waldemar

[quote name='Lee-7' post='947806' date='Sep 6 2010, 11:39 PM']P.s In my humble opinion I would go for an early Jap Hardpuncher as you wont lose any money on it, it will only ever increase in value as time goes by. [/quote] +1 on that. In fact, since buying my Fernandes '83(?) re-issue of a '57P for £100 - [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=70330&hl=the+revival"]The Revival[/url] - I'd look seriously at any early '80's Japanese copies. I liked it from the start and it's growing on me day by day. Granted, I've spent a bit on it since, but that one-piece neck does it for me - it's a pleasure to look at, as well as to use! I've been looking out for a Hard Puncher (on and off) for a while - but I've found that they're not as cheap and plentiful as you might imagine. There's one here: [url="http://www.guitarsjapan.com/Bass_Guitar_Archive.html"]http://www.guitarsjapan.com/Bass_Guitar_Archive.html[/url] ...but the price is already pretty steep, maybe verging on hopeful..! If you find one at a good price - get it. If you find two, give me a shout!

[url="http://tinyurl.com/yfmvltg"]http://tinyurl.com/yfmvltg[/url] Looks like a no/low fuss solution at a reasonable price. Does it perform well, though? Or is the quality going to be no different to jacking straight into your mic port? I'm not after true pro-quality, just something I can plug into the lap-top and use to capture bits of noodling with. I've found going into the mic (via a Tascam bass-trainer) to be pretty rubbish - so if this is going to get me a better sound then I might just go for it... Anyone got one? Any opinions? Ta! w./

Yeah, Warmoth are very good. I bought a P body off 'em not so long ago (already had a neck off an '83 Japanese P that I was very fond of) and was blown away by the quality. A very positive buying experience. Another stateside option is US Custom Guitars: [url="http://www.usacustomguitars.com/pegheads.html"]http://www.usacustomguitars.com/pegheads.html[/url] who seem to be fairly well regarded in various forums I searched around on - never used them myself though - just dropping in their name as food for thought. Pick-up wise I went with Jason Lollar p/ups. I like round and warm. They're still putting a smile on my face... Here's my build if you're interested in having a look: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=70330"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=70330[/url] Just one thing to bear in mind if buying from outside the EU is shipping and import duty: typically 17.5% on top of the value of the goods AND p&p charges. If the vendor is using UPS to ship, then UPS will pay the duty for you and collect the amount when they deliver - they'll also hit you up for a charge of around £15 for speeding it through customs for ya. It soon adds up! Good luck with the project man! w./

I thought I'd drop the man himself an email via his site and, quite remarkably, he got back to me earlier today: [quote]I think it's a Fenton Weill - don't know the model. Interesting pic - where did you get it, and are there any more?[/quote] Nice one Bigredx and Musky! w./

[quote]Where can I get me one of those?[/quote] Chernobyl..?

[quote name='deathpanda' post='781307' date='Mar 21 2010, 12:58 AM']I can't help you, but I will agree, it's god damn nasty. That body shape mixed with that neck literally makes me want to puke. I would love to have one though... [/quote] You know it, man. I do love an ugly bass. Check out this monster: (http://cheesyguitars.com/yoshkar_bass.html)

Here it is being played by Mont (Dirk?) Campbell of prog-rock band Egg. It looks pretty nasty, but somehow I want one.

Yep, nothing like a bit of DIY creativity when it comes to your instruments - check this guy out: [url="http://nicksworldofsynthesizers.com/springs.html"]http://nicksworldofsynthesizers.com/springs.html[/url] The best bit being: [quote]"The reverb time (sustain) is so long that the springs need damping and I found that the best material for doing this is a slice of cucumber wedged under the end of each spring, other materials like foam or rubber tend to kill all the treble."[/quote] Sorry, not a bass link, but worth the look! Hehe.

In general I'm very pleased with mine. As stated above, cons are the on/off switch can sometimes stick, it looks/feels pretty clunky and is fussy about formats. 1GB capacity is pretty measly these days, but if you're using it as a training tool and not an mp3 player, then you'd struggle to fill it in all honesty. If you're using headphones with it, then you might find that tucking the unit into a baggy back pocket keeps wires out of the way - and the chunky next/previous buttons become beneficial, as they're more easily found. The pros, such as repeat loops/tempo-pitch change/bass cut and in-built tuner/metronome are all pretty cool and I'd certainly recommend this unit. I tend to eschew my practice amp nowadays in favour of playing via the tascam through the hi-fi. No problems there either - everything sounds pretty sweet.

>If your memory isn't playing tricks on you, and yours was the active model (SLB2A) as opposed to the passive model (SLB2), then you're looking at a date post '90, as that was the year the active model was introduced. Deffo have the SLB2A - it's entirely plausible that there was a bit of a gap between starting to play and actually buying the kit, like you say, memory's a bit hazy... Thanks for the correction!

>and mines active/passive...is that a factory fit or has mine been modded? Factory. Same configuration as mine.

I think I paid around £180 for mine back then. I wouldn't know where to start putting a price on one now, though... It won't be all that much, but they do play well and their sound is reasonably versatile - seen in the context of today's entry level market, that probably won't mean all that much... That nice understated retro-metal look might go a couple of quid in your favour at the right time and in the right place. I'd never let mine go seeing as it's my first, sentimentality aside I'd probably take £80.

>faces in the woodgrain? Hmm. Sounds like a Dio tune... Lovely piece of kit.

Ahh! Lovely bass. I have something that is near identical, but rather than XRB it has (had...) SLB2A Electronics (how and why can I still remember that?!) - switchgear is the same as yours. Mine's more of a slab body and the truss-rod adjustment's under a triangular-ish cover at the headstock end of the neck. Oh, and mine's currently in pieces and the body's down to bare ply. I had it de-fretted years ago (as an experiment, you understand, but it played very nicely) and am just waiting for the opportunity to put it all back together. One day. One day. I bought mine new as a first bass when I was 15, so I guess we're looking at 88/89. Doesn't it fly? Thanks for the pics! Hehe.

>as for price... take the sum total of all the bits you put together to make it, then half it... >I know, cruel isn't it... Hehe - true, true (rueful nod) +1 Burritobass, was about to post along similar lines. If it's the money you're after, then breaking is the way to go (someone, somewhere is going to be hankering after a set of 78 MIA tuners and you'll get more for them on the strength of that alone). Likewise the other bits - mid '80s Japanese necks are well liked as project starters, etc. Bah, I say keep the bugger - you'll miss those lovely warm Lollars...

>...but never too keen on the MIM gear... Me too (being a big fan of Japanese gear - I've recently built myself a P based on a Japanese '83 reissue of a '57 neck and a new Warmoth body - you can see it [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=70330&hl=revival"]here[/url]) While i was noodling around a local store for info etc. I had the chance to get my hands on a MIM roadworn similar to this: [url="http://www.fender.co.uk/products/search.php?partno=0131712303"]http://www.fender.co.uk/products/search.ph...rtno=0131712303[/url] Okay, I haven't played loads of basses, but I know what I like and this MIM is hands down the nicest bass I've ever played. Effortless. If there's one nearby, go and have a play on it. At the very least it'll put a smile on your face for the rest of the afternoon. It's certainly changed my perception of the MIM gear.

Ah. It's finished! Well, it started out as a £100 punt on a pretty looking and reasonably well looked after '83 Japanese copy of a '57 Fender, and several weeks (and several hundred pounds) later 'The Revival' project has finally come to fruition... Here's what I did, and how much it cost... (eek): Saw it, loved it (the neck and decals in particular) and bought it off a guy at work: £100 Decided the DIY finish on the body was too poor to live with, bought a swamp ash Warmoth vintage white instead (+ an eventually unused white pick-guard): £310 (inc P&P+DUTY) Lollar pickups: £120 (inc P&P+DUTY) Nexus strings: £26 Knobs & Pots (genuine Fender): £31 (inc P&P) Assembly & set-up by the very personable [url="http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/"]Steve Robinson[/url]: £60 All hardware (down do the pick-guard screws) remains original. If you count the tram fare it cost me to pick her up earlier today, you may as well call it £650. Worth it? Aesthetically, without a doubt. Playability wise - yep, but only just. It didn't drop my jaw like the road-worn '09 Mexican re-issue of a '57 they've got hanging on the wall over at PMT for an extra £250, but I think some of that is down to me bottling it and opting for the lighter strings, I should've trusted my gut instinct and gone for a heavier gauge, I forgot how 'clattery' the lightweights can sound coming down on frets, but I'll live with that for now - played gently and positively it's not really an issue. Being only the first time I've done this, I don't want to wax lyrical about how great 'building yer own' is, but I've had some fun, learned a couple of new things along the way and come out the other side with a great 'new' bass. If you're thinking about it then I'd say give it a go. Just watch out for P&P+DUTY (it added the best part of £150 to the total cost of my build!) Anyway, here's how it looks now: (Oh, BTW - I have the original Fernandes body sitting around, along with the EMG Selects it came with and an unused plain white pick-guard if anyone wants to make me an offer on any of it...)

Hi skankdelvar, Thanks for your post - and the offer of taking The Revival off my hands, but I reckon I'll hold on to it and try and do something special if I can. There's still a fair bit of info I need to get my head around regarding this era of Fernandes, but the more I think about what I bought, the more chuffed I am. My current 'main' bass is an early '90s Fernandes which I bought for around £450 (a fair chunk back then...) and I've always got on really well with it, so to have an older model to sit next to it is pretty cool... Point taken regarding the machine heads - you're right - they do look lovely, but the G peg resonates with just about any note played - the rivet which holds the leaf in the split shaft isn't as tight as it used to be (pic below), so unless anyone has any ideas on fixing this in a tidy way I'll just have to go for a new set, or some weathered re-issues (if available - any known vendors?). Electronics wise, I'll have a closer look at what's under the scratch-plate sometime soon. The current EMG Selects are VERY badly fitted so I'm not expecting anything pretty under there... Will take some pics and post them in this thread. Can see myself walking around with pockets of paper full of measurements for the next couple of months... S'pose I should learn 'em by heart. Ta.