BigRedX

Having played most of the Basses on that page on my visit to the Sadowsky workshop last week, I really liked 5081 although 5077 had a slight edge tone-wise.

It seems stupid that he's not making them anymore but won't sell the schematics either?

Just back from a week in New York and I thought it might be useful to share my experiences checking out the various shops selling basses.

First off I have to say that I have zero interest in Fender basses so those of you wanting info on buying one in the US will have to look elsewhere, however, all the shops I visited did seem to have a large range of both new and vintage/second hand, so unless you're looking for something particularly unusual at least one of the stores will should have what you want. Of course whether the price is any good I couldn't say...

First off - 48th Street. This is the NYC equivalent of Denmark street but with better customer service. Most of the shops seem to be owned by [url="http://www.samashmusic.com/default.asp"]Sam Ash[/url] now. There's a dedicated shop for Guitar and bass with a large selection of basses including quite a few unusual second hand instruments. Unfortunately most of the interesting stuff for me was so badly set up that trying them out was not a pleasant experience. There was a great looking Ibanez Rolf Spuler fretless for around $700 but the strings were so old that it felt lifeless. Same with the Alembic - can't remember what model it was but the price tag was close to $3000 and it might have been the worst feeling expensive bass I've ever tried. There was also a 70's Ampeg Plexiglass bass with a neck like a banana.

On to [url="http://www.mannysmusic.com/"]Manny's[/url]. Nothing that really grabbed my attention, but the set-up of the basses meant that at least I could get a decent idea of what they were like. Some nice-looking high-end Spectors and Sadowskys among the more conventional fare.

Finally [url="http://www.rudysmusic.com/"]Rudy's Music[/url]. For me this was more like it! Lots of basses I'm unlikely to encounter in UK stores including a 10th Anniversary Ritter, a good selection of Modulus basses, a pair of Sukops and a really nice Pedulla Pentabuzz. If you're looking for something a bit different this should be your first port of call. Also the basses are in a room of their own on the 3rd floor so you're not disturbed by the massed shredding guitarists that seem to be a US music store fixture...

On to the 14th Street [url="http://www.guitarcenter.com/"]Guitar Center[/url]. Lots of Fenders and Music Man basses plus a few other brands but nothing to catch my eye. They had a great selection of interesting second hand guitars, but the bass selection seemed to be just a few 70s Fenders. Disappointing.

However there's more interesting stuff on the Lower East side in [url="http://www.ludlowguitars.com/"]Ludlow Guitars[/url]. A Veillette Minotaur that I might have considered if upper neck access had been better, and a CT inspired Pelosi. A few blocks away for second hand/vintage stuff there's [url="http://www.rivingtonguitars.com/"]Rivington Guitars[/url]. Nothing caught my fancy bass-wise, but if I was in the market for an interesting guitar there were several that looked worth trying.

Finally across Brooklyn Bridge and down into DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) for [url="http://www.sadowsky.com/"]Sadowsky Guitars[/url]. It's a good thing that I'd written down the address before going as there's nothing on the street to announce their presence. The showroom/workshop is on the 5th floor of a very anonymous looking building and only by checking on the touch-screen in the lobby could I confirm I was in the right place. I open the door to their 'suite' and I'm greeted by the sight of two people folding and packing t-shirts. "Hi, I'm Roger" says one of them "do you play guitar or bass?" Led into a room with one wall full of instruments and a whole range of different amps and speakers to try them through. Spent a very pleasant 90 minutes just trying all the different models through and SA200 amp. Fantastic! Super-comfortable to play, and nicely balanced with none of the issues that make Fender basses awkward for me to play. If they'd had a fretless in the showroom I might well have had to buy it. One thing that did surprise me though was that after all the great things I'd read about the Sadowsky pre-amp, I preferred the passive sound with just a bit of treble roll-off - great tone!

And that was all I had time for. I would have liked to also visit the Fodera workshop, but I looked just a bit too dificult to reach simply using public transport, plus a week in New York is never enough time no matter how well you plan your visit. However it will give me some things to put on my 'to do' list for my next visit!

Got to have a coily lead for that authentic sound!

Thanks for Trussart photos. That's a nice looking bass!

If the prices keep on moving downward you might be able to find a second-hand Overwater Original within your budget. I bought a 5-string fretless last month for £550!

The advantage with the plain saddles is that you can put the grooves in EXACTLY the right place for your bass. Especially important if you're using it as a direct replacement on a Fender as there's a good chance that you'll end up with a better compromise between string spacing, pole-piece lining up and the edge of fingerboard.

If there was a shipping option I'd have probably bought this by now...

The standard hard case offered for a Sei is the Hiscox.

Get the Hiscox [/thread]

These spammers are even more deeply stupid than normal. Did they not check the subject of the forum first? We're bass players we don't need Viagra or porn, as we have nubile groupies at our beck and call!

I played a couple of these at the LGS earlier this year. Pretty good. The pickup and pre-amp is very flexible - lots of sounds there. However I was less impressed with the very V-shaped neck. This is probably the only high-end bass I've played where the neck shape actually made a negative impact on my perception of the instrument.

Price-wise I think it's about right for the quality of the bass - provided that you like the neck because according to Martin Sims at the time they would all be like that (maybe this will change later after some more use feedback?)

However the web site is appalling. Design is a subjective matter, but ease of use isn't and the navigation leaves much to be desired!

If you're going after that filter make sure the PSU is included as the Peavey rack gear uses something non-standard like 16V AC IIRC.

Also worth checking out is the Adrenalinn.

Don't know of anything in a stomp box, but I've used a couple rack effects to do this.

Firstly a Peavey Spectrum Filter - envelope following and MIDI triggering of both VCF and VCA with full ADSR envelopes for each section. The filter part is reputed to be based on the Mini Moog filter.

Secondly, not quite as versatile but still good, the tremolo section of the Electrix MoFex which has variable shape tremolo sync'd to MIDI at different note intervals.

You can hear the Peavey filter unit in action by clicking on my sig and listening to the track "Love Junkie". All the bass parts are an Overwater bass through the filter, being controlled by a MIDI sequencer.

I find dots for every fret simply too confusing.

You could do what I have on my Sei which is to have the standard side dots (including one at the first fret) and then discrete dots (at the same positions) on the front of the fingerboard between the highest two strings to counter parallax.

Cool. If it had been a 5-string you might have been in competition from me.

Full report when it arrives please. I might still have a punt on one of the guitars if the get re-listed cheaper.

The Italia bass has little in common with the original Ampeg except a vague approximation of the body shape. The Eastwood version is very slightly more authentic. The Johnson scroll basses are in a whole different league with regards to authenticity of construction and sound and with an equivalent price to match!

Still haven't seen one of the re-issue plexiglass basses in the UK yet. Anyone know somewhere with them in stock?

Thanks for the Trussart info. The new price is now $4500 according to their web site so it sounds like you picked up a bit of a bargain there!

Would love to see some more photos of it

On the subject of uncontoured bodies do you have any problems with the Rumblefish in that respect?

Firstly to the OP, if you like your bass that's great. If it plays well and has the sound you want, don't let other people's views affect you.

The thing with Warwicks is that they're very polarising of opinion. You don't come across many people who can take or leave them, they either love or hate. I suppose they're not particularly fashionable right now and do have a rather dated image of early 90s Funk Pop and Metal, but give it another few years and that will all change.

As for personal opinions, I'm not a fan. I don't really like the looks and all the basses I've tried except for one just didn't feel comfortable. Most of the ones I've tried have been fretless, because that's what I mainly play, and I found on the whole the necks felt sticky which is definitely not conducive to fretless playing, and on one in particular the edges of the fingerboard were really sharp. Now on a cheap bass that could be forgiven, but not on anything costing over £1000. The one Warwick I did like had a price tag of around £4000 on it. It was nice but IMO not even £2000 nice let alone the asking price.

Yes more info on the Trussart please!

And back on topic here's the ramp on my Sei Flamboyant Offset Bass:

[quote name='Protium' post='295747' date='Sep 30 2008, 06:49 PM']Off topic sorry: Anyone know what type of bridge that is?[/quote]

Looks like an [url="http://www.ets-hardware.com/"]ETS[/url]

There was a Johnson Scroll Bass in the Gallery last month. Very nice. If I hadn't been there to pickup and pay for my Sei Bass i might have been tempted.

That looks like the newer version bridge but without a close-up pic it's impossible to say for sure. The newer versions allow you adjust the action with a allen key and without having to remove the string. On mine because the whole saddle rotates to screw up and down you have to slacken off the string to do this and height can only be adjusted in half-turn increments.

Sound-wise there's lots of tones available, whether there will be all the ones you want is another matter. The controls are master volume, bass, mid, mid frequency and piezo volume. There should also be a switch to give two piezo tones. I've found that there can be a hole in the frequency range between the highest mid and piezo which may be a problem for getting some sounds. I don't use the piezo much because it generates too much handling noise with my playing style. Also because mine has an unfinished maple? board, it's never been strung with anything more abrasive than half-rounds.

That eBay listing has been running for a couple of weeks now and despite what they say the price has not been significantly reduced. Factoring shipping and VAT/customs at the moment it's at the upper limit of what the bass is worth. I'd be tempted to wait for it to come down by at least $100 unless you are sure it's the bass for you.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5525&view=findpost&p=290332"]Post 448[/url]...