mcnach

Now... first impressions? Mixed. This will need work to make it play the way I want it to. I sort of knew that, of course. But sometimes you get lucky and you can get away with very little. I would not take it to rehearsal tonight if I had one. The fit and finish is generally decent, although there are not so good things. The routing for the bridge pickup is not pretty. The neck pickup is not adjustable at all the way it is now... no bid deal, but I suspect I'll have to put foam and file the scratch plate a little to make it fit well. The neck has that "unfinish" feeling to it that some like and some hate. I normally like that, but this feels a bit "raw". I'll use that oil I have for my Stingray. The frets are ok, but a tiny bit sharp. I'll take care of that at some point. Tuners feel flimsy. The actual ears seem very thin... but for now it works. Potentiometers, one is a little noisy, so it'll be sprayed for sure. The output socket does not feel solid to me. It's probably ok for a long time... but I'd keep an eye on it and replace it at the first sign of problems... or sooner. How does it feel? I like the weight, balance and the neck is chunky but not in a bad way. Very Precision like. I have notg set it up at all, and it's more than playable, but not awe inspiring. The action is pretty much where I'd like it to be and there's no fret buzz, so I don't anticipate any fret levelling, which is nice. Soundwise... That humbucker is powerful! It does not sound like a Stingray, no. But it sounds nice. I like it. The neck pickup right now is too imbalanced, so I cannot really comment on both pickups on or the neck alone (only that it does not seem remarkable in any way). Quite a wide range of sounds with the individual tone and volume controls... but too fiddly. I am not a fan of that layout. The good news is there should be tons of space to install various electronics there, under that pickguard. This is just a quick impression... I don't have time to try it properly yet. I am a little underwhelmed, as I've often been lucky with cheaper instruments, and this one does require some basic work before I dare take it to rehearsals with me. But at the same time, it's nothing terrible either. I do feel it does not exactly represent tremendous value, when you look at what else you can buy. A Squier VM Jazz is only marginally more expensive, and it's a bass you can use straight from the box (in my experience with them). The second hand Cort GB74 I bought second hand (ok, not exactly the same) cost me £100 less and it's a much better bass. But it has a quirky design and there's no other like it. I like it, but I would not recommend it unless you are ok with spending some time on it to bring it up to scratch... I don't think any of my other basses need to feel threatened. I don't really know whether it's a keeper. But it has potential for becoming a very interesting bass, with a bit of attention. So... verdict straight from the box: a little underwhelming, yet promising. We will see.

ok... so here it is! I was going to post pictures of the parcel, the unwrapping process... but I could not wait! I have seen better pickup routing than this: and the neck pickup is a bit too deep into the body, especially on the treble side. It cannot be adjusted by turning the screws. I think it may need more foam underneath, or perhaps the pickup is too tight into the pickguard, or both. nice detail: strap buttons with a sharp T profile. pretty in red

It's agony... that large brown box in the corner... and I have a meeting now and another at 4pm... no way I can escape... unless I email saying I cancel the meeting this week due to... a bassic emergency. :-p nah, I shouldn't do that...

Arrived!!!!!!!!!! now... the long wait till I get home and I can open it...

I haven't bought a lot from BD, maybe three times before... but it was always reasonably efficient and pleasant. However this last time it was better. I ordered a pickup. A package arrived very quickly... unfortunately with the wrong pickup. This was yesterday. I wrote to Mark, and he posted the right pickup immediately, without waiting for me to return the other one. The right one arrived this morning. For me good service is defined not so much by how they act normally, when they get things right, but by how they respond when they get it wrong. I could not ask for more, short of Mark personally jumping in a plane last night to deliver the pickup personally and perhaps install it for me So... thumbs up from me.

[quote name='S9_S12_Bass' timestamp='1346916591' post='1794709'] how far away is the depot from you? [/quote] shut up!!! I already thought of that!!! I keep checking the ParcelForce tracking page... I don't have to, I am getting it delivered at work and the guys receiving deliveries know me and I told them about this, so they'll call me the minute it arrives... but I still refresh the page. Tonight I'm busy... but nothing will stop me from unpacking it and having a quick play on it.

oooh! 07:30... "loaded to vehicle for delivery"

It seems it's finally in Edinburgh... it was logged at 01:06... so it must be out for delivery today.

Disappointment... the bass didn't make it here today. It looks like it will be delivered tomorrow instead... tic tac tic tac...

did I say already that it's due on Wednesday????? and, it so happens I have a rehearsal that day. Perfect. I hope I have time to get home and do some adjustments to it.

Bass due to arrive on Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!

[quote name='Darkstrike' timestamp='1346613493' post='1791256'] Looks to me like the MM pickup is in the Stingray spot, could be a prime candidate for the 'ol East preamp, or the SD, Nord and homebrew versions. [/quote] Indeed. Although an MM pickup a bit closer to the bridge is also pretty nice, more "Jazz bridge" in that case, as in my Cort GB74. If I like the bass enough to see myself using it a lot, I'll put the 3-band SD preamp I have (stingray style). If I like it A LOT, I'll put a homebrew 2-band plus a John East Midsweep module. I just hope they don't come out with a fretless version of this... because I'd find it quite hard to resist.

ooh, I've played this bass. Really really nice, and superb refinish job! Nice to see it happening, step by step here.

well, replacement pickup ordered from Bass Direct. If someone wants to have a go at rewinding the faulty one...

Nah. Well and truly dead. I can't find where the break is, so this is the end of the pickup for me. How very disappointing

Finally I sat down to work on this and... the pickup is dead No continuity between start and finish of the bobbins. I located which of the two bobbins is bad, but that's not much use, as one bobbin alone would be too low output, and only covers two strings anyway And these are not cheap! Warming up the iron, to see if the old "remelt the solder at the eyelets" trick works...

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1346610030' post='1791188'] your own brand headphones? or is it a B not a J? [/quote] we had a slideshow as backdrop with band images etc, but from time to time there had to be sponsorship messages... pity this picture was during one of them!

[quote name='sime17' timestamp='1346588456' post='1790830'] Dammit good point - I could edit but bin quoted twice now tho so in for a penny... Anyway made it thru the night, cold turkey wearing off, I think I'm past the worst of the GAS now as long as JOSE DOESN'T POST A PIC WHEN IT ARRIVES. [/quote] tic... tac... tic... tac...

[quote name='buff' timestamp='1346582616' post='1790724'] They need a rosewood board and block inlays to look the part really or at least a tinted neck, liked the green one though [/quote] I love maple boards, but you are right, if the maple one were yellow tinted... it would earn some serious extra sexy points.

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1346580092' post='1790678'] I'd post pictures of mine,but I don't want the site to get in trouble...The only flaw I found was the selector switch,easily replaced. [/quote] Yeah, I don't expect it to be flawless. They rarely are at this price range... although I've had some great non-expensive instruments that can be a lot of fun. I would not be surprised for it to require some mild fretwork, and then switches/pots/output sockets... are hit or miss. They me absolutely fine, but sometimes you get the odd malfunctioning one. Still, easy to replace. I think this kind of instruments is not always what I'd recommend someone who is not happy getting "dirty" with set ups and working on the bass. But if you know your way around a guitar... they can be a lot of fun.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1346578179' post='1790646'] It's a shame the five-string only comes in black, otherwise I'd be a bit tempted. They'd be a great candidate for a DIY stingray/sabre type preamp too, [/quote] I like the way your mind thinks... I happen to have a DIY Stingray, (2-band) and a 3-band Seymour Duncan Stingray type preamp too... The 2-band is meant to go into my OLP, but the other...

[quote name='police squad' timestamp='1346575042' post='1790608'] I had the RV4. It looked like a rickenbacker with music man pickups. It was an excellent bass. I used it in a Jam tribute band while I was depping for them. Sold it recently. Very hard to sell as that annoying bloke ( I won't bother to name check him, he doesn't deserve it) from rickenbacker kept getting my ad pulled from ebay. But the new ones do look interesting. Familiar but different [/quote] I liked the look of the RV4. I've been looking at the RetroVibes since they first arrived with the nice looking Jazz types. But I think I like this one better as it's got that odd "it's very familiar, but not quite the same" vibe about it. And I think that bright red and maple with black hardware is just If I don't like it enough to play it much... I'll still use it for our next music video

[quote name='sime17' timestamp='1346538847' post='1790456'] Original post at 3:34pm + deed done by 6:22pm= TART! Nice tho, liking the whole RickenFenderRay melting pot thing, starting to really like the look of the black 5 string. Don't expect a post at 2:20am saying done deal though [/quote] so... nothing yet?

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1346535120' post='1790412'] Not convinced by the red... ...but I still fancy a shot when it arrives [/quote] you got it!

[quote name='S9_S12_Bass' timestamp='1346531381' post='1790373'] It took 3 hours to decide? Surely everyone knows it's at max 3 seconds for a decision When's it due to arrive? [/quote] I know, I'm ashamed. I haven't heard from them, other than the automatic email "payment received, thanks". I imagine I'll hear more on Monday, so sometime during the week it should be in my hands.