thodrik

Really cool, thanks for sharing!

https://www.godcityinstruments.com/products/bass-brutalist I had a pal make me one these. A really cool modded Rat. Works great on guitar too.

Honestly, I would probably just keep all of the cabs if space is not an issue. If pushed came to shove I would probably get rid of the Ashdown cabs. Nothing wrong with Ashdown cabs, but from experience in rehearsal rooms and gigs I really like the combination of Ashdown heads and Ampeg cabs. The Ampeg 2x12 just looks really cool so I would be wary of selling that especially if I owned the matching valve amp. At 600 watts it really should have more than enough volume for gigging.

I love that band. Gutted I missed them last time they played Scotland. Their new album is really good too.

As would a lot of us! On the guitar front I would really like to try a Badlander but the supply chain issues are horrible. Just an annoying part of the times we are currently in which will hopefully be sorted out sooner rather than later.

Yepp. First gig with a new band in 2012. I did the whole gig with blood seeping out of my head. Unfortunately our band was a gentle, non-heavy indie band rather than a metal act so it didn't work as cool stage effect. Cut took ages to heal as well because it was a gouging, jaggy cut. The bassist in the other band was very apologetic. I got him worried for a couple of seconds by saying that I was going to sue him for damages and compensation until he realised I was joking and then we have a good laugh. The bass that was launched was entirely undamaged which really speaks to the sturdiness of design of Fenders.

This might be a guess, but I think that the oversized tuners on Fenders were probably influenced by the large tuners of double basses when the original Precisions were being designed. By making the tuners essentially the same size as a double bass tuner it aimed to give upright players a degree of familiarity with the instrument with a view to encouraging more players to switch to electric bass. That link with upright bass wouldn't have been there if the tuners had been slightly larger than a standard guitar tuner. Definitely clunky though and larger than is practically necessary though. Also able to do some serious damage if the bassist on a support band throws their Jazz bass in the air and it lands machine head first on your head as you go on stage to set up.

Looks interesting. Looks like a smaller D800 which was already pretty small. 350 watts should be plenty for gigging. I’m interested in it as a back up amp to one of my larger heads. it should be less expensive than the D800 but it is still a made in USA amp so I’m guessing it will still cost about £700- £800 minimum and by then it is only a incremental amount to the D800. Although with European production issues we will probably have a long wait anyway to see one in stock anywhere.

My bridge pick up volume also works as an on/off switch, as do the tone controls. I think that they might be just part of the design of the circuits! The Babicz bridge is a great investment for a playability standpoint and is so easy to install even I managed it. It does 'look' modern, but mine is hidden under pickup cover so isn't visible. However, the playability and intonation improvements outweigh vintage 'chic' in my view. My original bridge is sitting in Tech 21 Sansamp box!

Metal, slots are in the middle, no off setting. I wonder if running the strings at an angle was an attempt to lengthen the space between the end point of the bridge and the saddle so as to avoid the string silks running over the saddle? I can see no real benefit otherwise.

I have one of these basses from the exact same year. Same finish. Essentially the same condition except that I still have the pickup covers. I have had it since 2001. In terms of the bridge, the best thing you can do is get a Babicz full contact replacement. It technically 'devalues' the bass because it is not original, but as it is a drop replacement you can always put the original bridge back on if you sell it. The Babicz bridge cured the two things I utterly hated about the Gibson three point design: (i) the string silks going over the saddle and causing intonation problems; and (ii) the inability to set the action per string, as the three point tilt bridge is a horrible balancing act. The tone and volume controls on mine act more like 'on/off' switches than tapering circuits. There is also very minimal tonal variety as the mudbucker is dominant in both of the two pickup settings. Still, it looks cool, which is the key point.

No.

Awesome, I missed them the last time they played Glasgow, but they are meant to be very impressive live.

In real-world scenarios I have never experienced gear snobbery at a gig, apart from a couple of players who have moaned about me bringing a 1999 Trace Elliot combo as shared backline on the basis that they had better setups at home which for some reason or other they could not bring to the gig. I mean, yeah it wasn't the best kit but at the time (2008) it was the only kit I had!

Part of the reason I became a lawyer was from visiting Talkbass when I was a struggling 22 year old musician and finding that nearly every bassist who had a massive collection tended to either be a lawyer or a doctor rather than a gigging musician. As it is I have now been qualified for nearly seven years and bought precisely one bass in that time. I’m definitely doing the stereotype a disservice but having kids and buying a fixer-upper house will do that…

It is a shame. However there are far far more options for high level, boutique quality basses in 2022 compared to the 1980s. Younger players have far more options now compared to the past and the quality of budget basses like Squier, Sire etc are miles ahead of the budget basses that would have been available in the 1980s and 1990s. That leads me to another question, if there was a Wal bass in the £2000-£3,000 market (a licenced made in Korea etc version), would younger players actually want one? Or would they consider it to be clunky, heavy and a bit 'old fashioned' compared to modern designs like Dingwall, Sandberg, Spector, Mayones, ACG Vigier etc?

Waller's business model is from about 30-40 years ago and a lot has changed since then. Whoever owns the IP and the company has the right to do with it as they see fit. Expansion comes with risk and we are in fairly uncertain times. If Paul Herman is running Wal for a profit and is living a healthy and happy life then he is not obliged to (a) reduce his prices or (b) expand his operations by taking financial risks which might not ultimately pan out for what is still a pretty niche product.

If you specifically want a Wal, Alembic, Ritter, Fodera, Sadowsky NYC, custom shop Warwick etc, and no other brand or make will do then you have to pay the associated premium. If you want 'a really nice high quality bass' then there are plenty of less expensive options that are as equally well made and might (but probably won't) become highly valuable in the future. I have played a Wal Mk 1 and while it was very nice I wouldn't have traded my current basses at the time for it (which were a late 70s Precision and a Vigier Excess). I did consider putting an order in ten years ago but I ended up buying a used Vigier Arpege five string and used Sadowsky NYC five string for a combined sum that was less than half the cost of a new Wal. I am comfortable with my decision. I would like a Wal, but probably won't ever buy one. I could even technically afford one, but can't justify the price for a bass that would be 'different but not necessarily better' than basses I already own and don't play enough already.

As an owner of two Sadowskys (one NYC, one Metro) that is pretty much what I was thinking when I wrote my original post. It isn't meant as a slight on Warwick, who obviously make quality basses. But as soon as you go down a large scale licensing route it can be a slippery slope.

Their business, their decision. The worst thing that they could do in my opinion is sign a licensing agreement with for mass-produced designs made in the far east with varying degrees of quality control. That would quickly ruin the exclusive nature of the brand and in turn reduce interest. Hell, if the licenced products were exceptional then it might actually reduce demand for the made in England instruments. The prices of Wals exceptionally high and the output of instruments is exceptionally low and the demand for the instruments is really high but the demand itself is from a relatively small client base. Of the major manufacturers who could be trusted to make a licensed Wal 'correctly'? Certainly not Fender or Gibson and I don't see why Musicman would be interested since they have their own products. Perhaps Warwick, but Warwick masterbuilds are just about as expensive as a Wal, plus a licensed 'Wal-wick' would no doubt benefit from 'improvements' like the Just a Nut, magnetic pick up covers which have appeared on the licenced Sadowskys. Best to stick to their current model. There are other exceptional luthiers and custom builds out there to consider in any event.

I'm guessing that he was the entire mix!

After looking at the Trace Elliot historical catalogues thread, I really think that a 1x18 and 2x10 stack with an additional bright box is the way forward. The 18 for the lows, the 10s for the mids and the bright box for the highs. Use a mic on each cabinet, a pre-EQ DI and post EQ DI and send them all to the sound engineer who will obviously be delighted and entirely willing to cooperate with you for 45 minutes until the FoH sound in the small club is exactly to your liking.

I would have thought that set up would at least give a decent clean tone…

I very much recommend to try before buying. The boutique J bass is a fairly saturated market and there are lots of options out there. I own an NYC five string and a Metro four string, both dating from around 2009. Both J basses with 60s spacing and maple fingerboard. I bought the Metro brand new and NYC used in 2016. Both are great basses. In terms of the pre amp I really like it but I find that the best sounds are achieved with very minimal use of the preamp. Generally I turn the bass dial less than a quarter turn and leave the treble not boosted. Comparing my NYC to the Metro. The preamp and general fit and finish is pretty much identical. The NYC though just ‘feels’ more special because it has a quilted maple top and the neck has a cool vintage tint whereas the Metro has a very plain top and very plain fingerboard. In terms of the general sound they are very similar apart from the fact that the NYC has an extra string… I have never really used the VTC. If I wanted a vintage sound then I would use another bass. To some though the VTC is an amazing feature. Is a modern new NYC worth the money? Well, they are very expensive but also in very limited supply. To me the NYCs are now in the Wal, Fodera category in that the main customers are either top pros or people with lots of disposable income who just really want a Sadowsky NYC. I have used my Metro as my main gigging bass since 2009. No issues whatsoever and I won’t ever be selling it.

Pretty much the same apart from the 60 watt one having a slightly larger speaker, slightly more powerful amp and a bit heavier.