GreeneKing

I shall most likely bring the following basses: Warmoth P roundwounds and P-Retro Warmoth 54P Flats G&L L2500 Zoot ZB1000 medium scale Aria SB1000 remodel Possibly Yamaha BB435 currently for sale Markbass MB58R 122 P-4 (Ceramic) cabinet Peavey Minimax 600watt head

If anything gets to ignite a response from me it’s an opinion stated as fact 🙂 I’d agree that simply using a pickup and strings produces a tone that is broadly similar. Unadulterated Jazz, Precision and Rickenbackers are fairly similar especially if played in a ‘conventional’ mode and manner. But, many basses have active tone control onboard. I could play my P - Retro equipped Warmoth Precision in a mode that would leave no doubt in a back to back that it wasn’t a standard P bass. Yes I could be wrong, it’d be interesting to see. Likewise the Zoot ZB1000 in series mode with the active varitone set to one of two or three positions would begin to sound like a different instrument entirely. In the mix in a rock covers band? Yes it all becomes a bit redundant so long as the bass can actually be heard. All my opinion of course. Peter

I met Mark today and caught up while basses were exchanged. As always Mark, a pleasure. Peter

Thank you for that Mark. Peter

Thread revival. I know that Mark (Bass Culture) had an Aria conceived bass made by Mike Walsh of Zoot in Essex. Some here may be aware. It has the now no longer available Rautia MB-1E pickup and Carl’s BB Noiseless preamp. It’s a medium scale bass. Mike added a 6 position varitone of his own design to the build. With apologies for a lengthy post here 🙂 I followed the ‘ZB1000’ build with much interest at the time, having my own custom Zoot Funkmeister 32” scale P bass with Noll preamp. I’ve also owned a couple of Arias, one with failed electronics. Things happen. Mark sold me his Funkmeister 32” Jazz to make room while the ZB build was happening. This bass is a real stunner and it plays and sounds very well although I don’t use it often, preferring P basses. I told Mark I was thinking of selling it and gave him first refusal. He’s suggested trading for the ‘Zoot ZB1000’. It’s likely to happen on Saturday. I’m intrigued by the tonal abilities of the bass. I’ve also been in touch with both Mike and Carl as it seems the bass will need a new switching jack socket. They have been very helpful. Here’s the build thread. Peter

I purchased a lovely bass from Andy. He was a pleasure to deal with.

I'm blown away by their fretwork especially given that they don't fret dress. They glue them in perfectly. I ran a fret rocker over the necks set straight and there wasn't a click to be found. The action is super low and clean. If you had Warmoth do a finish for you it's be something special I guess. Maybe I will some day. I fancy a 54P.

Not for the first time I’ve come to the realisation that the simple P bass ticks my boxes. Some years back I built a Warmoth black korina bodied P bass that I had routed for a Blackstar pickup. It was tung oil finished. I wonder where it is now? I was browsing the Warmoth site a few months ago and saw a purpleheart and ebony P bass neck on offer. It has block moonglow (glow in the dark) markers. I bought it and then set about speccing a body to match. I bought a chambered roasted swamp ash body with a bubinga top. The 6 P rule; Prior Planning Precludes Piss Poor Performance. It was never going to balance well. The neck is seriously heavy even with graphite rods. So a rethink. I ordered a straight swamp ash body and a quarter sawn maple and maple neck. Some while later I have the purpleheart neck in the swamp ash body. Rear of neck finished with Tru Oil and headstock rear finished with Osmo Poly X gloss. Front of headstock sprayed with gold acrylic. Body finished with Osmo Poly x over a green water based tint. Gold aluminium pick guard. Fender Vintage 63 pickup and Obsidium wiring. Gotoh 201 bridge, Schaller tuners, Hipshot string tree and all black hardware. Strung with La Bella flats. It’s immense, the action is super low courtesy of Warmoth’s awesome fretwork and the neck is ultra stable. At 10.6lb it’s no lightweight and a Comfort Strapp helps with a slightly neck heavy balance. It sounds and plays superbly. Today I finished work on the maple neck. I used satin Osmo Poly x throughout. The original body has been waiting around a while for its match. Body is finished with Osmo gloss with a white pearloid pick guard, Lollar pickup, Gotoh 201 bridge, Hipshot Ultralite tuners, Hipshot string tree and a John East P Retro onboard preamp. Strung with DR Low Rider strings. It weighs 7.6lb. Exactly 3lb lighter than its sister. It was only finished today but I’m oh so pleased with how it plays and sounds. It balances perfectly. It is a lot of money to spend I guess but when one considers the quality of build and cost versus Fender it seems worthwhile. I’ve not owned a Fender built to this quality. I’ve owned many. Both necks have graphite rods. Purpleheart and quarter sawn maple are extremely stable. The nut width is 41mm and they are standard profile. A good size neck for me and certainly no baseball bat. The finish on neither bass is of a showroom standard but in an organic way it’s rather excellent. And chips/scratches can be repaired and refinished easily. Sorry for such a monologue. Peter

It’ll be good to catch up.