dutchwife Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Hey Folks, Just a quick hello from an old ex-pat based in Osaka, Japan. Too many basses to mention but main gear of late would be Spectors & the somewhat legendary Sei/Wal 5-string fretless plus loadsa talent-boosters going into Alembic pre- then Markbass amps. Looking to hook up with other FX heads to share thoughts, very open to helping anyone with Japanese inquiries too. Look forward to hearing from all & any. Cheers, Spark, Osaka. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Hi dutchwife, welcome aboard - a lot of boutique basses must make their way to the japanese market. Do you get to see many? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchwife Posted August 1, 2007 Author Share Posted August 1, 2007 Hey CK, yeah, probably too many-at ridiculous prices as well. Japanese bassheads are split though-there're loads of cats who have to get the latest 'in' brand, but the majority of players want Fender clones, which is something I'll never really understand. I remember seeing a Fodera 6 on a local music shop wall about 10 years back, it had been there so long the bridge was all pitted & munged up, noone could possibly afford it. I don't pay much attention myself. I've maybe 15 basses around here & the only one I recall buying over here was a Roscoe LG3500 which I picked up for around 500 bucks 8 years back as the music store had no idea what it was! I still generally believe in going straight to the luthier- don't want to get ripped off just to help some nameless exporter buy a Ferrari, y'know? How's the scene where you're at? Spark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 London's retail scene seems to wax and wain according to the shipments that come in. I reckon the Bass Gallery probably has the best selection of used basses at the moment, quite a few 70's Fenders were up for sale recently and they've had a load of other interesting stuff from UK builders like Overwater, Goodfellow and Status plus a Fodera. The Bass Centre has mostly Warwicks and Musicman basses with some Fenders, Sandbergs and Laklands left after the last shipment. Not so many second hand basses tbh. There are rumours about Soundcontrol's liquidity circulating at the moment - the London branch got off to a great start with Spectors, Schecters, Yamahas, Musicman and Fender but seem to have pruned down their stock down a bit. Have you had much contact with any japanese luthiers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchwife Posted August 1, 2007 Author Share Posted August 1, 2007 When I left the UK the Bass Centre was still in Wapping! The only contact I've had with The Gallery was when I called up Martin Petersen about my 5 & we chatted for about 45 minutes-really nice cat & made the favourite of all my basses. Still use a Status Empathy & I've been with Spector for 20 years now (largely thanks to Doug Wimbish). The other companies you mention sounded promising but the usual UK bankruptcy chat is sadly all too familiar. Japanese luthiers? Strange you should mention that. A bud just put up a Youtube vid from about 12 years ago, recorded the day I received my 5-string fretless whacked-out 36" Tune bass. Really well made-most Japanese large makers have incredible custom shops. Nowadays there're some nice basses made over here but nothing really groundbreaking, although as a 42-year old I'm probably a bit set in my ways & not really looking that hard. The other cool thing is that because some makers are still convinced that Japan is booming they'll send over some trick stuff. Saw a couple of really nice thru-neck Thumb basses with high-gloss tiger/quilt maple solid bodies recently. Not my choice of bass but very sexy looking nonetheless. I'll check out a couple of websites, see if I can't find some interesting links for you in the next couple of days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchwife Posted August 2, 2007 Author Share Posted August 2, 2007 Hey CK, I couldn't be bothered to list all my gear at present so I out the photo up instead. Maybe a tad arrogant of me but something like 'If you've got 'em flaunt 'em'...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Your ID photo isn't big enough for anyone to see all the basses. Stick some photos under this forum and we can all see them in more detail: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showforum=4"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showforum=4[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchwife Posted August 2, 2007 Author Share Posted August 2, 2007 Gotcha. Brief road trip coming up, I'll get 'em posted w/in 24. If you like Seis & Spectors, you can cop those two at fretlessbass.com. At least I think that what it's called. Laters! Spark, Osaka. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul, the Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Welcome Dutchwife, heard any good Engrish recently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchwife Posted August 4, 2007 Author Share Posted August 4, 2007 Hey P, I'll have a thumb thlough the ratest Japanese Bass magazine, there're usuarry some gleat ones in there. Off the bass topic we've got prenty though I berieve that they get document onrine pletty quickry. Not necessarily PC to have a laugh at people's accents but believe me the folks over here don't have any qualms about doing the same so " When In Rome (Osaka)"..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchwife Posted August 4, 2007 Author Share Posted August 4, 2007 Hey CK, after 10 minutes careful deliberation I've come to the conclusion that I'm a crap photographer so here's a once only breakdown; Three Spector US customs, NS6P, NS2 walnut, NS4. Stingray w/Status neck & Delano pickups. Ken Smith 1989 4 thru neck, red stain over quilt maple. Zon Sonus Custom 8-string. Roscoe LG3005. Status Empathy. Kubicki Factor, which I really dislike. Stingray 20th Anniversary. Rick 4001. Sei Flamboyant 5 fretless w/Wal pickups & electronics. All that goes thru Boss tuner (natch), EBS comp, bassiq, multidrive , Whammy, Rat, TC chorus,Boss bass synth, Akai Deep Impact, HyperFuzz, TC phaser, DSD2, DD6, Alembic F something or other ancient rackmount preamp into whatever Markbass amp is suitable. Sounds a bit unnecessary but if you go to myspace/sparkbass you'll hear a cut by 'reduced', myself & my drummer/vocalist bud-it's all bass, drums & vox, no keys or guitars, so I guess that kinda justifies things. Cheers, Spark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 [quote name='dutchwife' post='41176' date='Aug 4 2007, 08:42 AM']Hey CK, after 10 minutes careful deliberation I've come to the conclusion that I'm a crap photographer[/quote] Oh dear. I fear there will be much weeping, gnashing of hair and pulling of teeth... ...erm, or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassmonster Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 thats a mighty fine collection indeed! Japan eh, always wanted to visit, interesting culture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchwife Posted August 9, 2007 Author Share Posted August 9, 2007 The door's always open - at least on the way in. I haven't tried leaving yet. Way too comfortable........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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