Basses in the 1980s

[markorbit]

Just reminiscing. There were some crackers weren't there. I remember visiting the Bass Centre in Wapping numerous times and seeing Steinbergers, Status's and Wals. I bought a lovely Wal Pro 2E Cherry second-hand for I think... 300 quid.
 

If I had a time machine and some funds I'd go back and get a Status S2000 in black weave preferably with the script font on the brass bridge plate. I love the look of early Status basses. All shiny and new.

We were spoiled.

[simonlittle]

I really do miss the Bass Centre in Wapping! Bought several basses from that shop in the late nineties and early 2000’s. 

[Bass Direct]

Great times! We do try our very best to get the 80's gear in the shop where possible, Wal/Jaydee/Status etc

 

[Steve Browning]

Bought 3 John Entwistle Precisions ('53, '61 and '62), and a '66 slab in there, in the mid 80's.

[Russ]

I didn't start going there until the early 90s (didn't pick up the bass until '92) but once I did, I went there regularly. Got to know most of the staff pretty well, and played many fantastic basses. Even met a few bass "celebs" along the way.  

 

What that place had was a sense of community - like a little oasis of like-minded people, where you could go, try stuff out in a low-pressure environment (nobody ever actively pushed me to buy stuff in all the years I went there) and kinda be shut away from the world for a little while, while you pursued your passion for basses!

 

When it shut down, we still had places like The Gallery, which is fantastic, but it's a much smaller place - with more than two or three people in there at a time, it starts to feel a bit crowded! I'm glad there's newer places like Bass Direct that are bringing some of that bass community spirit back.

 

And, of course, Barry and the Bass Centre gang are still out there, even if the shop isn't, so we can all still get our Elites strings and so on! I'd love it if they could get a "physical" shop again though - these days, so many people buy instruments without ever getting the chance to try them first, or even speak to anybody knowledgeable, and, in that regard, we've definitely lost something. 

[chris_b]

I spent many an hour lurking at the Bass Centre. Eavesdropping on the likes of Cass Lewis, Joe Hubbard and Dave Bronze. I never bought a bass, but I bought many sets of strings, several amps and a few cabs over the years.

[Lozz196]

I bought my first Sansamp there. On the subject of 80s basses I notice a lot of Arias on early 80s Top of The Pops re runs, John Taylor influenced I dare say.

[Happy Jack]

The Bass Centre had long since departed from Wapping by the time I bought my first bass.

 

On the other hand, last night I was playing a Westone 'The Rail' which attracted far more attention from the musos and punters than my Wals ever used to.

 

[franzbassist]

I spent WAY too much money in The Bass Centre!

[LeftyJ]

I only started playing bass around 1999-2000 and have never even been to London, but I've been doing some catching up on classic 80s basses. I've owned a few classic Ibanez basses (RS924, ST924, three MC924's and a very early Soundgear from the first year, 1987), an Aria SB-1000 and I currently have two Status basses, and even though they were produced much more recently (2002 and 2012) I'm definitely counting them 

[White Cloud]

The 80's was the bass bomb!

[Cairobill]

I remember these days especially around '86 and 87'. I was there on quite a few Saturday mornings in that period. Always a fresh batch of shiny Jaydees, Smiths, Statii, Wals, Zons, Warwicks, Pangbournes, Wilkes and Steinbergers to play through a Trace stack.

My eye was always drawn to the latest Status, Smith and Jaydee. Wals were fun but I recall them feeling old fashioned compared to all the serious graphite and US basses. Zons were rarer but amazing and I thought Steinbergers were a bit strange. 

Today, I would go for the Steinberger!

Edited yesterday at 07:06 by Cairobill

[Russ]

1 minute ago, Cairobill said:

I remember these days especially around '86 and 87'. I was there on quite a few Saturday mornings in that period. Always a fresh batch of shiny Jaydees, Statii, Wals, Zons, Warwicks, Pangbournes, Wilkes and Steinbergers. 

My eye was always drawn to the latest Status and Jaydee. Wals were fun (but heavy), Zons were rarer but amazing and I thought Steinbergers were a bit strange. 

Today, I would go for the Steinberger!

I always remember a white Zon with a Kahler, signed by Mark King, that was always hanging by the door. I wonder if they ever sold that?

[Cairobill]

2 minutes ago, Russ said:

I always remember a white Zon with a Kahler, signed by Mark King, that was always hanging by the door. I wonder if they ever sold that?

I think one of the Bass Gallery lot will turn up soon and hopefully answer that question! Such an amazing period for bass design. 

[Wombat]

I managed to score a very early Manson bass in Wapping in the mid 80s. I later found out it was in the first 100 instruments he made. 

Managed to see Hugh at a guitar show and was showing him pictures and a guy came up saying he worked at the Bass Centre and he remembered selling the exact bass!

[visog]

The Bass Centre was the manifestation of the 80s being the decade of bass and the explosion in manufacturers, especially in the UK, spurred on by post-Jaco era Mark King, Mick Karn, Pino infiltration of the pop music of the day. Those adds in the free Making Music paper for Status and Trace Elliot were something else.

[Russ]

4 minutes ago, visog said:

The Bass Centre was the manifestation of the 80s being the decade of bass and the explosion in manufacturers, especially in the UK, spurred on by post-Jaco era Mark King, Mick Karn, Pino infiltration of the pop music of the day. Those adds in the free Making Music paper for Status and Trace Elliot were something else.

They were great for promoting UK-made gear - I'm not sure Trace, Status, Jaydee, Wal, Overwater, etc would have got where they are without them as a storefront. That got them into the hands of players. That's kinda what's missing these days - actually having places where you can try out all this fancy high-end gear you read about in places like BC. 

 

I do wonder if there's some correlation between losing shops like the Bass Centre and people moving back to more generic Fender-style instruments, since they're the "default". Maybe, without specialist retailers, people are just getting what they know will work rather than potentially something that might work even better? 

[markorbit]

4 hours ago, Bass Direct said:

Great times! We do try our very best to get the 80's gear in the shop where possible, Wal/Jaydee/Status etc

 

Yes, you are 'The Bass Centre' in 2025 🙂

[cocco]

The Kubicki is the ultimate in 80s bass vibe for me. What a mad looking instrument! 

[Russ]

11 minutes ago, cocco said:

The Kubicki is the ultimate in 80s bass vibe for me. What a mad looking instrument! 

Still available on a made-to-order basis: 

https://kubicki.com/store/basses/

 

They also sell the pickups and preamp - would be interested in hearing what they sound like mounted in a different instrument. 

[Skybone]

If only I'd had decent cash in those days, and the knowledge of what to buy.

 

I did nearly buy a chequer bound 4001 in the late 80's, but it was what we would call "play worn" these days (or knackered as I called it then). The shop were asking a lot for it too.

 

Had a couple of nice, entry level Matsumoku basses at the time. Wish I could have afforded better models.

Edited Wednesday at 20:50 by Skybone

[Norris]

My Aria Pro-II SB-1000 was made in 1980 - the "batwing" headstock, before they had a battery indicator LED and before the jack socket was recessed. I bought it from Humbucker Music in Leicester in 1985 and played it as my only bass for the next 10 years

[tubbybloke68]

Brought my trace AH300, 4x10 + 1x18 stack in there, also my first wal which i still have today, Mach II 5 . Done an evening course up there too, used to drive up in my little minivan and you could literally park right outside, no restrictions. Bass heaven right there! Used to salivate over the Alembics and statii too. Great memories 

x 

[ajkula66]

6 hours ago, visog said:

The Bass Centre was the manifestation of the 80s being the decade of bass and the explosion in manufacturers, especially in the UK, spurred on by post-Jaco era Mark King, Mick Karn, Pino infiltration of the pop music of the day. Those adds in the free Making Music paper for Status and Trace Elliot were something else.

 

Indeed.

 

The first time this foreigner walked in there in '84 left him clinically insane for about three weeks. On the six-string side - I know I'm blaspheming here - Chandler Guitars in Kew Gardens was also one of my favourites during that decade...

 

Ahhh to be young again...

[BigRedX]

I spent most of the 80s playing synths. I have owned a couple of 80s made Overwaters since then.