Wilco

Just an update on this thread. Have now got Newtone strings on three of my basses (with a set ready for the fourth when the strings on that need changing). Both Diamond & Platinum round core nickel types. Platinum’s are slightly smoother but not by much. Difficult to understand any tone difference between them as they are on instruments with different pickup configurations & electronics. All the basses sound epic though. Am now a Newtone convert & these will be my string of choice from now on!

I’d suggest going custom made. When I bought my 5 string Elwood used, overall the bass was in excellent condition but the scratch plate, doing its job, was more scratched than I would’ve liked. I ordered another one from Adrian, but there was a gap where the scratch plate met the top edge of the neck with the replacement. Only a small one, but noticeable. Being a handmade, it was probably just a manufacturing tolerance & Adrian took the new scratch plate back & gave me a refund. After a bit of research, I got SiMs Custom shop on the case. They have a 3D scanner of some description, so I sent my original scratch plate to them which they scanned & then manufactured a dimensionally exact copy which was a perfect snug fit. It wasn’t cheap £50 or so, but I was very impressed with what they did.

Lol, yes. I might even fork out for one...... 😆

I really dig that......... 🙈

100% fully sympathise with El_JimBob on his situation - none of us would like any issues like that with our basses. Out of curiosity I Googled how can a guitar neck warp ('cos I'm clueless on such things!), & there are factors such as storage location, humidity, heat & strings that can cause a neck twist & nothing to do with manufacturing or age it seems. From his posts, EJB has had his bass for a few months & if Adrian has had no other similar issues with other basses & has looked this one over, he might genuinely believe he is not at fault. After all, a bit odd to agree to take it back in the first place for a look if he wasn't prepared to fix it if he was at fault. I'm not saying who's right or wrong here (totally impossible to tell which is why I wouldn't be signing above mooted petition). EJB - has Adrian explained why he feels he doesn't need to fix it? An awkward situation for sure & I hope it gets resolved in some way to everyone's satisfaction.

Still lovin' both mine. Bloody great basses!

I actually have three now - one for each of my SGC's. To be honest, they haven't been out much as my band has fallen over recently. I'd say they were good value for money though & definitely work well with angled headstock basses. The only thing I'm slightly wary of is that the zip feels a little flimsy, so I am being careful when opening & closing them. My SGC's are relatively cheap instruments, but my Maruszczyk's are in £100 much stronger gigbags. If I had a Rick, I'd probably be happier investing in a more expensive & even more padded gigbag I think.

Unfortunately that does seem to look like a 'Friday afternoon' bass doesn't it. Those neck pocket gaps are very Fenderesque! With any manufactured product anywhere, there's bound to be examples of where production hasn't gone right, & to my mind when that happens the response of the manufacturer is key. In the circumstances, that's a great response from Adrian - if it were me, I'd spec a different bass from him & haggle a decent discount for the inconvenience!!

So, I'm on my hols, get back to the hotel after a day out & head straight to the bar for a cold alcoholic bevvy. By doing so, I stumble on a Jazz three piece just about to do their thing. The bassist is playing a standard V7 & it looked as though that, the vocals & the keyboard were going through a single 15" PA speaker. Said bassist was clearly a better player than yours truly, but that aside, with that set up the bass sound should not have sounded as good as it did! Being a previous Sire owner, my interest was piqued again. However, then I remembered the issues I had which were part of the reason I sold them on. I had both a V7 & a VV7, one a 2015 & the other a 2016. One of mine had slightly sharp fret ends & on both of them I had tuner issues. There was evidence of play (not in the gears, in the part you hold) in three tuners & they didn't turn that smoothly either. (The tuners were replaced with new ones before they were sold on btw). On the interwebs back then there were many a tale of failed tuners & poor knobs & that the hardware really wasn't up to scratch. So, was interested to know how people have got on with their ownership & have there been any hardware improvements made by Sire over the last 18 months or so? Quite like the look of a V9, but my own previous experience would hold me back from buying at the moment.

If that's where the market price actually was & I'd paid £395 for mine (which is very similar to that one apart from being fretless), I wouldn't have felt short changed at all. I've seen & played a lot worse £500 basses in my time.

Complete mystery to me why Westone 1A's are perceived to be worth sub £200. I bought mine for £170 last year, which was great for me as what a bargain. Contrary to the second post in this thread, they were very well made instruments. Matsumoku were a respected furniture maker, so had the woodworking knowledge & it's no fluke that so many Westone's & 80's Aria's are still around today. If you can find a good one, at today's minimal market prices just buy it & don't look back!!

Nice! Is that BBOT bridge standard on the 301, or because it is an early model it was a forerunner to the chunky version?

Might have been the situation - after playing a truckload of basses over 30+ years, I think my Elwood 5 is the most comfortable to play bass I've ever owned! Who would be the UK manufacturer that would do that custom build for what sounds like a much cheaper price than an Elwood L? Genuinely interested to know!!

Out of interest, what didn't you get on with?

Feck, that's nice! Presumably that's an ebony fingerboard? Look's very cool glossed. Are those the Luminay side dots?

I have Delano's in both mine & they are great pickups. My Elwood 5a had Bartolini's in when I got it, & I replaced those with a set of JMVC 5's which sound so much nicer & are tonally far more flexible.

Not really no. Over the years I've had a few basses under £500 for example - some were worth just that, others I would have been happy if I'd paid twice what they cost. There's also diminishing returns the more you spend. Many players would deem themselves equally happy with a current MiM Fender vs it's US counterpart despite an £800ish price differential. If i think of say a higher end new Sandberg or Maruszczyk or even a Fender Elite all around the £1800-£1900 mark, to me those types of basses would be everything a player needs & makes a nonsense of spending on anything over £2k.

Sadly unless you are of a certain age bracket, the Westone name will not mean anything to you, & fairly limited demand has an effect on the used prices in the bracket you mention. I paid £170 for my 1A, & I still look at it in disbelief in that is all I had to pay for it. If I had paid £500+ for it imagining that's where the market value was, I wouldn't have been disappointed - the quality is there for sure.