grayn

Always had an acoustic guitar for songwriting. I gave up bass completely, for a few years and played acoustic guitar and mandola, in various acoustic combos. Eventually came to my senses and returned the the best, bass. Whilst into acoustics, I really got sucked into the GAS situation. Blimey! they are pricey.

[quote name='gub' post='1188085' date='Apr 4 2011, 06:22 PM']no neckdive with mine at all , and body is not to small to look silly ,i am not a particuly small person and seems to look fine on me . [url="http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/guitars/electric/bass-guitars/4-string-electric/jtkb200-jet-king-bass-199526/review"]http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/guitars...s-199526/review[/url][/quote] I wasn't thinking it looked silly at all, it's a very cool looking bass. Just sometimes, smaller bodied basses can be unbalanced. Glad your isn't.

3 pickups, cool. Really has a 60s look. The body looks small, does it neck dive?

It has a great retro look too.

Didn't Tony Revell work for Overwater, at some time? He makes a top acoustic too.

As I almost always work out bass lines by ear, over the many years of bass playing, I have mostly made up my own bass lines, although it works with other folks bass parts too. I often sing the bass parts first. More so in the early days but I still do it now, sometimes. I think your voice seems to naturally tune itself to music. It also allows you to be more original and counter melodic, when needed. I guess it's an alternative to relying on scales and other formats, that are also very useful, of course. Anyone else use this method?

[quote name='Wiseoldfrog' post='1183777' date='Mar 31 2011, 07:44 PM']Thanks for that grayn; short but sweet. Nice to actually see the guitars actually being played. I'm tracking mine and it's currently in Leeds and should arrive tomorrow . Only need to wait a month and then I can afford an amp too...sigh.[/quote] I guess you must have it by now. Which model did you get? The amp wait will be a killer, unless you can borrow something. Good luck.

Here's me trying some of the new Tanglewaters out. Just noodling on them but they were fun to play. [url="http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=musicianscentre"]http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=musicianscentre[/url]

1st bass: Columbus Telecaster Bass Go To Bass: Fender Victor Bailey Jazz Your Bass: Overwater J-Bass Deluxe

I had a Blizzard Pearl one of these, until very recently. A very nice bass, to look at and play. Good quality of build finish and tone. Versatile and quite powerful. A very giggable bass. Well worth checking out.

J-Bass Deluxe. Love it.

+1 on Electro Music. Always worth haggling, on the price. I think Wizard Guitars are on the same road, too. Good luck. On the bass front, why not try the MIM Fender Active P-Bass Deluxe. Precision body, Jazz neck, P & J pickups. Cool

[quote name='vsmith1' post='1152197' date='Mar 7 2011, 09:20 AM']It was good to meet you at Promenade, and I appreciate hearing your thoughts and experiences with 5-strings as well as your playing. I hope that you find the way forward for you. I must agree that the natural swamp ash was beautiful. (BTW I was the guy in the bicycle kit) Thanks[/quote] Cheers VSmith. Like wise, it was a pleasure talking bass stuff with you. I'm really looking forward to taking the newbie to band rehearsal, this week. It'll be cool to hear it cranked up loud, through the Ampeg. I hope you manage to try out a Tanglewater soon.

When I went out, to get a new bass, I knew I wanted a 4-stringer with a jazz-bass-type neck. And to be honest, my preference was for an Overwater. But I had spied a very tasty, high-end Ibanez, (in a different shop) if things didn’t work out. In this shop, there were 2 Overwater jazzes plus a Perception. I also tried out a used Alembic Epic and a nice Musicman Stingray. The Perception isn’t really my type of bass. Wrong type of neck and I think the body is too small. Good sound though. The Alembic Epic had a really solid feel, definitely made to last. I liked it’s looks too. However, I wasn’t keen on the pick ups at all and the overall balance of the instrument didn’t really suit me. I’ve never owned a Musicman but have always admired them. But as soon as I played this Stingray I was reminded of how chunky their neck profiles are. Just a little too chunky for me. Good bass though. So, it was down to the 2 Overwater Jazz Basses, one with a natural-wood finish, the other, in a tobacco sunburst. Visually I had a preference for the natural model but it would be the feel and tone that would be the deciders. The natural, for me, won on both counts. On feel, it was just a little comfier and smoother to play. On tone, it sounded much rounder and more solid. I don’t know if the pickups differed but the electronics did. I’m sure it’s down to personal preference and I’m also sure that if the natural hadn’t been in stock, I’d have walked away with the sunburst model. This Overwater J-Bass Deluxe has a 2-piece, swamp ash body, with a natural finish. I’m unsure of what varnish is used but it really suits the natural wood grain. The scratch-plate is tortoiseshell(like) and I remember seeing a photo of this bass and thinking it didn’t go with the wood finish. But, in person, it works very nicely, giving a sense of depth and perspective to the bass’s aesthetic. The pickups are DiMarzio Ultra Jazz. The controls are set on the traditional Jazz-Bass, bell-plate, chrome fixing. 3 of the 4 control knobs are stacked, giving 7 controls, in all. These are: volume, pan, bass boost/cut, treble boost/cut, mid boost/cut, mid sweep and the final un-stacked knob, which is a passive tone control. The bridge and machine heads are Hipshot USA. The neck is one-piece maple, with a rosewood fingerboard. The jack socket is side-mounted and the single PP3 battery has a very easily accessed (no screwdriver needed) compartment. Before the 3 Overwaters I tried in the shop, I’d only played one other, a 5-string J-Bass, I had owned recently. Each model has been quite different but all share the same high level of craftsmanship, with the resulting, beautifully playable necks and a design that, as well as being beautiful, is crafted for the musician. These basses are very practical and a dream to play live and in the recording studio. It’s the tone that really grabs me though. Since I saw the bassist in a successful blues band, over 15 years ago and had a chat with him after, I knew that Overwaters were something special, especially in the tone department. The only reason I let my other OW go, was my difficulties with the 5-string neck. I swapped it for a Fender Victor Bailey Jazz. Now I have both, I feel very fortunate. And a very cursory comparison seems in order. The Fender is a lot sleeker in it’s design and the neck is the easiest to play, that I have tried. The woods (mahogany back & koa front) are stunning and to my eyes, surpass most other basses. The Overwater wins on tone, solidity and overall craftsmanship. I guess it’s the difference between a high-end production model and a handmade bass. I hope I never have to choose between the two.

[quote name='Doddy' post='1151046' date='Mar 6 2011, 12:27 AM']It's still way cheaper than the Gerald Veasley model[/quote] The SR1200 is within your budget and looks an amazing bass. Even has Nordtrand pickups.

[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1150839' date='Mar 5 2011, 07:53 PM']A very nice bass! I have just been reading the thread about not keeping your thumb in the position you mention. It has made my transition to 5 strings easier. Still, if I had a bass like that I would go back to thumb in the middle![/quote] The thumb thing is interesting. That extra width of the 5-string neck, does make it harder to shift your thumb around. Not that i ever actually think of where my thumb is, whilst playing. I think 5-stringers are great basses but after a couple of months playing one exclusively, when i went back to 4-string, it was like taking of heavy boots and putting on trainers. My loss, I guess but at least I have an Overwater again.

After a couple of months ownership of a beautiful Overwater Jazz 5-string bass, I had to trade it, due to the width of the 5-string's neck and the strain it put on my left hand. I put it down to having to keep one's thumb at the centre of the neck, rather like a classical guitar. with a 4-string the thumb can take up many more postions, which seems to suit my medium sized mitts. I'd loved the build, finish, design and tone of that Overwater and since moving it on, have hankered for another. So today I went over to Promenade Music, in Morcambe, who have a number of Overwaters in. 3 of which were 4-stringers. 2 were jazz style basses. One in a natural (swamp ash) finish and the other in a tobacco sunburst finish. They also had a Perception model in. It is a lovely bass but I like a Jazz neck. Both the Jazz basses were excellent and in many ways, quite different. They had different electronics and i think the sunburst model had a tulip-wood body. But for my tatses, the natural swamp ash model was the winner. Cool look, lovely to play and a tone to die for. You can't ask for more and at a very reasonable price. I also had a very enjoyable 2 1/2 hours in Promenade, talking music and gear. Top day.

It depends on what you are playing. Simple, root note, rhythm bass lines are easy to sing with. If you are playing more complex lines, then you have to know the lines well enough, that they are semi-automatic and then you can sing without having to concentrate on them, so much. Of course, strumming a few chords on an ordinary guitar is easier. But bass and vocals just needs more practice.

Sounds like a lot of fun. Got the date in my diary

I got this bass in a straight trade, with another (Basschat) forumer. Thanks Dave. We swapped in a car park, where it was tipping it down and only a tiny amount of acoustic play was possible. So it was all done on reputation, looks, immediate feel and good faith. I’d been impressed in the car park, so when I got home, plugged it in and then put some new strings on, I was even happier. The good faith had paid off and my first ever private trade had been a success. I’d never heard of Victor Bailey but it looks like he can help design a very nice Jazz Bass, which is not totally dissimilar to some of the Deluxe Jazz Basses and the “Zone” basses, of a few years back. The body of this Jazz Bass is a recognisable jazz shape, but it has no paint job, pick-guard or chrome base, for the controls. This bass uses very attractively grained “exotic” woods. The underpinning wood, comprising of roughly two thirds of the body’s thickness, on the rear of the body, is mahogany. The front wood is approximately one third of the body’s thickness and is of Koa, a beautifully grained wood, from Hawaii. Sandwiched between those two, is a thin layer of rosewood. The 3 woods make an attractive mix and will give the body strength. I doubt they would have much effect on the bass’s amplified sonic quality. The maple neck has a modern C shape and is finished in a satin urethane. The rosewood fingerboard has a 9.5 inch radius and rolled edges. It is beautifully fitted with 22 medium jumbo frets and abalone dot markers. Within this graceful neck, are “Posiflex” graphite neck support rods. The neck is attached to the body by 5 countersunk neck bolts. And as a nice touch, the heel of the neck has been carved to assist access to the higher frets. The headstock, according to Fender, is supposed to be overlaid with Koa. I’d put money on this model’s overlay being mahogany. It looks good either way. The writing on the front of the head is in gold, to match the gold tuners, bridge and controls. The tuners are Schallers (my favourite) they perform accurately and look great. The rear of the headstock has been signed by Mr Bailey, himself. The nut is 1.5 inches wide and is made of “synthetic bone”. That’s plastic to you and me. This is a standard scale bass, of 34 inches. The bridge is gold-plated steel , the strings can pass through the body or attach to the rear of the bridge. The gold-plated knobs control volume, pickup-panning and cut/boost bass, middle and treble. Two of these tone controls are stacked, which to me seems pointless. It would look and feel a lot better, with 3 separate tone knobs, being slightly smaller than the volume and pan controls. Simples! The 2 Jazz pickups are of the “Samarium Cobalt Noiseless” variety, Samarium Cobalt, being the silvery, magnetic bits of the pickup. Apparently it remains magnetic at extremely high temperatures. So, now volcanic gigs are possible. Well, it had to come. So how does this baby look, feel and sound? In my view, excellently, on all three accounts. The combination of Koa wood, gold parts, stylish shaping and high quality finishing make this a beautiful bass to behold. The feel is solid but light and nimble, with a wonderful playing neck and an overall, prefect balance to it. The guy I traded it with, said it had a “focused” sound, which I read as meaning, not a fat sound. Well he was right; this bass has that sound that is warm but beautifully contained, to mix well with other instruments but remain it’s own sound, standing out in the crowd, without being brash or over bearing. This bass has a very good tonal range, easily activated, with it’s active controls. This bass was second-hand but in almost perfect condition. Apart from new strings, the only thing needing attention was a sticky pan-pot. It’s very much down to taste but this bass was pretty much exactly what I was looking for. I’d say it would definitely suit the more lyrical player. It’s a dream to play but probably wouldn’t best suit a punk or metal enthusiast.

[quote name='bh2' post='1115598' date='Feb 4 2011, 06:07 PM']Wow... talk about bling! A lot of money for what is, after all, a copy.[/quote] A bit blingy for my tastes. Any dreadnought acoustic is a copy but it's hardly the point. IMO it's gonna be a lot better than the original