7string

Shimming a neck can be used to alter the pitch of the neck in the pocket and so the way the strings lie from bridge to nut. There are some basses which have a neck-adjustment screw in the neckplate and it's a way of doing what that does or a way of getting rid of the screw completely. First, calculate the height of the shim that you need by measuring from the last fret to the ideal string height. Make a shim the same size of the neck pocket which tapers from your measurement to zero and which has holes for the neck screws to go through. Then unscrew the neck and put the shim in place with the thick end at the body end. Replace the neck and adjust the action etc. as necessary. If you can't make a 1-piece wedge then you can make a 'ladder' of separate strips each tapering from your measurement to zero. I've only had to do this on basses which have been 'modified' previously.

There are some great bargains on the used market. There's been Sei J's, Bolins and Low End basses for less than your £1500.

£4k's a lot of money for an electric bass, but just spare a thought for the orchestral players. Double basses, violins and pianos are infinitely more expensive. I think we get good value in comparison If you're looking at a custom bass, don't even dream about resale values. Who wants a Sei 7 with LED's and my signature on it. Thought not

The more money you have the more difficult the choices. There are some great choices to be made and I wish you the best in your search. Remember to come back and tell us all what you bought and what made you buy it.

Don't worry about giving Sei HQ a call. They're all very approachable and won't mind answering your questions and giving advice. I wanted a Sei for years and years as well and they're definitely worth the money. Every time you even look at it, the bass will bring a smile to your face. Go to the website, work out which options you want and call Sei HQ

Blimey, what a transformation

[quote name='Kongo' post='486470' date='May 12 2009, 10:38 PM']Nice Conlkin GT7! I never could find one in this country...very nicely priced...I'd use it as my 6-string but with a Low-F# below instead. Ramps suit these kind of basses very well.[/quote] I got mine from the US via eBay for $800 (I think) about 7 or 8 years ago. Even with the £/$ rate as it is now, these basses are (IMO) still the best way to get into 7 strings. Shame they don't make them anymore though. The only problem with mine is that it's heavy.

[quote name='d-basser' post='485079' date='May 11 2009, 02:19 PM']Who could that have been [/quote] No idea I didn't want to say for fear of him getting rush of orders for similarly superb ramps.....

I just bought a piece of ebony off of eBay for a ramp for my Tyler. A local bass-player got it cut down to the right size and put some foamy double-sided tape to it. Amazes me that someone hasn't got a ramp-making service. Saying that Jon Suker made a ramp for my Conklin and even colour-matched it to match the bass. He de-fretted it for me at the same time and did a great job.

Sounds like he has homes for the new basses then. No point taking the huge amounts of time and effort building them if they're just going to hang around waiting for buyers.

I played Eude's Shuker jazz at the Bassbash in Moffat. It's a great bass and the 33" scale makes it criminally easy to get around on. Sounds good as well. I wouldn't dismiss the 33" scale right away, if Eudes bass is anything to go by the scale length doesn't effect the sound. Before anyone jumps on this point, I know scale length does make a difference, but on that particular J style bass the 33" scale felt good and sounded good as well.

I hate to be a killjoy, but would people with £4k to spend have a Shuker instead of a Fodera or a Ritter. Even before you get to £4k your looking at USA Sadowskys, Fender Custom Shop and a whole raft of others. I wish the guy all the luck in the world but aiming at such a market is going to be very tough even more so in a recession. Usually it's a case of a luthier creating a cheaper version of an existing model, but this would be a huge leap. Saying that, he must have done his market research so fingers crossed.

There's a Mr.Big album "Live at Budokan" and on the last live track (Bowie's "Suffragette City") the band all swap instruments. Singer to guitar, bass to vocals, drummer to bass and guitarist to drums. Sounds great and PG's drumming is pretty darn good

[quote name='3V17C' post='481961' date='May 7 2009, 01:43 PM']reunited Mr Big live on Japanese TV[/quote] Now that's what I'm talking about [b]3V17C[/b] - Your username gives away your admiration for Mr.Sheehan

I've always found jazz to be a little out of reach. Not from the point of view of understanding it, but from the point of view of wanting to listen to it. I've listened to many kinds of music, but find jazz a bit 'vanilla' and not the proper vanilla either, the really bland stuff. As in the quote of take by the OP, jazz isn't fun nowadays it's serious. It seems to be in the realm of an enlightened elite instead of embracing a wider audience. [b]This is just my opinion.[/b]

Great to see my fave band back Had the pleasure of interviewing Paul Gilbert as well as Eric Martin a couple years ago. Both of them felt that Mr.Big was unfinished business. Amazing that Mr. Big came back together because they didn't have to. Saying that Eric does have twin sons now, so now the nappy stage is over he can go and have some fun

If you feel that you could do a good job yourself, then you could always give it a go. There's a few re-finishing threads on here. A pro respray will run into a couple of hundred pounds at least and you might feel that could be put to better use. I remember as well that SIMS used to effectively put a big sticker of a picture onto the instrument, so a flash paint job for a lower price. Had a look at their website and can't see it now, but it could be another idea for you.

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='471604' date='Apr 24 2009, 03:20 PM']currently 1 year 6 months [/quote] That's an awful long time to wait for a bass. Hope it's not too much longer.

Blimey, that's some bass you built

... moy Bolin![/quote] Luverly. One of the most under-rated basses ever.....

I got a bass room as well. It's great to have the support and understanding from the other half.

I'm surprised you're so relaxed about all this. I would have been throwing the toys out of the pram by now.

OOO!! Simply wonderful.

MTD's are always fantastic quality. Great catch

Another UK luthier to add to the list There's always a market for quality P's, J's vintage or modern. Another alternative to the big F which is never a bad thing.