Gareth Hughes

Love it. My eyes thank you.

Loveliness. Did that/does that come with the Bartolini neck pickup installed? How does it sound? Mike Watt has such a righteous tone.

Disappointed but not surprised that there wasn’t a setup done. The Fender American Standard 5 string I waited several months after expected was a joke when it arrived from a well known shop. Despite a setup being promised because of the delay, the bass arrived with all the neck bolts loose and the neck literally moving several mm away from the body.

Yeah, I’m hoping the graphic interface side of it - actually seeing the pedals/amps be connected - will make it easier for me to understand. As for editing things live - that might be a step too far for me, so I can envisage this being a home studio thing for me. As for VAT - I’m in N.Ireland, so for now nothing has changed in that regard. An order from Thomas recently confirmed that, it’s still EU prices for me. I mean, N.Ireland is self-destructing, but every cloud.... 😜

I’m waiting on the Dwarf - hopefully should have it by the end of May. Give me a few years to get my technophobe head around it and I’ll report back!

Enjoy the ride, it’s a wonderful place to be. Whatever era you check out, there are gems upon gems - along with a few that will make you question why you’re listening to this in the first place. Personally, I can happily listen to all of it - 200 Motels included - but I get why some folks won’t dig it. Personal album favourite is ‘One Size Fits All’. All time favourite track is ‘Oh No’ in any of the various guises it has appeared in. The ‘Lumpy Gravy’ version are sooooooo good.

As much as I love them, this one always sticks out - a Paul Stanley lyric from 'C'Mon and Love Me' by KISS - 'You were distant Now you're nearer I can feel you face Inside the mirror.' Oy vey.

Nice one. Looks great. Can’t beat a beat of clank - I’m still loving the Steve Harris pedal I got from you last year. Hope the bass has turned things around for you a bit.

I could be not the most observant person, but in 20 something years of playing with a bow, 10 of them teaching daily, I’ve never noticed rosin on the carpet or clothes, unless you bang up against the string. Arco is definitely worth doing, if for no other reason than to build hand strength and intonation. Just playing long, 4 beat notes at 60bpm, forces your left hand to hold the string down the entire length of the note. It’s weight training for fingers.😀

Thanks for that, that is more detailed and helpful than I could have hoped for. I had the same GK combo for a while and had the exact same response - to the point where, in mid tour in Germany, the sound guy we had knocked up a tweeter with a hard wired cable that just sat on top of the combo, plugged into the extension output. Did a great job of brightening everything, even if it did look rather uncouth. Thanks again, plenty of food for thought there.

Thanks Jay - already been in touch with Daf after writing the last comment. Did you go for the Ehrlund preamp too or just use the EBS Stanley Clarke? And, if you don't mind my asking - what adjustments to the rest of your rig did you have to make? I'm loving the sound, but I'm also thinking ahead of how practical it might/mightn't be with some of the gigs I do - volume wise.

Thanks for doing this - I'm about to pull the trigger on some upgrades and this has just given me a serious pause for thought. And your playing - I love it, I could listen to that just for the tone and the playing - beautiful.

Yes - love that record. To the point that, talking to anyone named Barry, I can’t help but say ‘the way I see it Barry’. And it has various versions of my favourite Zappa tune, ‘Oh No’.

Nice one with the metallic finishes. I was coming on here to say the same thing!!

My 6 was delivered in mid 2017 and has had some issues, which I won’t blame Maruszczyk for - but I would just recommend that, if it’s a six string you’ve ordered, I would advise you go for the carbon rods for added stability. Aside from that, my 6 has no issues and my fretless is great. Both feel great to play - and light. My 6 is as light as both Fender Precision 4 strings I have, and lighter than my US Fender Jazz 5. One possible issue is that my fretless sounds quite dark, but again - that’s personal preference and not a manufacturer issue. Could be as simple as I don’t like the pickups or the wiring setup.

The 6 covered 4 strings, from E to G. It’s off getting a repair done so no photos sadly. Here’s the fretless -

Both my Maruszczyk’s - a fretted 6 and a fretless 5 - have non-angled headstocks and retainers. Both times told they didn’t need them, but I feel they do. Obviously only the 6 has a zero fret - haven’t noticed any negative side effects of having a string tree, only positive ones.

True. Along the same lines, in both Maruszczyk basses I have I spec’d plain maple for the neck wood and received beautifully figured wood, one with quite a bit of flame and some bird’s eyes. Who knows why I got these upgrades? Maybe the wood wasn’t extensively figured enough to be classed as flamed or whatever.

It’s impossible to know, and given my bass was 3.5 years old at the time, that’s why I didn’t pursue anything with the maker. The OP sounds like a different story altogether. The Warmoth picture you posted should be a standard manufacturing approach I think - the options being reinforced and very reinforced. 😀

I completely agree. I think it’s an oversight on their, or any builders, behalf.

Great points. I’m kicking myself that the €50 cost for the rods I didn’t pick is now a repair cost many times that. The upside is that I’ll know for again. The option of thicker neck/no rods and thinner neck/with rods would be very helpful for potential buyers who aren’t well versed in construction limitations/practicalities.