lozbass

It's a solid state I'm pretty sure, however, if it's in good condition it'll be pretty lovely!

Wow - never my favourite finish but they look fantastic together. Really impressive! Any reason why the Jazzers have a yellowish tint to the finish (smokey clubs, camera, timber etc.)?

I've just bought some Newtone roundwounds - they're the Platinum series and appear to have a very fine and comfortable wrap (they're built to reduce squeal in recording situations but I'd suspect they'd suit your requirements) - excellent company too with great customer service and custom capability

For very dirty boards, I've used very fine guage wire wool (followed by oil) and can report good results

Hi all, thanks for the inputs - I'll post again with a more detailed review when I've had a chance to have the strings fitted (and I've had a few days to play them in).

[quote name='edstraker123' post='321690' date='Nov 4 2008, 12:13 PM']Pris, Is the restaurant going to be open all day - it was a bit a bit of a shame that it closed so soon after the start last year as there wasn't a great selection of grub in the cafe ? Also is there going to be a printed programme this year as that was also a bit of a pain not knowing what was happening and when without looking at the main notice board. Only minnor niggles though - it was a fantastic day last year, really enjoyable and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone and it is good value for money.Shame Bond aren't on again, I found them the most enyjoyable not being a fan of jazz widdling myself. regards, Ed.[/quote] There are great options for food just around the corner from the venue - an excellent and cheap noodle bar on Oxford Road (just before the Flea and Firkin pub). If you can drive up to Rusholme (5 minutes up Oxford Road travelling out of the city centre - less than a 20 minute walk), you'll find some of the UK's finest Asian restaurants - the Punjab Tandoori on the left is fantastic and has an excellent range of strictly vegetarian food alongside meat dishes. If you can make it into the city centre, the Chinatown district is massive (around George Street) and offers fantastic lunches at giveaway prices. I can't believe what I've done - I'm attending a party in London at the weekend and will miss Bass Day (and a curry).

[quote name='jacko' post='323579' date='Nov 6 2008, 05:26 PM']Is there any nearby disabled parking?[/quote] Sorry - can't find the map, but this link (and the phone numbers) may be useful: [url="http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/services_info.php?serviceID=1586"]http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/...?serviceID=1586[/url]

"the previous own had mine sprayed Shoreline Gold" Ah, the one from e-bay with the Sadowsky circuit - absolutely gorgeous! I bought the same seller's '75/'76 original Jazz Bass a few years ago - he's a great guy with excellent taste and a penchant for lovely Jazzers! I've a feeling he's on here with us at BC.

Could the sound city cab (and unidentified amp) be for the keyboard? Then the other amp in the picture - HH (possibly VS Bassamp) would be for bass? I used a HH VS throughout the late '70s and into the mid '80s, a very fine piece of gear indeed that lreally made my Ripper growl.

Absolutely beautiful - a testament to your patience and exquisite taste. This must ensure that you're among the most envied members of Basschat!

The silking on my recent sets is beautifully executed (and I could choose the colour!) As indicated above, I needed silking at the ball end and above and beyond the taper. I don't think that I payed much more for the silking - probably a few pence. In fact, for the (apparent) quality, the strings weren't really expensive at all. I'd had a real struggle with lengths and guages (my bass is really quite unusual) but Newtone was able to work to a very detailed spec and fulfil everything without any hassle - a real breath of fresh air. (I hope you got the address problem resolved!)

"I would recommend you play with your ears and not your eyes!" 'Wish I'd read this many years ago - it would have saved a lot of frustration.

"I'd like to think the original purchaser requested this. Otherwise, if it had been me, it would have been straight back in the box to Fender..." I don't want to get off-topic here, but absolutely right! AFAIK, the original purchaser did spec 'on the line' dots. The bass turned up with 'between the line' dots and various other cock-ups (non-correct machine heads for a '64, not drilled for ashtrays, ashtrays not present). He sent it straight back (I won't list the price here but you can imagine) - corrections were performed but there was apparently nothing that could be done (invisibly) about the dots. Also, when the bass came back across the ocean, the ashtrays had been screwed on too tightly and the ultra-thin and soft nitro finish had been slightly marked - almost unbelievable! At this point the original purchaser had seen enough and off-loaded (personally, I'd have sent it back again and insisted that Fender got it right). The dots really don't bother me - a bit of a conversation piece - I've stopped looking at the board (I finally learned after many attempts with fretless that 'looking' was where I was going wrong). I've had the bass for a while now but only recently took it in for - what is in reality - a minor finish repair. It's a lovely bass (two tone burst - a particular favourite) and plays absolutely beautifully following the Gallery (Martin's) set-up. When it returns (restored to original glory), I'll post a few pics. Back to topic - JLC - I'm pleased this anomaly/quandary appears to be sorted out!

Headless is about to make a comeback for me - I took my old Status Series II out of its case for the first time in ages last week and was astonished! Compact, light, really easy to use, amazing sustain, amazing tone.

I took delivery of some Newtone strings on Saturday - first impressions of the strings and company are excellent. I'd had a real struggle finding strings for a 30.75" scale (with a couple of inches to be added from bridge to string retainer). After using a hybrid of two sets to get the length and guages I was looking for (an expensive option requiring acquisition of custom made brass gromets to accommodate the small ball end on a couple of strings from a baritone set!), I went to Newtone for a solution. I forwarded a very detailed spec for unusual guages, length, custom winding and custom silking (both ends of the string) and two sets were delivered within around three weeks. They appear to be beautifully made with fantastic attention to detail (I could even select the silking colour). Of course, they're not cheap but not really much more expensive than standard high-quality strings. I'll have set fitted in a few weeks and post again...my first impressions are extremely good, but who knows until I get to play them! Does anyone else on here have any experience? I'd say that the company is definitely worth a try if you have very specific requirements or a problem instrument.

Not sure this adds much at all...but...of the lined fretless basses I've had, the note has been on the line not between it. My current fretless (Jazz) is unlined but the dots are in the standard positions for a fretted bass. When I took it for a re-string and set-up recently, the luthier initially thought it needed a new bridge as it apparently wouldn't intonate properly - he's assumed that the dots were 'on the line'. When informed that the dots were indeed in the standard fretted (between the line) position, the bass intonated beautifully. The between the lines dotting was apparently one of many cock-ups when the bass was Masterbuilt by Fender. (Maybe a bit off topic but beware if buying a custom Masterbuilt - I wasn't the original purchaser but you may not get what you expected/spec'd. I'd think it pretty unusual for an unlined fretless to have dots in the standard fretted position.) You could try re-intonating the Ashbory - this may be the source of the problem. However, my own experience with fretless basses leads me to believe that it's better to avoid looking at the board. I try to play by listening and feeling alone and have had much greater success than when watching what I'm doing.

I certainly wouldn't want to discourage you but there are a lot of valve amps with different sounds/inherent tonal characteristics. A hybrid might be a good idea (as suggested earlier). If you have a chance, try as many examples as possible (in shops, rehearsal rooms and at gigs if you can - I realise this might not be easy, but it's probably worth travelling if you're to avoid wasting money on a sub-optimal solution). You might be surprised at the variation, and at differeng abilities to cut through in gig situations. Some valve amps don't really add a lot of grit, just warmth.

Go for it, the Wizards are fantastic IMO. However, don't sell the G3!

Some useful comments and experiences - to quickly respond to a few: Neckdive - I honestly didn't find this a particular problem on the examples I tried (neither did/does my friend's son), that said, I've been playing a Ripper for much of the past thirty years (on a variety of straps) and may have adapted my posture/style a little; 3 point bridge - again, not a problem to me but I've used one for years. In fact, I find them to be very useable and reliable once you get used to them - I tend to have quite a lot of pro re-strings and set-ups too and haven't had a luthier/tech complain. I didn't really compare the newer 3 point with my older one but it didn't look/feel flimsy and I quite like the solid fixings; Muddy sound and lack of versatility - I tried a few examples and had some serious time with the EB3 in Music Ground (the bass at the Manchester shop was nicely set-up at my request). To my ears, the bass didn't sound like the Gibson EB0s and 3s I've played over the years. The sound was much more refined and clean and the bridge pickup soloed was surprisingly compressed and modern. With a bit of tweaking of the controls and some variation in right-hand positioning I was able to get a really useable and varied palette (had this not been the case, I wouldn't have recommended the bass for a beginner); Prices - I had a good look around: in-store price is around £270 (with a cash discount) but you can get an EB3 for about £180 online. Pros and cons to each, however, I'd be more likely to opt for the online purchase and spend some of the savings on a decent set of strings and a good pro set-up.

I was checking out some Epiphone EB3s for a friend's son around a month ago (alongside various Squier classic vibes and VMs etc.) - I was generally very impressed by the quality of materials and construction (set neck etc.) Playability out of the box was a bit of an issue but the staff at Music Ground in Manchester were happy enough to do a quick set-up/rod adjustment and the example I played in there was excellent (thanks Music Ground - credit where it's due). Tonal variety is suprisingly good - the clarity of the pickups is much better than the old mudbuckers IMO. I was able to get a very poky, refined and compressed sound out of the (soloed) bridge pickup - the bass sounded like something that cost 4 or 5 times as much. I think shop prices are around £270 and online around £180 - a bargain in my opinion but play a few - the neck isn't the thinnest and I wouldn't be massively surprised if there was variation across individual instruments. Factor in new strings and a pro set-up and I think you'll get an excellent instrument for the price.

Steve Robinson is excellent in my experience, as is Ged Green: [url="http://www.gedgreen.co.uk/"]http://www.gedgreen.co.uk/[/url] Steve is in Sale, Ged in Cheadle (both South Manchester)

PMd