AndyTravis

I've been in bands for 13 years, and i've never learned to read music.

It hasn't hindered me in the bands i've been in, but i would have applied for bigger gigs/sessions if my sight reading was good.

My mate Joe and I worked in a shop together 2 or 3 years ago, he is an amazing reader/pianist and noodled a bit on the bass.

An agent from Dubai pops in looking for a bass player for a high profile hotels resident band.

He reccomended me, but mentioned i couldn't read too well, and he's now out in Dubai playing bass every day, living in a 5-star hotel free food, free drink and he gets minnimum $2000 a month tax free...

Before he left, i showed him all the techniques and tricks he thought he'd need to play the setlist he had been given.

What does that tell you? If i'd have learned theory as well as technique, i'd be much better off financially and a lot more suntanned.

Out of interest was this the one in the Bass Centre a few years ago, used to be Rhino Edwards (Status Quo's)?

I've nothing to offer you...loved the idea of these basses though.

[quote name='pantherairsoft' post='1003827' date='Oct 28 2010, 02:51 PM']This one?

Little vid at bottom right hand corner of page - [url="http://www.gbguitars.co.uk/gb_demos.asp"]http://www.gbguitars.co.uk/gb_demos.asp[/url][/quote]


Yeah. although i'd order the top as a tight flame rather than a quilt...

Out of interest, would Bernie do a rumour body with a Spitfire Head?

Some very pretty gear on these pages!

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='538418' date='Jul 12 2009, 12:39 PM']Finished yesterday...[/quote]


[quote name='walkew' post='597977' date='Sep 14 2009, 10:04 AM']As Bernie makes highly individual instuments, how about all owners providing pics and names for their guitars. I know when I picked up mine in March of this year, it was 4 string Rumour number 92. Whilst I was visiting Bernie a few weeks ago, i saw this beauty. It looks 3-D and the pic doesn't do it justice.[/quote]


This Teal/Blueburst GB is the one i hanker after...

Beautiful

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTcF6mZ5Tvk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTcF6mZ5Tvk[/url]

First time i saw him...what a player.

Seriously?

Like others, i thought i'd seen every episode, and the day we don't watch it, bloody Stuart Zender's on it!

Ella loves it 'GEETTTAHHH' and it's one of the less offensive kids programmes.

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='1002650' date='Oct 27 2010, 04:16 PM']Pretty useful if you can charge your mobile from it while you play. [/quote]

true enough, or outdoor gigs?

How does it do for overheating?


Seriously though, it's a pointless feature now you can't smoke anywhere...

Tried a GK amp the other week, an MB210 combo, and it sounded great, but the horn was a push button on/off and when it was 'on' it was way too hi-fi sounding, and introduced a good bit of hiss.

Surely they can have a control for this? It kind of ruined the amp for me when i was enjoying it, all though for any slappers, i see the point.

I get miffed that Amps don't all have an D.I. out on them; from 50w onward it should be mandatory - nice small combo for personal monitoring on smaller stages, but still feeding to the P.A.

Yeah, they have great stocks of flamed maple, they had some quilt Mahogany for a while, although i think it's all gone now.

[quote name='malbass' post='1002543' date='Oct 27 2010, 02:51 PM']Love it! That neck looks awesome. I've never been too sure about the hacked off lower horn on these farida bodies but I reckon it looks the biz in that light sunburst colour scheme. Will be very interested to hear how this turns out.[/quote]

The lower horn was reshaped when they started producing some 'vintage reissue type' basses and guitars for a major company , and to be fair, it reminds me of the Jaguar basses and looks a little bit like a Lakland DJ.

I think with no pickguard it looks ace. The clear pickguard would be a nice touch though.

More detail as I have it. May be early 2011.

Clear Pickguard they've done on a T-Type guitar...

This is what they're like, nothing for weeks, then loads of ideas all at once...

So, that was it for a couple of months, nothing.

The factory we're dealing with looks after 100's of brands, and in honesty, this was a labour of love rather than a 'let's take the frets out of this one', so we sat on our hands for a while, until a few days ago...

We chose 2 similar colours from their catalogue...

Light Sunbursts (LSB)
Amber Satin Sunburst (ASS - )

And i've just replied saying the LSB looks nicer.

But they are the bodies of the two working prototypes i'm going to be sent soon.

When i get them, i'll update this page, and it'd be ace to have some feedback/input before these go into production.

Pricewise we're aiming at sub £400, no idea as to what it will be exactly.

We're discussing a clear Bacchus-alike pickguard to stop the satin finish from wearing through.


Grand Reward is the factory is responsible for a good bit of the gear everyone loves, so these basses will be seriously good for the money. EDIT - Don't want to upset some of the bigger companies they make for, assuming they read the forums)


Let me know what you're thinking - I just thought it'd be interesting to see how a Major foactory works, as 'Build Diaries' are usually custom build, or self build; this is the other end of the spectrum.

The next few months were quiet, we sent photos of fingerboard inlays, and sketches back and forth.

Then one day, Eric from Farida announces they've cracked it; a new CNC machine had allowed them to follow the inlay sketches to a tee.

The lines are helpful for most first time fretless players, but full time fretless playes want to see an expanse of bare wood.

Either way, it's nice to know where you're up to.

The fretlines wrap over the edge of the board, stopping between the E and A strings, and at the 12th fret, extend into the middle of the A and D strings, a simple visual guide to where you're up to.

We used Maple, as the white Styrene always looks like you've had your frets pulled out.

So the final spec was...

2-Piece Ash Body
Flamed Maple Cap (not 10mm as drawn, just a thin 1mm laminate)
Maple Neck bolt-on
Ebony Fingeboard - Side fretline Markers to travel over the edge of the fingerboard, but not across - Maple Used.
Seymour Duncan pickups, Stacked.
Vol/Vol/Tone/Tone - Passive as opposed to the active i'd originally thought, some active Fretless basses can sound a bit odd, and a good passive bass can be run into a preamp should people wish, not as easy to make a bad preamp sound good.
Satin Burst finish
34" Scale
Chrome Hardware
Chunky bridge, Gotoh and Badass were mentioned, but would make the bass to expensive for what we were aiming at.

The idea originally was to have it in natural, but soon after the ideas inception, Jaco's 'Bass Of Doom' was ressurected sporting a flamed cap, and in some of the photos I thought it looked ace, and much better than just cloning the Squier, or Fender versions.

The first Burst arrived the same day as the CAD Fretboard designs, you can see the B.O.D. Photo in the background.

I replied and said I didn't want it to be a 'clone' just a nod at the Master. They agreed and off they went...

Hi guys, this is my first proper build diary.

It's been about 18 months in the making.

One day, I sat with a Squier Standard Jazz Bass, and a new to the UK Farida FJB-6 for an online comparison.

The (Cort made) Squiers are fantastic value for money with a decent set up, they are fantastic basses for the money.

There was something special about the FJB-6, for £230/£250 There isn't a J-Type bass can hold a candle to it. It even gives the Mexi Fenders a run for their money. Now i've played 30-40 of these, and they're all the same level of quality.

And as with most Fenderesque basses, they are rife for modding...

So I mulled a few ideas over and contacted Sam at Farida, and we banded a few ideas around about a Fretless version of the above, to sit around the same pricepoint as the Squier Vintage Modified Fretless bass, which is a seriously good bass for not a lot of money.

My initial Sketch, was just a few ideas we'd knocked around, making a serious players bass for under £400, so we sent it off.

The guys at Grand Reward/Farida in China loved the idea, and said they'd get their R&D team straight on it.


We waited...

Wonder how much Hofner owe those 2 basses?!

I owned a 'Cavern' edition (the Hamburg model with the 2 pickups up near the neck) for a few months, and regretted selling it, unique sound.

Watched it being played by the lad i sold it to last month, deep thumpy supportive bass.

Lot to be said for a pickup near the neck...

"-Fits almost all standard 6 string Guitars.
This excludes: 12 String Instuments, Flamenco/Spanish Guitars, and Bass Guitars."


I get the idea though.

There's a Ken Smith turning up Wednesday, and other half doesn't know yet.

If i end up with a Sadowsky as well, she'll stab me.

There was a big 'for sale thread' where i was tring to be responsible and sell all my basses.

Anyone want a Ken Smith?

Bump.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=107864"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=107864[/url]

Red on for sale here.

don't say that kind of thing, i could end up dead, or worse!

I've only got my Burgundy Mist Jazz to offer you...and doubt i have the £1400 or so difference.

Still, i've got a Ken Smith on the way, and should be happy with that.

A bloody good drummer...

tried this about 8 years ago, bad drummer = failed.

Wonder if it would be somewhere near Teen Town?