OVERWATER bass

[80Hz]

5 minutes ago, JPJ said:

Chris grafted the back end of a Thunderbird shape onto a more Fender’esque front end

 

There's something about it which satisfies my eye in terms of proportion (the carved extension on the headstock seems to add to that, funny that it's sort of a Tbird headstock turned upside down)

[FunkyDude]

25 minutes ago, Paddy777 said:

Beautiful! I absolutely love a natural bass especially with a dark board! 🤩 

Thanks. Always love a natural body.! 😅 In time they will turn into a beautiful golden yellow colour. 

[Schnozzalee]

I had a koa Progress 5 string that was also 36" and I could change between that and a Precision without noticing... Which was strange because I couldn't get used to the 35" of a Peavey Cirrus. I use a 34" Carvin Icon now that I can't fault.

 

I would love to have my own made, as I used to get bass lessons from Martin Lee and remember when he started there after having his own made.

[JPJ]

8 hours ago, Schnozzalee said:

I had a koa Progress 5 string that was also 36" and I could change between that and a Precision without noticing... Which was strange because I couldn't get used to the 35" of a Peavey Cirrus. I use a 34" Carvin Icon now that I can't fault.

 

I would love to have my own made, as I used to get bass lessons from Martin Lee and remember when he started there after having his own made.

I can echo your experience. I think if the bass hangs right you don’t notice the difference between 36”, 35”, or 34”. I can easily go from the 36” Original series to my 34” Fender or Lakland without feeling any difference

[NJE]

I had a 5 string 36” scale Progress and the reach on the neck didn’t bother me at all, however I just couldn’t get on with the tension on the D and G strings. They felt overly tight to me and didnt sound right for what I was playing, after coming from 34” scale. 
 

Would have been superb for lower tunings though.

[Owen]

4 minutes ago, NJE said:

I had a 5 string 36” scale Progress and the reach on the neck didn’t bother me at all, however I just couldn’t get on with the tension on the D and G strings. They felt overly tight to me and didnt sound right for what I was playing, after coming from 34” scale. 
 

Would have been superb for lower tunings though.

Mine is tuned F#BEADG. I can confirm it is superb for lower tunings.

[chris_b]

33 minutes ago, Owen said:

Mine is tuned F#BEADG. I can confirm it is superb for lower tunings.

 

What string gauges and make do you use for that tuning?

[Owen]

42 minutes ago, chris_b said:

 

What string gauges and make do you use for that tuning?

Newtones down to B and then a Payson .175 for the F#. I am sure a .175 Newton would do the same thing, but the Payson was there and convenient.

[W1_Pro]

If anyone is interested in aquiring an Orignal, theres a newly refurbed early eighties one on sale on FB marketplace. He wants reasonable money for it but Its a nice looking thing and of course it has just been refurbed (by Overwater iirc).

https://www.facebook.com/groups/4888919827/permalink/10162410126259828/

..and I should say this bass is absolutely nothing to do with me, don't know the guy, caveat emptor, etc etc.

 

Edited January 28 by W1_Pro

[FunkyDude]

So I was on the phone with Chris this afternoon about building an Overwater Classic J 5 with a pair of Turner Multicoils and Lusithand 'Double NFP-Special MKII'. Funny enough, he told me he was talking to Paul of Wal last week. Apparently, Wal will not sell its pickups or electronics to a 3rd party anymore. My guess is, Wal is up to their neck with orders and can't be bothered with other things!

[BigRedX]

On 28/01/2025 at 19:47, W1_Pro said:

If anyone is interested in aquiring an Orignal, theres a newly refurbed early eighties one on sale on FB marketplace. He wants reasonable money for it but Its a nice looking thing and of course it has just been refurbed (by Overwater iirc).

https://www.facebook.com/groups/4888919827/permalink/10162410126259828/

..and I should say this bass is absolutely nothing to do with me, don't know the guy, caveat emptor, etc etc.

 

No DI output. That's strange. Both of the Originals ('83 and '85) I owned had DIs, although the '83 had the pre-amp replaced so the socket was no longer connected. Would make me wonder if it no longer had the filter pre-amp fitted which for me is one of the major attractions of this bass, along with the shape.

[W1_Pro]

On 29/03/2025 at 10:05, BigRedX said:

 

No DI output. That's strange. Both of the Originals ('83 and '85) I owned had DIs, although the '83 had the pre-amp replaced so the socket was no longer connected. Would make me wonder if it no longer had the filter pre-amp fitted which for me is one of the major attractions of this bass, along with the shape.

So Big Red, I've never had a bass with a DI out. I guess it would have an XR out and a jack out? Does that mean you'd need to use two cables from the bass?

 

[Dood]

Overwater are absolutely top-tier. I'm just waiting for one of my reviews to go live of a very special custom Overwater that is probably unmatched in all the reviews I've ever done. Even the previous review video of the Progress IV Standard made pretty much eveything else reviewed feel like a Friday afternoon job. 

[snorkie635]

27 minutes ago, W1_Pro said:

So Big Red, I've never had a bass with a DI out. I guess it would have an XR out and a jack out? Does that mean you'd need to use two cables from the bass?

 

Usually with the Big 'O', you need to plug a quarter inch jack into the standard socket, before the XLR activates. That jack-plug doesn't have to be attached to a cable though.

Edited Tuesday at 09:01 by snorkie635

[snorkie635]

4 minutes ago, Dood said:

Overwater are absolutely top-tier. I'm just waiting for one of my reviews to go live of a very special custom Overwater that is probably unmatched in all the reviews I've ever done. Even the previous review video of the Progress IV Standard made pretty much eveything else reviewed feel like a Friday afternoon job. 

Chuck us a link Dan, please.

[W1_Pro]

1 minute ago, snorkie635 said:

Usually with the Big 'O', you need to plug a quarter inch jack into the standard socket, before the XLR activates. That jack-plug doesn't have to be attached to a cable though.

So how would you get a signal to your amp (assuming the XLR is for the PA)?

 

[JPJ]

4 minutes ago, W1_Pro said:

So how would you get a signal to your amp (assuming the XLR is for the PA)?

 

My original series 5’er has the XLR out. As @snorkie635 says, the XLR is only active when there is a jack plug in the jack socket. For live work, you just run a jack lead like normal. If you want to take the bass straight to FOH you can, but that means two cables. But having chatted with Chris May, the XLR is intended for studio work rather than live, so in the studio, you plug a jack into the jack socket and take the XLR to the desk. In this scenario, the jack lead doesn’t have to be connected to anything at the other end.

[snorkie635]

6 minutes ago, W1_Pro said:

So how would you get a signal to your amp (assuming the XLR is for the PA)?

 

Don't know if both outputs can be activated at the same time; they might be? I normally use XLR for studio and jack for live

[BigRedX]

15 minutes ago, snorkie635 said:

Don't know if both outputs can be activated at the same time; they might be? I normally use XLR for studio and jack for live

 

They could on the Overwater I had that had both still connected. I used it for recording a straight sound whilst hearing the affected sound I was using. During mix down we would run the bass track back through the rig and the effects settings could be adjusted to suit where we were going with the mix.

[W1_Pro]

34 minutes ago, JPJ said:

My original series 5’er has the XLR out. As @snorkie635 says, the XLR is only active when there is a jack plug in the jack socket. For live work, you just run a jack lead like normal. If you want to take the bass straight to FOH you can, but that means two cables. But having chatted with Chris May, the XLR is intended for studio work rather than live, so in the studio, you plug a jack into the jack socket and take the XLR to the desk. In this scenario, the jack lead doesn’t have to be connected to anything at the other end.

That makes a lot of sense actually. Thanks JPJ.

[mikebass456]

On 24/01/2025 at 07:53, Owen said:

I had one of those. I sold it. I am a doofus.

I remember one being hung up in the local music shop for ages - no one was allowed to touch it!!!

[Dood]

1 hour ago, snorkie635 said:

Chuck us a link Dan, please.

 

Here's the Progress Series IV 5 string review:

 

https://www.bassgearmag.com/bassic-review-overwater-progress-series-iv-standard-5-string-bass/

 

This review was before I updated my studio, I'll see if I can do more Overwaters in the future! 

 

 

[Dood]

Actually, as this is an older video, I may go back and remix the audio for a funky bass short at some point, it's such a great sounding bass. 

[Dood]

Please please please follow the channel and give the review a like and a happy comment

Edited Tuesday at 10:16 by Dood

[itu]

What are the main changes between families and series? Original, Progress, series I, IV etc.?