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PaulKing

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Everything posted by PaulKing

  1. Short. Well I use for blues, but occasionally venture into some fat rocksteady and a bit of ska. Big fat full sound, but I dunno if thye'd give the punch you need for a big room shaking dub. Maybe a bit too woody. But double-bass-ish, so good for Skatellites style ska.
  2. There are now re-issues of that bass Horace is playing, £500ish. Big sound, only improved with Mojo of a 50s original (massive collector lust for them) Here's mine (2nd left) ... with family. [attachment=221936:5 basses.jpg]
  3. Nice one, thanks tredders. Ask him about it someday, I bloody love them but they're so rare. I bagged me a Kay K162 from '59 recently and it is incredible - for rootsy Chicago blues at least.
  4. What a very special gift from a very special friend. Hehe.
  5. Ah yeh, deep and authentic rocksteady but with modern inventiveness and energy. Great player.
  6. Watching reruns of TOTP (gotta love BBC4), was very surprised to see Fender man Horace Panter sporting this delicious looking vintage Kay on Ghost Town - more than once. Not many of them around ... last seen with Paul McCartney on Wings tour. Anyone seen one anywhere else? [attachment=221918:Horace Kay.JPG] I wonder if he still has it ... drooooool. One going for $5k on ebay right now.
  7. shes [size=1]tiny[/size]
  8. Now I feel somehow closer to Sheryl Crow... .[url="http://kayvintagereissue.com/img/sherylcrow.jpg"][/url]
  9. Well I decided to pimp. I know it's against the rules, but I've done nothing that ain't reversible. After owning and loving a reissue K162 with it's sexy tiger-stripe scratch plates, I'd always lusted after an early (pre-'59) original with same tiger stripe. Sadly the later (post-'59) are much more common, and delighted as I am to have one at all, that's the model I got my hands on eventually. But I kept thinking "I wish it had the tiger stripe, instead of plain white...". So I googled a bit, bought some vintage-white blank scratchplate material and some repro vintage tortoiseshell veneer, cut them to shape by hand, and made a new set of scratch plates. Plus, the old bridge was practically matchwood, so I made a new one out of a bit of old ebony. Criminal, strictly speaking, but I like. Before: [attachment=220562:body.jpg] After: [attachment=220563:Pimped2.JPG]
  10. A surprising amount is down to your state of mind I reckon (note - I am not a hippie). I only get blisters occasionally - yes if I've not played for a long time, but also sometimes totally unexpectedly. It's when I get nervous, tense, sweaty (more than normal), grip too hard, work too hard ... If you're relaxed, your tone is good, you're not fighting to be heard ... you're much less likely to blister. Permanent callouses are a must. My biggest is on 3rd finger left hand, which is odd seeing as that should be the LEAST used finger. Technique? pah.
  11. [attachment=214112:Willie Dixon Mortone.jpg] Willie Dixon, treating a King Mortone dirty ....
  12. [attachment=214040:image.jpeg] Thanks to a little trade (enjoying the Kay Baz?) a 1959 Kay K5965 (aka K162) has finally joined the family... L-R 1963 Jolana Basora 1959 Kay K5965 1965 Kay Speed Demon 1963 Hofner President 1966 Harmony H22
  13. Yikes indeed. If only I didn't already have one 🙂Awesome basses. Willow Dixon played one on the American Folk Blues tours...
  14. Byo - you mean the gorgeous two-tone red-lined Kay branded case? Yes, for full price only.
  15. Big Jim ... I scored an original 50s blonde. Mortgage demands I make space for it in the bass room!
  16. Nope it's still on eBay ... Am I allowed to link to it from here? Same ad anyway!
  17. It's beautiful isn't it. Yup, short scale.
  18. **SOLD** [attachment=211621:IMG_5043.JPG] [attachment=211622:IMG_5044.JPG] [attachment=211623:IMG_5046.JPG] [attachment=211624:IMG_5047.JPG] [attachment=211625:IMG_5048.JPG] [attachment=211626:IMG_5049.JPG] [attachment=211627:IMG_5050.JPG] [attachment=211628:IMG_5051.JPG] [attachment=211629:IMG_5052.JPG] [b]£575 [/b] [size=4][font=Arial][color=#000000][b]Classic vintage 50's looks and sound, with 21st Century design and build. [/b][/color][/font][b]Based on the original classic Kay K162 as used by Howlin' Wolf's bassist, and now the must-have bass for all serious US blues players.[/b][font=Arial][color=#000000][b]This beautiful looking bass stole my heart 4 years ago, and is what got me on the search for an original 1950's model. Now I've found that original bass, I have to reluctantly let this one go. [/b][/color][/font][/size] [size=4][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][font=Arial]Owned by me from new, this guitar has been meticulously looked after, and is beautifully played-in after 4 years light use playing blues and swing in London. It has played at Glastonbury, Soho's Ain't Nothin' But blues bar, Ealing Blues Festival and many other venues. Crucially it has also benefited from several essential upgrades from the factory model - which would cost around £200 to do again. These include:[/font][/font][/color][/size][list] [*][size=4][font=Arial]Replacement [b]Kluson tuners - [/b]perfectly smooth operation, tidy string ends, and more in-keeping with the classic 'Kelvinator' headstock design than the stock tuners supplied.[/font][/size] [*][size=4][font=Arial]Replacement [b]Duesenberg trapeze tailpiece[/b] - vastly improved sound and sustain (removed the tinny mid-range ring), and looks much more like the original Kay tailpiece than the Chinese-made Hofner Beatle-bass stock tailpiece.[/font][/size] [*][size=4][font=Arial][b]Hand-made ebony bridge[/b] - improved sound, stability and sustain compared to the flimsy crappy softwood fret-wire bridge supplied as stock ... which are renowned for not working very well (strings fall off!). [/font][/size] [*][size=4][font=Arial][b]Labella Deep Talkin' flatwound [/b]strings (HBB Beatle Bass)[/font][/size] [/list] [size=4][font=Arial]This bass is renowned for the deep, full thumping sound from its classic single-coil lipstick pick-up - which is enhanced even more by the famous low-pass tone switch that kills the top end to give you that double-bass thump at a flick of a switch. [/font][font=Arial]Perfect old-school bass for Blues, Soul, Country and RnB, it plays like butter, easy on the wrist. A brilliant, clean-sounding studio bass too. I've never played it without getting jealous comments from every bassist in the audience. Even guitar players want to have a go! It just sounds and looks so cool - although you'll struggle to look quite as good as Sheryl Crow does with it.[/font][/size] [font=Arial]These basses are still available brand new (costing up to £600) from one or two suppliers in Europe (none in UK as far as I know), but remember they come without all these upgrades - and have been known to come with minor manufacturing defects.This one is perfect, pimped, set-up and gig ready. [/font] [font=Arial]I'm very reluctant to let this go but cant afford to keep both. Cash on collection (from West London), or I'll pack meticulously and mail if you pay direct. [/font] Also on the bay...
  19. dincz ... that is awesome. Thanks. He'll know this bass for sure, loads in Slovakia. I like Slovakia, worked there for a while.
  20. Yup indeedy 1961 Jolana Basora 1963 Hofner President 1965 Kay Speed Demon 1966 Harmony H22 reissue Kay 162 1937 King Mortone 1938 Kay M2 1968 B+H Excelsior
  21. Maybe I'll never get the appeal of a proper bass. Meanwhile these are what make me feel happy. Some of them sound OK too. Thumpy. Mmm. [attachment=202628:5basses.JPG] [attachment=202627:3 uprights.jpg]
  22. Family [attachment=202625:5basses.JPG] [attachment=202626:3 uprights.jpg] Jolana update ... frets dressed. Wonky neck ... how to remove neck held by single 4mm square bolt, recessed into heel...? Moment of revelation ... old wind up clock! Winding key fits bolt perfectly! So, neck off, slight shim to one side inside joint, neck back on. Not quite ... off... on .. off ... on etc. Finally, dead straight, good angle, lovely action. Sounding sweeter all the time. Looking forward to rewire and 1 or 2 new staple tops....
  23. http://youtu.be/jaM3Z1_rf3g
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