BassBod

F*&% Yeeaahh!! I believe that is an appropriate form of endorsement for such matters....

Not sure if they are still made, but I often borrow a Joe Meek mic amp/compressor for recording. Nice little box

I've used (older) SWR for years and still rate it - apart from the heavy cabs and the heat/noisy fans - but they were normal issues for gear of the time. Similar with Eden, although I had more overheating problems with Eden stuff. When I took things for service the build quality of both SWR and Eden was mentioned as very good, and they went for routine service, not breakdown repair. Thunderfunk...well, it hummed like a bee (a big,big,bee) and two service engineers thought the build quality was distinctly average, if not a bit lacking in design quality. A lot of the perceived value of used bass gear is driven by market fashion - like most other things. the big thing in favour of the older stuff is it is serviceable by people, because it was put together by people. Current designs are generally not fixable once the manufacturer has stopped that model/version and hasn't got stocks of circuit cards. I really like my current EA500 amp, but I know it has a more limited working life than my old SWR220.

The Brandoni ones were good, but not sure if they still sell them? The bodies and necks were good (Japanese?) quality, but the pickups and hardware were variable. Give them a call and they'd probably cherry pick better parts into a kit for you?

Forgot to say...Eden Travelers are good too, but more expensive used. They've got fans but they don't come on very often (mine didn't work at all, until just before it overheated and shut down...but only with a 4 ohm load...was a little darling into 8 ohms!)

Look out for a used SWR220 head, and get one of Alex's 1x12 Barefaced cabs. You'll hear/read everyone saying the "SWR tone" is Hi-Fi or Marcus Miller, but I find them pretty "flat" and easy to work with. The output is low by todays standards (220w into 4ohm/160 into 8 ohm) but modern cabs are often more efficient, so it will work pretty well. Mine sounds great and pretty loud with a Bag End 1x15. They often go for around £200-250, so not expensive (there's one on the Gallery site currently?) Happy hunting

I'll never be able to keep track.....

I smell a deal coming on.....hehehehe

Chris...get a Clifton! But don't talk to Mo about Pbasses..." 'orrible 'eavy things etc etc" Seriously, the Clifton is one of few that allows you to go back to an acoustic without any drastic changes - close your eyes and its just like playing an acoustic - even the obstacles are there. The sound depends on your pickup/string choices, but can be very old fashioned upright, if that makes sense?

I completely understand how you feel - if something isn't packaged well, and then doesn't work out of the box they should take it back, no hassle and no "if it really is faulty" etc. And why on earth would you not put an instrument in the case?? I looked at these on Bob Gollihur's site, but two things put me off. I used to own an Ashbury...it was fun, but had a few problems. I've also read that the tuners/strings can break and be unreliable - that was enough to get me back to on the upright..... Hope you get it sorted

I think oil could look good - providing its half decent wood underneath the grotty paint job? I saw a bass recently (Dorset bass bash...can't remember the owner's name at the mo...but very nice chap) that was oiled but then topped up with Ken Smith polish - it looked very good and could pass for a thin clear coat of lacquer. See what you find, then decide?

For home/project studios I'd suggest the following approach. Record as live as possible with other musicians, but record acoustic bass with just the pickup. When you get the best take from everyone else, then re-record your acoustic bass, but using a combination of good condenser (usually your best "vocal" mike) and pickup. Then you've got plenty of time to experiment with room placement for your bass and mikes etc without excessive bleed and boring everyone else involved. I've had good results from expensive vocal type condensers and also cheaper dynamic bass drum mics. Experiment with what you've got. You also have the benefit of experimenting a bit more with your part, although it may be limited to a close copy of what you originally played if it is too audible in other tracks.

One reason I normally play EUB is that I've never found mics that can work in anything like a real gig/festival situation. The best solution I know of is to run a good pickup/amp/DI setup for your stage sound, and use a good mic only for front of house....but don't try using it for your monitor/stage sound. I've never had the luxury of trying this, but I will one day! I use an acoustic for recording, but rarely get effective isolation, so more often than not its still the pickup that gets used most.

No specific tracks spring to mind - its been a loong time! There was a track called Noddy goes to Sweden..but can't remember if it had obvious env filter action. To be honest, I don't think I ever realized he used one at all, I just thought that was a sound you could get out of an old fretless Wal. Then I got one.

I really liked his sound and playing on the Brand X stuff - but when I finally got to see him play (10 -12 years ago?) it didn't sound like the same person. It only occurred to me recently that part of "the sound" I liked was his very good use of envelope filters on fretless - much more direct sound than most people use so it adds colour to the sound, without swamping it.

[quote name='wesfinn' post='933065' date='Aug 22 2010, 08:52 PM']I miss this already![/quote] hehehe....looking forward to the "renovated/re-invented" JBass...........keep up the good work!

It should be fine - they are cast in epoxy stuff and pretty indestructible..as long as the wires are all there. I guess you'll have to ask Bartolini if you don't get a diagram with it, but they are probably on-line somewhere. My guess is this is the inspiration for the Sadowsky circuit, so that's a good find!

I seem to remember he changed the stack to 3 pot as he felt the 3 pot setup had a punchier sound. There is usually only one cap in a 3 pot circuit, so I'd be surprised if he took that out. It could be a confusion with the extra two resistors used in a stack to stop the two pots interacting with each other - these also reduce the output a bit, so also take away some of the "punch". I did see an article on another early Jbass that he played a lot but never owned, and the owner had allowed Jaco to remove/bypass one of the resistors - and re-finnish the neck.

Cave was good - sound was pretty nice, but it was a bit of a trek down, and everything felt cold and damp after a few hours. Looked great with candles everywhere - I'm told they do the best Santa's grotto ever....

Did a cave recently...never done that before.

As a former owner of the Alembic Epic above - I'm [b]really[/b] pleased to see someone enjoying it! Lovely bass indeed (if a bit too heavy for wimpy old me). It got passed on at a good price simply because I got it here for a good price...

Sit down when you open their reply! They can be very pricey...but the pots do last a very long time. I forgot to say they are also normally sealed so can't really be cleaned as such. They usually only need replacing when the carbon track starts to break down. Before you buy anything ask them specifically about the feel - a new one may be the same.

Just read the news - really don't know what to say. I met Simon last year at the Cardiff bash...and straight away new we'd met a (more than) a few years earlier and shared a few musical friends. Had a great chat or two. Easy to judge his fine reputation here from all the comments. Thanks to Rich for breaking the news and deepest sympathy for all the nearest and dearest.....