Kiwi

17 hours ago, Doctor J said:

They will be owned by banks and hedge funds, to be loaned out to future versions of Joe Bonamassa to play their fake blues on, in high-priced pay-per-view special streaming performances.

I think this is closer to the truth than many might admit.  Look at the classic car market at the moment for a hint of the near future and the art collectors market for a flash of the future 20-30 years from now.  Halo guitars like a 58 Les Paul sunburst flame top will have reached mythical status just like the Ferrari 250 GTO SWB.  Relics of a romanticised era of popular music to be worshipped and fetishised due to their nostalgic associations, more than their actual substance. 

The art world is worse. No final sale price that has ever been achieved through the main auction houses could be justified in terms of the cost of materials and labour, not even Damion Hurst's 'For The Love Of God' diamond encrusted skull which eventually sold for US$100 million.  The value is almost entirely intangible and invented. (Ironically, 'For The Love of God' is perhaps an interesting comment itself on the idea of what is it that we actually value in art work.)

Furthermore, while the actual number of people capable of paying for such relics will diminish, the values won't.  I think the instruments will continue to be perceived as ever more desirable badges of exclusivity and icons of the history of popular culture.

5 hours ago, Russ said:

I'd be very interested in finding out how they behave in different temperatures and humidities compared to regular wood necks and full graphite necks. That's the killer app of a graphite neck for me - that they don't move or warp (or, at least, far less than wooden necks) in different climates. 

 

I'm assuming the graphite-wrapped necks might behave somewhere between the two - a bit like having graphite stiffening bars, but on the outside of the neck rather than the inside. 

It all depends on how they're made and what form of construction is used.  I've had a Moses jazz neck move due to seasonal and ambient temperature changes to a greater degree than a well made wooden neck. The necks made using monocoque construction (hollow) generally tend to be the stiffest if they were made 40 years ago. Vigier, Status and Alembic (c/- Modulus) all made extremely solid necks back then.  But Modulus had issues with their necks in the early to mid eighties (and again in the mid 90's) as did Status (a tiny number in the mid nineties) due to the phenolic fingerboards not being stiff enough.  I wonder if that might be because the necks also weren't over designed any more as makers got more experience with using the material.

Monocoque necks (if they're well made) have about three layers lining the mould.  Graphite wrapped necks might have less but any decision will rest with the maker but they'll be stiff enough for sure.  Especially if the fingerboard is nice and strong.   I doubt there will be issues if the wrapped necks have a core made from a soft wood such as cedar, balsa or spruce.

20 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Oi.. who let this nutter in here?

He's a regular.  There's a few like that. 

I think music is partially about communication and if the original video speaks to you then who are any of us to question that.  However for me, there's a lot going going on and it changes rapidly.  It's hard to interpret emotionally. 

Hi peeps, 

We updated the site on Sunday Aug 14th and after waiting a while for the site to re-index itself (basically it tries to figure out where everything is again so you can find it) things seem to be working as expected.  You might find a few new features including AI assisted functions for images and stuff.

But if you find any bugs, please let us know below and we'll investigate. 

On 11/08/2022 at 18:36, pembroke151 said:

Just to be transparent, I work for Yamaha, my role being to sell Yamaha, Ampeg and Line 6 products.  Any help I can offer in that area, then I will do my best, I might even be able to run a few prototypes past you for some opinions here and there.

Obviously this is not an official connection, it's my personal account and not endorsed by my employer, due to legal compliance there's only so far I can go with matters, but i will do my best.

Yamaha have been my favourite manufacturer for some time.  When they do something well, they do it really well and really consistently.  Second hand values are pretty healthy for the top notch kit.

2 minutes ago, Chris2112 said:

I do recall a white headless Shuker with a proper graphite neck but I can't recall where the neck was made. 

That was a Moses neck from my stash.

Carbon wrapped necks don't sound as bright as fully CF necks but they do have the same evenness and consistency.  LIke I said, I think it's a nice compromise especially when the core wood is quite light.

Jon Shuker has the ability to make a wrapped neck.  It offers the best of both worlds if it comes with a phenolic, richlite or ebony fingerboard.  But I couldn't comment on the potential cost, it would be hand made in every sense of the word.

Probably an admin.

Like me for example.

On 30/07/2022 at 16:43, E sharp said:

I always thought I’d get down there again one day and order a new one, even though I was aware that Rob wasn’t getting any younger. Similar to Martyn Booth, who I now. He’s now 72 and desperate to retire, yet has a sizeable back log of builds. Hence why he can longer do repair work. 

I know Martyn has been making noises about retiring for a while and he's charging a decent whack for his creations too, not far off Wal.  I have a few of the Yamahas he designed back in the late eighties.

7 minutes ago, Kinkh said:

I like the word threatened

At one point, I'm going to try this schematic and build something of it. But be warned, I'm interested in copying these graphs, so I probably won't copy the schematic 100%. I'm just going to use it as a starting point. I have done a filter based preamp based on this particular filter topology, but not this exact implementation, and with some different ideas. So far it worked nice
But when I start working on this, I'll start from there and use this as a guide, as I hate copying other people's work 😇

Just make it growl. 

54 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

Those sorts of mistakes can happen anywhere in the world as soon as you take away the need for the people running the machines to actually understand the basic principles of luthiery and why certain construction decisions are being made. Leo Fender started it all.

Kind of, it doesn't take an understanding of luthiery to make sure something is aligned properly. This kind of issue is due to willful ignorance or poor training.

1 hour ago, Musicman666 said:

that's the beauty ....the first ding is the deepest but now who cares??... you can just enjoy it without worrying.

It's a pub rawk bass.  Only thing is, I don't play pub rawk. 

But if I did...

1 hour ago, zbd1960 said:

Imagine the endless debate over the choice of aggregate for a concrete guitar... "Hey man, it's got to be MOT for that real hardcore sound...." 

Jaco didn't need 5mm screened.

On 23/11/2021 at 00:28, MacDaddy said:

A CNC machine in China, a CNC machine in the USA. With the same materials and parts what is the difference in quality?

 

But as with @Boodang and their Sei's, my Shuker's have been built to my custom designs and body measurements, and will last a lifetime  

It helps if the CNC operators know how to place the wood on the platform accurately so that it's centred and square.  I have a couple of mahogany/maple laminated guitar necks where the laminates are maybe 3mm out of true to the centre line of the neck.  It probably won't affect playability but it's irksome anyway.

I also had to send two strat necks back because the twonk who had cut the fret slots firstly recycled an old ebony fingerboard that already had slots in it, he just flipped it over after thicknessing and glued the old fretted side to the neck.  Secondly the new slots were cut perpendicular to one side of the fingerboard, not the centre of the neck so the frets were out of true with the nut. Luckily for me the sales rep was honourable and sent through two more necks that were made correctly to spec.

This has appeared before but reposted - my preEB beaten to hell stingray which I've owned since 2006.  I nearly lost it on the way to a gig, after leaving it behind on the street in Shepherds Bush.  Thankfully a friendly and astute neighbour rescued it from being salvaged by a couple of meth heads.  One thing I will never have to worry about though is dinging it.  I have a ray because it's got a uniquely muscular sound and a coarse, rasping treble. 

On 26/07/2022 at 04:22, umcoo said:

Hi, I use it for band rehearsal now so keeping it for the time being. Thanks for your interest though. 

Add withdrawn to the title of your listing and it should close automatically. 

17 hours ago, Misdee said:

My reference point for graphite bass tone will always be the Steinberger L2. That's my ideal.  Status basses don't sound like a Steinberger, but it's very definitely a graphite kind of tone. In contrast, I had a custom Zon Legacy Elite as my main bass back in the 1990s and it was distinctly and deliberately un-graphite like in its tone. 

Steinberger, Status and Gus all use completely different fabrication techniques. 

Steinberger use an injection mould based system with graphite fibre impregnated resin.  A bit like fibreglass reinforced bitumen or concrete.  I like these necks, they're warm sounding and fairly consistent.  Everything that a graphite neck should be.

Status (and Modulus) use monocoque construction which is the same technique used for making Formula 1 parts.  That involves lining a mould with up to three layers of resin impregnated, woven composite sheets in the same way as fibreglass.  It also gives the manufacturer control over directional stiffness through orientating the sheets in different directions as they're laid down.  However it can produce issues if the design relies on a phenolic fingerboard for strength.   Modulus had issues with their necks for both Alembic and Musicman due to the phenolic (aka Bakelite) fingerboards not being stiff enough in the early-mid 80's and then Modulus again around 1994.   I've played necks by Vigier and my own Alembic which are superb but arguably over designed.  The 80's Status Series 2000 basses also have fabulous necks when properly dressed.

Gus, as has been mentioned, use pre-impregnated carbon fibre sheets wrapped around a wooden core.  I think Status have used this technique on bodies as well.  It's practical, relatively easy to set up and some forms don't even require a kiln to set the resin.  There's a nice dampening effect from the wood core but still a feeling of evenness and consistency across the whole fingerboard.   Rob played around with dampening in the Stealth 2 basses, injecting epoxy foam into the hollow shell, and it resulted in instruments that were still characteristically bright sounding in that Status way but with a pronounced upper midrange purr.

16 hours ago, Musicman666 said:

I believe the bogarts are all composite 

Graphite composite neck, resin body.  Status did something similar with it's Series 4000/5000 basses.  A bass with a graphite neck needs some form of dampening for it to accentuate the warmer sounding frequencies.   Traditional choices of ash or alder are too bright, mahogany is nice (and I used it on my self build) and maybe there are some softer, cheaper woods like paulownia or tulipwood which might work as well.  Steinberger used maple in it's M series instruments which produced some pleasant sounding instruments but perhaps that wasn't just down to the wood.

19 hours ago, Russ said:

I wonder if Jon offers them on anything other than the JJB range, or for necks with more than 4 strings? 

 

Last time I reached out to him about getting a quote he never got back to me.

He actually messaged me last night and revealed that he's almost overwhelmed by emails these days.  Last night alone he had thirty to respond to so yes, it seems like there's always a chance he might miss one or two.  A call seems to be the most reliable way to get in touch, as I suggested before.

23 minutes ago, Russ said:

I wonder if Jon offers them on anything other than the JJB range, or for necks with more than 4 strings? 

 

Last time I reached out to him about getting a quote he never got back to me.

Maybe give him a call.  He usually checks his emails in the evening at the pub.    

37 minutes ago, Russ said:

I wonder how different they are to regular wood necks when it comes to temperature and humidity changes and so on - would just having the graphite wrap keep that in check? That, to me, is the killer app of graphite necks. 

Well if the wood can experience heat then it'll expand/contract but perhaps to a lesser degree than say a Jaydee or Musicman neck. Even aluminium necks suffer from heat expansion but I doubt  Jon's necks will be affected by humidity.  I think he uses cedar for the neck too as maple is a little overkill and lively.  

2 minutes ago, Russ said:

Could have been. Might have to ask him. Weren't the Enfield ones just a graphite wrap around a regular maple neck? 

 

Jon Shuker's JJ Carbonlite basses have a similar construction.  It's a good way to build, low overheads,  sound great with most of the stiffness without being too stiff and brittle. 

17 hours ago, itu said:

I also wish that the molds stay in UK. I would not fell in love with Xhina-made Xi-fux-U basses.

China has very limited experience in composite musical instruments.  It's restricted to a few companies although it's growing slowly. Only one of those builds guitars and they're acoustic. 

17 hours ago, Russ said:

Moses in the US stopped making replacement graphite necks a couple of years ago, and only make carbon fibre speaker enclosures and violin fingerboards now. They would have made you a graphite replacement neck for almost anything. 

Even before then, Steve Mosher wouldn't make custom anything for less than an MoQ of 10,000 units.  I hated the jazz necks they made but the steinberger music yo necks are alright. 

I'm looking at my FPPR Series 1 5 string hanging on my wall right now. 

I know Rob has built up an allergy to phenolic dust over the years so goodness knows what else he's been exposed to over that time with all the resins and epoxies he's worked with.  However that commitment to quality is a hall mark of his work.  His  basses are superbly engineered and he makes some of the best necks in the business, a well dressed phenolic fingerboard will often allow action a gnat's nadger above the frets.  That's a hell of an indicator of the precision to which their basses have been made to and I really hope any plans to license go to someone who has the drive and commitment to sustain that.

I really wish Rob and Dawn all the best.  They're good company and have certainly made a mark on British music in their own modest way.

If you're using Chrome as a browser, cookie management is all going to change next June anyway. 

Is it a browser cache issue?  Have you tried the old CTRL+F5 trick,  Silvia? 

There's a way to do it but I can't recall off the top of my head.  Drop me a PM with a link to the ad and which picture you want to use as a thumbnail and I'll see if I can figure it ou.

We can combine accounts if we have enough info for the old account.