Machines

I had the chance to try one of these on Saturday to see what all the hype was about ! Looked absolutely great sat on the wall, lovely CAR and block inlays, looks the dogs ! Picked it up... uhh ?! It was scarily light, is this normal ? Holding it felt like somewhat of a cheap bass i'm afraid to say. The neck was a pastey looking maple, the type i'd expect to see on Squiers. The setup was poor, although I cannot blame the bass for this. Soundwise - just another Precision.. Is there something I am not getting ? This isn't a slate towards Laklands in general, I was just expecting a whole lot more for £800.

Enough pics, get recording.

Hi there Rob. Looks like you're the chap I spoke to in Sheldon Music earlier ! Welcome to basschat - hope you enjoy it .

It's kind of like a short scale Stingray 5 Variax .

Wow that came quick... where's the cake ?

Tried dropping Ashdown an email ? Sounds like he sold you a duff.

£550 is a low figure for a Stingray - just because some may sell for it doesn't mean they all do .

Marcus Miller Jazz for me, played about 4 and always been amazed. My Jazz is a pretty bog-standard one, does that it says on the tin but won't blow you away. It'll do for now until I can upgrade to something else..

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='199719' date='May 15 2008, 04:19 PM']For the record, a Wal Custom is, ironically, not a custom bass. It is off the peg.[/quote] An off the peg custom bass - nice one .

I would bet they paid over the odds for it in an independent local store and don't want to sell it for much less than they paid..

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='199619' date='May 15 2008, 02:37 PM']So why go out and spend 3 or 4 grand on getting 'Johnny Luthier' to build you a 'special' thing when you could buy a beautiful instrument 'off the peg' for £2k and then buy a top notch amp and still have enough change to buy the entire Miles Davis back catalogue! Twice![/quote] Because not everyone likes 'off the peg' equipment ? Personally I can find everything I want from off the shelf gear - i'm lucky there. But there are a lot of people who want x number of strings, with a y scale made from <insert name> wood - this is because they find it the most comfortable and prefer the sound/appearance. To assume every person can find a non-custom instrument that suits them perfectly is quite silly.

bilbo - it's a bit like buying a new car, it doesn't matter what colour it is or what the seats are made of - it'll still go from A to B. It's all about personal preference. I thought you might understand that given your choice in instruments.

I think it's more a case of because they're in bankruptcy.. I doubt normal sales rules will apply.

Try ringing them ? It's inevitable though..

I always 'push flat' . Except if i'm playing some rock/metal.. in which case it's great if using a pick. It does however give somewhat of a mid lacking sound.. For my funk band it's flat EQ, with a boost on the top 2 sliders and knob.

Yeah it was. I've only used an EB combo with a 15" at a studio and that WAS muddy.

Strange - my 'Asdown' always sounds how I want it to, that being bright and punchy. A few people tried it at the bash and commented that it sounded great, and no - they weren't other Ashdown users .

As a pretty bog standard Squier Jazz bass - in good condition around £100 I guess.

How did you set the EQ ?

From [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squier#Korean_Squiers:"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squier#Korean_Squiers:[/url] Korean Squiers CN/VN: C = Cor-Tek (Cort), V = Saehan(Sunghan), S was already taken by Samick so Saehan(Sunghan) used V instead (Saehan(Sunghan) made the Vester guitars), N = Nineties (1990s), the first number following the serial number prefix is the year. For example * "CN5" = made by Cor-Tek (Cort) in 1995. * "VN5" = made by Saehan(Sunghan) in 1995. KC/KV: KC (Korean Cor-Tek (Cort)) and KV (Korean Saehan(Sunghan)), the serial number prefix is followed by a 2 number year. For example * "KC97" = made by Cor-Tek (Cort) in 1997. * "KV97" = made by Saehan(Sunghan) in 1997.

Here is an excellent and somewhat over complex guide - [url="http://www.bassdefret.com/how-to-defret/index.php"]http://www.bassdefret.com/how-to-defret/index.php[/url] .

How about this ? Only lacking a pickguard really.. [url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Fender-Jazz-Bass-24-V-(5-String)~ID~5887.asp"]http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~F...ng)~ID~5887.asp[/url]

The only unhelpful solution I can offer is don't make assumptions .

Ok I had one of these too.. . Sounded good, only things that let it down are it's weight and fairly simple EQ. It has a cab extension socket but when pumping out 100w I don't think there's much point. I've used one of these at a studio to jam with a band and it coped fairly well without me maxing it out. If you want to gig with it then I think you should look at saving a bit more cash and getting either an EB or MAG.