mart

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1376295214' post='2171699'] Yep... for 5 years! [/quote] And only 7 posts? Lazy git. Ok, I'll put the champagne back in the fridge ...

That's a nice looking bass. For your case I'm tempted to say leave it open in your garden (or anywhere outside) for a few days. As long as you keep rain off, the constant breeze will remove the smells. (That's what my mother-in-law ended up having to do when she spilt 4 pints of milk in her car). Btw, it's a bit off-topic, but does anyone have a precision fretless with a decal saying "Imprecision bass"? I think if I ever had a p-shaped fretless, I'd need a decal like that.

[quote name='Florin' timestamp='1376289587' post='2171646'] Hi guys, The username "Warwick Official" was created about two years ago by Garey who was extremely helpful, and hard working. After this he was replaced by Jesse, and now it is Mike. However, even if my username is less official, I am the Warwick Forum Admin for over 6 years, so please contact me on the forum, or at [email protected] for any question. I am every day on the forum. Cheers, Flo [/quote] Flo is on basschat! Woohoo! Salut! For those of you who don't know who this legend is, read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florin_Barbu

[quote name='Jono Bolton' timestamp='1376174062' post='2170600'] My main issue with refinishing the bass myself is that I live in a flat and don't have access to a suitable place to do it. Also I don't have the patience or technical ability to achieve a decent finish I fear, I'd just make a pig's ear of it. If I do go for a refin I'll definitely get someone else to do it. [/quote] I hear what you're saying, but my feeling is it's a small enough outlay, that it's worth giving it a go. If you end up getting a re-fin done by a pro, then you've only lost the cost of the cans, but gained the experience of trying it. And I'd reckon your chances of success are better than even. As for a place to do it, well, theoretically you need good ventilation, but if you're careful, don't spray for too long, and leave the windows wide open after, that should be enough for a one-off job. (Obviously it's a bit different if you're planning to start up a re-spray business). Apart from that, you need somewhere with space for your bass, and shielding to avoid other things getting covered in the paint. Some big cardboard sheets, e.g. a couple of bike boxes cut open, should provide most of the protection you need. I did it in my loft, but just relied on cardboard to protect everything else from the paint. Failing that, doesn't a mate have a garage or lock-up or somewhere? I just don't think you can beat the feeling of looking at your bass, and knowing that you have re-finished it yourself. It's a real shot of pride, even if the result is not perfect. Anyway, it's your bass, your call. I just want to encourage you not to dismiss the DIY re-fin option out of hand. Good luck with whatever you do decide to do!

[quote name='John Schoen' timestamp='1376222564' post='2170887'] This is the guy: http://basschat.co.uk/user/24139-warwick-official/ [/quote] I believe that is Garey, and I recall reading somewhere (maybe on the Warwick forum?) that he no longer works for Warwick. Last active in March, which fits with my impressions. Shame, as he seemed to be on the polite side, for a salesman. Edit: D'oh: his last post was about his leaving Warwick. But it firms up my impression of him as a good chap.

[quote name='rubis' timestamp='1376080236' post='2169618'] ........it does take a while to harden properly though! .... [/quote] That is the one thing I seriously underestimated in my re-fin job. My impression is that the hardening time is a matter of months - I think it might have been close to 6 months before mine was truly hardened. And in the meantime, anything it touches might leave a mark. So, ideally, hang it somewhere that you can just leave it undisturbed. Play anther bass in the meantime, and come back after six months and fall in love with this one.

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1376105200' post='2169813'] Yeah that is correct. I did state that it cost me £15. Student Line they call it. It is thin material. [/quote] Sorry, I hadn't clocked that you mentioned the cost. Yes, their cheapest ones are really only suited for very light use. Hope your instrument(s) didn't suffer through the lack of protection. I actually use one for an electric guitar, but only when it's just to keep the rain off; if its going to take any more rough treatment then I use a different, heavier case.

Just bought a gigbag from Graeme, and it's been a pleasure dealing with him. Thoroughly recommended!

I'd suggest refinishing it yourself. Surely you wouldn't need to take all the current finish off, just sand it down enough to get a good rough finish to key your own paint in. Then get some rattle cans from Halfords, and some t-cut to finish off. It might not be a professional standard finish, but it'll cost about £30 instead of £300. And if the result is truly unbearable (which is unlikely - if I can re-finish a bass this way, I reckon anybody can), then go look at a professional re-fin job. And if the result is ok, then you've doubled your sentimental investment, got a bass you're happy playing, for the cost of a night out. That's gotta be a win, hasn't it?

[quote name='bagsieblue' timestamp='1376071521' post='2169437'] Still no nearer to identifying a case are we mart? I emailed Hiscox last Sunday but no reply... [/quote] Well, I reckon I'm sorted. I got a Ritter bag off here which is just, just big enough. I fear I'm doing the zip no good in the long term, but for the amount of use I'll give it, I think it'll be fine. I'm surprised Hiscox haven't got back to you, but I'm sure they'll have a good solution in the end.

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1376063005' post='2169242'] Can I just add that I have a Warwick Rockbag that I only use for walking to lessons. I haven`t had it long and my Bass spends most of its time in a stand. The bag has got a hole in the bottom from the strap buckle at the bottom. It only cost me £15 so not a lot of cash, but I wouldn`t recommend one. I would imagine there are better bags for the money [/quote] There are several different lines of Rockbag, with different pricetags, ranging from around £15 upto around £70 depending on size. You've probably got one of the cheaper ones with quite thin lining. The only Starbass-sized one is from their top-of-the-range line, so is likely to be a good deal better (though there are probably still better ones out there).

[quote name='Mr Fretbuzz' timestamp='1376056214' post='2169118'] Thanks Mart. I'm on crutches for the next 4 weeks at least anyway and just missed the South Wales Bass players thing last week Got a lot of time on my hands over the next weeks so I'll be practising and internet shopping [/quote] Ouch, sorry to hear that. Well, if you're still curious in a couple of weeks time, drop me a PM and we'll get together. I could probably even get myself over to P'Talbot, although I've heard there are dragons over there. We can see the smoke from here, mun!

Cool. And I think black is the right choice for the guard!

Key facts: 1) they are very quiet unamplified - a single acoustic guitar will drown one out 2) they give quite a different amplified sound to any solidbody (that I have come across, at least). Not exactly double bass, just different. 3) they give quite a distinctive look, so expect lots of comments 4) no, you generally can't adjust intonation that much, like thousands of acoustic guitars, and people seem to cope with that. But it means you're relying on the factory doing a fair job of the intonation, which is a reason to avoid the cheapest ones. 5) they used to be quoted as good for practice, because they can be harder to play, and highlight noisy technique. But I've not heard anybody argue that for a while. I think most would agree now that if you want to play well on a precision bass, say, then practice on a precision bass. I don't know anything in the £300 range, but if I weren't just about to go on holiday I'd suggest you come and visit me in Swansea to have a go on my acoustic to see what you make of it.

[quote name='Jellyfish' timestamp='1376043824' post='2168892'] Actually push the case out? Holy moly! [/quote] That's the only way I can make sense of the damage. This pic shows it most clearly:

[quote name='steve-soar' timestamp='1375910437' post='2167438'] Plus, he has the best house number in the world. [/quote] Huh? Do share.

[quote name='Jellyfish' timestamp='1375969827' post='2168063'] I've seen quite a range of packaging from my few months being here at a music shop but the way I see it is, if a courier wants to damage your package, he can. No amount of packaging below a flight case is going to stop that. I'd be a lot more concerned with how much space there is for the instrument itself to move around in the box. [/quote] Yes, I think that's definitely true. And the instrument moving around within the box is definitely an issue. I remember buying my first expensive new Warwick, and it came in a flight case, which had a dent in it. But it was a dent outwards - so the instrument had clearly moved around enough to actually push the case out. It is a heavy lump of a bass, but still ... !

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1375965519' post='2167976'] Ah good out come then,I too was thinking the other end. [/quote] There you go, bringing your own obsessions into everyone else's business ... ;-)

Interesting! That's quite a different approach to music, to mine. But very interesting to read. Sounds like you need to catch Frank Dunnery in concert, or something like that, so you get to match the song to the moment to get hooked as you say. Anyway, thanks for a fascinating post!

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1375920214' post='2167567'] If the chap wants to play a certain gauge, I think his bass needs to work for that. He shouldn't have to change his string preference to play the bass, it's the other way about, I reckon. [/quote] In a perfect world this would be true. But in reality most basses have their limits. Yes, 40/45/50 should be well within those limits, but even that may not always be the case. But, +1000 to your previous post: if removing the cover helps you adjust the trussrod, then you should remove the cover!

[quote name='the boy' timestamp='1375933540' post='2167590'] ....I'm not gonna go all Patrick Bateman and write an obsessive breakdown of my likes and dislikes... [/quote] Oh, do please - I'm sure it'd be very interesting to read. I have a smile on my face as I write this, but I am actually deadly serious. I think an honest discussion of the good and bad points of music can be very enlightening, so long as it's conducted in an amicable fashion. Of course, it's all subjective, but I've got into some music that I had thought I didn't like, because of listening to someone else explain what they liked about it. And I think I've clarified my own appreciation of stuff I do like, by listening to someone else explain why they don't like it. But hey, if you don't like it, you probably have better things to do than write an in-depth analysis of [i]why[/i] you don't like it.

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1375952047' post='2167723'] I think people are misunderstanding slightly what Nile Rodgers was talking about. The US "Disco Sucks" phenomenon was significantly different to anything experienced in the UK. There may have been people who grumbled about not liking the genre here, but we didn't have the full-on riots and record burning that happened in the US. [/quote] Agreed. There was a big difference between the extreme reaction seen in the US, and the reaction seen in the UK. But I feel the reaction to disco in the UK was stronger than, and different in nature to, the reaction to other genres. So I think there is [i]something[/i] to explain. Or at least something worth a thread on an internet forum

[quote name='iD Entity' timestamp='1375953098' post='2167738'] EDIT: pffft to defretting my beautiful Wal.... Pfffft, I say! [/quote] It was just a suggestion!

Wow, thanks Molan for a lot of interesting data!

I had a Korean Strat from the late '80s/early '90s, and it wasn't great. Plywood body and just generally cheap. Playable, but nothing remotely to get excited about.