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Hankering for a Flying V


operative451
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I had a Wesley flying V (Nimrod..?) a few years back after seeing the one in the Feelgood, Inc music video, it looked cool as anything! Neck was a bit wide for my taste and I got laughed out of Dawson's for trying to buy a case for it but it sounded great! Balance was a bit of an issue as you really need to attach one end of the strap to the end of the neck, but this would drive me mad as I'd always rather use the one at the body end... I also remember having to relocate the body strap button to somewhere better, but a lot of it is down to personal preference.


I thought I pulled it off pretty well back in the day...

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I had an Epiphone one about 10yrs ago. Chronic neck dive has never really bothered me but the pickups were really weak. I had a few Epiphones and that one was the weakest. The underside of the V had a rubber grip panel so you could actually sit down and play it. I managed to get a fitted case for mine too but both Flying V bass and fitted case were sold on as it just never sounded as good as it looked.

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What the hell - i've gone for this: [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Houston-Bass-Guitar-by-Gear4music-Black/8OS"]http://www.gear4musi...music-Black/8OS[/url] super cheap but my current bass was found in a shed, so its an upgrade for me... :D if nothing else it'll look great jumping about in videos..! :D

And thanks for all the responses btw! :D

Edited by operative451
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Its arrived!! Delivered to work, now i just have to get it home. On my bike. err... Should be ok as long as its stopped raining! Came with a bag and everything, which is handy.

Initial impressions, tuned and plugged into the office bass amp (i work at an IT company. The music kit is next to the giant scalextric) and sounds pretty thuddy! Hurrah!

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[quote name='operative451' timestamp='1388407680' post='2321599']
Its arrived!! Delivered to work, now i just have to get it home. On my bike. err... Should be ok as long as its stopped raining! Came with a bag and everything, which is handy.

Initial impressions, tuned and plugged into the office bass amp (i work at an IT company. The music kit is next to the giant scalextric) and sounds pretty thuddy! Hurrah!
[/quote]

wait you have a scalextric in work! i have clearly gone down the wrong path! love the look of v's there actually very comfy to play sitting down and of course you can pull some very rock poses ;-)

looks pretty bloody decent for the money

andy

Edited by 0175westwood29
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Good plan, i'll try some recording! And yes actually, if you're a C#,.NET or java developer1 :D

Initial thoughts: the neck dive is definitely a thing, but the whole guitar is so light its not a problem. It needs to mellow in and the back of the neck is unfinished so it feels a bit dry at the moment. The pickups seem pretty grunty, but not actually as brutally metal as i was expecting! The bridge pickup has a slight phasey quality to it, dunno if bass humbuckers are just like that or the wiring's odd, but i like it - and the neck pickup goes BWARM BADDERRRRR as you'd expect, but can also do some quite jazzy sounds with a bit of knob twiddling.

So far, i like it! :D

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[quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1388415523' post='2321717']
wait you have a scalextric in work! i have clearly gone down the wrong path!

[/quote]

Never mind the Scalextric, you have a bass amp at work (, and you don't work in a guitar shop) ? No wonder the British economy is going down the toilet! :lol: I bet at offices in Germany they don't even have a dartboard, let alone a bleedin' bass amp

Edited by Dingus
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Couple of amps, drum kit, nothing massive... :D only for lunchtime use obviously! We're a creative industry! :D

I answer to the serious questions, erm, don't know! The wood stuff seems good but the neck could be smoother - it just needs playing in i think. I'll let you lot decide pups-wise once I post some sound clips.

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Well mine arrived today and despite looking like it had been assembled by a blind man on a flying horse (action i can drive a bus under, ive shimmed the neck already and thats sorted, the bridge alignment is poor) the sound it makes does actually make up for its poor qc, i dont know what pups they are but theyre impressively loud and well balanced across the 4 strings, the neck is a chunky old thing but as its unfinished i cant see why it couldnt be sanded a bit thinner, is it worth £100 erm im sure there are better 2nd hand basses out there for the same money, does it sound good and look cool HELL YES!

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Just got back from my new year hols and given the V a bit of a bash side by side with my P-bass copy (also cheapie, probably - 1980s marlin :D) . I know what you mean about the set up, the action has needed a good lowering, but i can get it lower than on the P without rattly strings, so thats a good start! Bridge and intonation look okay but i'll double check with a tuner, and the tone knob is a bit loose!

All fixable though - and i totally agree with my esteemed colleague above, the pickups have a pretty grunty sound, i'm going to need to play with some settings! A good buy though, definitely!

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My first bass was a blue Vantage Flying V bass. They tend to have a lot of neckdive. I eventually re-accustomed myself to wear my basses high rather than hanging down, which counters most of the neckdive. A strap with a rough leather backing also lets the instrument sort of grip your shirt, allowing it to stay in place.

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Sound clips! Recorded direct into USB mixer via a Behringer Ultra-G DI box. So they may sound rubbish! M4a as i couldn't find the mp3 quality settings for audacity. :D

Clean except for DI, neck pickup, disco type thing:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cdfpyzpb26ln9d2/Neck_clean.m4a

Trad goth thing with chorus and reverb:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q12lyi05sqar7e0/sisters_bridge_aac.m4a

Metalica type thing with OD:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/22c38pblmocwz2w/Taalica_both_aac.m4a

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