RhysP

Martin Turners Hamer Standard #0001

There was some discussion about that bass on the Hamer forum a month or so ago. Hamers records show that bass to have left the factory as plain black, so the zebra finish was done outside the factory. The Dimarzios aren't particularly old - they were made with the smooth black covers specifically for the Blitz basses. I absolutely love Hamer guitars - IMO they're the best you can get. I've got a couple of beautiful Hamer guitars & I used to have a 12 string bass too. (Hamer serial numbers are pretty easy to date - let me know if you want to know when it was built).

WOW! You've got some awesome old Rich's there. That flame maple Mockingbird looks stunning.

Sorry to derail slightly, but whenever I see the word "Workshop" it always makes me think of Alexi Sayles fabulous line: [i]"Anyone who uses the term "Workshop" who isn't connected with light engineering is a twat"[/i]

It's a Korean built DB95. They are generically referred to as "Tropical" basses because they were built in the period when Dean guitars was owned by a company called Tropical Music. They were manufactured between 1991 - 1996.

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='511819' date='Jun 12 2009, 08:26 AM']Cheap plastic is a bit of a myth anyway Plastic is actually more expensive than most metals, it's just easier to use in the manufacturing process, saving money there.[/quote] I meant cheap as in tacky & shabbily manufactured - those half inch thick scratchplates are horrendous IMO, and are even worse on the guitars. The quality of the chrome plating on Ricks is sh*t as well. I have no problem with plastic parts on basses in general - I prefer plastic control knobs to metal ones in fact.

I'll have probably sold all my gear long before who to leave it to becomes an issue. If not I'll have them cremated with me.

When I was gigging my pre show stuff would usually consist of having a huge argument with the rest of the band about what unprofessional bastards they all were, then going for a long walk on my own thinking lots of hateful stuff.

It's better looking than most Warwick designs......

All the bass (and most of the guitar) mags are incredibly boring. Same old bloody people featured over & over again. I haven't bought any regularly for years.

Never do a f***ing great big fly agaric mushroom spiked bong just before going on stage.......

[quote name='riff raff' post='511309' date='Jun 11 2009, 03:27 PM']uncomfortable in what way?[/quote] Everything just feels like it's in the wrong place. The body is really unwieldy & uncomfortable too. I had two for about three years & just never got used to them Horrible cheap plastic parts on them too - shameful on a bass that expensive.

[quote name='Rebel' post='508392' date='Jun 8 2009, 06:00 PM']Hello, My name's Mike I'm a lefty from the USA.[/quote] A Democrat, eh? Welcome!

Jon Camp! Now there's a name that doesn't get mentioned very often. Great player.

I hate Fenders, but the Geddy Lee model is a great bass - the best bass Fender make at any price point IMO.

[quote name='lowdown' post='509286' date='Jun 9 2009, 05:26 PM']Is it? The guy that played Bass on all the Hall & Oates stuff. Good tone. Who ever that was. Garry[/quote] You probably mean T-bone Wolk but there have been others, including Leyland Sklar. A lot of my favourite players use a pick - here's some more that haven't been mentioned yet: Roger Glover Mike Mills Martin Turner Paul Gardiner (Tubeway Army) Barry Adamson

Just get some pro quality flight cases.

[quote name='sturm' post='506721' date='Jun 5 2009, 11:25 PM']am i the onlyh one who doesnt 'get' ricks?[/quote] No. I've owned two, a mid 70s one and an older checkerboard bound model with horseshoe & toaster pickups. One played OK but sounded like sh*t & the other one sounded OK & played like sh*t. I desperately wanted to like them as at the time I worshipped both Chris Squire & Geddy Lee & I thought that a Rick 4001 was my dream bass. Never got on with them, or any other Ricky I've played. I personally find the build & finish quality of them mediocre at best & am astonished at the price they sell for these days. I still think they look cool though.....

Must be a magpie.

You can have my Levinson B4 for £500 - beats the sh*t out of any Fender & it's active too: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=47617&hl=levinson+blade+b4"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...vinson+blade+b4[/url] (It's on Ebay at the moment starting at £529 but I'd be more than happy to stop the auction & sell it to someone on here).

As far as temperature is concerned, the thing that will play havoc with instruments is being subjected to rapid changes in temperature. Leaving them hanging on wall mounts in a cold room then heating it up quickly when you go out to the room to play will not do your guitars any favours. In this sort of environment you're much better off leaving the instruments in their cases.

If all you're going to be saving is about £30 I wouldn't bother. I've bought lots of guitars & accessories from the USA and saved quite a bit of money by doing so. Having said that, the exchange rate isn't great at the moment - I wouldn't even consider buying from the USA at the current rate. If you do buy you'll get hit for the VAT at 15% & the import duty, which is about 3.5%. They'll add these figures to the FULL amount of what you buy plus the shipping costs. There could also be extra handling charges depending on which courier service is used.

You play with Paul Gilbert? I'm impressed!! I Love Paul Gilberts playing - there's no-one to touch him IMO. The thing that sets him apart from all the other shredders is his great sense of humour & his ability to write great catchy pop/rock songs.