LukeFRC

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1377898124' post='2193500'] To put it in context I'd just told him that I'd played a Squire VM 77 Jazz, a MiM Fender Jazz and a MIA Fender Jazz with Custom Shop pickups. The Squier was the best one out of the lot by far. The MIA Jazz had a slightly better sound due to the pickups but those pickups ain't worth £900... So his response was that the US models weren't made for players. My opinion is that MIA Fenders are lacklustrely made as they can sell them on the strength of the brand name and the Squiers have to be good to compete in a very crowded and competitive market. Or to put it another way, Squier has to try harder whilst MIAs don't. His opinion was that they deliberately make MIA basses with flaws to put players off from buying them. Then he started whittering on about them being made for investors (despite very few, if any, that have been made in the last 10 years increasing in value at all). Very strange bloke. [/quote] Oddly.... I had my JV Squier up for sale last year. As you might (or might not) it's in brilliant condition and seems to be a model that the (perceived) value of is going up. It probably just about fits into the bracket of "basses to think about if you want to buy an investment" -Although I bought it cos I liked it if anything the value of it going up put me off playing it - At the time I was using a bike to get around and was worried about damaging it in a crash so stuck it up for sale. Well one fella who was a definate to buy it, was arranging times and the like and he was telling me about his current basses - which included a mexican P bass, and a US P bass. I asked him why he wanted to pay £1.2k for my JV - the answer was to play as a beater bass so he could keep his brand new USA P bass safe in it's case under the bed to keep it's value as an investment!!! Not really understanding his logic, nor wanting to see my JV sold and trashed I pointed him to some cheaper nice MIJ P basses. Strange bloke too!

[quote name='muddyman1' timestamp='1378066082' post='2195485'] you seem to have ALL the basses... fantastic offer! Unfortunately I'm nowhere near Wigan (closer to SH). Would take you up on the offer otherwise. Is there a similar but more local offer? I doubt it! I've been looking at Sadowsky. They seem rather nice. Perhaps it's a case of 'do I want to own a Fender for its quality and classic reputation?' vs 'do I want a bass that has all that Fender can offer plus some?' This post has presented me with more questions rather than answered the few that I had to start with... in a good way. mmmmmmm [/quote] if you want a passive fender a good fender is hard to beat. You may have to search for a good one but they are out there. Start moving onto sadowsky and it's a whole other kettle of fish. where is SH by the way?

<p>[quote name='harrybgoode' timestamp='1378051762' post='2195142'] by the way Luke your p is outstanding. Best P ever seen. [/quote] </p> thanks! It's fallen out of favour a bit and never gets played, but after reposting my photos I went and got it out of it's case... and boy- I remembered what's good about it! fun to play and sounds good!

Hello, back again after a long gap.... so a question there's a fella in the sales forum just stuck up a alleva copollo 2 band preamp, mounted in an outboard box for a lot of money. Now the brand is one thing.... but sadowsky, aguilar, alleva copollo etc, their two band on board preamps - everytime you hear about them they are "the best preamp ever" - I wonder how, different can the cuircuit schematics and parts of a two band preamp be? like at the end of the day it's going to be a shelving (?) eq at a certain frequency and a certain Q value. Where does the "magic" of the sound come from?

nah that's not a bad price, hows it play?

ah my photos went pretty eh?

[quote name='Higgie' timestamp='1377957832' post='2194082'] Yeah what can you do? I know he is busy, but it's already been a year, added to the fact that it "should" have been ready for April...and now it's September and still not ready. He loaned me a 5 string to use instead of this last time, and consequently as it's still not ready, I still have his bass! So looks like he won't be getting that back till April either! [/quote] in other news I've been really enjoying your youtube playing - been inspiring me to learn some of the same songs. No way as good as you mind - I get lost in the bit after the chorus of Sir Duke. Bit rubbish about the waiting for the bass, what's the hold up? it looked almost finsihed in the pics?

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1377943522' post='2193837'] Yes it was pretty hard and dry. On the can it says it drys fully in 4 hrs. I could have given it a polish but the finish is pretty good without it. It also gives the impression it's pretty hard wearing too. What a great find Molotow paint is. Thanks for the heads up I owe you a pint. By the way I just used a B&Q mask when I painted mine, which did the trick. Now what colour shall I paint it next week? [/quote] it must be the clear coat that needs a bit longer to cure

I think one of the site owners pointed out that it would be almost impossible to police and th current sale forums allow swaps in n easier to run and moderate way

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1374914217' post='2154671'] Did you use a respirator when spraying? CAn you do it outside? Would you still need a respirator then? [/quote] no stupid? i used it in a small basement with little ventilation and no respirator. Not the best idea really. I used to use all sorts of chemicals and stuff as a student, and while you are probably wise to use a ventilator this stuff isn't particually bad. As it drys it also gives off fumes so leaving it somewhere ventilated. Outside it would be fine without a respitator. Use it every day... get a respirator.... but a shed or somewhere where you can spray with a window or door open then leave it to dry without you being there... should be fine

ahh sorry I hardly ever look in this forum so didn't notice folk relplying to this thread. Molotow was one of the finds of the year for art projects at uni (yep LukeFRC BA Sculpture 2:1 MA Design(Graphics) ) nd works really well with guitars as a cheap alternative. I've never used real nitro so can't compare[quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1375134317' post='2157213'] Wow that looks amazing! Graffiti paint - what a discovery! I have actually just spent this evening sanding OFF some nitrocellulose vintage amber tint on my jazz neck. It looked horrible just yellow and cheesy. Cost me £12 too. That shock orange looks just like fiesta red and the finish looks very pro too. Congratulations! I wonder if they do anything like surf green. What kind of clear coat did you use? [/quote] Molotow clear gloss topcoat. It's their hardwearing finish - goes on nice. If I did it agian with practice I would get a almost shop quality gloss. takes as long as nitro takes to cure though! [quote name='gjones' timestamp='1377616512' post='2189438'] And 5 hrs later paint has dried [attachment=142461:blue.jpg] [/quote] that was quick! had it cured properly?

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1377813837' post='2192410'] 40 pages worth already I've heard [/quote] I got to page 6 and they were debating the virgin birth and so on. Half of them were saying the pickup maker was the messiah, and the other half were saying he was a very naughty boy.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' timestamp='1377812049' post='2192370'] It's probably Scotland. The cold and the damp [/quote] i lived in bargeddie for a bit a few years ago and most my basses were fine. The surprise with my bitsa jazz is that it doesn't keep tune like the JV or warwick do.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1377641864' post='2189907'] I am now planning to have all my basses upgraded to feature "pickups wound by virgins" [/quote] I read a story on the other side where some boutique pickup winder had some pickups lying in the corner of his workshop and some dude emailed him wanting him. Anyway the fella convinced the winder to sell them to him cheap... but when he got them it turned out the winders mum had made them and.... well no one was convinced she qualified as a virgin...... and yeah - it all kicked off on the other side....

[quote name='the boy' timestamp='1377325198' post='2186175'] Mmmmmmm something doesn't add up here. [/quote] ?

it sounds great and looks like you enjoy playing it. If the sound isn't quite right then you can slightly tweek it with the string choice and to lesser extnt pickup height

it's an sx or similar isn't it?

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1377670535' post='2190034'] Contrary to what's been said here, Fender were putting out some of their best basses around '83. In 1982 there was a management buyout and production was scaled right back in an effort to improve quality. Weight could still be an issue, but generally speaking the the fit and finish was as good as they ever achieved. That said, as someone mentioned earlier, every instrument should be treated as an individual case. [/quote] what he said. mind you they are starting to sell for silly money - so if you can get it, afford it and it's below the market price.... having two basses won't kill you!

worth pointing out to folk who don't know but this is less relevant if playing an active bass...

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1377588581' post='2188972'] My favourite double bass shop seems to work on the principle that "If sir has to ask the price then sir can not afford it". It's actually a great shop with great staff but their idea of a budget instrument starts at £5,500, better quality runs up to £25,000 and for top quality you negotiate! The same is true of their bows, over £ 7,000 you ask the price. Puts electric basses in perspective doesn't it? Steve [/quote] my point exactly! Ok... so my tuppence... I'm tired of this inverted snobbery going on that comes up every few weeks- yes I get it, everyone could have bought that mythical squier* that is just as good as the multi thousand pound bass, and ooh look it's not so perfect, and woooah yeah I mean that squier could do everything it could do, what a waste of money.... etc etc etc So yes some things are made to work as musicians tools, and at various price points. And some things are cheap cos of less quality, or cheaper workers.... and some things are expensive cos of more expensive parts, or lesser economies of scale in production, or just the maker wants to feed his family or something.... and yes somethings are probably sold on the principle "the more expensive is better" and we end up with fancy AAAAAAAAAA grade woods (whatever that actually means), pickups wound by virgins and stupid over the top inlays blah blah blah... But what gets me a wee bit annoyed is how any discussion about high end basses seems to end up knocking those who do buy high end stuff, (normally with molan argueing the other side), we end up knocking the player..... why? Because I don't get it - our cheap basses are cheap cos it's a mass market commodity- the more that are made the cheaper they potentially can be, and with more competition we get better quality..... right so you have your starter bass.... what do you want to do? upgrade- maybe to a mid range ibanez or a mexican fender... and probably you look second hand and pick one up there for less.... the person selling that is either.... got enough money to have more than one bass - upgrading - or selling up and taking up carp fishing... apart from the last option you are benifiting directly from someone buying something else and probably further up the bass food chain, it's a small market place... and everyone benifits on someone with a lot of money deciding to spend more on something that previously they were mocking people for wanting. *the mythical squier does exist btw, and tends to say squier series and a JV serial.... not that i'm biased!

ah that's the high end bass - investment thread again, very nice... anyway on another topic, saw a guy walking down the street yesterday carrying a double bass, turned to the wife and said "that looks fun, can I get one" - so how much is a good double bass cost?

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1377536010' post='2188584'] [b]I dont have a really issue with them buying and selling,[/b] but i would expect them to contribute to our community rather than just come her to make a profit. This is the reason ive always thought members should rack up some posts before being allowed to sell things (sorry, i know thats off topic) [/quote] I find it tiring- go in the affiliates section or something - it's also probably a nice tax dodge - and when you see people just dealing (which isn't that often, but then i've not looked for a while) .... ild rather go to bassgear or bass direct or somewhere with secondhand stock....

The thing about basschat a while ago is that you could safely buy something, normally at a bit less than you would elsewhere - try it out for bit and if you wanted sell it, again at about what you paid for it - for me back then on the minimum wage the ability to sell a bass then try out some others for what would essentially be the cost of a courier and a couple of sets of strings... it was great. Thanks folk! But as Kev said earlier, the way it worked was that people wouldn't make a profit or anything and buying something and flogging it on basschat for more was a big no no. A bass I bought super cheap to try and sold at the same price was sold recently by the basschat member. He actually emailed me to ask if I minded him asking the market price - that's class that is! Thats all changed - but I don't think it's purely to do with basschat getting bigger - I think the changes in the economy, the weak pound and people having less money so trying to get as much out of their bass sales as they can. - and you do see some folk who seem just to post on here to sell stuff.... so personally when I sell stuff I don't advertise a super cheap "basschat price" any more, i've tended to stick up a guide price and then expect to sell for less than advertised. Mind you last thing I tried to sell didn't get a sausage of interest - not even the low ballers! Would I sell for more than I bought for? Well not to flip for quick profit - but if after 3-4 years the value of the instrument has changed then market value is fine. Some things I have bought in sorry state and then stripped down and done up and sold for more.... but still cheaper than others.

I like the spb-1 i even made a wee sound clip (straight into an imac so v. low tech recording) http://youtu.be/dN9CC0_K9bA?t=1m40s