Chris2112

Front face? As in the radius of the board? To be fair, I can't remember it being that different to the Musicman neck in terms of feel, apart from being slightly 'sleeker' to the hand. The main difference was in sound. It brings in that graphite sound, which is clear and burpy and very even. It's tempered still by the Musicman pickup and EQ, which isn't the sharpest item so it won't sound like a Status bass but it will improve the sound. It will also reduce the weight of the bass slightly and the tuning will be more stable as the graphite neck will not respond to temperature and humidity changes in the dramatic manner that a graphite neck will.

[quote name='TheGreek' post='1344155' date='Aug 18 2011, 11:03 AM'][b]This is sex for your eyes....absolutely beautiful bass..[/b][/quote] Sounds great too, I love the sound of the magnetic pickup mixed with the piezo. This, combined with the graphite neck leads to a cool, multi-dimensional sound. As for acoustic basses, it has to be said they won't even be loud enough to match an acoustic guitar unless they're plugged in. And once they're plugged in you're often left battling feedback and thinking "why didn't I bring an electric?". I've also never found one that felt great to play. Plenty are useable, or passable. But never great.

It will sound amazing, I'd definitely go for it if I had a jazz bass or a Musicman.

Can't you just contact a Warwick dealer in the UK?

I do have a fretless, my Iceni Zoot bass. I don't play it as much as a my fretted basses but that is mainly down to the stuff I play. I do love it though. Carbon fibre neck too, yum yum! As for acoustic basses, I've never really been that thrilled with them and the fretless acoustic basses I've played have never really impressed me. Maybe I just need to find a better one.

The Squier Classic Vibe Jazz basses are a good bet. I'm not really a jazz bass fan but I've had two and they've both been very impressive, especially for the price. If you look for a used one you certainly will not get more for your money at that end of the market.

I've always had a soft spot for Wal basses. I suppose I have had to admit that recently, I've seen them in a more realistic light. The woodworking can be superb, it can be a little less brilliant. They can be heavy. The Mk1 basses can look a bit dumpy. I think their value ballooned when it looked as though no more were going to be made. A lot of kids wanted them to look like Justin Chancellor so the old guard bought them up and increased their value. As it happens, the ideal bass for sounding like Justin Chancellor is a MM Bongo, as his Wal sound is so slathered in effects and pick noise it could be anything, and the Bongo does a perfect impression for less than 1/3 of the Wal price! I used to think the Wal sound was some kind of magic, and I worship that Geddy Lee sound. After getting my ACG I realised it was all wood choice and filter preamps! My Harlot has a mahogany body with a amboyna burl top, sycamore back and a maple and wenge neck. The pickups on the front are the ACG RFB 'Musicman' style humbuckers through the ACG filter based preamp. It naturally puts out that burpy, complex midrange that Wal basses do and that sort of shattered the mystique of Wal basses for me a tad. On the other hand, it opened my eyes to ACG and how amazing they are...which sent my plans to buy a mk2 or Mk3 Wal straight back to the shelf. In response to the original question: yes, a good handmade bass with the right woods and preamp can sound as good as a Wal. They can even sound like a Wal - my ACG does. The woodworking on my ACG is better too. Keep it quiet though, as I plan to buy a few more

[quote name='lyonk' post='1343246' date='Aug 17 2011, 03:18 PM']I already know that Ibanez SRs are a good match for me, but what other basses should I be on the lookout for? I've heard mixed reports about Warkwick necks - could a non-German Warwick work out well?[/quote] Warwick necks are a bit of an odd one. The early ones (early Thumbs and Streamers) can be very slim. The ones later on were a little thicker, my 1999 BO Thumb had a wonderful neck. After the Millenium their necks became very fat and clubby, some of them were just outrageous and their change to a D profile as opposed to the earlier C shape didn't help. Their 5 and 6 string necks have always been what I would call substantial and having owned an Ibanez BTB405QM myself years ago, I'd put them in roundabout the same region of size. I wouldn't advise going for a non-German Warwick though, as they are just not up to the standards of the proper German instrument. Don't compromise on quality merely for the size of a neck!

Yes, it's back to front! I often wonder about where my basses have ended up! Most of the ones I've traded or sold I can't remember where they went! The one I think about most is my old Status Stealth 6 string, simply because it was so rare, you don't see that many about. I'd have it back if I could, but I don't stay awake at night thinking about it!

Just remember those warm ups! I never thought much of it until I listened to Stuart Hamm talking on the subject. They're definitely worthwhile, especially in colder weather. There is nothing worse than feeling like you're fighting your hands to get them play that bass! I've never suffered from cramps but I know they can be exacerbated by playing without having a warm up first.

[quote name='icastle' post='1343458' date='Aug 17 2011, 06:05 PM']Tesco were just another supermarket but are now seen by many as a plague on mankind.[/quote] And yet we're always going there to take advantage of their reasonably priced, relatively high quality produce and other items. My local Tesco certainly doesn't look as though it's struggling.

I've always been a fan of Howard's basses. I think the first one I played of his was a fretless 6, it was great! Glad you're enjoying your new bass.

[quote name='Stacker' post='1322855' date='Aug 1 2011, 10:45 AM']Sound Control up my way always let you have a strum without any pressure whatsoever; shame they went under.[/quote] Sound Control used to be alright but it was very much a case of who you spoke to in the Newcastle store as to what experience you'd get. Some were happy to let you play without pressure, plenty were content to hook you up to a crappy practice amp and hover around for five minutes before asking if you were buying it. I remember playing a nice Spector 6 string there and being quite impressed, and saying to my friend "I'll definitely be buying a Spector at some point" (having also played a great Euro 4 string the same day). The manager came over and he had a good chat about the bass, which he thought was great and we talked about how good the boatload of Czech Spectors the shop had were. One of the other staffers came past and said "If you can't do it on a P bass you shouldn't be doing it at all". Great sales technique there! As it happened, I did end up buying a Spector, from Sound Control in Preston!

[quote name='bartelby' post='1343386' date='Aug 17 2011, 05:05 PM']and this is where they fail.[/quote] To be fair, most of them have always seemed fairly poor at this but surely the rise of the internet would bring ths matter into sharp focus for them? I suppose a lot of shops these days sell online too. Guitar Guitar, for instance are happy enough to sell to you with very high prices in the shop or online!

[quote name='Beedster' post='1341247' date='Aug 15 2011, 10:11 PM']That's pretty much why I started this thread. We were listening to some great music on mp3 last night (through decent gear) and it sounded dull and lifeless, yet I seem to remember the same album having incredible dynamics back in the day, even on CD.[/quote] And don't forget that a lot of music production these days is geared towards being listened to through tiny headphones, or a mobile phone speaker etc etc. So not only is the general quality of available music declining, production values are too in order to chase loudness and noticeability. This nothing new either, even the mighty RUSH were a victim of it with Vapor Trails! If I listen to [i]Graceland[/i] by Paul Simon or [i]The Crossing[/i] by Big Country on my CD player and then put a more modern record in I'll be forced to turn it down. This records didn't have such a hot output and were dynamically much better for it.

I do like black Rics, namely because that was the colour of choice for Stanley Clarke, Tony Butler and Geddy Lee. The other colours...nah, not so much!

Might as well update this thread now too!

I'd advise going for the Rotosound .45's. They sound good, are readily available and they sort of sit right in the middle of the market as it were. If you want to pay a little less, look for some Elite steel strings, I've always had good experiences with Elites.

Three usually does me. Just a drummer and a guitarist to work with then. If there must be more people in the band, they better be playing keys!

I'd say that generally upwards of £800 gets you the best stuff on the used market. You can pay much more but then it's more about brand than differences in quality. My Series II cost me £1000, which is a steal considering it's probably worth a bit more, especially against the price of a new S2 - not to mention that they don't make them like that anymore! My ACG cost me £950 used, and is as fine an instrument as I've ever laid hands on. It's probably the ACG that makes me think "I can't believe I got this for that much cash!" the most.