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I've been an afficianado of 1970s WEM combos for many years but my on-going de-clutter requires me to cut down to just a single unit (a Clubman, since you ask) which means that these two lovely things are now on the market. Both are 50-year-old combos that have lived a life so, although they are both in very good condition for their age, neither is pristine or as-new. The Dominator (on the right) is deffo in better cosmetic nick than the Westminster (on the left) but botrh work perfectly and exactly as their maker intended. Both sound excellent regardless of what you plug through them - bass, guitar, keys, Mongolian nose-flute. WEM DOMINATOR 25, late 70s, £600. Arguably one of the finest products of the British valve-amp industry, the Dominator was always in the running for nearly 20 years straight. Read all about it here: https://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/britamps/watkins/dominator/dom19.html Often described as a 15W amp, this was in fact more nearly 17W (which is why Mo Foster chose that as his title: https://www.amazon.co.uk/17-Watts-British-Musicians-Sanctuary/dp/1860741827). Mine is the truly wonderful Dominator 25, which is also a truly wonderful piece of Marketing tosh. The '25' was neither 25W nor did it sport a 25" speaker ... it was uprated from the standard Fane 12" speaker on a Dommie to a 15" Celestion to make it sound even better for bass. The '25' thing was the WEM Marketing Dept's equivalent of, "yeh, but this goes to 11". Twin inputs means you can plug in two different instruments simultaneously, or come up with all sorts of weird bi-amping scenarios to puzzle your guitarist with. All original and unmolested. So what does it sound like? Well none of Zoom's excellent product range can really capture just how good this sounds in the studio (or live), let alone the gorgeous, creamy valve break-up at very sensible volumes. If you want to experience that then you'll need to come to Harrow and plug in your own bass. But here's a crude approximation ... Maya into Dominator.mp3 Any excuse to show off my God-like abilities on bass, eh? Shafty into Dominator.mp3 WEM WESTMINSTER, 19777/78, £400. The Dominator was top of the range and not everyone could afford one, so the Westminster was always the better seller and went through far more cosmetic 're-fresh' experiences. Mine was a very short-lived variant in terms of looks, only being made for two years. Still twin input for all those pub-rock gigs back when that was a new thing, usually starting just after the stripper had finished. Notice the economy measure of a single set of controls, though. Side-mounted carry handle is very practical. Again, all original and unmolested. If I could play guitar then I'd have used that for these sound clips - the Westminster handles bass perfectly well but it's always going to come off second-best when compared to the Dominator 25. Shafty into Westminster.mp3 Put a guitar through this, though, especially something over towards the Les Paul end, and it's something else. Maya into Westminster.mp3
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How was Your rehearsal last morning or night ?
tauzero replied to nilorius's topic in General Discussion
I forgot to mention - I sit down to play, and the studio has bucket-type seats with bent wire legs. I leant back a bit to pick something up (all four legs still on the floor) and the chair collapsed. I'm a bit on the heavy side but at 100kg I'm not that enormous. There was a second identical chair in the room and that bore my weight for the rest of the evening. -
Is this the end for the boutique bass?
Mykesbass replied to bassplayer76's topic in General Discussion
Need a @KiOgon loom in that 😏 -
With you on the headphone volume. I have moved from the stomp and that was much louder.
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This version feels like it is aimed at guitarists and/or bass players who want to augment an already overdriven sound. My sound has more in common with Pino Paladino, Mike League, James Jameson et al, so I didn't find it to be very useable. I still have it just to have it, but I may end up selling, or keeping it in the hopes it becomes a sought after curiosity in the future.
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What are your irrational prejudices? I have some bonkers ones...
tauzero replied to kwmlondon's topic in General Discussion
π, although I'm comfortable with the square root of 2. π is just such an awkward number. -
Lozz196 started following Scratchplate gate
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Quatschmacher started following Original Effects DCX Bass
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You made the right choice, although the gold looks pretty cool too.
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‘How the west was won and where it got us’ R.E.M.
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Go (Rose) West - Pet Shop Boys / Village People
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Really great albums, thanks for posting this , I haven’t heard them in a long time, I bought chapter 3 many years ago and it’s still in my collection somewhere in the loft, pretty sure Robbie Shakespeare was on bass
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BassKS started following Markbass, Darkglass, Radial JDI and Dimarzio and Wizard P J
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Hi all Out of fear of hacking basses and ending up sad and angry I thought I’d pass on the pups to others. - Dimarzio DP122 - all good. Has a kink on the red wire but I’m sure someone can isolate or compensate for it. - 55 posted - Wizard J pup 88 - bought here yonks ago to add to my Warmoth P but kept going back and forth. Finally, I decided not to go with it. 45 posted
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Hi all Always overshoot on the requirements This stuff was bought so that I have a spare set of pedals when I go back home to gig 🤓. And I bought them over COVID with the funds that I would have spent on food and coffee while commuting. We all did crazy things over that period. anyway - Radial JDI - pretty much new, can’t find the box. 175 posted. - Darkglass X Ultra boxed - 250 posted - Markbass Octaver may have the box - 75 posted - Markbass Tube Drive no box - 65 posted can do hand over at King’s Cross with some notice. Travelling to Sheffield next week too
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How was Your rehearsal last morning or night ?
Dad3353 replied to nilorius's topic in General Discussion
Break a leg. -
knicknack started following Original Effects DCX Bass
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Sean started following Gallien Krueger Legacy 800
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andytoad started following Scratchplate gate
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Well, As I was dropping off a pick up for rewinding, I decided to jazz up my Jaguar bass with a new scratchplate. Looking through the material, I could not decide so I bought 3! They were cut to size using some sort of scanner as the short scale Jags are a different size. I fitted the darker tort in the end but thought id send out images for anyone interested in changing the standard black one. I might swap as I see fit 🙂 In the images they still have the protective layer to pull off.
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Is this the end for the boutique bass?
tauzero replied to bassplayer76's topic in General Discussion
The one after that: "Why You Shouldn't Buy a Boutique Bass!" -
The issue with replicating the sound you hear on records is that you don't have access to extensive, high quality eq and production tools that were used in the studio when the recording was made. There is also a big difference between achieving a particular sound at moderate volume in a domestic environment and doing so at high volume in a live situation. As others point out, Andy Fraser used valve heads and 4x12 cabs. Even then, what you heard when he played live would be from the PA (I'm old enough to have seen Free play several times), not direct from his rig. If you want that sound live without it dirtying up too much (you mention you have issues getting it clean enough), you need a lot of amplification and cabs to shift enough air without running into too much distortion. A single 12 isn't going to cut it at anything higher than moderate volume, I'm afraid. You mention that the 4x10 at your rehearsal room is better. That isn't to do with the driver size, but because it can shift more air without struggling too much. The only option, unless you are running the bass through the PA and can keep the level low on stage, is a bigger rig. Modern lightweight stuff will ease the load on your back, but it will still be bulky. I'd also suggest the Orange Terror isn't the best amp to achieve what you're looking for. It has a strong baked-in sound - very punchy and in your face and perfect for some things, but not for what you want. Something like a Tone Hammer would be more like it, but look at the 700w version so you can keep it clean at higher volume. As always, don't take our word for it. Go shopping and try stuff.
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WalMan started following Which bass speakers to buy
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Welcome If you're using a BF BigBaby cab I would suspect it's more down to the amp than the cab