matski

SNAP! I have an '83 Black & Gold I [attachment=97165:Aria SB B&G.jpg] I modded mine back in the early 90s by adding a Bartolini humbucker and active circuitry.

MB1 is correct - you can get a scratchplate from Strings & Things - I did last year. It cost £17 iirc. www.stringsandthings.co.uk

Learn to speak Polish.

[quote name='apa' timestamp='1325066086' post='1479456'] It also stops smart asses like me posting [b]flipant[/b] remarks that sidetrack your well intended thread [/quote] flippant

Here's my latest addition: a Status Vintage P. [attachment=95563:IMG_01803.JPG]

Mine was back in 1984 - when I was a mere 16 years old - at 'Doughnuts' in Tunbridge Wells. We had a 3 piece originals band playing electropop: yours truly on bass, 'Lavender' Gavin Earthrowl on vocals and Richard 'Uncle Fester' Smith on guitar - the drum machine and keyboards were recorded onto a PortaStudio and played back through an amp generating almighty amounts of hiss between songs. We were all nervous as hell, the place was packed, the only illumination seemed to come from red spotlights and there was serious overkill on the smoke machine front - but it went down pretty well. In fact the sound guy asked us to support his band (the local 'hero' band) at their next gig.

Check out this review from 1982 [attachment=95226:satellite bass review.jpg]

[quote name='solo4652' timestamp='1323597775' post='1464736'] [color=black]How wide is the neck at the nut? [/color][color=#0000CD]47mm [/color][/quote]

Pink paisley!

Thanks for the input, guys. In the end I gave it a go and got busy with my little screwdriver - I only needed to give the 2 pole pieces a turn or two to get the volume evened out across the strings. A new set of strings helped too.

The Status Vintage P bass that I have just bought is a lovely instrument - but there is one slight niggle I have with it: uneven string volume. Basically the E and G strings are quieter than than the A and D strings. String height relative to the pickup is all okay in relation to the relief of the neck, so the only thing I could think of was maybe raising the pickups pole pieces. Would this be effective or not? Looking at the picture of the pickup, you can see that each pole piece has a screwhead style top to it - so they should be adjustable, right? [attachment=94710:pickup closeup.jpg] Just asking before I do anything - don't want to cause any problems....

The Status Vintage P arrived a couple of days ago, and it's a great bass It's in almost mint condition - the only marks on it are very faint buckle rash on the back - although I reckon this can easily be polished out. At first it feels quite big and chunky, what with the quite thick slab style body - but it didn't take long to get used to it. The neck is definitely P bass territory: 43mm width nut but with a rear profile similar to slightly thicker '57 Fender. The bass weighs in at around 9lbs (using kitchen scales of dubious accuracy). Soundwise it has quite a bit of variation in available tones - surprising really as there is just the one 'mudbucker' pickup. In passive mode it goes from woolier then a flock of sheep (with the tone rolled right off) to a full, warm and rounded tone - not unlike the Ric C64S I used to have with the toaster pickup soloed. Flick it into active mode and you can dial in a MASSIVE amount of bass - that real lowdown earth-shaking dub reggae stylee bass - and boosting the treble gives a surprising amount amount of top end zing to the sound. Very Statusy, if you know what I mean. If so inclined there is more than enough treble to slap, tap and pop this bass. All in all I'm happy!

[quote name='merello' timestamp='1322249763' post='1448699'] Superb! Tell me more! Tell me more! Like does he have a.......er.. [/quote] Car? Sorry chaps, but I won't be able to tell you what it's like until it arrives, as I've never seen one of these in the flesh before, let alone played one. It's really quite a wild stab in the dark for me.

With a bit of practice, it is possible to use the detuner with just your fretting hand: use your thumb to life the clip up, then index finger to slide the string out of the way of the clip, and then release the clip. Job done

Clarky, you've hit the nail on the head. Congratulations. No prize though, unfortunately - unless you visit Warsaw one day, in which case I'll treat you to a bowl of zurek and a kielbasa I suppose it must be the very same bass, although I bought it from a guy down in Sussex via eBay. No more teasers, here it is: [attachment=93821:IMG_01803.JPG]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1322148085' post='1447234'] I freely admit to missing the greatly entertaining fiery arguments on the BC of old. One of the first I saw was this one, I was hooked on BC from then on, and you know what, BigBeefChief was what made it so entertaining for me because he really was funny, and also had a great nose for bullshit. It was locked eventually of course [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/23404-students-squire-almost-as-good-as-my-mia-fender/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/23404-students-squire-almost-as-good-as-my-mia-fender/[/url] [/quote] Basschat is still a source of otherwise unobtainable information for me. For example, after reading through that old post Silddx flagged, I learnt that I was born in the same hospital as Clarky and BigBeefChief. Useless information, true...

[quote name='merello' timestamp='1322153762' post='1447333'] Buzzard? [/quote] Nope... [attachment=93818:IMG_0190.JPG]

Got a new, well actually 'preloved', bass winging its way to Matski Towers - it should arrive the middle of next week... Here's teaser pic for all you nosy Basschatters

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1321635524' post='1441534'] As bassists we're there to serve the track. That's it. [/quote] Wise words... In my own band - where I am the composer of all the music - I alternate between playing with fingers and playing with a plectrum, depending on whatever fits the song the best.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1321605838' post='1441036'] Looks very well packed no closeups of the neck pocket? [/quote] Don't talk to me about that bloody packing! I'd got a decent quote for shipping, packed it all up safe and sound, then found out that because I'd used so much padding the package dimensions had increased so much that the shipping cost had doubled... Cue frantic unpacking, cardboard cutting and repacking... Don't worry Fran, I only took out one layer of polystyrene and retaped the package with a whole roll of packing tape! It's still pretty much bombproof! And by the way, the neck pocket is tighter than the proverbial gnat's chuff

I guess I'd better update my sig, then... [quote name='Oopsdabassist' timestamp='1321030040' post='1434633'] So what IS that lever on the headstock? how does it work? [/quote] The lever is a detuner - lift it up with your thumb, pull the string out from underneath it, then release the lever - hey presto you have detuned from E to D!

I hum whilst playing. I never really noticed it until the first time I was recording bass in the control room of a studio - I wondered why the rest of the band were laughing at me. I always thought my teeth were vibrating due to some odd frequencies coming from the amp...

Hi Jan, welcome to the site! We are almost neighbours, as I am based in Poland Which city in Slovakia are you living in?

Hope he's got sea legs [sub]YES! First time I've been able to use the pirate smiley in context![/sub]