FunkyDude Posted January 23 Posted January 23 Any Overwater bass owners here? I have two Overwater bassess, both fretted and fretless. Been using it for gigs over the last two years and am very happy with them. I think Overwater is like the Fender Custom Shop basses in terms of build and quality. When I placed my order with Chris, initially I went for the hollow body series but later on I realized(or I think Chris told me) only both wings are hollowed. There is a centre solid block of wood in between. Well, that wasn't what I wanted as I was looking for a totally hollow body one in which 2 years later, I ordered a Stradi but that a story for another time! Anyway, so I changed to the J series instead. Don't think Chris was too impressed with the switch, sorry Chris! The first one was a fretless and I like it so much that I ordered a fretted one afterward! 😁 6 Quote
chris_b Posted January 23 Posted January 23 Lucky you. These are fantastic basses. I'd love to own a few but I've never seen a lightweight one and what I have seen and played have always been too heavy for my iffy back. 1 Quote
FunkyDude Posted January 23 Author Posted January 23 28 minutes ago, chris_b said: Lucky you. These are fantastic basses. I'd love to own a few but I've never seen a lightweight one and what I have seen and played have always been too heavy for my iffy back. I know what you mean by the weight Chris. When I received the fretless, I found it a bit on the heavy side too so when I ordered the fretted one, I asked if they could find me a lighter swamp ash body and they did. It was comparatively lighter than the fretted brother. I don't know about the CS Fender Jazz 5 as there are so few of them. The 4 strings are very light indeed. Then again, I used to have two 78 Fender jazzes and they weighed a ton! 😕 1 Quote
OliverBlackman Posted January 23 Posted January 23 When I bought mine it was only a couple hundred more than the Fender artist range! So I was always going to opt for something hand made to my spec in the UK! Plus you can guarantee it will sound great with an Overwater, unlike Fender, even custom shop! 3 Quote
FunkyDude Posted January 23 Author Posted January 23 1 hour ago, Owen said: I have a 36" 6 string. It is quite the machine. 36" 😮, you must have loooonng arms! 😅 Quote
snorkie635 Posted January 23 Posted January 23 Overwater are my favourite basses. I'd say they are generally up there with the best in the world. I'm sure both of yours will be excellent. Enjoy. 1 Quote
LLOYDWT Posted January 23 Posted January 23 Chris and Martin built me an Inspiration in 2013, and I also have a J5 with a J-Retro and Bartolinis from 2007. They're both phenomenal basses. The Jazz was my number one for my whole career as a functions bassist. I've been to the workshop in Carlisle a couple of times and met up with them at the LBGS a few years ago too. Great guys (and girl) and terrific craftmanship; they've really set the bar for me as to what fit and finish to expect on a high-end instrument. 3 Quote
NickA Posted January 23 Posted January 23 11 hours ago, FunkyDude said: Overwater is like the Fender Custom Shop basses in terms of build and quality. Doubt fender are even in the same ballpark. 1 Quote
OliverBlackman Posted January 24 Posted January 24 1 hour ago, NickA said: Doubt fender are even in the same ballpark. I’ve not played an active custom shop but the relic stuff isn’t. Quote
DGBass Posted January 24 Posted January 24 I'm still using my Overwater bass from the early 1980s. The build quality back then was and still is exemplary. 4 Quote
Owen Posted January 24 Posted January 24 7 hours ago, DGBass said: I'm still using my Overwater bass from the early 1980s. The build quality back then was and still is exemplary. I had one of those. I sold it. I am a doofus. Quote
W1_Pro Posted January 24 Posted January 24 I've got four. Two Orignals with Bill Lawrence pickups. A fretless Original with a Kent Armstrong and an Artisan. Best necks I've ever played. Sound fantastic. Heavier than a small star..... 4 Quote
FunkyDude Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 2 hours ago, W1_Pro said: I've got four. Two Orignals with Bill Lawrence pickups. A fretless Original with a Kent Armstrong and an Artisan. Best necks I've ever played. Sound fantastic. Heavier than a small star..... Great collection. Overwater don't make these shapes anymore, right? Any idea what years were these made? 1 Quote
JPJ Posted January 24 Posted January 24 Ive been an Overwater fan boi since the 70’s when Chris operated out of the back room of his shop “Chris & Andy’s” on High Bridge in Newcastle upon Tyne. I currently own three, all five string, a 36” original series with the Wal’alike filter pre, a Perception thats been defretted and refinished by ex-Overwater luthier David Wilson, and my main gigging electric bass, a J series fitted with DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pickups and a John East J-Retro preamp. 6 Quote
JPJ Posted January 24 Posted January 24 41 minutes ago, FunkyDude said: Great collection. Overwater don't make these shapes anymore, right? Any idea what years were these made? They will make one to custom order 😎 2 Quote
Paddy777 Posted January 24 Posted January 24 (edited) I’ve got a 2006 Overwater Perception which is basically a Progress with a bolt on neck, it also only has a 2band preamp however it’s one of the most musical preamps I’ve ever used - it’s really good and very versatile. A few people have commented about the weight but this bass is the lightest one I’ve got, I haven’t weighed it but it can’t be any more than 9lbs, I will check and report back. It’s an unbelievably good bass, you feel and hear the quality immediately. This is mine 👇 *Also these photos are saved from the listing when I bought it - I didn’t put strings on it that didn’t fit 😆 Edited January 24 by Paddy777 4 Quote
W1_Pro Posted January 24 Posted January 24 (edited) 56 minutes ago, FunkyDude said: Great collection. Overwater don't make these shapes anymore, right? Any idea what years were these made? As JPJ said, they will still make custom orders in this shape. The thing is about the early ones (thats the two originals on the left of my pic), are the Bill Lawrence humbuckers. The best passive circuit/ pickups I've heard on any bass anywhere (and yes I know thats hugely subjective but I can only speak for myself 😆). So if you fancy one of these, maybe watch out for one secondhand. They come up quite regularly and the prices are usually pretty reasonable for a UK luthier made instrument. Edited January 24 by W1_Pro 1 Quote
W1_Pro Posted January 24 Posted January 24 And to answer your question about age. The burst one is the oldest, thats from the late seventies according to Chris (May). The blue one is around 1981 and the fretless is about 1983 iirc. I'm not really sure about the Artisan but I think its around 88 or 89. 1 Quote
OliverBlackman Posted January 24 Posted January 24 Since we’re sharing snaps! Passive bass of doom-esq J4 2 Quote
Paddy777 Posted January 24 Posted January 24 9 minutes ago, FunkyDude said: My Twins 😁 Beautiful! I absolutely love a natural bass especially with a dark board! 🤩 1 Quote
80Hz Posted January 24 Posted January 24 5 hours ago, W1_Pro said: Two Orignals with Bill Lawrence pickups. I love this shape. It's like it's anticipating the more extreme angling of something like a Jackson Warrior or a Washburn Dime. I know nothing about Overwaters. Would these be late 70's early 80's? 1 Quote
JPJ Posted January 24 Posted January 24 (edited) 10 minutes ago, 80Hz said: I love this shape. It's like it's anticipating the more extreme angling of something like a Jackson Warrior or a Washburn Dime. I know nothing about Overwaters. Would these be late 70's early 80's? Early to late 80’s. The shape was invented for none other than John Entwhistle who loved the Thunderbird bass but hated the neck dive. Chris grafted the back end of a Thunderbird shape onto a more Fender’esque front end and the original series was born (Chris told me this story himself when mine was in Carlisle for a refret) Edited January 24 by JPJ 2 Quote
FunkyDude Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 13 minutes ago, 80Hz said: I love this shape. It's like it's anticipating the more extreme angling of something like a Jackson Warrior or a Washburn Dime. I know nothing about Overwaters. Would these be late 70's early 80's? Yup, it's definitely very distinguishable for sure. 👍 Quote
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