lowregisterhead

Not sure how wise it was to include a photo of the original invoice with his address on. Unless he no longer lives there, or he didn't like whoever moved in after him. Invitation to burgle if you live locally and are so inclined, if you ask me...

Perhaps, but I don't see how they can change the strap button location, and the dead spots could be a design problem.

SHORT REVIEW: The basses finally arrived at Andertons in Guildford earlier this week, actually a couple of days ahead of the delivery date they gave me. They got four 5 strings in stock - two of the EHB1005MS model (multi-scale, solid colour, Bartolini pickups - one in black, one in seafoam green) one EHB1505 model (standard scale, Nordstrand pickups, pacific blue burst with poplar burl top) and one EHB1505MS (the same specs as the EHB1505, but with a multi-scale neck). On playing the 1005's, they both had one glaring issue - a really noticeable dead spot at the E at the 9th fret on the G string. There was another less serious problem: the neck pickup on the seafoam bass was flapping about loose (the screw had literally fallen out). They had only come into the shop that day, but it makes me question the standard of quality control at the factory and at the UK distributor. The roasted maple/walnut neck was comfortable, slim and fast, but the Bartolini pickups were pretty bland and lacklustre to my ears, although the Vari-mid 3-band EQ did help to lift the tone. So, slightly disappointed, I moved on to the more expensive EHB1505 basses. Tonally, they were very different from the cheaper models. The Nordstrand pickups had much more breadth, bottom end, mid and high end detail. They sounded good in passive mode, and switching in the preamp improved them even more. The panga panga / walnut neck felt a little more sleek than the maple of the 1005, although the general standard of finish was very good on all the basses. There were a couple of other QC issues with the 1505MS, however. The stacked mid controls were badly fitted so they were off-centre in their recess in the poplar top, and the outer ring was rubbing against the edge of the recess. The bass also rattled when moved around. On closer inspection, the sound was coming from inside the battery cavity. I took out the battery, moved the bass around, and a screw fell out! The 4 screws securing the battery compartment were all in place, so I can only assume a stray screw must have fallen in during assembly. Not a great place to have a loose piece of metal rolling around. They all shared another problem that may be more difficult to fix, for me at least. The range are well balanced, and also very light, due to the chambered bodies. With the bass on a strap, and the strap button position being above the tuners, along with the bevel of the upper part of the back of the body, the bottom of the bass tends to sit up. This makes the fingerboard easier to see, but forces you to bend the fretting wrist round a little more, which I didn't find particularly comfortable. More importantly, if you have a playing style that involves pulling on the strings (slapping/popping for example) the bottom of the bass lifts up and away from your body easily due to its light weight. One way to counter this problem would be to fit the strap button lower down, but the cutaway to accommodate the tuners, and the position (and size) of the jack socket makes that difficult. The strap would end up getting in the way of one or the other. The action on all of the basses was acceptable, but on the 1505MS I got a marked increase in fret buzz in two positions on the G string, indicating a couple of high frets. In the age of PLEK technology and high-tolerance manufacturing techniques, that shouldn't really happen, especially on a £1400+ bass. So all in all, something of a let-down. I'm a fan of this kind of design, having owned many headless basses over the years, and I like the concept of a headless multi-scale bass, but in reality it has too many issues for me to take on board. You may feel differently of course, but I'd strongly recommend trying one out before taking the plunge.

SHORT REVIEW: The basses finally arrived at Andertons in Guildford earlier this week, actually a couple of days ahead of the delivery date they gave me. They got four 5 strings in stock - two of the EHB1005MS model (multi-scale, solid colour, Bartolini pickups - one in black, one in seafoam green) one EHB1505 model (standard scale, Nordstrand pickups, pacific blue burst with poplar burl top) and one EHB1505MS (the same specs as the EHB1505, but with a multi-scale neck). On playing the 1005's, they both had one glaring issue - a really noticeable dead spot at the E at the 9th fret on the G string. There was another less serious problem: the neck pickup on the seafoam bass was flapping about loose (the screw had literally fallen out). They had only come into the shop that day, but it makes me question the standard of quality control at the factory and at the UK distributor. The roasted maple/walnut neck was comfortable, slim and fast, but the Bartolini pickups were pretty bland and lacklustre to my ears, although the Vari-mid 3-band EQ did help to lift the tone. So, slightly disappointed, I moved on to the more expensive EHB1505 basses. Tonally, they were very different from the cheaper models. The Nordstrand pickups had much more breadth, bottom end, mid and high end detail. They sounded good in passive mode, and switching in the preamp improved them even more. The panga panga / walnut neck felt a little more sleek than the maple of the 1005, although the general standard of finish was very good on all the basses. There were a couple of other QC issues with the 1505MS, however. The stacked mid controls were badly fitted so they were off-centre in their recess in the poplar top, and the outer ring was rubbing against the edge of the recess. The bass also rattled when moved around. On closer inspection, the sound was coming from inside the battery cavity. I took out the battery, moved the bass around, and a screw fell out! The 4 screws securing the battery compartment were all in place, so I can only assume a stray screw must have fallen in during assembly. Not a great place to have a loose piece of metal rolling around. They all shared another problem that may be more difficult to fix, for me at least. The range are well balanced, and also very light, due to the chambered bodies. With the bass on a strap, and the strap button position being above the tuners, along with the bevel of the upper part of the back of the body, the bottom of the bass tends to sit up. This makes the fingerboard easier to see, but forces you to bend the fretting wrist round a little more, which I didn't find particularly comfortable. More importantly, if you have a playing style that involves pulling on the strings (slapping/popping for example) the bottom of the bass lifts up and away from your body easily due to its light weight. One way to counter this problem would be to fit the strap button lower down, but the cutaway to accommodate the tuners, and the position (and size) of the jack socket makes that difficult. The strap would end up getting in the way of one or the other. The action on all of the basses was acceptable, but on the 1505MS I got a marked increase in fret buzz in two positions on the G string, indicating a couple of high frets. In the age of PLEK technology and high-tolerance manufacturing techniques, that shouldn't really happen, especially on a £1400+ bass. So all in all, something of a let-down. I'm a fan of this kind of design, having owned many headless basses over the years, and I like the concept of a headless multi-scale bass, but in reality it has too many issues for me to take on board. You may feel differently of course, but I'd strongly recommend trying one out before taking the plunge.

I think I must be one of the few people that actually really liked the headstocks on the first D Lakin basses, and wanted a Shark 5. Only two of that model were ever made, apparently Dan still has one in red, and the other, in a rather gaudy green, is currently for sale on eBay in the States for an inflated price. (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/D-Lakin-Shark-5-Prototype/303479685853) The current owner reckons it warrants the price tag due to its rarity. He's owned it for a while, so it looks like he's timing his sale to coincide with Dan's new launch in the hope of making a fast buck. He bought it from Dan, and in late 2018 sold it to a bass shop in North Carolina who had it on their website for $1100. I tried to buy it, but despite contacting him, the shop couldn't get Dan to issue a declaration that it was made before 2017, which was needed to ship it at the time due to CITES restrictions on the movement of rosewood, even if it only formed a small part of a second-hand instrument. This restriction has since been lifted (https://www.andertons.co.uk/cites-law-guitarists) but by that time the original owner had bought it back again from the shop! I contacted the guy through eBay, and he replied, but rambled on about getting the pickups upgraded and a new scratchplate made, so either he's changing his mind about selling it, or just doesn't want to sell (or ship it overseas) unless he can double his money. I suspect he may have a long wait.

OMG, they're still going.... https://www.bikinibeach.co.uk/

I heard an inspired version of that very song by 'The Bikini Beach Band' who used to gig around South East London. I saw them at The Venue in New Cross in the 90's. Apparently the band were made up of London session guys, although I've never actually found who they were. Their schtick was that all the songs were instrumental (there wasn't even a mic onstage) with the melodies played with heavy use of the whammy bar in a D1ck Dale surf guitar style, and the band all dressed in flamenco outfits with fezez(?). It was simultaneously cool, absurd, hilarious and musically excellent! They also did a cracking version of the Manics 'Design For Life', IIRC...

Mike bought my Steinberger Spirit fretless, and was kind enough to brave the winter winds and Sunday motorists to come and collect it. Thanks for making the journey, enjoy the bass!

Pity he didn't take the time to plug the audio into the camera. The shop acoustics don't make it sound great!

Update: Andertons are getting a stock of the basses in at the end of this week (allegedly). They're not far from where I live, so when I got my money back from GAK, I went and put a deposit down on a EHB1005MS, so I can have first refusal. If it's not to my taste, they'll refund my deposit. Hopefully they will turn up! I'll report back once I've actually laid hands on one.

I've got several early Laklands, but they're certainly not Fender copies, other than the fact that every electric bass can trace its origins back to a Fender in some way. Neck profiles, string spacing, pickup and preamp configs, and scale lengths set them well apart from most Fenders, IMHO. I wasn't so taken with the first D Lakin basses, apart from the Shark, but the whole line disappeared so fast I never got a chance to try one out. The new range strikes me as being a bit of a backward step, and I think I know why - us bass players can be largely a pretty traditional bunch, and if he wants to sell a few units, Dan won't want to stray too far from the beaten track. Bit of a shame if you ask me, he's had some interesting ideas in the past.

https://www.dlakinbasses.com/

Sorry, the bird in the pearls needs a slap. And the drummer needs a metronome. The guitarist is great though...

I don't think it's worth the grief. If people can get apoplectic about Yorkshire tea, I can't imagine what would happen. I don't mind being a closet musical fascist, but I'm not putting my head above the parapet. The internet would probably implode.

Oooooh, don't tempt me! :-D

As promising as that sounds, I'll have to pass. I was once even offered tickets to see the real Steely Dan live, and turned them down because I was convinced that on some level I would be disappointed! Like I said, you shouldn't tinker with perfection... 🙂

This is what I can't bear - Steely Dan tribute acts. I've had my arm twisted into seeing one in the past (a friend was singing BVs with them) and it was hideous. The band were all great players individually, but it was grooveless, anodyne, and smug (look at us, aren't we hip) and these guys weren't even listening to each other. Full-on fret w@nk. I made excuses and left before my head exploded. You shouldn't tinker with perfection, IMHO. I'd even go as far as to say certain songs and even some artists just shouldn't be covered full stop. I won't start an argument by naming them, but suffice to say I have a list.