Jean-Luc Pickguard

Every Marlin I've seen has been cheap & nasty crap. Not even comparable to the cheapest squier let alone the makes mentioned. If you're going to upgrade the pickup & electronics you'll need to upgrade the bridge, tuners, body & neck while you're at it to make a decent bass. If the strap buttons are in good shape & he wants a quid for it...

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='473004' date='Apr 26 2009, 11:08 PM']A friend of mine has a cheapy Kramer PBass. He gigs all over the country in a function band and has to use this from time to time as it's his backup. The sound engineer at a Walkabout venue asks him to use it instead of his Ray cos he prefers it![/quote] Walkabout? - Do they pay bands in real money now? Last time I was asked to play one their standard deal was - house guitaramps, drumkit & PA. No bassamp 'cause it sounds better through the PA'. Five bands on, each expected to bring a thirsty following. Bands payment - f'kall but a £25 bar tab split between however many band members. I politely declined in two short words. I expect the sound engineer in that case may have been less someone with magic ears and more someone who knew which knobs to twiddle to make a bass with a precision pickup sound like a precison.

I was blown away by a squier VM Precision (70s telebass style) the other day. But don't forget a expensive bass that needs a trussrod tweak is likely to play like a pig compared to a perfectly set up cheapo.

[quote name='jimbaby' post='472075' date='Apr 25 2009, 11:05 AM']Hi I bought a Squire VMJ from a guy in Glasgow recently for a good price and when checking the neck did notice a slight bow which I thought, (not very experienced in these matters) would be righted with some adjustment by a pro. I did ask him if the bass had had a setup or was it as it came from the shop, he told me he had lowered the strings to suit himself (the alarm bells should have been ringing but I was smitten by the look and general quality). On putting it into my local guitar shop the tech tells me he will have to clamp it over the weekend and if that fails maybe try some heat treatment. Only had this bass for a short time but have become very attached to it already, also it was a birthday present from my wife so fingers crossed for the right result, will find out next week. Regards Jim[/quote] I'd have thought a tweak of the truss rod would be all that was required if its a slight bow - particularly as the weather has warmed up just recently - a couple of my basses have needed a little nudge in the last week or two. Is this tech an actual luthier / repairer or just someone that works in the shop who happens to know how to put strings on so gets called 'the tech'?

[quote name='HeavyJay' post='471591' date='Apr 24 2009, 03:10 PM']How many people outside the bass community know the difference between a Jazz and a P?[/quote] I bet the average punter wouldn't be able to tell a strat from a jazz bass.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='470965' date='Apr 23 2009, 05:58 PM']If you buy one, I guarantee you'll either be selling it or attacking it with a chisel within a fortnight....[/quote] By the time I've raised some spare cash, either the gas will have worn off or there'll be cheap ones popping up secondhand left right & centre. Hopefully.

I couldn't believe how nice this bass looks, how light & comfy it was to play, the matt neck finish with slightly wider & deeper profile than a jazz, but not as wide as a precision and how the tone is right up my street. I was imagining how it would sound even better with a set of Thomastik-JF344s and how it would feel with the truss rod adjusted properly for less relief. The missus says I'm not allowed any more basses (but then its easier to get forgiveness than permission) and I probably have about 15 more than I need already, but I'm trying to work out a way of raising 'extra' cash to get one of these beauties. Damn! I only checked it out 'cause people on BC were saying how nice the vintage modified basses were and I saw one hanging up in the local shop.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='468615' date='Apr 21 2009, 02:58 PM'][pedant]Oh no you don't![/pedant] These were originally made in Korea by Cort, as were all the 80s Hohner Professional range. No idea where the current ones come from, though - apart from Not Japan. J.[/quote] I bow to your superior knowledge.

If the serial number is S8 it could be later than 1978 - there should be an actual date visible when the neck is removed from the body. I have a 1981 Precision that has a S8 serial. If the pickguard has no holes for a thumbrest it could mean just the pickguard is a replacement rather than the whole body. Seeing how the body is routed with the pickguard off should confirm whether its original or not. If its genuine it would cost more than £450 Any chance of some taking some pics so we have something more to go on?

I don't know if the palatino is any good for arco - might be worth a look. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_eub_500_sb_electric_upright.htm"]Thomann sell a rebadged version[/url] for around £320. Endorka, Have you seen the [url="http://www.gollihurmusic.com/product_details.cfm?ProdID=1771"]NS bass heel[/url] On his site Bob Gollihur says its not suitable for the WAV 4, but doesn't say why.

I have an original Japanese one I bought new for £250 in whatever the Bass Cellar was called in 1986 - a tenner less than the heavy ash Precision I bought a few years earlier. I also have the Hohner hard case for it. Its a very well made and playable bass - now beaten for portability by my Ashborys though. I found some picato double-ball end flatwounds for it & with those strings it sounds good even in passive mode.

[quote name='Stingray5' post='468040' date='Apr 21 2009, 04:18 AM']If all else fails, you could always use it to dig yourself a nice deep hole to hide in..! [/quote] or escape in a kayak...

I'd creep up on it from behind

You could replace the volume control with one that also has a push/pull series/parallel switch similar to the one the S1 jazz basses had.

[quote name='thebeat' post='466241' date='Apr 18 2009, 05:07 PM']... i wont be ending the claim until the bass is safely in my hands and that wont be until Tuesday.[/quote] No question about it - that's absolutely the correct thing to do it as once you've closed it you wouldn't be able to reopen it in the even of it not turning up or other issues.

I used to get a lot pain during & after gigs (but never practice or rehearsals ) until I stopped using rotosound suspension bridge cables and started using thomastik TI 344, turned the amp up, used a limiter and played with a lighter touch. Once I was used to it, my sound had just as much attack and oomph, but I could also play faster and for longer on the songs that need pumping 16ths. Obviously what's right for me won't suit everyone, but a change in technique worked wonders for me. Every time a thread like this comes up I also recommend [url="http://www.drkertz.com/bassistguide.html"]Dr Kertz's book[/url].

If it was me they'd have failed the audition already. If you're going to do something, do it properly and giving a song list without keys is not doing it properly. I'd ask for the keys & reschedule if it takes them a while to reply. Life's too short to make up for other peoples' laziness.

we have two types of rehearsals: 1. Amplified in a rehearsal room with everything as it will be for a gig 2. Acoustic in a band member's front room For the acoustic rehearsal the vocals & harmonica are unamplified, the drummer uses a snare with brushes, the guitarist uses his acoustic and I play an ashbory bass through a tiny 12W practice amp. Overall the volume level is no louder than having the TV on.

I expect John East could do one for you.

If bass players were really conservative we'd all be carting around double basses. The Fender precision took off because it either did the job better, cheaper or easier. Bass player that rocked a precison in the 50s were certainly notlooked upon as conservative. These days jazz players with any kind of electric bass are often looked down on by their peers. I love my precisions, but when I turned up for a blues band rehearsal with one, a couple of the chaps were surprised as it was the first time they'd seen me with a "proper bass" previously they had only seen my ashborys, NS 5 string upright & short scales. Perhaps its the people that shop at GAK are conservative and the more adventurous buy secondhand, import or buy from specialist shops.

I'd ask for whichever one would raise the most when ebaying it and buy a 1966 mustang with the proceeds. If that's against the rules I'd probably go for something stupid like an iceman or a semi-acoustic.

Bloody Tories (Well it is spelt with a capital 'C' in the subject line)

[quote name='JPAC' post='459585' date='Apr 10 2009, 08:11 PM'][i]Jean-Luc Pickguard Graduated fade? You're new at this aren't you?[/i] - Oh yes. I wanted a generic term for tri-fade burst, amber burst, antique burst, blue moon burst, charcoal burst, transparent blue sunburst etc, and that's just from one maker. Could have made it burst then?[/quote] Only joshing with ya! Some colours look better on certain basses and no so good on others. I like a nice sunburst on alder if its a precision, but on a mustang bass I prefer a solid colour such as daphne blue or vintage white. If I was to get another Jazz I'd get a 70s big-blocks style one with a natural finish on Ash. Of course that would only be on one with a maple fingerboard - if it had a rosewood fingerboard it would have to be candy-apple red.

[url="http://www.basscentre.com/4-string-bass-guitars/bass-collection-speakeasy-4-string-active-bass.html"]http://www.basscentre.com/4-string-bass-gu...ctive-bass.html[/url]

didn't 'bass collection' basses have headstocks like that?