pete.young

Thanks folks, some great information here. I knew I could rely on you!

The bridge pu tone control mod seems like a good idea. I'll do the pot and see how it goes. It doesn't seem particularly noisy so may already be shielded.

I've really no inclination to mess with it - it sounds beautiful through my Burman Pro 2000 . The house has been ringing to the sounds of 'Wind Cries Mary' and I'm not complaining.

For those who Just Have To Know, it's a MIJ '71 not for export , sunburst alder body with maple board from the venerable John at Far East Guitars. He has some lovely Jazz basses at the moment too.

[quote name='MB1' post='141830' date='Feb 17 2008, 11:16 AM']MB1.
New price is £249[/quote]
Can you still get new ones? I thought that they'd been discontinued.

Son no. 1 has just acquired a very nice strat, perfect in every way except that it has a duff tone pot which needs to be changed.

Since we've got to take a soldering iron to it, I was wondering if there are any other recommended mods that I should be thinking about. I was contemplating shielding the cavity. Pickups are Texas Specials so don't need to be changed and we're not looking for bridge humbuckers.

[quote name='burno70' post='130757' date='Jan 30 2008, 04:04 PM']Has anyone any experience of this? What are his basses like "straight out of the box?"[/quote]

I've never had a bass from Jon, but I've had other instruments hand-made to my specification. Consider this.

You've clearly put a lot of thought and money into getting Jon to build something that's unmistakeably yours. It's more than just something off the shelf, and will probably be something you'll play every day and cherish.

Why not wait a few days until you can enjoy the experience of picking it up in person, talking to Jon about it, maybe getting anything sorted that needs sorting. That'll give you a special day that you'll always remember, that will make the bass even more special and personal. You aren't going to have too many days like that. Make the most of it.

[quote name='setekh' post='136302' date='Feb 8 2008, 09:27 AM']I also have to sing praises to thomann, musicstore and musik-produktiv - great prices and service (even with my 21% VAT)[/quote]

musik-produktiv is an interesting one. I've had really good customer service from imuso.co.uk on several occasions. Imuso are musik-produktiv in the UK. I did once ask Imuso if they'd price match musik-produktiv though, and I'm still waiting for an answer ;-)

[quote name='OldGit' post='130744' date='Jan 30 2008, 03:54 PM']Yeah +1

Why is it so hard for music retailers to do that consistently?[/quote]

Because for every one OldGit or Perry who really does appreciate the service, there are 1000 other customers who are only interested in the cheapest deal and will even attempt to lowball that. Internet sales have taken the pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap concept to the limit and it's getting harder and harder for the decent shops to stay in business. Ultimately the market will support a certain number of specialists, and I guess what we're seeing is this shaking out. No surprise that the Brune St. Bass Centre has gone, particularly given that the main man is now fully occupied selling Brian May skinny-string replicats. I never visited the Wapping shop so I don't have anything to compare it to, but there are other examples of shops that were great for customers but bad for business - any Manc types of a certain age might remember Sounds Acoustic, for example.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='128994' date='Jan 27 2008, 11:16 PM']Replied.

Sale on hold pending Johns decision.[/quote]
If John doesn't want them, I'll definitely take them.

The Nordstrand pickup replacement is made to measure, and is supposedly a lot better than 'nice'.

For folks in Suffolk who don't know about Paul Glazebrook , he has just done an excellent job replacing a duff op-amp on my EA iAmp 350, and has also rebiased and serviced both my Burman valve amps in the past. Excellent service and a very reasonable price - he does setups too.

Sounds like GM Audio need to be removed from the list in the light of recent events.

Behringer do one for £40 - UCG102 .

Shoulda bought a macbook instead!

[quote name='chris_b' post='125668' date='Jan 22 2008, 07:22 PM']There's your problem. Spotted it right away!!![/quote]
Oi! Be careful what you say next, I've got 2 banjoes. And 3 accordions. Don't play em much though.

A 1964 Hofner Senator, bought second-hand for £15 from Bells in Ewell Rd, Surbiton. Also played through a Watkins Westminster, which my old man had aquired from some distant relative who played electric mandolin. Super little thing, complete with tremolo.

Have any of you guys looked at the SX guitars?

Bought a couple of pedals from Dave late on Thurs night. They arrived on Sat am, very well packaged and in excellent condition. A pleasure do to business with - recommended.

Jim Keltner

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='122688' date='Jan 18 2008, 09:59 AM']I'd recommend getting the genuine Comfort Strapp. Trouble is, the only place in London that ever seems to have them is the Bass Gallery.[/quote]

I got mine from Mike the Bass Merchant via mail order.

Whereabouts are you, Rayman ? It might be fun to compare the Levin with my passive MM3. I'd have to say that there's no sign of the quality control problems with the nut or the bridge on mine.

Bought some 'second-hand' mikes from Pete. Everything was in as-new condition, including little plastic bags and ties. All expertly packaged up and promptly dispatched. Excellent deal and an excellent bloke to deal with. Much appreciated, Pete.

[quote name='dood' post='122853' date='Jan 18 2008, 01:47 PM']Not sure what body mine is actually, but if you buy a 70's P from Ishi, the necks are so close to a J its barely noticeable. (I have a CIJ P and a CIJ J neck)[/quote]

+1. Mine appears to be a PB70-93US judging by the picture on the Ishibashi site, but the nut width is 38mm, standard Jazz width.

Mine was second-hand via Far East Guitars though, so it is possible that they've changed the spec - the Ishibashi site lists it as 40mm which his kinda half way between P and J

It seems to me that you should consider taking this guy to the small claims court in order to get your money back.

[quote name='Machines' post='120003' date='Jan 14 2008, 11:41 AM']"Los Angeles, USA, United Kingdom"

Well I live by Hollywood (Birmingham) but I don't know of a Los Angeles in the UK .[/quote]

There's a 'California' in Ipswich, and also one in Woodbridge.

Shouldn't someone be reporting these scumbags to Ebay or something?

Over the last week or so, I've been getting a few strange 'No Redirect' messages instead of a page. This might be part of the same problem.
I'm using Firefox on OpenSolaris.

Not sure where this is coming from, maybe from my ISP, Plusnet .

[quote name='Beedster' post='117632' date='Jan 10 2008, 09:22 AM']About two days later I accepted a new job and am having to move into a rented place for six months or so.[/quote]
So you're having to move away from Canterbury then, Chris? Too bad.

If anyone in Suffolk or Essex is interested in this stuff or Chris's cabs, I can pick it up for you. I'm expecting to be in Canterbury next week for the funeral of an old friend. Let me know via PM.

awrabest,

Pete

You, sir, have PM!

[quote name='owen' post='108315' date='Dec 22 2007, 08:12 PM']It's for church. High volume is not really an issue [/quote]
Tie-clip microphones from Jessops. About 20 quid each. Should do nicely.