LukeFRC

having messed around routing holes in wood for things before, I would not say 100 is that much when you take skilled labourers time into account.
Also don't forget the best guys around will treat it like an instrument and take care of it rather than just a lump of wood i want a hole in...

i had had a wee go, then my friend sat his 1988 5 string thumb bass in my lap and started me off.... lovely bass

i have about the cheapest iron i could find and use maplins lead free stuff.
never had a problem, you have to get the components hot first s bigger ones for longer. like when welding

I just find it strange that I sell it to a guy in london and it ends up near liverpool....

[quote name='jamiejames' post='574103' date='Aug 19 2009, 01:17 PM']1) Do you welcome a bass specific shop in Scotland
2) What would you like to see in stock
3) Are you more likely to visit the shop or use our online service
4) Roughly how much do you spend on bass goods in a year
5) Is this likely to increase if you had a bass shop you could visit?[/quote]

1) yes. its not a bad thing, I hope for your sake there's a market for it!
2) Secondhand stuff. Theres only really one shop in edinburgh that sells much S/H stuff and they will point out if you take something in that you can get more selling it privately. I'm not sure how it would fit into your business model though.
Interesting stuff, not just a wall of fenders and other widespread brands, but for example status and other stuff.
Stuff you yourself are enthusiastic about is good, esp for beginners basses. Find something that you can tell wee willy's parents IS the best on the market for that price.
I tend to see something in a shop then go on internet and research it (and find out the market price for it) How about having all the information you can about the bass when its in the shop, something more descriptive than "Fender USA Jazz Bass £965", Not everyone will know that that model has an ash body and why. Things can sell themselves.
Team up with some scottish bass or amp manafacturer? Make things happen? Push both the shop and that manufacturer as part of the same homegrown excellence. Brand it as more than a bass only shop in glasgow, its the only bassist's shop in scotland, play on that, make it more than that?
3) I will look online. I will buy face to face. Music warehouse in colchester does it well. Their web prices are higher than in shop. You can see what they have but you are likely to go into the shop as you can get a better deal. I guess you want ppl in your shop as they are more likely to reuse you that internet customers.
4) I spent scarily this year £1500 on two basses and a POD. Sold two basses too though. I doubt next year I will need to spend much, but temptable.
5) No, unless I was looking for another bass it wouldnt be so high. But a bass shop would tempt me more. Especcially if you are all super friendly. (which beeing weegies you would be)


tell us whats happening when it happens and email me add me too your email list all you want! Good luck!

having just played something and watched myself i let them hang.

within 6 months of starting playing I had a good two fingered technique going on. Then i almost chopped the end of my first finger off in a metal workshop. For a few weeks it had a big plaster on the end. I then had to play using 2nd and 3rd fingers. When the bandage came off I could use all 3.

Its got to the point where I don't ever think about my right hand technique (except checking im not doing something stupid like having the wrist bent)

I have a unorthodox technique I think. I hit the strings pretty hard and the plucking finger is stopped by my thumb on either the pup or the string above I'm playing. That way the whole hand moves up and down. I can mute unplayed strings with either the thumb or 4th finger. I have a feeling i also sometimes pluck with the 4th finger too.
Moving my whole hand is a little strange, ive never seen anyone else do it the same way, but it does give me more control which i need as im left handed so my right plucking hand I have less control over.

Plus it is kinda cool having a bass with heavy strings and a high action that no one else can play!

I used to have the 4 string..... wait a moment that is my old bass! That was my first ever bass! Lovely creamy warm tone.
Almost tempted to check the bank account...
If you have any questions about it's history shambo just ask!

its a bit "well we used to make these amazing thin necks, then we mass produced more basses and cocked it up somehow so they weren't stable enough had to make fat necks to compensate for this. Luckily technology has got better so we can go slim again."

btw when did they start going fat? I'm not sure if mine is fat or not.

[quote name='Stacker' post='571353' date='Aug 17 2009, 09:13 AM']Something's come up on the market that I might go for. Unfortunately, I [b]may[/b] have to sell one guitar to cover this purchase. Question I'd like to ask what would you let go/keep out of these three:-


Rickenbacker 4001CS (lower number, non fat-neck)
Ricken backer 660DCM 75th Anniversary
Rickenbacker 4001 1973, chq binding, toaster and hi-gain with philips-head pole pieces

The firsrt is VGC, the sceond immaculate as new, the third has some buckle rash on the rear. No modds on any.

Just sussing the forumites before I punt one.[/quote]

save up then. or sell something else that isnt a bass or a guitar.

I guess it depends on how much you want the thing that you might go for.

oooh been watching the vids on the website. If this had come out when i was shopping for an amp I would have bought the 1x15 one no question

the jaguar and jazzmaster I think are amazing looking guitars, they look amazing.
The bass doesn't, it seems scaled wrong. the shapes dont flow, it just looks half baked. Even kurt managed to mess with the jag and come up with something that worked, the fender bass folk have just made something ugly to my eyes.
Also they havn't really sold it as what it does. Look at the website, its all about what the thing looks like. Not what it sounds like or the advantages of it over a jazz or anything.

Its a shame, a bit of work on the shape, bass treble cut and boost, and a MM style pup at the bridge and they would have had something interesting to add to their line up. As it is its just like a glamed up jazz bass isnt it?

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='567429' date='Aug 12 2009, 10:50 PM']Its not a problem, it's awesome, I can buy a bass that is totally playable for less than £100 because of it. Then I can sing a song about their plight, which if I understand celebrities and the media correctly, makes it all good. Maybe one day I will hold hands on stage with a token liberated Chinese router slave.[/quote]

actually tempted to go grab wood out of a skip and see what i can make.... anyone got a free neck you can give me for an experiment?

maybe danelectro had it right in the 50's.... plywood guitars could come back.....

lumber yards have thousands of tonnes because you need to let wood dry out before you can use it.
The problem is our lack of care for nature. I think it would be good for one of the major companies to have a sustainable wood policy. But who would? It's not going to be a selling point for US based brands and Warwick use far too many hardwoods. Who else big makes stuff in europe?

[quote name='sdgrsr400' post='567080' date='Aug 12 2009, 06:19 PM']Plus there's the issue of "exporting jobs" from first- to third-world countries. Globalisation = exploitation: discuss![/quote]

yes i agree, because these 3rd world countries should just produce the raw materials to be exported to the first world to be made into things we can then sell back.
Heaven forbid these countries actually start trying to generating wealth for themselves! I mean the Raj and china can grow some bl**dy good tea for us but ships, trains and high end electronical goods? No they are better made in old blighty.

So yes globalisation=exploitation; the old Empires they were a lot better, a lot less exploitive.....

That was fascinating reading.
I picked up a cheap secondhand tech soundsystem 2x12 with horn. (classic series) It only weighs about 18kg or so, thats without neo speakers. Suits me fine.
But it has (to my ears) a very clean tone. This is good for somethings and some circumstances.
But compare it to big trad rock cabs and it lacks the colouration they give (or more accurately has a different colouration) for a lot of things that colouration is part of the sound. Use a more modern cab and it wont be there.

So surely you have to add it somewhere else? A modern lightweight amp into modern cab will not sound like an older setup. its not designed to, and will sit differently live. I would think trying different amps may be more use than different cabs to a certain degree.
I dont mind using a heavier amp as my cab is very small and compact. Try a trace head into the lightweight cabs?

At church we have a ashdown amd into 4x8 and 1x15 which is what i normally use. I turned up with my tiny 2x12 (18kg) and H&K Q600 (14kg) and the drummer has a go telling me there was no way I would be able to hear myself and I was being stupid. As best I ignored the drummer. To my ears I sounded different on stage, I could hear different parts, BUT I knew that I sounded better and clearer to the folk at the back of the hall. And that's what matters. Ask soundguy/ people which sounds better.

amazing. makes me wonder why i bought a fender. should be pinned to the top of the forum?

so many threads about it, so why does everyone seem to keep goingback?

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='565209' date='Aug 10 2009, 05:48 PM']tea chest? we [i]dreamed [/i]of a tea chest... etc [/quote]
dreaming? I s'pose that meant you got to sleep? gravel lie on and once a month we were allowed to nod off for an hour

[quote name='Rich' post='564900' date='Aug 10 2009, 01:02 PM']There were 126 of uz living in't WEM cab in't middle of road.[/quote]

ooh look et you with your WEM cabs, bloody nobility almost! When I was a lad all we got was an old second hand tea chest, a bent broomstick and a rope, an that was a 4th hand broken rope too. when rained we hid under tea chest

when i played in an originals band we were offered a gig and it came with a fee. If you play X you will be paid Y. Work it out up front, be proffesional with dealing with promoters and price yourself at what you think you are worth. Be realistic but at a minimum cover your costs.
Also the cost kinda in folks mind determines how good you are, eg a £2000 bass is obviously better than a £200 bass even if they are similar. Likewise think about where you price yourself in the market.
but then to do that the band has to have the drive to match, and if you dont you probably arnt going to go forward.

Lew-bass first time gigging don't worry about headphones, also, to be honest if its your first time an normal amp may be better than a POD into desk and foldback. You need to trust the soundguy less and its that one less thing to have to worry about. Then once you have played a few gigs you will have confidence to go without the trouser moving amp behind you. That may just be me though.

Well I took my Bass Pod xt live to church to use today. Spent friday eve programming in few nice useable sounds.
It was good, the tones cut through way more than the ashdown head we normally use but in a cleaner way. I found to my cost how to overwrite sounds on the fly but fortunatly i had a second version of my tones saved I could use.
The chorus effect i was using i hadnt got set up quite right and it threw my timing a bit, (and a fast song) but got some nice overdriven SVT sounds and a warm smooth tone too.
I'm not sure the effects which is why i bought it will have much use, what it is good for is finding and shaping just the right tone for that setting. Positive and got some comments that it sounded good.

I think theres a good point there Moos3h.

Fender basses were designed to be mass produced. Now these days I doubt there really is much difference in the skill of workers on a production line between the far east and the US. Providing you can keep the quality control up (which reportedly Squier are doing at the moment) then the only difference is the wood, and in a electronic instrument that isnt going to be vital in a live setting.

hi desh

im not sure about '62 reissues but played lots of '57 reissues. Either trying out or owning.
Had the (Us version) CIJ RI have a very early JV and tried a recent USA MIA RI
also played a '80s tokai hardpuncher.

The CIJ is very good. Solid construction and sounds good. Very nice modern P bass tone. If I was buying a new bass I would get this one.
The MIA was well constructed, It had more period correct features than the CIJ. IMO the neck on the jap one was better but the MIA was very good. Similar sounding.
My JV is better made than either, lots of wee details like the rolled fingerboard. It sounds a lot more vintage, imagine the sound you hear on your old records...

I played a tokai briefly in a shop, it was one of the old ones, I dare say it was a passable bass but it wasnt very good compared to any of the others above. Better than some fenders though.