theplumber

If you cant make good music on a cheap bass....ie squier or the likes...you are a sh*t bass player...and a bit shallow....

total sh*te....

I mentioned in an earlier thread that I was playing in Oban last night....well!!!....apart from the long haul up there,it usually is a top gig for us,but last night was a bit flat....the pub wasn't as busy as it usually was....we had sound troubles in the first half.The singer,who hasn't been well recently was having trouble hearing and remembering his guitar parts.....apart from that we went down well,got paid and got home at around 3.30 this morning...bloody tired!

[quote name='gjones' post='1231209' date='May 14 2011, 06:29 PM']Falkirk to Oban is a long, long way to go for one gig (there's a song in there somewhere?).[/quote] Lack of decent paying gigs in Central Scotland forces us to look further afield...it is a hobby band and we have full time jobs.I recently played with a band in Rockers,Glasgow. We were handed £15 between 5 of us for an hours set! I played a jam nite in Coatbridge for about 9 months. Every Thursday I played in the house band for a pint of lager!...it has since changed and the players get about £15 each to cover fuel etc....We get £300 to play in Oban,travel in the drummers van and give him fuel money off the gig fee.The rest is split 4 ways.It seems most pubs round this way...if they decide to have any live music that is,pay about £130 to £150 for a band. Our singer has decided that even though we would be about 30 minutes tops away from home,he will not do anything for at least £50 a head.....fair enough,he owns the pa and upgrades it now and again,taking nothing from the band,I can see his point. I on the other hand would play for free!.......within reason!!.....but yeah,the gigs are starting to wear me out a bit......25 years ago this was a laugh...but to drag my 50 year old arse up to Oban and Skye every few weeks is wearing a bit thin....that and the lack off new songs being added to the set will mean that I will be looking around in the near future for something else!

Just packing my gear and washing my hair!....I am playing in Oban tonight,at The Lorne Bar!....anyone else out tonight and where are you!....maybe a follow up tomorrow when we can compare notes on how it was!

[quote name='GarethFlatlands' post='1215576' date='Apr 30 2011, 10:08 AM']Yep, another turns on the red LED eyes.[/quote] LOL!

[quote name='Spike Vincent' post='1224375' date='May 8 2011, 07:07 PM']£135? Bargain.I believe the Post Law Suit headstock only applied to the USA.And you got a free cardigan too.[/quote] It looked minging...plus it was too big!

Found that Norman Watt Roy's jazz bass is up for grabs on the Andy Baxter bass site!!!...if only I had some dosh!!!![attachment=79360:13042884...IMG_7741.jpg]

[quote name='Bassassin' post='1224026' date='May 8 2011, 12:09 PM']£135 for an MIJ Tokai (even a recent one) is a steal. As far as the "Fender factory" idea's concerned - sort of. Tokai Gakki have their own manufacturing facility in Japan and along with Dyna Gakki, they manufacture CIJ (not MIJ) Fenders. According to what I've read, Tokai-built Fenders are home-market only so you won't find many over here if that's true. Like most big-ish brands, Tokai outsource production of their budget ranges to Korean, and probably Chinese & Indonesian factories, but the premium stuff has always been built in Japan. I'd say your bass is worth a good few bob more than you paid, so if you do change it, don't do anything you can't change back one day! Jon.[/quote] Yeah..that's why I bought it....the guy who owned it seemed to need the cash pronto and left it to his daughter to sell. It finished on a Tuesday night about 6.30 pm or something like that. I had checked recent sales on e bay and a Tokai Jazz had just sold at £280.Was pretty pleased at getting it for £135...not so pleased at the wrapping.Only damage,1 bent machine head......

[attachment=79320:DSCF6665.JPG]Here is a couple of pics of said bass....doing a bit of research,it seems that Fender Japan or indeed the company that makes bodies for Fender Japan were making Tokai guitars as well at that point.Production moved to Korea. So my reckoning is find a nice Fender type jazz neck and that will be another keeper for me.No serial number on these guitars until they moved to Korea,but I checked the pots and they are all marked Made in Japan....very nice finish and sound...dare I say,as good as my Sandberg Californian was!......When the guitar arrived,it was in a cheap canvas bag,which was in really cheap bin liners...you know,the ones that fall to bits as you place the rubbish in them...also wrapped in newspaper,polly bags....and an old cardigan!!! [attachment=79321:DSCF6658.JPG]

I bought a Tokai Jazz Sound from e bay a few months ago.....never ment to,I was just killing time before my dinner! Stuck an idle bid in and after dinner found I had won it for £135! It is about 7 or 8 years old and is made in Japan. The only downside is the Tokai ''post lawsuit'' headstock,which spoils it a bit for me. I played it a few times in the house through my practise amp and although it looked great,felt really well made,with a very nice slim jazz bass neck,it wasn't a patch on my long gone 80's Tokai Jazz Sound. Since I bought it pretty cheap,I decided that it maybe should go back on the bay and turn a wee profit for me.My wife liked the idea as I have a few guitars and as she pointed out....we need a new carpet for the stairs! I got it out and polished it up,getting it ready for pictures and it's sale on e bay.But......I decided to play it again,plugged it in to a bigger amp and could,nt put it down....it sounded great! My wife sussed out that I had changed my mind and just gave me the look! So I said, I will give it another go at a band gig and see how it goes..then decide! I used it last night at Finnigins Wake in Edinburgh,with the rock covers band I am in and do you know what?...it was f**king great!.......I think the carpet may have to wait a bit longer!...Anyone else ever decided to sell a guitar then decide that it's a cracker after all?......The headstock is still pretty ugly...but if I look at it from certain angles I can tell myself it is a standard Fender shape....might change it if I can find a decent replacement,after all I believe the guitar was built in the same factory as the japanese Fenders before Tokai moved production to save costs. As far as I know,the guitars are being produced in Japan again.

What has happened to the e bay links section in the marketplace bit!......whoops...didn't see it there....where did I put my glasses?

Sorry...this is mince!

[quote name='noirpunk' post='1202719' date='Apr 17 2011, 04:45 PM']I'm all for hot licks but [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BURNED-Fender-Stratocaster-Art-Decoration-Collection-/110673901279?pt=UK_BOI_Restaurant_RL&hash=item19c4adb6df"]why???[/url][/quote] What a crazy bastard!........I would have been more impressed if he set fire to the drummer....and I bet the band is crap too!

[quote name='silentbob' post='1194204' date='Apr 10 2011, 12:38 AM']Picked up one of these bad boys today in my local crack converters. They were asking £80 but i got them down to £60, with the unexpected bonus of a Ritter hardcase. Seems to be in good nick and plays really well, but i'm still going to mod the hell out of it. As it's already got the black on black colour scheme, i'm going to carry the stealth theme on a bit further with all black Gotoh hardware, a Wizard Stealth pick-up, and the usual CTS/Sprague/Switchcraft electrical upgrades. Theplumber, how are you getting on with your project?[/quote] Had the bass up with me to a gig in King Haaken Bar in Skye last night. It played and sounded really great....smashing bottom end!(ooh err!) I have refinished the body to a natural,road worn type appearance,fitted new vintage type bridge,sprague orange drop cap,thumbrest and an old set of tuners from a jap crap bass I had lying around.....pictures to follow. As I only paid £20 for it I am holding off buying some better pickups for it...as I said before,plenty of bass,but it lacks a decent middle/grungy bass sound which was needed at the start of Be My Girl and Chelsea Dagger.....lucky for me I had 2 more guitars with me!

[quote name='edstraker123' post='1178463' date='Mar 27 2011, 04:59 PM']Very nice ! Here are my efforts The white one has : Seymour Duncan quarter pounders, D'adarrio black nylon tapewounds, Chrome bridge and pickup covers Custom tort pickguard Pearl topped knobs This one sounds absolutely awesome The navy just has a custom pearl pickguard, fancy knobs and a set of Ernie's. [attachment=75894:sue_ryders.jpg][/quote] Great looking guitars,but still the awful ugly headstock....almost as bad as on the Johnstone bass guitars.....anyone done any mods with the fretsaw/sandpaper yet?

[quote name='endorka' post='1175946' date='Mar 25 2011, 02:16 PM']Thanks for the namecheck :-) The Yellow Bass indeed! With added Seymour Duncan 1/4 pounder pickup goodness. I've a couple of clips of it online. Go into "Live at the Queens Hall 2009" clip in the music player, URL below, and it's between 1:20 and 5:00. It still amazes me that a bass so cheap can sound so good. If only they were available back in the day when I started :-) [url="http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com/music.shtml"]http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com/music.shtml[/url] Looking forward to seeing how the customisation on yours turns out. I'll try to get some photos of the yellow bass for this thread. Jennifer[/quote] Yeh...see what you have started!.....oh,I don't suppose you will be using it tomorrow night at the City Halls,I'm looking forward to the gig!......The bass was bought from e bay and had been sprayed red using a car paint.....I have been scraping it off,and its now down to the next stage of sanding! Last time I did a renovation on a p bass it was a 2nd hand Fender bought from McCormacks music in Glasgow,way back in 1976!....Needless to say I totally devalued an early 70's p bass by stripping the sunburst finish off.....then stripping the frets out!....well,I was only a teenager then! So with the £20 Westfield,which seems to have a lovely finish,I will be staining it clear,adding new pickups and scratchplate.......and stinking the house out with nitromors and varnish!

I take 2 bass guitars out to most gigs I do....cause sometimes I feel like changing the sound on some of the songs....oh..and sometimes I take 2 tee shirts ...so I can have a choice!

Just bought a Westfield p bass from e bay...£20 plus £20 postage...bad spray can paint job but plays great...what a bargain!...Despite 3 or 4 other decent guitars...I am now stripping the paint off this....maybe stain it natural as the body is 1 piece...or paint it white with new scratch plate and 60's type vibe....Jen from the band horse has one which looks and sounds great....and she got it for pea nuts...Anyone else got one of these cheap great guitars?

[quote name='ras52' post='1157118' date='Mar 10 2011, 08:08 PM']A very painful topic... ...Wal Pro IIE ...Wal Custom (Mk I) fretless because I was never going to play them again, was I? [/quote] Oh dear....I seem to have brought a lot of sadness to this forum....shame on me!

Looks a bit like a Tokai...early 80's?

[quote name='Jono Bolton' post='1154693' date='Mar 8 2011, 10:42 PM']+1 I traded my Epiphone Goldtop (worth £500+) for a Squier Tele Custom (about £200?) with a guitar shop in a moment of naivety. The owner knew he was ripping me off and when I had traders remorse a few weeks later and went to enquire about getting it back, I was informed that I'd have to pay £150 as well as trading in the Squier. My arse was sore for weeks after that shafting [/quote] OUCH!

At the end of last year I found myself skint!!.....Needing some instant dosh,without resorting to some crazy payday loan scam,I flogged a couple of things on E bay......one of which was a rather nice SX Jazz bass,Recently I was checking some pictures out on my computer and came across the photos of the SX that had been on the e bay listing...bad move!......I now know that it was a cracker....and since I can't seem to find another like it want it back! I have sent an e mail to the guy who bought it...but don't hold out much hope,as he was really chuffed with it when he bought it......oh dear!...bloody missing it!

I bought a bass guitar body from e bay,just before christmas. It was a Harrier bass guitar.They seem to be similar to what you guys have bought in that they are a Chinese made? p bass copy. Check out these guitars on e bay.....they retail at just under £90. I put a spare neck on it,and it sounded really good. Gigged with it a few times,plus the band recored one of our gigs...and guess what!..the Harrier cut through the mix and sounded better than my Sandberg p bass. I have played a stock Harrier,but the neck wasn't up to much....needed a bit of fret dressing,etc....but the body finish and pickup sound was brill.....could be another modding source me thinks!

Are any of you guys playing gigs with the new bass guitars..or just w***ing off over them..if you pardon that expression.....