Kiwi

I'm closing this thread. A lynching is just going to encourage people to dwell on things more than is probably necessary, so how about we move on and get back to normal? You all know who he is so its up to you all as individuals to decide whether you want to trade with him in the future. In fact, why don't we try to finish this episode on a high note? The bass is secure, I hope lessons have been learned on both sides, and its great that the forum and key individuals were able to help out so effectively. Don't forget though - CAVEAT EMPTOR.

I thought this issue is over? Aren't threads of this nature bordering on victimisation and bullying? If you were an admin, what would you hope to achieve by banning? There's nothing anyone can do to stop this from happening in the future so I don't see what point there is in banning anyone. If its additional security you're seeking, this is not the way to get it. Simple lesson is [u]don't take risks buying and selling[/u]. The internet is a scary place and the freedom it offers is a double edge sword. If you're not happy then don't hand over the money in the first place.

This question of growl is something of a life long quest for me. I still haven't worked it out but it depends very much on the neck and the manner of dampening. The maple/wenge combination in AGC, Sei, Shuker and other basses is a bit of a sure fire winner. However although the wenge is consistent, the maple isn't and its the maple which holds the key. Other experiences Ive had: Status Series 2000 (numerous), because its an all graphite instrument, the neck was as rigid as a Tory PM who has died from a viagra overdose, firm sounding and growly as hell. Smith BSR5GN (was mine), deliberately designed with maple and bubinga neck to be giving, and growly as hell but the growl is quite soft sounding and warm. AGC 4 bass (I don't remember which one), firm growl with a really nice maple and wenge combination neck, almost like a status but less aggressive Sei 4 string headless (Bass Gallery), very firm growl with a nice maple and wenge combination neck, sounded similar to the AGC but slightly more aggressive. Still less aggressive than a Status Series 2000. Celinder Update J (mine), birdseye maple neck, fairly growly, lots of player wear and the growl is quite soft. Most jazz basses sound growlier on the bridge pickup but this bass actually sounds growlier on the neck pickup! Musicman Stingray (mine), slab cut maple neck, very growly, loads of player wear, but the growl is quite soft. Ped's Vigier, the best of Status and Sei, very growly bass with nice firm midrange but not too aggressive in attack. Seems to me that the sound of wenge or some other wood to soften the mid range response of maple (perhaps by lowering one of the frequency peaks?) works quite well. The other thing I found was that Mark Bass speaker cabs are coloured to enhance the growl of jazz basses. However they don't suit all basses unfortunately, particularly if you have an instrument whose tonal character is significantly different to the colouring of the Mark Bass gear. My theory is that all instruments have a series of resonancy peaks and by managing the way in which the wood is combined allows some peaks to overlap at some points and other peaks to be dampened. Where this happens in the lower mids (250Hz or so) this gives the instrument its characteristic growl. However this is far from a science as every bit of wood is different and so the results can be unpredictable. There is one theory about tuning the 'knock' frequencies of selected woods which some luthiers subscribe to. Basically the frequencies of the ringing sound of a piece of wood when knocked with a knuckle is in some kind of harmonic relationship with all the other pieces of wood. What I don't understand is how this relationship is maintained when we all know that when you saw off chunks of a piece of lumber you make its resonancy frequencies change. It would change things in the same way that filling a glass with water changes the frequency of the glass when knocked. However I caveat that by saying although I've played hundreds if not thousands of instruments, and I've buggered about with swapping parts on the same instrument to see what happens, I've never made a bass yet. It just strikes me that anyone who can get consistent growl on a bass has to have been working with the same design for quite a long time because if there are different sized pieces of wood being used all the time its otherwise harder to predict using experience how mass, density and volume all interact with one another. Musicman are a great example of this, same body shape, same neck, more or less the same hardware, means that they can start to measure differences in weight and mass. They produce some very consistent instruments. Same with Celinder and they also produce some very consistent instruments. This is all just opinion though.

There's an awesome black headless Sei 4 in the gallery at the moment. Sounds gorgeous, light as a feather and the neck is near perfect with super, super low action.

how are those wedges coming along then Alex?

I'm personally ambivalent about it. We've operated a fairly loose definition of 'musically related' but have drawn the line at stuff like cars (for loading gear into). I don't personally see any problem with musically related books, DVD's and CD's but if any members were planning on using the forum for advertising basic household clearance (washing machines, beds, cracked vases, 80's style black ash furniture sets etc) it could be taking a bit of a liberty. Having said that Toasted, why not put a link in your sig to your own web page containing details of stuff you want to move on?

heheh beat u anywayzzz i gets first dibz innit

you've heard the song, now buy the bass [url="http://www.thebassgallery.com/mmcutlass.html"]http://www.thebassgallery.com/mmcutlass.html[/url]

[quote name='lateralus462' post='336572' date='Nov 25 2008, 07:35 PM'][url="http://www.torresamps.com/"]http://www.torresamps.com/[/url] do DIY kits[/quote] +1, also this bloke [url="http://www.stevesamps.co.uk/services.html"]http://www.stevesamps.co.uk/services.html[/url] I also have an amp tech, Jon Griffin, based in West London who I've used for the last 4 years. He gets the job done and I've never needed to go back to him to redo work. Lots of details on amp techs here too: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=198&hl=amp+tech"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...amp;hl=amp+tech[/url]

I am too, I'm left sided for everything APART from bass. And thats only because I learned drums right handed before I took up bass. How Mark King has managed to buildup that strength and control in his non dominant hand, I don't know. f*** it, lets start a Talkbass style club!

Update: completion in 3 weeks! Just in time for Christmas!

that doesn't suck at all

Deep Impact pedals went up in value after the bloke in Muse started using one too. There is no question in my mind that endorsement helps values of used instruments as well as new ones. I agree that the scarcity, build quality, brand association and probably some speculative buying initially also contributed to the price increases of Wals. I really admire how the instruments haven't changed that much in so many years. You know the makers have confidence in their product and the market approves of what they're doing. I haven't played many 5 string Wals yet (maybe only 2 in my life) but I liked the fretless that I played. Very smooth. Depending on what the prices are, I'll maybe think about putting one on the GAS list at some point. Its great the brand has been saved though. From what I understand, Paul contributed to the construction of many Wals so the change in ownership wouldn't justify much difference between pre and post Fish models like you get with preCBS fenders. I'm sure that won't stop claims on Ebay to the contrary though

definitely try before you buy on acoustics. Depending on how they're made, the response across the strings can be very inconsistent. Generally, the brighter and louder the instrument, the better its put together. I've played some cracking instruments that were only 170 quid. Watch for wobbly necks too. They don't season the neck woods very well in cheaper instruments.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='335173' date='Nov 23 2008, 09:49 PM']You can usually find several genuine vintage P-basses for silly money on ********* and of course the normal place to get cheap equipment previously used by household-name bassists is ***** ********, but the REAL bargains are always on ********.com. Hope this helps. [/quote] LMAO Funniest response I've read all week. Hope people don't think the swear filter censored that though!

ooh yes please!

[quote name='sixshooter' post='335029' date='Nov 23 2008, 05:48 PM']Good move, it sounds like my 944, bought it in my mid life crisis and now will never sell it. I have had it for about 14 years now. I was going to replace with a 968 sometime ago, but decided to keep the 944 when I realised mine was better![/quote] I was looking at a 968CS until I realised i) I couldn't fit much kit in one and ii) the depreciation would be less if I bought bass gear instead! Decent milers are getting harder to find though.

I remember seeing about 3 or 4 auctions of wal basses during the time they were becoming ridiculously priced and there was one bidder who snagged 3 or them for relatively obscene amounts. It looked like they had decided they wanted certain examples at whatever it took to get them.