Sue Ryder Bass Arrived

[tom1946]

[quote name='apa' post='1154929' date='Mar 9 2011, 08:58 AM']Well thats knocked a couple of noughts off the resale value in the collectors market - bet your guttered!!

A[/quote]


TBH I'm not in the least bothered. I bought them to play about with and I've started on my navy blue one. Here's the white one:



I also have a red one with a lacquer crack on the back, not sure about that one.

Edited March 9, 2011 by tom1946

[Musicman20]

Im shocked the thread is still going! Ive barely used mine but its a nice bass to have around for rough gigs.

[hellothere]

I rang around every shp within a half hour drive radius and none had one. They only store that I couldn't get hold f I decided to go and check out, the Tamworth shop. They have 2 left a navy blue and a white one if anyone wants one who lives near by.

As for mine I got one in Sonic Blue, depsite everything I've read on here I'm still surprised. The only thing I've noticed is a weird bit on the "skunk line" running up the back of the neck but it's nothing major and the tuning pegs feel like they are made out of monkey metal. Oh and I found that the strings where awful but no surprise there. At £60 there is nothing I can complain about.

The man in the shop said they are selling all these cheap to clear the stock and that Sue Ryder is making a loss on them and that they are thinking about releasing a new range...after how these have gone down I imagine they will either be charging alot more or they will be of inferior quality.


Edit, a few thigns I forgot to mention-

So would the pick-ups out of any P-bass fit in one of these? And are the pickguards the same dimensions as on a normal preceison?

What are they like for staying in tune?

And how easy is it changing the neck on one?

Edited March 9, 2011 by hellothere

[lemmywinks]

I stuck an EMG Select in there no problem, i guess most P pickups will fit. Pickguards need some trimming around the neck and you may need to drill new holes, same goes for pretty much every F-style bass though!

Despite the cheapo tuners mine stays in tune very well. They do look cheap but they're perfectly functional so far. Certainly more so that some other machine heads i've used which, although looking the part, have become rattly and loose over time.

Regarding the neck, i think some people have found the pocket to be slightly bigger than standard (whatever that is) Fender dimensions.
If you're on the lookout for a new neck it might be an idea to draw round the heel and scan it as an A4 PDF you can send to people - quite an easy way to accurately see if a neck will fit or not.

Edited March 9, 2011 by lemmywinks

[casapete]

Due to needing another bass, (and now a strict 'one in one out' policy) may be persuaded to part with mine!
Dark blue / maple combo, as good as new (as a £60 bass can be etc!).Plays fine, strings surprisingly ok too.
PM me if interested, cheers.

[hellothere]

As for the person who was moaning about them earlier in the thread they are alot more than I'd expect for £60 or even twice that. Which is a pleasent surprise seeing as I bought it as something cheap to play around with me once I am done with my old Squier.

[Muzz]

Well, I'm using mine...as a testbed for a Double-P with Series/Parallel wiring. I've a hankering to hear what that'll sound like, and rather than mod an expensive bass as a trial, I reckon I'll get the answers I need from the Ryder. Pics will follow upon completion. The only real issue will be what to call it...

Should I like what I hear, then the mother of all Franken-P projects will lurch towards the light: poncy Warmoth Jazz birdseye neck and board (no dots), some sort of P-Bass body (probably swamp ash, but I've yet to decide, and it'll be black anyway), two Wizard Thumpers with push-pull pot series switching, Hipshot, black pickguard. Mmmmm...

[lemmywinks]

[quote name='hellothere' post='1155656' date='Mar 9 2011, 06:09 PM']As for the person who was moaning about them earlier in the thread they are alot more than I'd expect for £60 or even twice that. Which is a pleasent surprise seeing as I bought it as something cheap to play around with me once I am done with my old Squier.[/quote]


I'm really liking mine now, it's a nice change from my other basses which are mainly jazzes or humbucker equipped.
Stuck the EMG Select in it and strung it with old, dead roundwounds (i'm too cheap to buy a new set of flats!) and it sounds just like a Precision should to my ears. Nice and thuddy but with definition,

Someone should buy the Jap Fender pickup here for £15, would make a great budget upgrade from the stock pup:
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=125732"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=125732[/url]

[mcnach]

[quote name='Muzz' post='1155665' date='Mar 9 2011, 06:21 PM']Well, I'm using mine...as a testbed for a Double-P with Series/Parallel wiring. I've a hankering to hear what that'll sound like, and rather than mod an expensive bass as a trial, I reckon I'll get the answers I need from the Ryder. Pics will follow upon completion. The only real issue will be what to call it...[/quote]

A "Pee-Pee"?

(telephone rings)
- hello, what are you up to?
- nothing, just playing with my Pee-Pee

[edstraker123]

[quote name='hellothere' post='1155341' date='Mar 9 2011, 02:06 PM']I rang around every shp within a half hour drive radius and none had one. They only store that I couldn't get hold f I decided to go and check out, the Tamworth shop. They have 2 left a navy blue and a white one if anyone wants one who lives near by.[/quote]


Cheers mate,
I couldn't find one anywhere and just been in touch with Tamworth and they were willing to post it out to me as it was too far a drive from Liverpool. They couldn't have been more helpful. Thanks for the heads up !

Ed.

[mcnach]

I've decided to defret one of my SR P-basses. It just sounds too good with nylon tapewounds to play fretted... watch this space!

[drewm]

I've fitted mine with a Badass II, a set of EMG pups, new strings, tuners and a Status graphite neck. Playing it, you'd never know it only cost 60 quid.


I kid, I kid.

[danny-79]

[quote name='drewm' post='1162375' date='Mar 14 2011, 09:03 PM']I've fitted mine with a Badass II, a set of EMG pups, new strings, tuners and a Status graphite neck. Playing it, you'd never know it only cost 60 quid.


I kid, I kid. [/quote]



Triggers Broom !!!

[LawrenceH]

I've still not seen the basses but yesterday I had a look at one of their white teles that a (relatively) beginner guitarist friend bought after I tipped them off having seen this thread. Hope it's ok to post about it in the bass thread! The bad:
- one of the pickups doesn't work, I was going to sort it but...
- ferrules for through-stringing aren't quite perfectly aligned, though they're not terrible either and it's purely a cosmetic issue, at the back of the instrument which no-one sees anyway
- it's at the heavier end of the spectrum, but still only a tele
- bridge saddles are a bit cheap compared to

The good:
- It has a gorgeous, quartersawn maple neck! Just luck I'm sure but it's a beauty. The action is set comfortably medium with absolutely zero fret buzz too, it'll definitely come down but no need. Nice 'vintage' tint to it as well
- Finish is great
- Acoustic tone is decent
- Thick bridge plate with flawless chrome
- Good quality pots, soldering and capacitor - knobs feel nice and chunky and turn smoothly as well
- My friend's name begins with R so it's a pretty sweet bonus!
- Did I mention the quartersawn maple neck?!

Overall, there is no way this one's getting sent back over the pickup issue. You definitely wouldn't get nicer wood on a MIM Fender, and whilst the hardware's not flash it's hardly terrible either. In fact it's so good my friend has decided that it's worth spending the extra to drop in some high-end pickups.

[Ancient Mariner]

Looking forward to a (slightly used) RP-1 turning up in a week or so. Dark blue and maple - just begging for a white pearl scratchplate and possibly a pickup upgrade.

[hellothere]

"My friend's name begins with R so it's a pretty sweet bonus!"

Same here, I might tell people I had it specially made

[mcnach]

[quote name='mcnach' post='1162359' date='Mar 14 2011, 08:47 PM']I've decided to defret one of my SR P-basses. It just sounds too good with nylon tapewounds to play fretted... watch this space! [/quote]


Like I said... the process has begun. Rehearsal was cancelled today, so I went home and ripped the frets off the neck.

This is SR#3. My second white one. I took out the rosewood 'board neck, and the one on display here without the metal bits is the maple one from SR#2 (translucent dark blue and maple).

Tomorrow these bits are going to be taken to my luthier for him to do his magic.

[allighatt0r]

My SR is awaiting it's fate at the moment, I have to drill the holes to fit the black pickguard and bridge cover. I have put masking tape on and marked where the holes need to be, i just need to work up the courage to get drilling! Then she will be complete!

[Paul S]

I was in the Sue Ryder shop in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, today and they have a pale blue one in stock - just thought it might be worth mentioning?

[apa]

Bernice (Bernie)..................

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[Ou7shined]

[quote name='apa' post='1168373' date='Mar 19 2011, 03:45 PM']Bernice (Bernie)..................

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Fantastic... I'll give you 60 quid for it.

Seriously though I love the gold leaf.

[mcnach]

You've done it!!!

I didn't expect to see the final result so quickly!

I'm still not entirely convinced by the gold leaf, but I have to admit it looks a lot better than I imagined. Just notsure about the pickguard outline... but putting the "R" in gold leaf is a great move. Love it.

The neck looks amazing too.

I think as far as Sue Ryder P-bass mods go, nobody is going to beat you!

Very nice! (now we need clips )

How's the Stingray coming along?

[apa]

Cheers Jose and ou7shined

Well Ive been waiting between coats (about 10) of varnish lol

To be honest there are loads of mistakes / things Id do differently but the whole point of it is using a £60 bass to experiment. Ive never done anything like this before on a bass. The last thing I did was years ago and just respray, refret and re scratchplate an old Kay.

Anyway to summise.........

Sanded the front and back and veneered Burr Walnut using cold pressure method. (The black bits are leaching from a plate of steel used to flatten the veneer. This was a waste of time since it 'boinged' back into a lumpy mess as soon as it dried!!) I think it adds a little to it. The neck was defretted and veneered with rosewood using the dry iron method. Sides were painted with a standard emulsion tester you use on walls!! The fun bit was applying the gold leaf. My god its like painting with smoke!!! Evil stuff. You look at it and it disintegrates lol. By the time I got to the headstock I had sort of mastered (read concoured my fear) it a bit. I used PVA watered down as the size. Then the painful task of sanding sealer/sanding/sanding/sanding/ spray/sand/spray/sand/spray/sand etc etc etc.

Ive never picked up never mind played a fretless before and been having a strum for an hour or two. Damn it sounds fab lol. All I can say is MMMMWWWWAAAAHHHHH lol.

If I can figure out how to record a decent sound Ill put something up but dont hold your breath lol.

Strings are Roto pressure wound 55's and pickups are wizard thumpers

I have to say a big thanks to Pete at Thermotool in Bridgwater (one of our tame tool makers) for his help and programming.

So basically I have a 22carot Gold plated £60 Bass

Any more questions shoot.............

A

The stingray has had a change of plan. Using the original body and sprayed it black with rose wood scratch plate and ebony board. She (Rosie) should be ready next week

Edited March 19, 2011 by apa

[icastle]

[quote name='apa' post='1168373' date='Mar 19 2011, 03:45 PM']Bernice (Bernie)..................[/quote]

That looks absolutely fab!

I can hardly believe that's the same bass!!!

[allighatt0r]

I went to my local Focus DIY today in search of a suitable drill bit. Decided that 1.5mm was too small and 2.5mm was too large, and couldn't find a 2mm bit. Grrr... I will have to try again another day.