smithy

Playing this polarizing bass for two years now, here's a short review. My first impression was to hold a very sturdy built and good looking bass. Fit and Finish were flawless. The action straight out of the box was high, neck had a slight backbow, but as I wanted to change strings anyway, a few little tweaks were not unexpected and no real issue. There are Thomastik flats on now. Although these strings are known for having low tension, the bass plays beautifully with a neck relief of 0,2mm and 2mm Action at the 17th fret (I've a lighter touch,so this might be not for all). So very good fretwork here. The neck is very stable. Over time we had a humidity range from 40 -80%, and there was no need ever to adjust the trussrod yet. It's a medium sized neck with 22mm at 1st and 24,5 at 12th fret with a nut width of 43 mm. This might sound a lot but it feels really nice and easy to play . Although it´s lacquered it´s not sticky. The tuners are good. No complains here in regard of staying in tune, but they are heavy and so they increase the neck dive, that can't be denied. Personally that´s not an issue to me but it´s the biggest point of criticism for many players. The pots are not just on and off switches, they react to every slight turn. You might get heavy Rock sounds as well as motown without getting muddy. After two years now without being biased of the impression of a new aquisition, the o bass is my actual number one. The overall look of it might be not everyone' s cup of tea, but as I always loved Les Paul basses, the o bass is a GAS killer to me.

Ashes on my head ! I should have searched the whole forum better before babbling. Sorry for that. So now I´ve got lots of posts to read about those wonderful instruments.

I came across this site http://mantoncustoms.co.uk and to be honest, I´ve never heard of it before ( what means nothing🙂). There´s also a youtube channel "Manton customs". I must say, I´m deeply impressed by the design and the sound of those basses and guitars and the craftmanship that mirrors (is this the right term?no native speaker here) in them. Absolutely stunning work. Does anybody here own such a beauty and can tell about it ?

No, it wasn´t him. I found out it was Marcus Weymaere. Don´t know if he did the gig as a short term replacement or whatsoever. But he has been doing a great job.

Yes.It's a really nice place.Unfortunately there aren't many of these left here in our area. Is the decrease of those little venues a particular symptom just here in Germany or is it the same in your countries?

I had the pleasure to see Dom Martin and his band yesterday at Haus Eifgen/Germany. As the band played open air on a small stage with great sound it was a perfect summer evening. Being only a hobby player I was blown away by Ben Graham playing the bass. The way he changes from steady, unobtrusive grooving to virtually exploding instrumental dialogues with Dom Martin´s guitar still gives me shivers down my spine. Unfortunately I don´t know the drummer´s name. He complemented the whole gig perfectly. I had the luck to see three real great musicians !!

Looks really nice. But to be honest, it's the HB flats that I'm interested in. There isn't much information about them. Any comments on sound, feel (tension)?

My favourite bass at the moment is my Orange O bass. It could have less neck dive, so hipshot lightweight tuners are on my list. And though I won´t let my 34` go, I would love to add a short scale one. (Anyone here who has influence on Mr Emsley ????)

Wow....the more I hear what most of you started with, the more small and ugly I feel about my first one: Jesus just left Chicago by ZZ TOP. (Were there more than three notes? ) Fortunately back then I didn't know about basschat, otherwise after having heard all your "firsts" I would have been discouraged and I would have given up bass playing immediately. Thank God that thread didn't appear 8years ago.😊

WOW !!!! Being really in love with Les Paul basses these pics made my heart missing (or miss??? please correct me - no native speaker) one or another beat.

To me it's a weird thing with Funk music. I can't listen to it for a longer time but some of the bass parts are really impressing and challenging. It' s the same with some kind of pop music(disco??? ) like for example ABBA. I don't really like their music, but their songs are perfectly arranged, produced, performed- you name it. And there are bass lines in 'em I really love to play. So I think it's all about having fun - doesn't depend on a certain style.

Would be a pity to my eyes. I'd love to see a short scale Les Paul shaped bass at a more friendly price. Doesn't need to be a reissue of an old The Heritage one.

IMHO in that price range you can't go wrong with Harley Benton ' s PB-20 Or PB-50 . Edit: I was too slow, but you've got your first ratings for HB.

After having seen the new The Heritage ascent range guitar on the Guitaristas youtube channel, I'm curious whether there will be an ascent range bass in the future. Does anyone here know something about it?

Boogie with Stu- Led Zeppelin