eude

Wow, that must've been awesome! I'm a big fan of Jean's playing, and his stuff with Nuclear Rabbit, his Kenneth Lawrence bass is simple awesome! I know he has a couple more on the go, one fretless but man Kenneth takes his time making these things, it's been years!

Here's Jean Baudin on an 11 string >> I'm not sure how @binky_bass plays his ERBs but the above is gold standard as far as I'm concerned, not necessarily what folks would consider bass playing, but absolutely incredible musicianship as far as I'm concerned..

Another example of a Fender style headstock on a SC body >> I think it looks pretty bloody cool, hope @Andyjr1515's glue work holds up Eude

Or I could just buy one. I've got a bunch of pedals I'm not using that could go, and they'd probably pay for 2 B3n's but not quite a Helix...

Oh and another few questions @LukeFRC if I may? How's the whammy/pitch bend on the B3n? Blending of effects, can you adjust the wet/dry on patches, or just some? I've read some folks saying that the B3n flattens the tone of their basses a little, however I have read on some sites that the guitar equivalent, the G3n, G3Xn and G5n pretty much keep up with Helix to most ears, not worse, just different and that the amp and cab sims are just as good, although there's no IR stuff obviously. Any thoughts on the above would be awesome buddy... Eude

Don't worry it's not THAT old How big a step up is the B3n? I had a B3 briefly, and it left me a little underwhelmed, could well have been just as much of where my head was at playing wise if I'm honest, the lack of DI is a pain though. The build quality is another thing that folks mention, but I remember the B3 at least being pretty solid. How's you rate that on the B3n? I used to love that Sansamp BDDI tone a while back, and I've been contemplating picking one up again, but I know the B3n does an impression of that particular unit, is it any good? I could get a B3n new for less than a BDDI v2 secondhand! So you reckon it's not all that bad then? I'm half way thinking about just getting an HX Effects or Stomp now, GAS be damned! Thanks for the offer of a loan dude, very kind of you, I'm down in South London, so sadly it's not so easy to pop by yours in Leeds Eude

One of the nicest Fodera's I've ever seen... Eude

Told you they were good

I'd get in touch with Ashdown to be sure you're popping the right fuse in, they're really helpful. If you need it, I can give you the direct email of the guy that does the repairs, let me know...

That might be the culprit!

All I can tell you is that my experience of trying out Walnut didn't go well, you could of course add a Walnut top to a more familiar sounding body core? Eude

This might be of some help >> http://www.warmoth.com/Bass/Options/WoodDescriptions.aspx Problematically though, you can get massive variation in examples here, so super lightweight Alder vs a more dense example will likely sound quite different. Personally, I had a Black Walnut bodies Shuker Jazz a while back and it didn't do it for me at all, the tone just wasn't quite right. My mistake, not Jon's I might add, but if you like a more trad bass, you're probably best to stick to more trad wood choices... Eude

I agree, it sounds really nice, great spread of lows, mids and highs without being brittle or harsh. I also like the refinements you've made to the design too. So what's your plans for it, are you going to change anything, or let it settle in? I'd vote for the latter... Eude

They pretty much pride themselves on being able to service all their gear, the ABM's in particular, I'm sure they'll be able to sort you out 😎

Get in touch with @Ashdown Engineering, they should be able to fix the amp for you, their customer service is fantastic! If you do buy a new amp, I expect you'll find the Ampeg PF 500 lacking in real world volume (dare I say heft) compared to your proper old school Ashdown, if the Ashdown does everything you need, it'll be significantly cheaper to repair it than replace it. Eude

All true mate. I've limped along thus far with what I've got though, so I'll bow out for now, until I get annoyed with how badly the AmPlug deals with low B again

In my head, as soon as you can buy an actual amp for similar money, the case for a high end headphone amp starts to weaken.

You can find the PJBH for about £150, so it's not THAT pricey in the grand scheme of things I guess...

There's a Bighead Pro now too >> http://pjbworld.com/cms/index.php/product-ha-2/ Wonder what price that will come in at? I do like the idea of these BigHeads and the Ashdown version, just not sure I can really justify one right now, I've got lots of other odds and sods that bridge the gap, sadly...

They have indeed, but it's crept into the pricey area much like the PJ one, and to be fair, bar needing a power cable, there's not going to be that much difference in real life than just using my Ashdown Class D head with headphones.

I've got an AmPlug and although it's not bad for the money, it doesn't play nicely with low B strings or high output basses I'm making do anyway though, as it's very convenient, and the next level of this kind of product is prohibitively expensive, sadly... Eude

Congrats matey, another fine bass for the stable 😎

Massive shout out for ACG here. I've owned and played several Shukers and I've also played several Sei's and the ACGs just have something more to them. The Shuker and Sei basses were lovely instruments, don't get me wrong, but having played ACG basses, there's just something missing, if that makes sense? If you're dead against ACG and it's head to head between Shuker and Sei for something a bit more traditional, I'd go with Jon Shuker however, he does make lovely versions of the more Fenderish stuff. Cheers, Eude

Sorry dude, I'm afraid I've chickened out for now. It's a lot of cash for a gamble, I want to hear some real world feedback from bass players before I pull the trigger, I'm not in any desperate hurry really. GAS took me to the edge, but I've managed to come back for now. Eude

With an ABM or one of the newer Rootmasters? Eude