Spoombung Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 [quote name='greyparrot' post='401276' date='Feb 5 2009, 05:14 PM']Why?[/quote] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=38531"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=38531[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyparrot Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 [quote name='Spoombung' post='401285' date='Feb 5 2009, 05:20 PM'][url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=38531"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=38531[/url][/quote] ????? to do wth Zoot?? regards, Parrot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 [quote name='greyparrot' post='401297' date='Feb 5 2009, 05:27 PM']????? to do wth Zoot?? regards, Parrot.[/quote] Well, Mike's building it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crez5150 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I've had several instruments from Mike Walsh..... all absolutely outstanding..... Shame you had a bad experience GP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyparrot Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 [quote name='crez5150' post='401303' date='Feb 5 2009, 05:35 PM']I've had several instruments from Mike Walsh..... all absolutely outstanding..... Shame you had a bad experience GP![/quote] As i said i had a bad exp, and that was enough for me, would not do it again. I belive that the neck was dumped and it became a frettless, and re sold, thats what i heard anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 [quote name='crez5150' post='401303' date='Feb 5 2009, 05:35 PM']I've had several instruments from Mike Walsh..... all absolutely outstanding..... Shame you had a bad experience GP![/quote] What worries me about GP's story, more than anything else, is the implication that the luthier completely waved his hands of the whole affair and left his client out of pocket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosebass Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 [quote name='Spoombung' post='401315' date='Feb 5 2009, 05:48 PM']What worries me about GP's story, more than anything else, is the implication that the luthier completely waved his hands of the whole affair and left his client out of pocket.[/quote] It would be interesting to get Mikes take on this episode , maybe a quick call from someone who knows him well or is dealing with him at the moment ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyparrot Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 [quote name='Spoombung' post='401315' date='Feb 5 2009, 05:48 PM']What worries me about GP's story, more than anything else, is the implication that the luthier completely waved his hands of the whole affair and left his client out of pocket.[/quote] That is what happened. I asked him to sort the action out, got it back 3 weeks later with the bridge saddles as high as poss! so no attempt to sort the truss rod by the look of it, just a quick fix. anyway, a few weeks later once again the strings were back on the fretboard. The electronics, there was far too much mid, and no bass, and very noisy pots. He said that i must have been rough with them-not true, hardly used it, as bass was unplayable always faulty. As with the fret wire sticking out, he did take a file to them, and said he would sort them properly on a later date. Mike to me done a botch on that bass, and why i got this service i dont know. although i like him as a person, i felt sad that the first bass that i had made for me was a mess. Took me months to pay for. HAd about 1 good month out of it. lost about £800 on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyparrot Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Prosebass' post='401325' date='Feb 5 2009, 05:55 PM']It would be interesting to get Mikes take on this episode , maybe a quick call from someone who knows him well or is dealing with him at the moment ? [/quote] HA ha like he will agree! get real mate. WHat i said happened. Of course many others have had good from him, but as i said, i had a pig. As i said the day i got it it looked great, then it all went down hill. Just my exp. I have bought a 2 or 3 nice basses from mike, but factory ones, and always found him a nice chap. I justthink i had a bad bass, and it always seemed to have a problem. Edited February 5, 2009 by greyparrot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyparrot Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Prosebass' post='401339' date='Feb 5 2009, 06:13 PM']I don't doubt what you said....why should I ? just seems a very strange attitude for a luthier to take. As we all know word of mouth is the best publicity and I for one cannot understand his attitude. Maybe you could enlighten us more now you have let the cat out of the bag and slated him in public (metaphorically speaking) [/quote] I am talkng about my exp. as a customer with that one bass. I am not slating Mike as a person, only that particular bass i had. I cannot say anymore about any other zoots, cos i never went near them again, nor never will, but i have seen some beutiful basses coming out of the work shop. Mine was too, the woodwork on the body was lovely. It was an off the shelf part finished bass that had been lying around, and i had him finish it and so got it a little cheaper. At the moment, i have a hand made Stu Spector bass, which is nothing less than stunning, and works perfectly! mind cost £4K! Edited February 5, 2009 by greyparrot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosebass Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Last post withdrawn as I have a habit of not reading the whole thread and greyparrot had already replied to my question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6stringbassist Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 [quote name='greyparrot' post='401333' date='Feb 5 2009, 06:06 PM']HA ha like he will agree! get real mate. WHat i said happened. Of course many others have had good from him, but as i said, i had a pig.[/quote] I honestly think that you need to go to an established luthier when you're having an instrument built, someone with a fine reputation, you may pay a bit more, but you get the instrument that you want and generally get good after service. My top ones are as follows - Martin Petersen (Sei bass). John Diggins - I've known John for about 20 years, and he really is great and very helpful. Rob Green, I bought a Status a few years ago, when it arrived I noticed slight swirl marks where it hadn't been polished properly, nothing major, but they arranged to have it collected from me, they re-polished it and I had it back with me within 48 hours. Chris May from Overwater, I've played a few Overwaters over the years and they've all been really great basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyparrot Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 [quote name='6stringbassist' post='401346' date='Feb 5 2009, 06:22 PM']I honestly think that you need to go to an established luthier when you're having an instrument built, someone with a fine reputation, you may pay a bit more, but you get the instrument that you want and generally get good after service. My top ones are as follows - Martin Petersen (Sei bass). John Diggins - I've known John for about 20 years, and he really is great and very helpful. Rob Green, I bought a Status a few years ago, when it arrived I noticed slight swirl marks where it hadn't been polished properly, nothing major, but they arranged to have it collected from me, they re-polished it and I had it back with me within 48 hours. Chris May from Overwater, I've played a few Overwaters over the years and they've all been really great basses.[/quote] 2nd Rob green, i had a status made, was wonderful, out to play jazz has it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 [quote name='6stringbassist' post='401346' date='Feb 5 2009, 06:22 PM']I honestly think that you need to go to an established luthier when you're having an instrument built, someone with a fine reputation, you may pay a bit more, but you get the instrument that you want and generally get good after service. My top ones are as follows - Martin Petersen (Sei bass). John Diggins - I've known John for about 20 years, and he really is great and very helpful. Rob Green, I bought a Status a few years ago, when it arrived I noticed slight swirl marks where it hadn't been polished properly, nothing major, but they arranged to have it collected from me, they re-polished it and I had it back with me within 48 hours. Chris May from Overwater, I've played a few Overwaters over the years and they've all been really great basses.[/quote] I'd be interested to know of all the luthiers in the UK that you tried - e.g. the ones that didn't make your list... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6stringbassist Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 [quote name='EBS_freak' post='401368' date='Feb 5 2009, 06:51 PM']I'd be interested to know of all the luthiers in the UK that you tried - e.g. the ones that didn't make your list...[/quote] One other that I'd forgotten to mention was Bernie Goodfellow, I've played his basses too, they're really, really nice. I'd mention Wal too, but they don't exist anymore really, I've had two Wals and both were amazing. I've played others, quite a few others but I honestly just didn't think much of the ones that I tried, I don't want to mention names 'cos it's just my opinion at the end of the day, and I don't want to go upsetting people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 (edited) [quote name='6stringbassist' post='401417' date='Feb 5 2009, 07:48 PM']One other that I'd forgotten to mention was Bernie Goodfellow, I've played his basses too, they're really, really nice. I'd mention Wal too, but they don't exist anymore really, I've had two Wals and both were amazing. I've played others, quite a few others but I honestly just didn't think much of the ones that I tried, I don't want to mention names 'cos it's just my opinion at the end of the day, and I don't want to go upsetting people.[/quote] That's half the fun...! I don't get offended when people say negative things about Lakland or GB... it's all horses for courses at the end of the day. For every brand there are as many haters as fans. That's what makes the world go round. I don't like it when people (and I don't mean you here) express "considered" views, when they haven't tried half of the stuff out there - I find it amusing when people say that their <insert chosen luthier> built instrument is the best thing ever... when they have tried nothing else... and have come from a £150 <insert budget bass here>. Hardly conclusive. For me, the top dogs in the UK are Sei, Status and of course, my fave GB. Interestingly enough though - all of them are completely different beasts which in themselves, are hard to compare. For me, GB wins for it's circuit alone... and of course, the woodwork side, build quality and playability suit me down to the ground also. Edited February 5, 2009 by EBS_freak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6stringbassist Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 (edited) Out of the newer luthiers RIM basses stands out, he seems to be trying to push the boundaries a bit, and I like the way he uses relatively unknown preamps and pickups, he's not afraid to experiment. Edited February 5, 2009 by 6stringbassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 My next bass is going to be a custom because I fancied getting something very different to what you can get in any store. There were a few things I liked the idea of in different basses which I haven't seen combined in a single off-the-shelf bass, so I decided to get that bass made as a custom. I chose Shuker through recommendation (thanks Dood!). A year before I ordered the custom bass I got him to do quite a bit of customisation on an old bass I had. The work that came back from that was top notch and price was unbelievable value. Having spoken to Jon he seemed a really nice chap too. All this lead to me putting in an order for my custom bass last year. I guess I could have shopped around with plenty of top quality luthiers in the UK, but I chose to go with the one I knew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I chose Jon Shuker for my custom bass for a variety of reasons. 1). I've NEVER heard anything negative said about Jon's workmanship. 2). I'd played a few of his basses in the past and really liked every one of them. 3). When I emailed him for a quote he asked me all the right questions about what I wanted to achieve. 4). Price. Has to come into it somewhere along the way, for me at least! Having been through the experience once, I have to say I'd go back to Jon again in a heartbeat. Sure Jon took nearly twice as long as his initial estimated build time (really my only criticism of him to be honest), but even then it was still half of what you'd be talking about from Martin @ Sei/The Gallery. I also had a great experience talking to Alan at ACG, although his designs didn't really fit what I had in mind at the time. Rob at RIM wasn't long started so I discounted him, but he does seem to be doing excellent work and I really like the look of the basses he's producing now. I've spoken to Martin @ The Gallery in the past and played more of his basses than any other custom builder. I have to say half the Sei basses I've played were excellent, but the other half didn't leave me with a fuzzy feeling. To an extent this is understandable since they are the product of someone elses vision/requirements, which just didn't line up with what I would look for in a bass. I'm not knocking Martin and his team here. They do excellent work and Martin's one of the nicest chaps you're ever likely to meet. I have to admit that I didn't even consider Bernie Goodfellow. Not sure why. I've spoken to him before and he was great craic! Didn't consider Overwater either - I have to say I've never played one I really enjoyed. All IMHO and YMMV, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I've never had a custom bass built, but I have had one or two other instruments custom made. I think the relationship between you and the luthier is almost more important than the instrument - you've got to believe that you're going to get something really special and that requires you to have confidence in the man. Judging on the quality of workmanship alone, I'd have to say that Andrew Guyton is right up there. He's more of a guitar maker, but I've never seen any work from anyone that approaches the quality of his work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 (edited) [quote name='mcgraham' post='401195' date='Feb 5 2009, 04:20 PM']I chose Wood&tronics for a number of reasons. In short, I wanted a detailed sounding bass. Something clear, clean, articulate, crisp. Something that was almost 'acoustic' like in its sound. I wanted something that had additional range, both along the neck (frets) and across it (strings). I knew (more or less) the 'base' sound I wanted, and the feature set I was after. I was effectively limited by my present instrument and I was starting to bump up against those limiting barriers more and more. I'd outgrown my previous bass. Music is a major passion in my life, I could afford it, and I live frugally. So it wasn't a hard decision to make. Many factors make up a custom, and I approached choosing my luthier with these points in mind: [b]Sound [/b]- the Spectrum @ Bass Direct has an immensely detailed sound. So much so I couldn't imagine using it in a band context. But at least I knew that if I wanted the above qualities in a bass, they could deliver it in bucketloads. [b]Feel [/b]- well constructed basses often feel chunky, clumsy, unwieldy. More arty basses often feel flimsy, less sturdy, fragile. W&T basses felt super sturdy, but oozed finesse and class. They felt like they were meant to be played and not fought. [b]Aesthetic [/b]- I love single cuts. [b]Features [/b]- they had a massive array of features that I could choose from. They would allow me to get the additional range and final tweak towards getting the ideal feel that I needed. [b]Cost [/b]- for what they offered, no-one came close. For what they offered at the price they offered it, I couldn't say no. And now I have my ultimate bass. The others will/may end up on the chopping block in the future, but I will always keep at least one as a back up. Why should someone go custom? Because you can't get what you want from an off the shelf bass, even if it was modified. That's my opinion. Mark[/quote] I thought this was UK luthiers? If not, I'd have to add Alembic, because I think they are still at the pinnacle of custom luthiery. Although soon to be winging its way to the continent, my Triple O is easily as well made as anything I've ever seen. Nothing at Bass Day came close. I think they're incredible basses, and I'd have another in a heartbeat (indeed would never have got rid of mine but for my back problems). Oh, and I'd agree W&T seem very good based on the one I tried... Edited February 6, 2009 by 4000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 (edited) [quote name='EBS_freak' post='401368' date='Feb 5 2009, 06:51 PM']I'd be interested to know of all the luthiers in the UK that you tried - e.g. the ones that didn't make your list...[/quote] I've played a few Shukers, lots of GBs, loads of Statii, Overwaters, Wals, Jaydees, several ACGs, loads of Seis, and probably many others......the only major one that springs to mind that I haven't played is Rim (oh, and Gus), which do intrigue me (for some strange reason I didn't get chance to play one at Bass Day).........and I still choose Sei comfortably over the others, although I have played some Seis I haven't got on with (as you'd expect). However what suits me may not suit someone else. Having said that I'd like one of each thanks! (still working on that; give me a few years) Edited February 6, 2009 by 4000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 [quote name='pete.young' post='402375' date='Feb 6 2009, 08:56 PM']I think the relationship between you and the luthier is almost more important than the instrument - you've got to believe that you're going to get something really special and that requires you to have confidence in the man.[/quote] I totally agree with this. Apart from the fact that you want your money to be well spent, you do put a lot of trust in the luthier to produce what you've discussed. After all, you're the one who is going to have to live with the finished instrument. Also, the both the bass and your experience with the luthier will act as either good or bad advertising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deksawyer Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 I've read all the posts in this thread and it's very interesting. I've never had a custom bass made for me but I do own a Wal and a Jaydee Roadie. The Wal is, as you'd expect (even for a 29 year olde instrument) sounds and plays amazingly well. The Jaydee is in bits atm as I plan to refinish it. It's the passive version and on the bridge pickup it's almost unbeatable for that burpy JB type of sound. At the other end of the spectrum I have a £100 no name jazz bass (actually a Jim Deacon) which has a BaddAss II, Bartolinis and an AC EQ02 preamp. This is the bass I turn to most as it feels easiest/better to play than the others. With a new set of strings and a good set up, it easily competes with the other in my stable; which I often get the mickey taken about from various band members. The Wal certainly sounds better and has much more variation in tone, but it's nowhere near as nice to play (I'm a Jazz Bass neck fan) . Just goes to show you...... D. PS - I'm considering getting a 5 string and I think a custom model is on the cards, as the good wife said she'd donate a grand or so. Been looking at Enfield basses..........as well as a lefty Lazarus!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 I've flirted for many years about getting a custom build and Martin Petersen would be my choice if I decided to go down this route. Partly because he's local, a lot because he remembers my name when I stroll into his shop every 18 months or so but mostly because I love the feel and 'playability' of everything he makes. The main reason I haven't commissioned anything is that I really don't feel qualified enough to actually know what I want! I'm a complete tart with my basses and swap them constantly. Often not because they aren't what I really want but simply due to the fact that I fancy something new In my head I worked out my perfect Sei years ago: 5 string Flamboyant, fretted, headless, flamed maple top with a deep blueburst finish, ebony board, black hardware & whatever Martin thought would be best in terms of electronics - only thing I'd be keen to spec would be 3 band EQ as I like to fiddle with the mids. Problem is I'm frightened that I'll lash out £2K+ and then decide I want to trade a few months later because I'm so bloody fickle! if I have to vote on anything I currently own or have owned in the past few months - MTD / Spector / Overwater / Status / Sadowsky / Roscoe the Mike Tobias at MTD is winning for me with Overwater in second place closely followed by Roscoe. All of these guys will build to custom specs and all of them build great basses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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