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modified active Wesley Monarch bass (Streamer-like)


mcnach
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This is a bass that started life as a Wesley Monarch model.

Classic combination of alder body, pretty maple neck and rosewood fingerboard.

Bolt-on neck, attached via a solid plateless 5-bolt joint.

The neck is slim, and plays great without fret buzz. Strings are not new, but it hasn't been used much since last re-string so they're pretty bright. Tuning stability is excellent, especially considering the slim neck.

The original pickups were replaced with these humbuckers with hidden polepieces. Not sure about the source.
Original electronics have been replaced and a 3-band preamp has been installed, with a passive/active switch.

Controls are:
1) volume (pulled: passive, pushed: active)
2) pickup pan selector, centre detented
3) mid-frequency control: centre detent
4) concentric bass/treble controls: no centre detent (like original Stingray)

Bass is in great cosmetic condition and otherwise. It was my back-up bass (to my Warwick Corvette $$) for a while and I've used it in rehearsals and once live, but it was always very well looked after. The neck pickup is quite close to a P-bass, whilst the bridge pickup is a bit more nasal than a Jazz bridge, with a bit of extra bass it cuts through very well, and the mids control will give you more cut than you're likely to want.

Not an expensive bass, but one that works well and sounds pretty good and can be gigged without trouble.

I added very small dabs of phosphorescent paint over the side markers (tried to photograph them, but they don't show as they're so small). Very useful for low light stages. If there are black lights on stage, they will shine very brightly. I used a keyring UV-light torch thing to charge the dots briefly if I needed. It's the same thing I did on my Warwick, and I used to charge the spots with the torch by shining the light briefly up and down the neck before a tricky song if I wanted the extra help. They emit light for some time, but they're brightest only for a few minutes after charging.

I wasn't thinking of selling it, but I seem to just play the Stingray/Jazz types now and could use the extra cash.

Here's the animal:






Edited by mcnach
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[quote name='tom1946' post='984712' date='Oct 11 2010, 06:54 PM']I used to sell these in my shop, even standard they are a very respectable bass and with these mods it's a no brainer for someone. Trust me.[/quote]

+1 great build, nice woods upgrade the hardware and electronics (if needed) and your onto summit good. Bargain.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Indeed!

Part of me feels it's a shame to sell it. It'd be the ideal bass to take back to Madrid with me one day so that I can have something to play with when I go visit. I'm sure my brother wouldn't mind :)
(he's a pro guitarist, but no basses in his arsenal!)

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  • 2 weeks later...

[quote name='Bass_Guardian' post='1008919' date='Nov 1 2010, 07:44 PM']I can vouch on McNach's behalf that he is a great bloke and brilliant to deal with :)[/quote]


Thank you, Alex :)
how much did we say I was going to pay you for the feedback? :lol:

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