct wood in such a smal quantity?

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1386680694' post='2302974'] Dude, in the name of all that is holy...NO WOODSTAIN!! [/quote] It can't be worse than it is. Of all the questions I have about the modifications to this bass, the one I find hardest to answer is that of why put a rectangular lump of maple in the middle of a beautiful dark wood veneer? Stain's not the best solution for sure, but it's a first step on the path

Old Ibanez FLs have very useful lines at each 'fret' at the top of the board (and one I owned, tiny reference lines under the G also). This is probably what I'm going to have done on my Wazz [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/224386-waljazz-mongrel/unread/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/224386-waljazz-mongrel/unread/[/url]

[quote name='eude' timestamp='1386674420' post='2302838'] If a veneer is possible, I think that would certainly be the best bet too, but I think Bass Doc has already potentially ruled that out... Eude [/quote] Thanks folks, Howard (Bass Doc) suggested a full-top veneer but I love the original veneer - just not the pale rectangle in the middle - and would rather not lose it if at all possible. The pickguard posted above looks great but on this bass would need to be very close to the bridge to completely cover the mess. It might end up looking as odd as it does now!

Ha ha, thanks folks. i spoke to Bass Doc yesterday and he wasn't optimistic about a new veneer so I'd starting thinking along the lines of a real retro leather pickguard. I'm thinking however that some well applied woodstain might do the job sufficiently well to avoid the cost of this, especially as the wood work on this bass has in fact been very well done. Over and above this, an ebony board will make a massive difference, as will a pair of decent PUPs. Re the latter I'd originally planned to get a Simms Super 8 in there but they only install them into Enfields which is a shame, so it's going to be a pair of Super Quads which will provide a lot of tonal options (certainly Precision, Jazz and 'Ray, which is all a guy could want really). It's going to be a very nice instrument, if not a Wal, but as I said above, I wasn't a great fan of the Wal sound anyway.

Loud = Peavey Heavy = Peavey Old School = Peavey It's what's called a no-brainer

I've one of each also. I like to flatter myself that I can play fretless in tune, but every time I've picked up one with fretlines I've realised that my ear isn't the great judge I wish it was. This is especially true when recording. I much prefer not to have them, but given the choice of no lines, or of being in tune most if not all of the time, I take the latter.

I'm very suspicious of all Fender components on eBay as so few of them are verifiable unless by an expert, and you don't normally get the option of an expert appraisal - certainly in the flesh - before you buy.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1386631282' post='2302582'] I have those pups on my new bass.... worked out what the switches do yet? The SD website just talks about the later ones with 2 switches not the 3. [/quote] I posted a link in the tech section that explains them Luke. If you want some backups, I'll be moving these on

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1386631076' post='2302576'] They did [i]what[/i] to the frets?! [/quote] They/he/it filed them down to the board.... Not unusual, although crap. The neck plays very well and there's no noticeable change in tone or feel at the frets. It does seem to be an extraordinary thing to do though. The neck's in very good shape otherwise, so I suspect the best bet is either a refret or a new board. I'm not keen on a lined fretless with the dots in the wrong place.

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1386629601' post='2302537'] I am normally not squeemish at all....but I am currently looking away! [/quote] Ha ha, these won't help then.... [attachment=150190:Wal 2.jpg] [attachment=150188:Wal 3.jpg] [attachment=150189:Wal Case 2.jpg]

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1386629004' post='2302522'] ^ I'm thinking exactly the same as you guys Definitely a few alarm bells ringing. While I'm here, what you think of this one: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390717718808"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390717718808[/url] ...? It looks legit to my untrained eyes - by then I don't know much! I'm thinking about starting a parts-build project next year and wondering whether this would be a good purchase - or not. Let me know what you think. [/quote] No, Firstly our US cousins get very sweaty about vintage Fenders and they often attract higher prices there than here. Second, courier fees, VAT and import duty will be high, third you have no idea if it's legit, fourth if it's not legit or crap you have a nightmare returning it (US retail law varies from state to state and this can effects your rights even with an eBay transaction), and last it's a horrible refin anyway? Get Bas Doc to make you a nice ash precision body for half the price.

Those of you who've noticed my ability to buy and sell Jazzes perhaps know that I love the tone but don't like the thin necks and clumsy body shape. Several years ago I also bought a Wal MK1 fretless and whilst I loved the feel and playability, I resented the length time it took me to find usable tones amongst the unusable ones and always found even the tones I used a little synthetic to my ears. So there I was taking 5 minutes out of writing a paper last week and noodling eBay and up pops the below. Ugly as hell, in fact I dread to think what stories it could tell of its miseries at the hands of late 80's and early 90's luthiers, but it has the essence of the bits of Jazz I like and he bit of Wals I like. If you're squeemish, look away now........... [attachment=150182:Wal.jpg] The original frets have been filed down to the board (!!!), the PUPs/circuit removed and replaced with some early 90's SDs with switches on the PUPs, and a monstrous piece of pale wood has been used to cover the work to the body. But, it sounds OK, plays well and as I've always found with Wals, feels beautiful. I've spoken to both the Bass Doc and Martin Simms about what can be done, and at present, given it was originally fretted, I'm torn between.... Neck: refretting the original neck and having a fretless matching neck made with an ebony board (I guess I could sell on the fretted neck to pay for the fretless as I'm really after a fretless bass here), or alternatively having an ebony board put on this neck PUPs: installing some passive J-PUPs (Lollar or similar) or going the whole hog and installing some Simms Super Quads. Either way, something is going to have to be done about the pale rectangle of wood around the PUPs. I paid what I consider to be over the odds (but which others seem to think was a bargain) price wise, so as the deal involved a very nice Wal case I'm going to sell that separately to help pay for the work on the bass. However it works out it'll be a nice and unique instrument that meets my needs, I just can't decide which way to go at present. I'll keep y'all posted