Cosmo Valdemar Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 1 hour ago, AndyTravis said: I’d go contemporary club, nice looking basses. The ignition (cheapest ones) don’t really look as nice. My one does 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 I've got a couple of basses which I expect to be in the "thuddy" domain once they're brought back to life. One is a Vox Clubman. And the other is a Shaftesbury Ric(-ish) semi copy. Both need extensive work; the Vox is nearest, as I've nearly sanded the body down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 It's a scandal what someone did to that Vox. 😥 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 4 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said: It's a scandal what someone did to that Vox. 😥 Yep - the gold paint "Fender" logo was a special touch. I'm looking to get it back to as near to original as I can. On the plus side, I bought it at a car boot for a fiver! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 12 hours ago, prowla said: And the other is a Shaftesbury Ric(-ish) semi copy. Colin Grigson played one of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 So did I, back in the early 70s, it fed back like a howling dingo! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Nada Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 3 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said: Colin Grigson played one of these. You beat me to it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 There's a picture of Bill Wyman playing one too. Sadly mine needs serious work to get it going, probably more than the value of the instrument... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 There's a Shaftsbury 12 string in the same colour as the bass above. Obviously I can't link to it but the listing title might be something like 'Vintage Copy (some numbers a tiny bit higher than 329-11)12-string Electric Guitar? Project Japan Copy', or similar. It's in America though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 Well, lightning quick service from BAX, my Hofner Ignition Club has arrived. Straight out of the box it was covered in dust and bits of expanded polystyrene, the rosewood fretboard looked dry as anything but the set up was OK - I might even drop the action a little. I changed the stock strings to TI Flats and had the Devils own job fitting the E string into the tiny tuners, gave the board a wipe of lemon oil. First impressions are that it feels like a toy and sounds pretty thin but that's just after an initial noodle and very low volume. However it is ridiculously lightweight (just 2.4kg!) and it probably worth keeping for those bad back sessions. If so I might change the tuners and move the front strap button to somewhere sensible. So overall not my best impulse buy but certainly not my worst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Paul S said: So overall not my best impulse buy but certainly not my worst. Ooooooh, what was your worst? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 (edited) 18 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said: Ooooooh, what was your worst? Probably the expensive basses I bought without thinking it through properly. The worst of which was most likely an NS Design Bolin 5 string that had been de-fretted. Absolutely fantastic bass that I had absolutely no need for but bought it in a rush of blood and lost a huge sum over. At least this was only £250, a decent chunk of which I would get back if I decide to move it on. Edited December 10, 2019 by Paul S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 And an hour later.... Mrs S popped out so I had another little noodle but this time with more volume. And that is all it needed, more volume - it does not sound thin at all! The hollow, woody tone is very nice - very similar to the Danelectro Longhorn I had. Not keen on the bridge pup isolated but the neck alone is a lovely rounded tone and the two together have some extra bite. Hmm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 2 hours ago, Paul S said: And an hour later.... Mrs S popped out so I had another little noodle but this time with more volume. And that is all it needed, more volume - it does not sound thin at all! The hollow, woody tone is very nice - very similar to the Danelectro Longhorn I had. Not keen on the bridge pup isolated but the neck alone is a lovely rounded tone and the two together have some extra bite. Hmm. I only ever use the neck pickup. I despise the word, but I can only describe it as 'lush'. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 4 hours ago, Paul S said: And an hour later.... Mrs S popped out so I had another little noodle but this time with more volume. And that is all it needed, more volume - it does not sound thin at all! The hollow, woody tone is very nice - very similar to the Danelectro Longhorn I had. Not keen on the bridge pup isolated but the neck alone is a lovely rounded tone and the two together have some extra bite. Hmm. If you haven't already try using the bass slider in the On position, pure gut rumbling fat bass tone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 11, 2019 Author Share Posted December 11, 2019 10 hours ago, shoulderpet said: If you haven't already try using the bass slider in the On position, pure gut rumbling fat bass tone Yes, pushes it all up nicely! Does pickup height make much difference to this fella? They seem quite low. Worth an experiment, maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 15 minutes ago, Paul S said: Yes, pushes it all up nicely! Does pickup height make much difference to this fella? They seem quite low. Worth an experiment, maybe. My Hofner is a contemporary so I can only comment on the pickup height on the contemporary and German Hofners (they both use the same pickups) but I have found that pickup height makes a big difference with my bass, the pickups were quite low on my bass and I raised them a bit and it sounded much better, I imagine it is probably a similar thing with the Ignition 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 1 hour ago, Paul S said: Does pickup height make much difference to this fella? They seem quite low. Worth an experiment, maybe. Pickup height on any bass makes a difference. The closer to the strings, the louder and fuller the sound. The lower does the opposite, sound weaker and thinner. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 11, 2019 Author Share Posted December 11, 2019 I'd always thought there came a point when they are too close and everything kind of distorts - I just wondered if this is what was already the case or whether there was room to move them up a bit. I'll give it a go, ta. While we are about it - anyone moved the strap pin onto the upper bout or shall I stick to the neck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 (edited) 23 minutes ago, Paul S said: I'd always thought there came a point when they are too close and everything kind of distorts - I just wondered if this is what was already the case or whether there was room to move them up a bit. I'll give it a go, ta. While we are about it - anyone moved the strap pin onto the upper bout or shall I stick to the neck? Yes there will be a point if you raise the pickups too high that you will start to get warbley tones or distortion, i usually raise pickups to the point where that starts happening and then once I start hearing that I lower them a little until it goes and then lower them a tiny bit more Edited December 11, 2019 by markdavid 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, markdavid said: Yes there will be a point if you raise the pickups too high that you will start to get warbley tones or distortion Which pickups distort when they get too close to the strings? You don't want the strings hitting the pickups, but close should be ok. Edited December 11, 2019 by hooky_lowdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdavid Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 1 hour ago, hooky_lowdown said: Which pickups distort when they get too close to the strings? You don't want the strings hitting the pickups, but close should be ok. Tends to be hotter pickups that do this but it is much more common to get that warbling kind of sound if the pickups are too high, with my Hofner I just got the warbling when the pickups were too high Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted December 12, 2019 Author Share Posted December 12, 2019 Well, I moved the pickups up a bit and it has got louder, so that is good. I then removed the scratch plate - the finish was really rough on the straight cut sections and looked cheap (on a £250 bass? I know...) and I kind of prefer it without anyway. I discovered it is an exact fit for the Les Paul hard case that also fits my Gibson LP Jnr DC bass and my Frankenstein Honcore. I then took the plunge and moved the strap pin onto the upper bout as per this pic: As it is the hollow bodied version I carried out some scientific test to see if there was sufficient depth of wood to take the pin screw (tapped it to see if it sounded hollow or not ) but was still a little nervous when I drilled the pilot hole. However it was apparent I was drilling into wood the whole time and it is now securely screwed in place. Hangs much better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.