El_JimBob

AXL China have their own factory building AXL, Johnson and Squier, amongst others. Certainly not a factory no-ones heard of . Westfield and Vintage outsource as far as Vietnam now, i believe.... Regarding the nonames, i too had heard the Tokai rumour, but our supplier is bound by regulation and can't say where they come from. They're actually pretty good instruments for the money - a cut above your Chinese Squiers at least. Pop in a pickup upgrade and i reckon you'll have a good beater bass....

I don't really wanna divulge cost, setekh - sorry, but it may put a sale for someone else at a disadvantage in the future. Needless to say i felt i got it for a stupidly low price Slapped the nickels on today, after giving her a good wash down with lighter fluid (twas a tad scummy, see) - got the neck nice and straight and she plays like a dream - a nice worn in feel. Cheers Garry - i've actually got a spare Basslines preamp lying around - might give it a try (don't think the standard G&L preamp is as effective here as it is on the 2 pickup models - makes it a little [i]too[/i] fizzy). Oh yeah, nearly forgot - took the neck off and found the date stamp - 15th Sept. 1997 - the body also seems to be stamped 1997 - so she's just past her 10th birthday - and still in fantastic shape

Cheers bro - yeah, found the Talkbass G&L forum a while ago and have been sticking my oar in every now and then.... I too would like an SB-2, but i fear (considering my non-gigging status at the moment) i would have to lose one of my beloved babes in exchange. I have such a love/hate relationship with the L-2500, but somehow i could never see myself getting shot of it. And those pickups? How on earth can they manage to be so harsh and aggressive, yet sweet and sultry at the same time?? Aw man, i'm gone.... *Can't wait to get a set of Nickels on the 1500 tomorrow - fortunately, i often use my job in a guitar store as an excuse to treat my own instruments to the best cleanin' and restringin' and settin' up i can afford to give them * *that's a schweet pair of ASATs, dub_junkie....*

In advance of Stingrayfan's new arrival, here's a tidy G&L L-1500 i picked up off eBay for stoopid money. I guess these are the bastard children of the G&L brood - they just don't seem to attract the attention that the rest of the clan get - but it was an opportunity i couldnt let slip. (pics are a bit scabby - hence not posted in bass porn ) haven't figured out exactly how old she is, but from the 3 bolt neck and slightly shallower curves, i reckon at least 10 years old - will be taking her apart for for a good clean up and fresh set of strings so i'll have a look then. Plays well (despite a stupid heavy set of godawful Elites strings) - in fact, i'm surprised just how different this sounds from my Tribute L-2500. The solitary pickup is slap bang in the 'sweet' spot, just north of where an L-2000/2500 bridge pickup would be, but the difference in tone is startling. I've always gassed for a Stingray, but this may have just cured it (at least for the moment) - tight and punchy, with a sweet midrange honk - it's uncanny. Bass end is a bit lacking, and the preamps treble boost is a bit wild (altho fantastic for a bit of slapping and tapping!), but nothing that can't be tamed. Throw in the usual parallel/series switch, and here's yet another G&L that's more than a one trick pony.

I'm looking for some Markbass cabs to match my head, and was able to get my hands on a 2x10 and 1x12 to try. Oriented horizontally (standard) the 1x12 just pipped the 2x10 to the post with a tighter bottom end and a better all-round character. However (echoing Alpha-Dave's statement), once the 2x10 was turned on its side, a whole different sound appeared - tighter, more focused - a true full-range, punchier sound. Needless to say, the 1x12 was a contender no more. And i've been using 1x15s and 1x12s for 12 years now, and never EVER thought i'd look at a 2x10 [i]that[/i] way.... ( )

Agh, now i know how people feel when what they say is taken out of context

I'm waiting for the love-in later on where you all apologise for this mess and start to kiss each others' knobs. I've broken a string on the uke. I'm invoicing all of you for a flippin' replacement....

Good grief - the egos have landed - on both sides. This is Basschat and we're all Bassplayers (to a degree ) Nobody wants to be a bassist. We're the guys stuck at the back. The guys nobody is looking at. The guys nobody is listening to. The guys whose best chance of a f**k is waiting 'til the singer and guitarists have had their turn. We're the internet geek PC builders of the music world. But instead of clocking 50-plus hours a week on World of Warcraft, we're clocking the same amount of time on forums, arguing over the best type of preamp valve, the best match of active EQ/pickups and how distorted a distortion should really be. We're waving our Fenders, Shukers, Goodfellows and Seis around like "hey i've got a fat wallet and a giant knob - who wants to be me??", just like the tits who post 3dmark scores and processor speeds (and don't deny that you don't know exactly what i'm talking about ) And now we're here arguing over strings while the rest of the world carries on not giving a sh*t 'cos we're the guys that nobody could care less about. We're all prize cocks 'nudge nudge-ing' and 'wink wink-ing' to each other. I'm off to take my frustration out on a solid-top baritone ukulele with spalted maple back-and-sides. You don't see anyone shouting at her for having too many or too few strings!! Screw you all....

The fact that you don't see too many around is partly due to incompetent distributors who don't know how to market them properly G&L has bounced between at least 4 or 5 distros in the last 10 years, all who claim that they were a 'hard sell'. FCN are distributing them in the UK at the mo, and so far, so good. People seem to be waking up to the brand as a whole. The new JB-2 and SB-2 look especially delicious Tell your friends!

If it uses a piezo pickup, the fault could be a slighty uneven bridge saddle - that is, if the base of the saddle doesn't make proper contact with the piezo element, then you get the effect of a quieter string. It would be quite easy for your local shop or a repairman to fix this. Just needs to be flat and smooth. To be fair, its a common problem in cheaper-end instruments. Mind, have seen it in a few high-end insruments, too

Good, inexpensive gear - which helps if you run a music shop that likes to sell good, inexpensive gear Their guitar tube amps are the nuts, too....

My bad. Trouble at mill today. Won't happen again. Apologies to all.

Hey, sorry, didn't mean to hassle - i just find these days people are a little to quick to say if they think they're paying too much for something. Hey, i'm guilty of shopping around too, huh (even if i can buy everything at trade ) Asda have just started selling them this xmas - it's in their current ad campaign. Guitar and amp for £50. The lack of regulations in the music industry is criminal, but hey ho. Just got my work cut out for me this xmas trying to persuade punters to hand over 3x that amount for one of our packages.... Still, we've weathered the no overheads/no staff/low markup/zero profit storm for quite a while now. Hey, this is so totally the wrong place to be posting this. Sorry

What's wrong with a 40% markup? Or even a bit more? You think there aren't people out there who rely on that to make their living? Or who think it's worth it for the effort they put into setting it up and selling it? Thanks, you've made my day - just when i thought Asda selling guitar packs couldn't make me feel any worse.

Actually, i'm right.... kind of A quick bell to music-exchange, the suppliers my shop uses, confirmed that the book is indeed now out of print in its 2nd edition, but helpfully informed me that a new 3rd edition should be available before the year is out. I guess a few stores have some of the old left in stock. I imagine this edition is gonna be the best yet! Worth waiting for methinks.... *just found it on amazon.co.uk for pre-order - looks nifty - appears to come with a dvd offering set-up advice. I suggest we order all Basschatters to obtain a copy as their new bible, and read religiously cover to cover *

Sweet bass! I have the 5 string version in the same colours - it's just so dang beautiful

AFAIK, Dan's book is out of print. Got a copy myself, but i'm hoping there will be a new revision along at some point. It really should be required reading for anyone attempting their own repairs. Hideo Kamimoto's books have been around for donkeys years now, so some of the info is a little old-fashioned, but the info is no less vital.

Good point on the D'addario string guide - it's also really useful for working out what gauges you might need if you wanted a set all at equal tension. 'D's and 'G's always tend to feel a little tighter in most pre-packed sets.

I just flicked thru that copy the other day i think. That was you in the pic with Stu Hamm, right?

Just received a Markbass bag from Andy (funnyfreddie). Well packed, sent promptly and a nice phone call to boot - above and beyond the call of duty, sir! My first purchase from a Basschatter couldn't have gone any smoother. James.

That's funny - I see a lake of blood with the fire of death approaching from the left - do i have to go to therapy??

Cool. Sounds a bit like those Bose 'wave' speakers that are supposed to be so good....

Sorry to hijack, but could anyone care to explain this 'transmission line design' malarkey? It sounds intriguing....

Wow, you got off light, i guess I saw the same 'trick' take out two Trace Elliot 300W combos. When we opened them up, the output transistors looked like they had just faced a firing squad. 'Twas not a cheap job....