starman Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 (edited) Does anyone know anything about a Manson Kestrel bass? Edited November 2, 2009 by starman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badass Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 (edited) It was built by Hugh Manson, Led zep and now John Paul Jones tech. He has a shop in Exeter and a workshop close by. Builds for Muse now too. [url="http://www.mansons.co.uk/"]http://www.mansons.co.uk/[/url] [url="http://www.mansonguitars.co.uk/"]http://www.mansonguitars.co.uk/[/url] Edited June 2, 2009 by Badass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 [quote name='starman' post='503866' date='Jun 2 2009, 03:08 PM']Hi People It's a Manson Merlin from 198?[/quote] Cor that's old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Now that's how you shield an electronics cavity... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 nice, there's an old manson in one of the shops around here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Jones Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 God this is lovely. What is such a rare beast doing in Leatherhead? ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 [quote name='Brother Jones' post='504274' date='Jun 2 2009, 10:04 PM']God this is lovely. What is such a rare beast doing in Leatherhead? ;-)[/quote] +1 I bet it sounds fantastic too! Didn't they do a Manson Kestrel model about that time as well...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elom Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 [quote name='silverfoxnik' post='504329' date='Jun 2 2009, 11:06 PM']+1 I bet it sounds fantastic too! Didn't they do a Manson Kestrel model about that time as well...?[/quote] They surely did - just sold mine. Lovely bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 [quote name='elom' post='504361' date='Jun 2 2009, 11:48 PM']They surely did - just sold mine. Lovely bass.[/quote] Cool.. got any pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturm Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 i used to live about a mile from the workshop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starman Posted June 3, 2009 Author Share Posted June 3, 2009 [quote name='silverfoxnik' post='504329' date='Jun 2 2009, 11:06 PM']+1 I bet it sounds fantastic too! Didn't they do a Manson Kestrel model about that time as well...?[/quote] I spoke to Mansons and they said that this model preceded the Kestrel, so It's quite early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 [attachment=26481:DSCN0743.JPG] Here's the recently sold Kestrel....as previously stated, a lovely bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 [quote name='BassBod' post='504927' date='Jun 3 2009, 06:34 PM'][attachment=26481:DSCN0743.JPG] Here's the recently sold Kestrel....as previously stated, a lovely bass.[/quote] Lovely! Was it sold here on Basschat because I seem to recall seeing it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Yes, sold here a year or two ago (from me to elom)...recently on Manson's website... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 [quote name='BassBod' post='505040' date='Jun 3 2009, 08:53 PM']Yes, sold here a year or two ago (from me to elom)...recently on Manson's website...[/quote] Thought so.. I remember being tempted to go for it myself at the time, because it's a real quality instrument.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor_of_the_bass Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Superb basses! I've got a book (anyone remember The Guitar Guide) from around 1982 and they featured a Merlin in there, got a fantastic review. Build quality excellent - I sold a fretless model years ago at the branch of Music Village where I was chief saturday boy (1987!!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissy Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Jon Bon By Bloody Jovi, I used to own this very bass! I bought it from a guitar shop in Nottingham about 4 years ago for £500. The electrics were a mess and took some sorting out. In the end I gave in and handed it over to the local guitar tech, who had to get the wiring diagrams directly from Hugh Manson , I seem to remember that during my conversations with Manson's shop Exeter(or Plymouth, or somewhere down there) that it emerged that the bass was made in 1983 and was 'a very early one'. I'm pretty sure that I replaced the toggle-switch and the control knobs(one was either missing or broken) and there was some problem with the grub-screws on the (very fiddly) bridge. Other than that, the bass was a bit of a mystery to me also. I found that in a live situation, the sound balance across the strings made it very difficult to be heard once I ventured very far up the neck on the D and G strings(this is a problem which I often encounter and I am reaching the conclusion that this may be a problem with my technique rather than some of the lovely basses I have owned. The only bass I have not had this problem with is my current Status Shark, so it must be me, right?). This combined with the Manson's colossal weight, led me to to sell it on ebay about 3 years ago. I initially advertised it as a 'Merlin' but during the sale, somebody commented that they thought it was a Kestrel. That's all I know. If you're interested, I will try and dig out my e-mail exchanges with Manson's and/or my guitar tech, perhaps they may be more enlightening. Hope you still own the bass and are getting good use out of it. Chris Allsebrook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 [quote name='Badass' timestamp='1243952303' post='503880'] It was built by Hugh Manson. [/quote] I thought Andy built the electric models around this time & Hugh just did the acoustic stuff? We used to stock Manson guitars in the shop I worked in & the very first guitar I ever sold was a Kestrel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissy Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 You may well be right, it was a while ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissy Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Here's a photo of it with the controls as I bought it. I think I had changed the switch by this point.[url="http://imageshack.us/f/26/dsc022511.jpg/"]http://imageshack.us/f/26/dsc022511.jpg/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scojack Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Lovely wee basses these...heres me with my Merlin in 1986?!? I think. This one is a grey stained curly sycamore job. Lovely Macassar Ebony board (fretless). Takes me back !!! IanM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scojack Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Hers the photo this time ......!! (Im getting old !!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissy Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 I have less trouble getting my computer to work properly than I ever did with that bloody Manson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissy Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 When people talk about leaps forward in information technology, they always compare the latest device to the computers used during the moon landings e.g. 'there's more computing power in that digital watch than was used to put a man on the moon'. I now describe anything with a micro-chip in terms of Manson Kestrels e.g. 'that computer may have computed pi to twenty billion decimal places in one nan-zoik but it's only as powerful as an eighth of a Manson Kestrel'. Coincidentally, a Manson Kestrel is only marginally less intelligent than an actual kestrel. Sadly, due to it's extreme heft and over-engineered die-cast hardware, the Manson is considerably less graceful in flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Mine was a featherweight - and I replaced the single Kent Armstrong humbucker with a Bart MM (done by Hugh Manson, or one of his boys at the shop) . Turned out nice, but the neck was so thin I got cramp in my left hand if I played it for more than half an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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