BassBod

Chris May at Overwater was very involved in the design - do a search on Talkbass and you'll find his comments. From memory, the guy involved from Carlsbro died and that pretty much ended the project..but there's obviously more to it than that!

I know of at least two in the UK. One was owned by a BCer, but it may have gone by now?

I've always liked the jack socket "feature". Just goes to show - wouldn't life be dull if we all played Fenders (yes, I play a jbass most of the time currently!)

I'd love to try one. Although they look a bit odd at first the designs make sense. A much thinner body than usual, long top horn and good neck angle all sounds like good stuff to me. Also Carl's background in repair work/pro guitarist looks like a great starting point for good bass design. I admire his assertion that he can't really tell you what different woods will sound like - but you will sound better if you practise more. Refreshing advice in a world full of spalted/quilted/bur/curly tone wood that will make you sound just like [insert favourite player here].

I've got an old GP11 preamp, for mainly historical reasons. The pre-shape seemed fantastic back in the early 80's, but I would never use it these days - too much scoop.

I also tried out my Clarus into a Barefaced compact. It worked very well, the "voicing" of the cab brought out the best of the amp, and its was a powerful focussed sound. A fender jazz sounded fantastic with no extra eq - that doesn't happen with my usual EA cabs. I've not tried any Acme cabs but I have seen the TB discussions over their thirst for power, so I suspect the Clarus would sound great but may struggle to produce real volume? The Focus version is the same size/weight, so I'd try and audition one of those? I'd love the try the EA or Clarus with a Barefaced Midget T....one day!

I've used the EA 500 (older bigger amp) for a couple of years, and a AI Clarus for two years. I would say that the issue about the taper with EA volume controls seems true - you really do have to turn them up more than any other amp I've used, and the sound is better when you get used to it. On most other amps I run the input gain around half way..with the EA its usually more like three quarters up and theres still plenty of "headroom" for louder transients. The same applies to the output, although I rarely need to go above half way for my gigs. The AI is a fantastic amp and very powerful for its size (rated at 400w into 4ohms) - but its not a loud amp in the traditional sense. Also the preamp is very honest and the eq minimal. I can use it (with EA cabs) happily with active basses, but a passive bass needs extra outboard eq to shine. I'm not heavy handed with eq...but I find the AI preamp a bit minimal. A lot depends on how loud you need to be...but I can use either happily for most of my work (pubs, clubs, theatres etc) with DI support when needed.

The Seymour Duncan standard vintage jobs are great - and are pretty good for single coils - healthy output and not bad for hum. My Bravewood has Voodoos (not the right spelling..) which are very musical and honky, but the output is fairly low and they are microphonic. For a 70's jazz I'd consider the Dimarzio humbuckers (model J?). They're not really a jazz-type, but I've never heard them sound bad. More powerfull, and darker (in series) but a great sound. I'm thinking about putting a set in the Bravewood. Dimarzio also have a new set (Area?) which look more traditional, and seem to be derived from the ones that they make for Sadowsky? There's also the EMG JV if you can squeeze the battery in. Never tried them..but thought about it.

The LaBella set is really good - a very funky flatwoundbutwithabitoftwang sort of sound. Heavy gauge, but they will last a long long time, so I think they're worth the cost and a bit of set up. The Roto tru-bass is similar but doesn't sound or feel as good - a bit more wobbly sounding and the intonation can be strange. The Status version is good, but with a regular gauge they are very low tension - I foound I had to move the string height up a lot to get a good feel (like Thomastik flats). Pyramid gold - the best trad flatwound. Sound 20 years old out the packet, and feel old and solid (but not very high tension like most flats). If you only want to buy one set of flats (and your bass is very regular Fender type dimensions) these ae the ones - Thomman were the cheapest last time I looked. Hope that helps

So why haven't they just given Norman the "prototype" to use as a spare? He must've shifted (by reputation/association) tons of TE gear, plus Elites over the years. I know it doesn't work like that...but..

As I started playing in the early 80's, I have only two memories of these basses.....incredibly heavy, but really nice cases! I'm sure I used one as firewood when times were tough! Worth mentioning that I read somewhere these were the first guitars made by CNC machinery - very much ahead of the times.

Love the look, but I tried one a few years ago (carbon fibre neck) and it was great except I couldn't stop the upper body sticking into my ribs - sitting or standing, it was always giving me a poke! The electronics were interesting..involved Jbass pickups and piezos, but I didn't get on with it enough to work them out. Very disappointed - but I'd love to try another one.

Yes, Mr Foxen is correct - the Thomastik powerbass set (47-10?) uses purple. So do Pyramid gold flats. Overwaters are always black (well, mine have been).

Euphonic Audio CXL112. Used to be very expensive..not the lightest..sounds a bit middy on its own..but in context it really does a great job, and is a perfect "small cab" size. I'd love to try the newer and lighter M-line 1x12, but I'm just too poor these days.

I should also add that I bought a WD one a few years ago - it was nothing like a good fit, didn't even cover the route around the socket. I'd bought an "identical" one a few years earlier which fitted perfectly. Never any guarantee that these things aren't coming from different suppliers. I would expect a refund based only on the fact it doesn't fit, regardless.

That sounds like the Innovations 140H set to me - around £80? The only issue I had with them is the metal windings can "creep" on the nylon (?) core a bit..but they never fell apart in the 3 plus years I used them! I'm using the Rockabilly version now (plastic outer windings rather than metal). Have a look at Bob G's descriptions...but remember the mag pickup. Also Talk*ass is full of "opinions" about strings..but more for purely acoustic qualities than EUB uses.

Good to hear you're enjoying it. Getting "the right" strings for upright is a real learning experience compared to BG, so here are my suggestions - hope it helps. Focus on the sound you want to make first..but also consider the feel. They vary much more. If you want a twangy, NHOP type sound or growly jazz then Spirocores are a safe bet, or the LaBella black nylon (steel core, so ok with mag p/up) are great, and a bit less tension. There are also "older" sounding strings like the Innovation sets which have a softer more "acoustic" sound. I like these on EUB, as they help produce a good acoustic feel - I know the metal wound versions (140H?) work with a mag pickup, but most of them won't as they have no metals in the construction. Have a look at Bob Gollihur's site for useful comments? Best of luck, and take it easy BB