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Showing content with the highest reputation on 29/04/21 in all areas

  1. Custom Shop Washburn Stu Hamm SHB3, hand made in the USA. This remarkable instrument is actually the second SHB3 I've owned. Designed from scratch by Stu Hamm and the Washburn custom shop to be the "perfect bass". Ergonomics are particularly important to Stu, and that's one of the main reasons I tried to find another one of these. It's incredibly lightweight and so well balanced that you hardly know you're wearing it. You can tell that every element of the design has been carefully considered and laboured over. It features USA Hipshot tuners (with drop D extender), slim figured/flamed maple neck with a lovely tactile finish, radial neck joint (a particular favourite feature of mine), nicely figured rosewood board, meticulous fret-work with invisible fret ends, TUSQ nut, a slim contoured body, custom EMG X pickups, a Hipshot Bridge with piezo saddles and a custom EMG X 18v preamp. It weighs just 7.5lbs/ 3.4kg and comes with the Washburn flightcase with the original tools etc. By using a combination of the MM and J pickups you can cover most of the classic bass sounds, I particularly like to favour the neck pickup slightly for a fat traditional tone with added weight. Bare in mind that the electronics are from EMGs 'X' series, which are designed to have the benefits of active pickups with the more traditional response and dynamics of passive pickups. Standard EMGs these are not. Also If you turn the MM/J pickups down, engage the piezo bridge and boost the bass, you get a very passable upright bass sound. I've owned a lot of high-end basses, Wal Fodera, Celinder, Sadowsky etc. and in terms of build quality and execution this is right up there with the very best. A link to the Guitarist review https://www.soundtech.co.uk/music-retail/washburn/news/washburn-stu-hamm-shb3-guitarist-magazine-review Some bad photos, needless to say it's sparkly 🤩
    10 points
  2. Update: Yesterday afternoon I took @joeystrange‘s advice and contacted the place in Nottingham that I thought my bass had been sent to. Amazingly, they had it - so I drove over there this morning and picked it up. What a relief. I don’t know how Interparcel and Parcelforce ‘conducted a thorough investigation and concluded the parcel was lost’. I told them where I thought it was and the guy in Nottingham said they had called Interparcel last week to say they have it! It honestly beggars belief. I had an email last night saying Interparcel were paying out £900 on the insurance. After a bit of soul searching, I’ve just told them I’ve found the bass so not to pay out. I’ve asked for reimbursement of my travel costs and some compensation but I won’t hold my breath. Anyway, the happy ending is I’ve got my bass back. I’ll be putting it back up for sale soon, so if you see a 5 string black and maple P bass in the marketplace, it isn’t stolen!
    9 points
  3. And to the brace of swifts before the frets can go in. Same old same old for those who've seen any of my other threads I pencil the swifts onto the mother-of-pearl and cut them out with a jewellers saw: Then work out broadly how I'm going to position them: Then pencil round each one and use the Dremel precision router base and a 1mm bit to hand rout the chamber: Then, with luck, they fit at the right depth - and at the right fret position : So THAT'S why he keeps going on about keeping the sanding dust! Mixed with 30-minute Z-poxy: Mixed well and then filling the chambers, the inlays are pushed in with the squeeze-out filling any gaps: Then after the epoxy has hardened, sanded with the radius block. Here is the binding I'll be using too: So tomorrow, I don't think I have an excuse not to fit the frets...
    7 points
  4. Picked up this beauty yesterday, and now I'm wondering why I've ever played any other brands. Wow.
    7 points
  5. I normally play fender jazzes but I had a Yamaha 414 that I really liked, and after some great advice on the Yamaha thread I went for a 1024 , and it came today from Derry, after a little play my first impression is , it feels great and sounds superb, especially the P pickup with the tone rolled back , I don’t remember the 414 sounding this good, but it was a while ago, overall a really nice solid bass , it’s got rounds fitted which are a bit twangy for me , but labella flats are going on it soon 🙂 not very good pics , it’s dull and wet here 🙂
    5 points
  6. Yes, I think this is one of the main reasons apart from maybe customization at some basses, where the customer requests something specific like the neck profile. First I was a bit surprised to be honest, I sort of expected these being exactly the same (and I had another NS-5XL which again was also non-identical) but now I see this as every one of these being a bit different, like having their own personality as opposed to uniformly manufactured mass produced instrument (which I also happen to like for different reasons) Since replies are always better with pics, here is one with the two in question being on the left.
    5 points
  7. @Reggaebass me old mucker, and you others may enjoy this - I did
    5 points
  8. The shuker version is better 😉@hiram.k.hackenbacker welcome to try mine next time you are passing
    4 points
  9. The thread title and the first line of the ad says ‘hand made in the USA’, so I’d go with USA.
    4 points
  10. I can't stop looking at those latest shots. Every aspect, every photo, takes my breath away*. Really. And that's completely ignoring the total McTrickery going on under the hood with those pickups and electrics. *and trust me, I am well aware that this is no time to end up in A&E with a serious respiratory complaint.
    4 points
  11. I'll start the bidding process for @mhoss32 next build... My bid is half a packet of Wotsits and a 'mystery box'*. Let's see someone beat THAT cunning offer! *no guarantee the mystery box contains anything.
    4 points
  12. ..from the '80s . I have been intermittently using the app version , but you cannot beat the real thing
    3 points
  13. So, one of the bands I’m in has a new album due to drop in two days and is currently out for review on all the European websites covering the genre (AOR). We have had a number of reviews, including this pretty comprehensive, generally positive and balanced one (you may have to use Google Translate to translate to English from the original Swedish if you click on the review)! You have to love the translation from the original language. I particularly like the description of us as “old British rock foxes” and that we have “not really managed to enter the A or B teams in the genre” and that we are “much like Notts County in the British football league two”. I’m quite chuffed that they haven’t put us down as non-league…!! https://themaloikrockblog.se/recension/ny-skivrecension-escape-fire-in-the-sky/?fbclid=IwAR2VAX0j1TIE5mIt5VQYeYP1XihYHK7ocCCz-t3ZDR5Cd7rJjkRZ7fteXdM
    3 points
  14. weird, this happens to us at Every gig? Now we know!
    3 points
  15. Whereas I bought something with a lesser name for considerably less, because I'm not a snob and tone is in the fingers anyway.... or something.
    3 points
  16. I have something totally different that I paid a lot more for and I’m really happy with it. You should get one of those instead.
    3 points
  17. ..and still OK a day later. Tuning holding; neck relief holding; fixed glue joints holding. Just one buzzy fret position to file down a bit and then hiding all the new glue joints as best I can and then it will be ready to return to @Fishman And as a bass - I'm well impressed. You could easily run this unplugged - it's louder than many acoustic basses I've used in the past. And plugged in - excellent built in EQ. Very impressed.
    3 points
  18. 3 points
  19. Sold One Squier VM77 Jazz in very good condition, only mods are a Hipshot 3 way string retainer. Comes with Fusion gig bag. All important Basschat question - 4.26kg or 9lbs 6oz. Given that it doesn’t have a hard case, that I don’t have any packaging material, and the many recent nightmare courier threads thus us collection/meet up only. No trades.
    3 points
  20. Depending on the way you attack your note and the bass, the low B on most of my (luthier) basses is not glitching. The tracking of this OC-5 is just fantastic. Compared to the the integrated octaver in my EBS Taurus combo, so the first Octaver to beat the OC-2, the OC-5 goes an octave (sorry) lower as the EBS starts glitching around the D on the E string and the B on the A string. Will try again later with all my basses and even my sixer EUB (just for fun as it won't track the low B for sure and certainly not to the low E too).
    3 points
  21. My work distraction today is a compilation of Producer Niney the Observer's work with the Soul Syndicate band (I think King Tubby also added some of the dub magic). 'Niney the Observer presents Soul Syndicate- Dub Classics' , it's good heavy dubby stuff with George Fullwood on Bass.
    3 points
  22. Welcome to club Sandberg! I thought that too after getting my TM4 SL... extremely well built, plays like a dream and the tonal options are huge. Enjoy.
    3 points
  23. First off, to make this completely clear this bass is not a Fender, it isn’t marked as a Fender, and isn’t being sold as a Fender. The details below are taken from the ad from which I bought it on here some months ago. Northwest Guitars P Bass Body - £129 (paid £15 extra to have a J pup rout) Northwest Guitars Replacement Precision Bass Maple Neck - Vintage Gloss - £139.09 - 42 mm EMG PJ Set Active Solderless - £159 (extra unused parts for different configs inc) Schaller Tuners - Original F-Series BMF - £80 Hipshot KickAss 4 String Bass Bridge - £65 Black Scratchplate - Mex PJ fit -£11.99 Various hardware: Strap Hooks, Knobs, string retainer, neck bolt inserts, Fender neck plate - £20 Weight is 4.39kg 9lb/11oz Comes with a cheapo gigbag. Only slight cosmetic damage is as per pics, some plectrum rash on the pick guard and a small dent on the back - the 5p coin gives an idea of how small this is. Given that it doesn’t have a hard case, that I don’t have any packaging material, and the many recent nightmarecourier threads thus us collection/meet up only.
    3 points
  24. After a couple of cheapo starter basses, I bought a brand new Hayman 4040 (natural finish) from Sound City in 1972/3. New price back then was £148! I have great memories of that bass, I was in a Prog band (Artemis) and had that bass when we supported the likes of Camel, Egg and others. This pic is one of the few I have of me with the Hayman. GLWTS.
    3 points
  25. There's an old Levinson Blade for sale in the ad section here. A wonderful, very high quality Jazz bass for well under a grand.
    3 points
  26. I’d look at a used Fender US Standard (2008 onwards) or US Professional.
    3 points
  27. I ordered one of those new Charvel PJ's last week and it arrived safely today. Upon opening it however, I was shocked to see that it was the metallic lime green version, not the blue one. The shop had clearly messed up. Well, when I say that, what I mean is I ordered the wrong one...
    2 points
  28. Enjoyed that ! And yes, yet another brilliant TinyDesk concert.... they do a great job across a lot of genres. I didn't jump to youtube to watch it though..... I didn't have time to get sucked into a Tiny Desk vortex 😄!
    2 points
  29. I see what you’re saying there, but I’m also playing a totally different style of music to one that OP says he/she plays in much larger and smaller venues. I have another passive/aggressive point I’d like to make which I hope you will feel free to misinterpret so that we can add a minimum of five pages of back and forth which totally derails the thread. Hope that helps..
    2 points
  30. 2 points
  31. I know. I’d probably buy it...thing is, sound wise...this probably does a better job...
    2 points
  32. Bargain. I have one myself, almost identical (tuners swapped out on mine for Hipshot ultralites to help minimise neckdive) and these are fantastic basses and a lot more than the one trick pony that many suppose. GLWS.
    2 points
  33. I don't think that's the title of the song? 😄
    2 points
  34. Crying to the sky - Be Bop Deluxe
    2 points
  35. I used my OC-5 for the first time in a band rehearsal last week. It sounds epic! The tracking is flawless in the mix (and pretty damn good when used in isolation). It really filled the sound out. For those that have one of these on-order - you won't be disappointed!
    2 points
  36. For sale : Hayman 4040, sunburst - very good condition Formed via a partnership between Jim Burns and Ivor Arbiter in 1969, Hayman made an eclectic British range of electrics in the early 1970, these representing the 'missing link' beween Burns Guitars and the later Shergold instruments. The flagship bass was the Hayman 4040, produced between 1971 & 1975. Designed by Bob Pearson with an obeche body & bound maple neck, the 4040 ploughed its own unique furrow compared to US basses of the time. This one is in the vibrant Hayman sunburst colour scheme, with a substantial transparent pickguard and perspex string holder. The 34" scale neck is bound with a comfortable C profile and low action, and the ultra rare embedded Hayman transparent headstock logo is present & correct, as are the unusual but very 'of its era' knobs & switchgear. The substantial bridge has individually adjustable multi-slotted saddles. Build quality and attention to detail is very good - a portent of the Shergolds to follow. So far, so 1970s - but what really sets this bass apart from its peers are the amazing twin double-pole, staggered split 'Superflux' pickups, which as far as I am aware, were unique to the 4040. These are the most powerful units I have ever come across in a passive bass, and produce an amazingly rich & detailed tone, revealing all the harmonic content and overtones, and showcasing the surprising sustain. The front pickup is snappy and authoritative with full and deep tone, whilst the back makes a marvellous counterpoint, rather like a richer Rickenbacker. Both sit on a floating plate, on top of the 'Vibrasonic' hollow central chamber which presumably plays an important part in all this. Hearing is believing ! As you can see, this 4040 has been used, but still presents well. Everything works. It looks cool hanging on the wall, but it demands to be played.
    2 points
  37. Thanks any input or idea's are always welcomed! I'm not sure whether to do a tune o matic Bridge or just a standard fender type? The headstock is probably going to be Tele style This is the pickup I'm thinking of going for? Yeah using old scaffold boards is great for playing sole!! 😁
    2 points
  38. Reluctantly watched the Noel Gallagher episode of the songwriters programme. I dismissed Oasis as overrated rip off merchants from their first appearance on TOTP in mid 90’s. Couldn’t stand the whining singer, hated the constant “we’re the greatest rock n roll band ever”, all the stories of fighting and cancelling tours half way through because of said fighting (f@@@ the fans). Couldn’t see what the hype was all about. So, what a surprise when I listened to Noel G talking about music, songwriting and his experience of working with David Holmes. It sounded like Mr Holmes wasn’t going to accept “Oasis rehashed” and made Noel G work hard at exploring new avenues of writing and production, rather than resting on a known formula. And Noel G listened.. Respect! Really enjoyed the interview. But more surprising was listening to his songs played by his current band, and without L Gallagher’s awful nasal whine. I really liked Noel’s voice and have a new found respect for his songwriting. Hasn’t changed my mind about Oasis, or L Gallagher, but I’ll certainly be buying “Who built the moon”. I wonder if I’d have felt the same about Oasis if Noel had fronted it from the start? But then again they wouldn’t have been as big as they were without the b00llox I guess.
    2 points
  39. The one fail I have had on a gig is the failure of a Schaller straplock, I felt it go, caught it at about knee height, missed about a bar of the song and carried on with my foot on the cab with the bass on my knee. At the end of the song I got a round of applause.
    2 points
  40. 2 points
  41. I picked up a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M20x headphones a few months back for a bit under £40 and have been very pleased with them.
    2 points
  42. Priceless. Love this analysis. For anyone who wants to get a rough idea of the costs, this is it. 240 hours of work @ £8.91 / hour = £2138,40 ( https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates ), and I can easily see that the work with this beauty should be rated higher. Total cost of the instrument is naturally in the hands of the luthier, but here £3000 would be the calculated absolute minimum. Based on these, someone could make a similar calculation of a basic Precision. All machinery and development excluded.
    2 points
  43. You're dead right, all these parts are becoming harder to find here and yes, I have everything in stock 😊
    2 points
  44. My favourites of the ones I've played are the Sandberg California II TT and the Japanese Geddy Lee J basses. My top J bass is my "bitsa" ACG that will likely be buried with me:
    2 points
  45. This year I have bought LPs by Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and the March Violets. 48 seems a great age to have an awkward teenage Goth phase!
    2 points
  46. Virtually finished now just the soldering, string up, headstock logo and a set up to do...... 👍🏻
    2 points
  47. @Daz39, ive got a few ideas brewing as i mentioned earlier in the thread, a lot of the material choices for this bass were made with the consideration of "if this experiment goes to s***, how much is this going to cost me?" and so most of the wood choices were relatively inexpensive... as such id love to have another stab using some more expensive wood options in the future, and ive got a few changes id make to the pickups and preamps next time round as well. @binky_bass, certainly not too prying, im happy to share if it helps others! The wood costs were broadly as follows: Body wood - Padauk - approx £22 Body veneer laminations + extra veneers for the neck: approx £80 (these are expensive partly because they are thick constructional veneers, and partly because they cost a lot to ship) neck laminations (veneers /oak boards / rosewood) - approx £50 Namibian rosewood block for the neck through - approx £45 other various veneers etc approx £30 macassar ebony fretboard - £40 inlays - approx £100 Flamed redwood top (imported from US, bit of a difficult one to quantify as it came with a couple others) - approx $80 for the top approx $70 for the shipping plus import tax... probably total about £100 for the rest of the parts: Bigsby b500 clone (a good one) - £35 brass parts for customisation - approx £10 Tune - o matic bridge - £21 TUSQ graphite blocks - £12 Sperzel locking machine heads - £91 assorted extra hardware (inserts, straplocks etc) - approx £30 for the electronics: 3D printed pickup covers + switches - £33 truss rod - £16 carbon fibre in the neck - £32 PCBs for pickups, bobbins, preamps - approx £50 spool of 41AWG wire - £26 electrical components (resistors, caps, pots, knobs etc) - approx £40 bits for power supply + custom cable - approx £30 there were many other assorted costs for sanpaper, fresh router bits+jigsaw blades etc, and stuff i already had like the finishing products which i can't total up here. (if id had a swear jar in the garage id be broke) so based on that math, total would be somewhere around £850-900 ish. which is frustratingly expensive really, ive built some nice basses before for less than half of that, but there just arent many cheaper ways to do some of the stuff on this one. as for time, thats a difficult one to say. i think with all of the reworks of various things id hazard a guess around 240 hours, but maybe more than that. hope that is helpful to anyone wondering like i was saying, id like to do the next one with some fancier woods/veneers... just seen this fretboard blank for sale... that sort of gets the cogs turning
    2 points
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