doctor_of_the_bass

Brother! Thee are on a spendeth spendeth spendeth spree at the minute! You'll be catching up thine younger brother at this rate! Thats really spooky, I tried one out a few weeks ago at The Bass Merchant - same colour! They really are well made and very good value for money! I was down there again earlier today following a gig cancellation so I had a bit of time down there and have fallen in love with two lovely ladies.....more to follow later this week! Nick

"Where's my Fendar??????" Nice pants?!

[quote name='Rayman' post='628966' date='Oct 17 2009, 07:28 PM']Nice old basses, but £800?? No way, although I've seen them going for not much less than that in mint and original condition. In [i]my[/i] opinion, they're worth around £400. Prices for older gear are just going mad, or rather the people paying those prices are.[/quote] I was lucky with my two, both good prices and in good condition. A sensible price range for these would be between £350 and £600 depending on condition; of course I'd want £900 each for my two!!! The same thing can be said about many basses; I've got an '83 USA Fender Precision Standard and it cost £249 (not much more than what a JV would cost back then!) and these are going for around a grand which is a lot of money! Wal basses used to cost £640 back in the mid 80s and they too go for silly money although this might change now that they are being built again. My Dad recalls working in London back in the early 1970s and there were hundreds of 1950s and 60's Fenders going for peanuts as there was no vintage market - people wanted new gear, not old stuff! How times have changed eh? At the end of the day any instrument is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it! Nick

Just to say that this is being discussed as we speak by the Moderation team (thanks Sibob!) Cheers! Nick

missed one bass of the list, an LMS Jazz!!! Doh Nick

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='627431' date='Oct 15 2009, 10:50 PM']Agreed totally on all counts. There's no need to play around with blends or volume in a gig. Play with a lighter or heavier touch, or adjust your rh playing position for different sounds. I'm a classical musician as well - cellist & double bass player. Rich.[/quote] Speaking as an occasional Jazz bass (Classic Vibe, as well as a couple of MIMs!) player, I do a Sibob and tend to bring the front p/up in as required. I love that burpy bridge p/up tone and if I need more `depth', I just roll the volume up for the front p/up. As Rich says, dynamic changes in volume can be achieved via touch etc. Signal degradation is not a problem with your volume up on the bass! Nick

Don't forget to Brasso them thar frets! X

Mark King used to use one of these prior to his purchase of his first Jaydee bass in 1980...

Check out the MIM Roadworn Jazz basses - I've got severe `must buy one' GAS right now - in fiesta red!!

Aww! What are you doing Saturday nite?? Heheh! Thanks mate! Love you too! There's a lot of history out there - when the Net first started, there were many Yahoo clubs for most of the main bass makers (I co-founded the JD one, and setup clubs for Status, Pangborn etc), going back to around '97 - and we actually had quite a few get-togethers, including parties in London etc and of course, the famous JD 25th Anniversary open day in 2001. Yahoo Clubs then changed and they kind of trailed off a bit which was a real shame really.

Many Happy Returns!!! My second ever bass (1983 Fender US Precision Std) was technically 25 years old recently as Dad bought it for me on the 6th October 1984 - I was 13 - spoilt little git eh? Thats a good looking chap with the red Passion and blue Arpege.....!

Wonderful! Both with Schaller machine heads - I had a Thumb Custom built for me in '90 and it came with gotohs (which are fine!) but I was upset that it did not have Schallers!!! Sad eh? Nick (author of `Machine Head and Tuner Monthly')

Allo! Great to 'ear from you again Redders! We really must get a reunion sorted!!! (you, Kol, me and Cookie and if we can find 'im, Toby Douglas!). Remember that italian we had in Manchester - I think we spent about £300 on Barolo that night...! Those pics bring back some memories! Bryan, that pearl blue Mark King model with the unusual funk groove used to belong to our good friend Mick Cookson from Manchester - he originally bought it as what he thought was a Roadie II passive, finished entirely in gloss black (with the funk groove). Anyway, Mick took it to John around 1999 or so and wanted it stripping down to have it redone in `Manchester City' blue. As John got it rubbed down, it was clear that it was not a Roadie but a heavily modified Mark King model, complete with centre stringers in the body. Mick then had John restore it complete with the standard JD 3 band eq etc. I've got a pic of me playing it at the old Bartholomew Street workshop. It now resides in Paris with Morgan Roussell who owns my red ex-King classic bass! Cheers! Nick

Get some Moog Taurus pedals!! Nick

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='625109' date='Oct 13 2009, 03:36 PM']It's an amazing collection & you clearly have more basses than the average music shop would normally stock at any one time! Purely as a point of interest I once sold my Jack Cassady bass to a guy on EBay who had 135 instruments. Funny thing, he was divorced. I really like the attention to detail. I only really know Fender basses as they are what I keep going back to (so can't comment on Pangbourn and the like) but you really do seem to have it all covered with an impressive range of Squiers and Fenders.[/quote] Thanks Burrito! Ideally, I'd love some really old Fender's but money is always fairly tight, being a full time player - people around here (Peterborough) think I'm minted what with having the Bentley on the drive and eight bedrooms but in reality I'm Mr Overdraft! Being a kid in the 80's meant that I could only lust after Statii, JayDees etc (my paper round meant an Aria Cat Active was my only boutique bass!) so I guess I'm making up for it now!

[quote name='alexharvay' post='624872' date='Oct 13 2009, 12:28 PM']All those basses and not one Gibson? You must have had one in the past, right?[/quote] Never had one! Terrible that eh?! I'd love an old EB-3 etc and/or a Victory bass! Cetera - now there's an idea! Heheh! How's about this: THE BASS GODS - MORE THAN EVERYONE ELSE! Hmmm!

Here is the list (off the top of my head - an official census is required!) Alembic LS-1 Alembic 20th Anniversary Aria ProII CSB Deluxe Aria ProII CSB-380 Aria ProII CSB-380 Aria ProII CSB-450 (first ever bass!) Aria ProII Laser Classic Aria ProII Precise Bass Aria ProII RSB Performer Aria ProII SB-1000 Ashley Pangborn Chieftain Ashley Pangborn Warlord (graphite neck) Ashley Pangborn Warlord (wooden neck) Ashley Pangborn Warrior Bass Collection Jive Bass Bass Collection JZ Series Fretless Carvin Stereo Bass Crafter J Bass (Mighty Mite fretless neck) Danelectro Longhorn Dean Pace electric upright E Basses Crusader E Basses Saracen E Basses Valiant Mk2 (under construction!) Ernie Ball MusicMan StingRay (fretted) Ernie Ball MusicMan StingRay (fretted) Ernie Ball MusicMan StingRay (fretless) Fender Jazz Bass (Japanese) '62 re-issue Fender Jazz Bass (MIM) Bartolini p/ups Fender Jazz Bass (MIM - the raffle prize!) Fender Precision USA Standard (1983) Fender Precision (JV Squier first edition '82) '57 re-issue Fernandes PJ medium scale Heartwood Custom headless Hohner P Bass Hohner Rockwood P Hohner Rockwood P Ibanez Roadstar JayDee Calibas VI JayDee Classic Custom JayDee George Anderson (GA24) Model JayDee Roadie (project bass!) JayDee Roadie IA fretless Kramer 450-B Aluminium neck Rickenbacker 4001CS Chris Squire Ltd Ed. Spector NS-2 (USA) Squier Classic Vibe Jazz bass Squier Classic Vibe '50's Precision Squier JV Precision '57 re-issue Squier Precision Squier Precision Status Series II Status Series 2000 Steinberger XL-2 (ex JJ Burnel) Tokai Hard Puncher Tokai Jazz Sound Veilette Citron fretless Vigier Arpege Washburn Bantam (fretted - Steinberger copy) Washburn Bantam (fretless - Steinberger copy) Washburn Force 42 fretted Washburn Force 42 fretless Washburn Wing Vulture fretless Westbury Track IV Wilkes Guitars half-fretted Yamaha BB-614 Vox Standard There you go! Nick

The UK contact is Dave Brewis who used to play guitar in The Kane Gang.

Oh dear! Nice bass though!

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='624497' date='Oct 12 2009, 10:27 PM']Heh! Yes, I know what you mean, Steve. There's just that extra dimension to the sound that'll cut through any mix like a freshly sharpened scythe & the growl is unmistakable for anything else. I also love the reliability of them & the sheer strength of them as well. You can hammer these to death on a daily basis for twenty years and they still stay in tune every day! Both the gloss and satin finishes are very hard wearing, too. You're right about the "any genre" thing as well. I've used SII/S2's since 1990 & have played rock, pop, funk, reggae, country, jazz, musical theatre, pantomimes, etc on them. It really is the ultimate all-rounder.[/quote] +1000! I think that you'd be very hard pressed to find another bass that can do just whats needed on a fully consistent basis, gig after gig etc without any problems etc. I love my Vigier to bits (mainly for the neck and preamp) but the Series 2000 I've got is bulletproof and is very much a sonic scythe (as my brother noted!).

I think we just cross-posted Rich! Absolutely! One day I will open a bass shop....! Nick

Many members of the collection are spread across a number of secret locations but will be fully catalogued in good time! I do have a `team' of working girls (basses!!) which are (basses used in different situations): Vigier Arpege Status Series 2000 Status Series II Ernie Ball MusicMan StingRay x 3 (two fretted and one fretless) Fender Precision (Squier JV first edition) Squier JV Precision Squier Classic Vibe Jazz Yamaha BB614 Dean Pace eub. Cheers Nick