Overwater basses by Tanglewood

[Darkstrike]

Digging the look of them blue J-5's with the soapbars.

[BB3000S]

Love the looks of the Contempory J's.

[Pete Academy]

Just played an Aspiration Deluxe 4 and a Contemporary J 4. Unbelievably well set up, straight out of the box. Great workmanship and sound.

Absolute winners.

[Doddy]

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1173523' date='Mar 23 2011, 04:55 PM']Just played an Aspiration Deluxe 4 and a Contemporary J 4. Unbelievably well set up, straight out of the box. Great workmanship and sound.

Absolute winners. [/quote]

I just tried them ones out,along with the Contemporary J 5. What great instruments. I'm just waiting to try a Classic J
out now.
I reckon I'll have a Classic or Contemporary J soon.

[MB1]

MB1.
LOCAL NEWS!
Monster, Monster , Monster!
Just been in Johnny Roadhouses in Sunny Mancunia!
I've just tried an awesome Active blue Contemporary J series 4 string, straight out of the box and im totally stunned by its build quality, overall look and sound! Active 3 band Eq (with pull bright switch) More Poke! than Poke Salad Annie!, nice maple board and nice satin feel to the neck and Soapbars! Definately one of the "Precious Things " of the shop!
I realise this will introduce the Overwater name to a larger audience? but i really didnt think, they would be that good!
....Well Worth a sniff!. If i had the spare this definately, would not!, be still there!....

Edited March 28, 2011 by MB1

[Wiseoldfrog]

3 Band EQ??? So where's the hidden knob?

[Wiseoldfrog]

Although I do appreciate your post, regarding the quality, as I'm buying an Overwater Aspiration Artist on Wednesday...

[Pete Academy]

I'm absolutely in love with the J Basses. Awesome neck and great sound. Unbeatable for the price.

[MB1]

[quote name='Wiseoldfrog' post='1180046' date='Mar 28 2011, 09:10 PM']3 Band EQ??? So where's the hidden knob? [/quote]

MB1.
.............Fnarr Fnarr!
"In this house we do not use the F word!......This is a Toad!"
Specs from the leaflet for the 3 Band EQ Contemporary J....
Machine Head : Deluxe J style.
Neck : 4 or 5 string one piece maple/Natural Gloss.
Fretboard : Maple/22 Fret/19mm string spacing/38mm nut/Pearl blocks.
Body :Lightweight Poplar/Flame Maple Top/Gloss Trans.
Backplate :Black
Bridge :Overwater
Electronics :Active 3 Band/Overwater Soapbars.
Controls : Vol (Pull Bright)/Pan/3 Band Eq
Strings :Overwater light Gauge Nickel.

Edited March 29, 2011 by MB1

[ead]

[quote name='MB1' post='1180329' date='Mar 29 2011, 12:57 AM']MB1.
.............Fnarr Fnarr!
"In this house we do not use the F word!......This is a Toad!"
Specs from the leaflet for the 3 Band EQ Contemporary J....
Machine Head : Deluxe J style.
Neck : 4 or 5 string one piece maple/Natural Gloss.
Fretboard : Maple/22 Fret/19mm string spacing/38mm nut/Pearl blocks.
Body :Lightweight Poplar/Flame Maple Top/Gloss Trans.
Backplate :Black
Bridge :Overwater
Electronics :Active 3 Band/Overwater Soapbars.
Controls : Vol (Pull Bright)/Pan/3 Band Eq
Strings :Overwater light Gauge Nickel.[/quote]


Only slight issue is the Contemporary J actually has a two band EQ (see above a page or two). The knobs go something like Volume (+ pull), pickup blend, bass and treble (or it may be treble and bass - I'm at th'office and hve the long term memory of a goldfish).

I have just acquired a black one and am loving it

[BassBunny]

[quote name='MB1' post='1180829' date='Mar 29 2011, 02:37 PM']MB1.
........WRONG! Its a 3 Band Eq.....Unless Overtanglewaterwood are blatantly lying on there Product brochure!
........That is where i have acquired my information (reproduced word for word!)
Stop Press!
Brochure Evidence Possibly inadmissable? Jury still out!
Verdict....2? or 3? ....Try One Yourself![/quote]

Martin, quote from Martin Lee, who I think works for Overwater.

[quote name='martin lee' post='1163574' date='Mar 15 2011, 08:49 PM']Hi Ead,

I do believe there has been some miss information regarding the contemporary jazz bass circuit, its actually a two band. Volume(pull bright), pan, treble, bass. hope this helps [/quote]

I tried one in Moffat in February and they are definately a 2-Band EQ

[MB1]

[quote name='BassBunny' post='1180874' date='Mar 29 2011, 03:10 PM']Martin, quote from Martin Lee, who I think works for Overwater.



I tried one in Moffat in February and they are definately a 2-Band EQ[/quote]

MB1.
Cheers Stuart!
Seems the Brochure is Guilty on all counts then!
Bass stilll worth a Test Drive Though!

Edited March 29, 2011 by MB1

[sime17]

A few of the spec details seem a bit vague on these - I have yet to find out whether the fives are 35" or not - the BGM test explicitly said they were -it said something to the effect of '35" scale is a consistent point for 5 strings throughout the range' - yet I've seen listings for them saying 34". I know whether that matters is a debate in itself but to me there's something intangibly better about my Laklands than the other fivers I've owned and I'm sticking to 35 cos it might just be down the scale (and clearly I'm a vague and instinctive twat).

I care a bit less about this bit but the whereabouts of the factory still seems to change depending on which listing or article you see - I've seen Korea, China, 'Korean border'...

I'd also love to know if colour choice will open up for further production runs - I'd love a contemporary J in 3 tone sunburst. For that matter I'd love a classic j in a 5 string and 3 tone sunburst... I've just let out a bit of sex wee even thinking about it.

BTW bassdirect in Coventry has a blue Contemp J5 going for £530. It's almost rude not to.

[michaelwatmough]

[quote name='sime17' post='1181598' date='Mar 29 2011, 10:50 PM']I have yet to find out whether the fives are 35" or not[/quote]

The [url="http://www.musicianscentre.com/tanglewood-overwater-aspiration-deluxe-5-string-black.html"]Overwater Aspiration Deluxe[/url] we have in is definitely 35". Just measured it.

[BottomEndian]

Just been down to the local music shop on my lunch break to have a good bash on the Tanglewaters. To cut a long story short, I may well be back down there at the end of the day to see if I can get me a Classic J in CAR on the dying breaths of the Take It Away scheme.

The slightly longer version...

They had: Classic J (CAR); Contemporary J (trans black); Aspiration Artist (red trans); Aspiration Deluxe 5-string (trans black); Aspiration Elite 4-string (dunno what the top was... zebrawood?). I gave each one a good 4 or 5 minutes of playing, and had a good look over them in terms of build quality and finish and all that.

First of all, from a distance, these basses look superb. The Aspiration series shape is lovely and just screams Overwater. Notice that I said "from a distance". Up close, the Classic J and Contemporary J still looked fabulous, but I have to admit being a little disappointed by some aspects of the Aspiration basses. The main culprit was the neck pockets. A couple of the Aspirations had whacking great gaps around the extended neck pocket. I'm not talking Rizla gaps. Easily business-card size, often with bare wood visible in the crevices. Also, the Elite with the lovely-looking top had an area on the top (about the area of a 5p and a few mm deep) where there'd either been a void in the wood or a machining problem, so there was a sort of hole in the top-wood that looked like it had just been flooded with finish (or possibly filled with something translucent-white before finishing... I'm no expert). Completely smooth on the surface, but not attractive.

Everything else looks brilliant, by the way, especially for the money at the lower end of the range. And at the end of the day, of course, if I'd wanted an Elite I'd have asked the shop to get in another one for me. Seeing as there haven't been any other reports of such issues elsewhere, it may be that my local shop just happened to get a couple of not-so-greats.

Sounds-wise, the 3-band-equipped models with soapbars sounded wonderfully refined, but with a lot of power in the EQ to bring through some really aggressive tones. Lovely mids. The Artist (J/MM setup with 2-band EQ) was naturally pretty honky, but again the power of the EQ tamed it nicely. Loads of tones from the J/MM pups. (Oh, and to reiterate the previous post, the 5-string was [i]very[/i] much 35". Too long for me.)

The Contemporary J was [b]beautiful[/b]. Trans black, maple and blocks. Yum. A little polite-sounding for my tastes, but if you're after smooth sounds, it's got them in spades. The 2-band EQ gives A LOT of bass; in fact, it's a naturally very bassy-sounding instrument. I found the most sensible position for the bass knob was backed off a bit from the (presumably neutral) centre detent. That stopped it getting too boomy. The Contemporary J responded nicely to a bit of aggressive pick playing too. Lots of growl and attack.

And then the Classic J. Oh my. I'm a bit of a sucker for CAR with matching headstock, so I hope I wasn't listening with my eyes. Fit and finish lovely; balance on the strap good. Plug it in, turn it on. Lovely. Classic passive P/J tones. Thumping, driving P pup, bright, honky (in a good way) J pup. Pan to the middle for some (shoddy, in my case) slapping. Pure class. Tonally, it's up there with a rather lovely 2008 Fender P I had for a while, with Nordstrand P and added J... and the Tanglewater is under £400. It made me realise how much I miss having a passive P/J (or indeed a passive bass of any description), and I haven't played a better one at that price-point... so yes, it may well be mine by the end of the day.

Hats off to Overwater for bringing these lovely instruments to the market at such good prices.

[sime17]

[quote name='BottomEndian' date='Mar 30 2011, 03:31 PM' post='1182355']
"on the dying breaths of the Take It Away scheme"

Is it ending then? Dammit I bought my Markbass gear on that! That's a fact to concentrate the mind (in particular the GAS receptors on the frontal lobe).

Thanks for the review mr- the quality issues you saw on some of the 'pointy' ones are a shame, hope it doesn't translate to the J's but at least it seems it didn't in your experience. And thanks for the scale confirmation guys, but it's particularly the Contemporary Jazz 5 I was keen to clarify - I don't go anywhere that's not Fender-shape with big tuners

[Wiseoldfrog]

Thanks for the review BottomEndian...I've just paid for my Overwater Aspiration Artist and should have it (hopefully) on Friday. I'll be gutted if there are build quality issues on it; I've got a PRS SE guitar that I paid £500 for and the build quality on that is fantastic - I certainly would expect the same from Overwater. Anyway, as soon as I've got the bass I'll post an initial review and then update it in a month or so when I've had a bit of a blast on it.

B

[Pete Academy]

I received these basses - Aspiration Deluxe and Contemporary J's - last week.

Already sold the Aspiration Deluxe (out-performed everything in the shop at that price point). Sublime build quality and setup. The soapbars sound just like Bartolinis - lovely highs, but not harsh; great low end, thanks to the active bass boost.

These basses have been a long time coming, but all credit to Tanglewood and Chris May - they are absolutely superb. Unbelievable value for money.

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='sime17' post='1182608' date='Mar 30 2011, 07:14 PM']Is it ending then? Dammit I bought my Markbass gear on that! That's a fact to concentrate the mind (in particular the GAS receptors on the frontal lobe).[/quote]
Sorry, I should have been a bit less poetic. As of 1st April 2011, it'll only be available for those aged 18-25... which I'm very much not. So I got in while I still could. Yep, the Classic J is sitting here with me.

[quote name='Wiseoldfrog' post='1182651' date='Mar 30 2011, 07:59 PM']Thanks for the review BottomEndian...I've just paid for my Overwater Aspiration Artist and should have it (hopefully) on Friday. I'll be gutted if there are build quality issues on it; I've got a PRS SE guitar that I paid £500 for and the build quality on that is fantastic - I certainly would expect the same from Overwater. Anyway, as soon as I've got the bass I'll post an initial review and then update it in a month or so when I've had a bit of a blast on it.[/quote]
Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to go on such a downer. As I said, no one else appears to have had any problems with build quality (indeed, most have been raving), so I'm hoping my local ones are the wild exception to the norm. The J basses are absolutely sublime though. For under £400, I couldn't be happier with it.

Edited March 30, 2011 by BottomEndian

[grayn]

Here's me trying some of the new Tanglewaters out.

Just noodling on them but they were fun to play.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=musicianscentre"]http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=musicianscentre[/url]

[sime17]

[quote name='BottomEndian' date='Mar 30 2011, 10:01 PM' post='1182773']
Sorry, I should have been a bit less poetic. As of 1st April 2011, it'll only be available for those aged 18-25... which I'm very much not.

Me either, oh well there goes another boat I've missed.

Still, for 530 squids finance might not be a problem anyways...

I'd love to go and try one for size but I doubt there's anybody within 100 miles of me stocking them, but then if I do insist on staying down here in the wild west.

Edited March 31, 2011 by sime17

[Wiseoldfrog]

Thanks for that grayn; short but sweet. Nice to actually see the guitars actually being played. I'm tracking mine and it's currently in Leeds and should arrive tomorrow .

Only need to wait a month and then I can afford an amp too...sigh.

[grayn]

[quote name='Wiseoldfrog' post='1183777' date='Mar 31 2011, 07:44 PM']Thanks for that grayn; short but sweet. Nice to actually see the guitars actually being played. I'm tracking mine and it's currently in Leeds and should arrive tomorrow .

Only need to wait a month and then I can afford an amp too...sigh.[/quote]

I guess you must have it by now. Which model did you get?

The amp wait will be a killer, unless you can borrow something.

Good luck.

[Wiseoldfrog]

[quote name='grayn' post='1185888' date='Apr 2 2011, 03:32 PM']I guess you must have it by now. Which model did you get?

The amp wait will be a killer, unless you can borrow something.

Good luck. [/quote]


Hi grayn

Nope, haven't got it yet They couldn't guarantee next day delivery unfortunately and it's currently in a Leeds service centre. Should, hopefully, get delivered on Monday.

I'm getting the Artist model in trans red. It will be a bugger waiting for the amp but I've crippled myself financially to get the bass and there's no way I can get it before the end of the month. I do have a good external soundcard I can plug into though and some recording software so I'll be able to hear it through my headphones/monitors hopefully.

As soon as I've got my grubby little paws on the bass I'll let you all know what I think.

B

[Floyd Pepper]

[quote name='Wiseoldfrog' post='1186053' date='Apr 2 2011, 06:50 PM']Hi grayn

Nope, haven't got it yet They couldn't guarantee next day delivery unfortunately and it's currently in a Leeds service centre. Should, hopefully, get delivered on Monday.

I'm getting the Artist model in trans red. It will be a bugger waiting for the amp but I've crippled myself financially to get the bass and there's no way I can get it before the end of the month. I do have a good external soundcard I can plug into though and some recording software so I'll be able to hear it through my headphones/monitors hopefully.

As soon as I've got my grubby little paws on the bass I'll let you all know what I think.

B[/quote]


I think you will be happy. The finish on mine (exact same model) is excellent for the price.
I took it out to rehearsals last week and it is one funky bass. I play in a soul / funk / R&B band and I used the MM p/u for the funky numbers and then the Jazz p/u where I needed a more rounded sound. The weight is good and it feels substantial. Only thing that I might change is that it comes with light gauge strings which I've not used for a while but I suppose it does give me an alternative to my heavier gauge strings on my Jazz.
IMHO, you need to spend a little while with the 2eq to find what you are looking for but after that, it's a real plug and play bass.
Enjoy when you get it!