W1_Pro

Good question re. the winding of the pickups.......I suppose you could extrapolate that out to anything...what is the difference between a P bass routed on a CNC machine in China vs. one routed on a CNC machine in the states.....about a grand by the look of it.....

Thanks for all of the info and thoughts gents. All very useful. I've just ordered a Contemporary, as the consensus seems to be these are somewhat superior instruments...

Thats good info PS, thanks very much for taking the time, much appreciated!

So does the centre block make any appreciable difference to the sound?

Hello everyone, I'm thinking of getting a violin bass. I'm looking at the Ignition, which (I think) is made in China, is hollow and is about £300 odd new. There is another one that seems to go for about £650. I think that has german Hofner pickups (as opposed to non German ones on the Ignition?), a centre block and a bit of a relic job on the paint. Do any of these things make it worth the extra £300? Also, the pickup spacing. Aesthetically I quite like the ones where the pickups are both set towards the neck. My thinking is that you'll never get searing treble out of one of these, so might as well lean into it and go for maximum thump, and they look nice. Has anyone got any experiences they'd like to share? Many thanks in advance! Stuart

I think for me, what stands out about these basses (apart from the top notch woodwork) is the fact that they are a genuinely different and successful take on the two horn Fender design as used by just about everybody. They are beautiful instruments. Something you wouldnt normally say about for instance, a Musicman Bongo (unless you've just bought one of course and then no doubt you'd think it was lovely).

I had a Carlsbro Cobra combo with what looks like a similar amp (the push button fliters). It had a 12" speaker, was deeply, deeply heavy and not very loud. It sounded quite nice though iirc, you could get a pretty brutal tone out of it with deft combinations of the filters.

Lots of good points made already. As others have said it's really a 'horses for courses' type question. I would add two things: When I used to do monitors for a living, prior to getting kicked upstairs, I found IEM's were incredibly helpful if the turn had a weak singer (no doubt the singer found it incredibly helpful too, but I'm being selfish😂). Also, in terms of monitor systems, I think from memory all of the acts which I did used IEM's as an add on to their 'conventional' monitor systems. Most specs I see nowadays seem to ask for both. I don't recall ever seeing a spec for a silent stage, but I guess this is what Metallica do, so who knows? Speaking as a player, and one who preffers wedges to IEM's, the big revelation for me came in the form of our drummer starting to use a triggered kit. All of a sudden there was no need to keep up with an acoustic drum kit. The on stage volume at shows and rehearsals is very much more civilised, and the complete lack of the aural 'slosh' (for want of a better word) you get onstage from live cymbals and hi hats makes a huge difference for the better in terms of listening fatigue. Our monitor system now comprises 4 Eon 110 speakers with an added 12" sub for the drummer. Works a treat. Having said all that we still have to carry all of this. IEM's win hands down for portability.

IMHO, of course.....😆

The pricing makes no sense. And I know, I know, the market etc etc, but there was a '65 P bass there today that was lovely, and cheaper than all of the Wals. They (Wal's) are fantastic basses and I'd love one, but price wise at lease, if the south sea bubble was a bass, it would be a Wal.

I popped into the Gallery today to collect a bass that was having a new scratch place fitted. Whilst I was there I noted no less than eight Wal basses (all four string, Mark ones or Pro Basses, fretted and fretless). The ticket prices ranged from a breathtaking £5900 to a very breathtaking £14K odd (although I imagine that last one once belonged to someone famous). I have never seen anything near this number of Wal's anywhere, ever. Which leads me to my question, have we finally reached peak pricing for these doubtlessly wonderful basses ? Discuss.....

I notice that a few folks on this thread own Manson Explorers. If anyone is looking to move one on then I am interested. Pleasedrop me a message.

Excellent! What does the selector swith do in the middle?

I've been after one of these since I saw a review in 'In Tune' magazine in 1984. It is a lovely and very well made bass. This particular example, having been in storage for about thirty years is immaculate. The Gordy brand is one of those fascinating little side roads in British guitar building that seemed to proliferate in the eighties. The neck profile on this bass is particularly praiseworthy. Its like a very fast jazz. The two humbuckers (Gordon Withams own make I think) sound nice and fat and the hardware is all very high quality. The woodwork is of a very high quality. All in all, I'm pretty happy to have finally anded one after a mere forty years....

Here's mine. Epiphone body, Fender licenced Mighy Mite neck, Steve Soar pickups, hipshot lightweight tuners which really do help with the neck dive.