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Westfield Jazz bass... phat beast


mcnach
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Bought for £40+£10 on eBay and turning out to be a delicious bass... eventually has managed to become a favourite, and the main bass for the RATM tribute band I recently joined (sharing duties with the Stingray, possibly).

Here's the "Green Rage". With a J-Retro01 preamp and a Hipshot D-tuner... immense.





even the ugly green is starting to grow on me :)

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[quote name='Dom in Somerset' post='1040793' date='Nov 29 2010, 09:11 AM']Was this originaly passive and you've added a pre-amp?
Are those stacked knobs?[/quote]


Yes, it was passive. It's a cheap bass, but it sounded pretty good, very deep tone, and loved it stock. I added the preamp because I like the tonal options it gives me. It's a John East J-Retro01. It's made to slot right in, withe the battery in the control cavity, without modification. However, this not being a Fender, the dimensions of the cavity were a bit off: I removed about 5mm from the bottom of teh cavity with my router to make it deeper, and that's it.
The knobs are stacked: volume/pickup selector, bass/treble, mid/mid-sweep. It also has a couple of switches... one that I can't remember what it does (don't use it) and nother is a passive/active switch (when passive, the other switch acts as a pickup selector). It sounds complicate dbut it's not after you play 20min with it.

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I got a brand new Westfield P bass as my first bass this time last year on ebay for £80 including p&p. (taking a plunge and buying a bass was the best thing i have done for myself in years)

[attachment=65368:westfiel...ium_bass.jpg]


Colur Titanium (ie Canal dark green, not a lovely Viet Cong green like the OP) Same one is being sold for £160 now, or you can get a new black P bass if you are quick for £89. If you want a secondhand one im sure you can pick up one for £30 or 40 if not less if your not too picky and or lucky. Trouble is they all seem to be P bass, no J style anywhere.

They are fine to learn on and splendid for the price. Mine is a decent enough bass, even better though when i finally plucked up the courage to adjust the truss rod a half turn, to stop the strings ratlling (never done it before)

Edited by daz
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[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1039041' date='Nov 27 2010, 05:44 PM']One word for you mcnash, Badass! The tones will flow even more you know it makes sense. Thumbs up for the green too I like it.[/quote]


Thanks for teh suggestion but... does it really make enough of a difference? I have never tested this, so I can't say for sure, but my gut tells me "nah!". If I were building a bass I'd probably get something cunky and nice, but... not convinced changing it will improve anything... does it really?
The bridge on the Westfield is not pretty, but it's very solidly anchored to the body with I don't remember how many screws, I think.

:)

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Its more about the sideways movement of the saddles than the anchoring or the mass for me that makes the difference. I know there is a lot of stuff talked about them but when I put one on my Jazz the difference in tone and sustain was massive! I know some people dont want any extra mainly on P basses as its part of the sound but on a jazz type bass I cant recommend one (Or a similar version) enough. I have just put one of the cheap Stellah ones on my P bass which is pretty much the same as the BBOT but has slots for the saddle screws to run in and is a bit heavier too. Good improvement for better adjustment and tone for £15 or around that. So you dont have to go the full £100 BA route anyway.

One of these and the covered string ends look good too.
[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Stellah-BB-02-Hard-Tail-Bass-Guitar-Bridge-New-/390265161829?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item5add9dc865"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Stellah-BB-02-Hard-T...=item5add9dc865[/url]

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Good score, looks great in the green stain methinks!


I picked up a Westfield 2 tone sunburst Precision with gigbag, strap and tuner for £50 a few months ago, bought it for parts but ended up playing it for a bit and selling it. Very well made and sounded great, i've been on the lookout for the Jazz version since as you can never have too many jazz basses!

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[quote name='lemmywinks' post='1042759' date='Nov 30 2010, 07:00 PM']I picked up a Westfield 2 tone sunburst Precision with gigbag, strap and tuner for £50 a few months ago, bought it for parts but ended up playing it for a bit and selling it. Very well made and sounded great, i've been on the lookout for the Jazz version since as you can never have too many jazz basses![/quote]

Thats an excellent price! Where can I find these sub £100 bargains?!

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[quote name='daz' post='1041904' date='Nov 30 2010, 03:47 AM']Mine is a decent enough bass, even better though when i finally plucked up the courage to adjust the truss rod a half turn, to stop the strings ratlling (never done it before)[/quote]

Of all the bits'n'pieces I've done to basses, I still remember the very first time I tweaked a trussrod as the most nervous moment.

It didn't help at all that the trussrod on that particular bass was [i]very [/i]stiff, so I needed to use far more effort than I'd expected to turn it. :)

Edited by Happy Jack
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[quote name='Musicman20' post='1043362' date='Dec 1 2010, 09:24 AM']Thats an excellent price! Where can I find these sub £100 bargains?![/quote]


I got the Westfield from eBay and it was pickup only. Just run a search for bass, nearest first. Pretty much all my major eBay purchases are pickup only now.

Also if you're local paper has a free ads section (mine has a pullout every Tuesday)

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[quote name='derrenleepoole' post='1043478' date='Dec 1 2010, 10:33 AM']Bargain instruments are just the best! I use SX basses all bought from here, and they are exceptional instruments for the money.

I think a lot of people are beginning to wise up to the fact that cheap, doesn't necessarily mean crap :)[/quote]


I'm still using the Aria Jazz i bought for £45, it's ace!

My lodger decided to take up guitar again last year and i looked for eBay bargains locally. After 2 minutes of searching we found a whole package comprising of an Aria strat (with a tappable bridge humbucker), Kuston 10w amp, gigbag, strap and lead - all for £50! Drove down the road and bought it that day

After a new set of 9s the guitar is amazing, one of the best guitars i've played. It hadn't been played for years but the intonation was spot on and it's incredibly easy to play. Everyone who's played it comments on how nice it is

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