
molan
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Posts posted by molan
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I've had my eyes on a Chunk for a while - was vaguely thinking of buying one when I go to the States but they are still kicking around $600. I thought they'd have dropped a bit in price by now
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[quote name='MacDaddy' post='545875' date='Jul 20 2009, 11:26 PM']I'm old school rock/metal through and through, but Bootsy has always been my hero
.[/quote]
Back in '78 I was in the tail end of punk but still listening to a lot of heavy rock.
Bootsy was my first funk outing & within a year or so I owned 14 Parliafunkadelicmentthang albums. Went to see them late '79 when I moved up to London & loved them so much I went back the next night & bought a ticket from a tout so i could get right down the front -
[quote name='MacDaddy' post='545860' date='Jul 20 2009, 11:09 PM']It's Bootsy baby!
[/quote]
Been listening to Bootsy all evening
[i]. . . Bootzilla's here!
The world's only rhinestone rock star doll baba!
I wanna be your toy.
I wanna play for you . . .
Created by Funk-A-Tech Incorporated,
Makers of funky things to play with.
Wind me up, people!
Say what the . .
[/i]
Bought this on 12" in '78 & still have it -
[quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='545827' date='Jul 20 2009, 10:40 PM']They do it in a 5? You really shouldn't have pointed that out. Oh no.
[/quote]
I've never actually seen one for sale & they are out of production now.
May well pop up on the used market though -
Thank God this isn't a 5 string - I've bought 4 basses in the last month but a 5'er Fodera Yin Yang would have me in serious trouble!
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[quote name='GreeneKing' post='545572' date='Jul 20 2009, 06:26 PM']I actually expected something more extreme like loadsa colour and some pink fur
Nice one.[/quote]
That'll be what I'll be wearing when I play it - I still have my pink acrylic fur shortie jacket from my psychedelic punk days (I kid you not!).
Only vid I could find of the Traben was this 5 string version:
[i]Your love is kind of sweet, sweet enough to eat
I'm hooked on you chocolate star
I got the munchies for your love[/i] -
[quote name='mxm' post='545504' date='Jul 20 2009, 05:18 PM']Welcome to the world of the Space Bass !
We ought to have our own sub-forum like: 'Why Have 2 Pick-Ups When You Can Have 5 ?' or 'Whats Wrong With Star Shaped Basses ?'.[/quote]
That's one pickup for each point of the star
So have you got one of the Trabens as well?
I know there have been other Bootsy basses around but not sure on exact pickup config for each (Washburn ones have a paltry 2 I think - pah!) -
[quote name='Rayman' post='545396' date='Jul 20 2009, 03:39 PM']Now [i]that's[/i] quality. Imagine pulling that bugger out for a set down at the Dog and Duck on a Saturday night.[/quote]
Pretty damn close - I think my next gig is at the Dog and Partridge.
I'm toying with using it for a couple of songs just for a laugh!
I found someone in the USA who has one and he said it's really nicely put together and sounds like an absolute beast
I can't wait for it to arrive now. . . -
As a huge Bootsy fan I've always quite fancied owning a Space Bass of some description but the only previous ones I've seen were crazy money £3K plus for a Washburn!
Even the Traben's have been kicking around the £2K mark but I spotted one at the weekend for a great price & thought I just had to have one
OFFICIAL SPECS
BRIDGE Traben Bootzilla Star
CONSTRUCTION set neck
PICKUPS five Rockfield™ pickups Fat Bass-Tard j-style
ELECTRONICS 3 individual Aguilar® amplification obp-3 pre-amps custom wired for various settings
BODY basswood
FRETBOARD rosewood
NUT chrome plated brass
INLAY Bootzilla shooting star
How could you resist no less than three onboard Aggie pre-amps & 5 Fat Bass-Tard pickups eh?
Ok - well actually I can easily see why any sane person could resist one of these given the somewhat 'esoteric' styling
Should arrive in a couple of weeks so I'll keep you posted on what it's actually like to play! -
Well, it's been quite close to going a few times but it's still here.
I keep playing it &, if it wasn't for a Smith that arrived this week to distract my attention I think this would definitely be staying!
Still open to offers on a straight sale or trades if anyone's interested for a little longer -
[quote name='Old Horse Murphy' post='544753' date='Jul 19 2009, 04:32 PM']I've been there and I'm sure it's an O'Neill's.
I'm sure the Big Man would be happy it's been turned in to a pub rather than apartments for Boho Notting Hill wannabes. I'll ask him next time we chat[/quote]
I've been there as well, still got the pews for seats too
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Quick check question - is the main sound of your bass in the audience coming from your head & speaker or through the PA?
If it's the latter then the combination mentioned above will make a huge difference. Get the cab up off the floor & closer to your ears, a beer crat or even any old pub chair will do so long as it's reasonably secure. Alternatively get a decent speaker stand from someone like QuickLok.
Then play with your mids - these are generally the frequencies that will help you to hear yourself. This is often a problem with a lot of players who prefer a mid cut in their sound (classic smiley shape graphic setting). I tend to use a a little low mid cut in my sound but whenever I ahve problems hearing myself this is the first control I grab & start feeding those mids back in until I can hear properly.
I also often bring my tweeters back in as well for a bit of high end definition (I'm not a huge fan of tweeters & only use them when really necessary).
I have pretty good control over my stage sound because I'm sending a clean signal through the PA & our sound guy sets up a sound a like for front of house. -
[quote name='WHUFC BASS' post='543998' date='Jul 18 2009, 02:31 PM']I'm not a betting man but I'd wager he wouldn't.[/quote]
Not quite the same neck of the woods but there was a famous picture once of Bootsy crossing the road with Dave Stewart in Crouch End in full space-funk regalia, big hat, rhinestones, platforms, star glasses, pretty much a complete stage outfit.
He was working with Stewart on one of his solo albums & had a recording facility somewhere in Crouch End. The locals just stood and gaped at this crazy looking guy strolling down the road seemingly oblivious to the fuss he was causing .
There's a vid here from those sessions - some idea of Bootsy's 'purple' period look. He's in the background at the begining & a few better shots from around 2:30 onwards
Apologies for 'off topic' - here's another nice Bootsy pic (in purple) to make up for it:
[i]U.S. Senator George Voinovich laughs with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Bootsy Collins (in purple) and Walter Williams of the O'Jays[/i] -
[quote name='Waldo' post='542372' date='Jul 16 2009, 04:20 PM']You might want to resize those pictures, they've taken me a few minutes to load and are so big that I have to scroll for ages to see them and I have a 22" monitor!
Not having a moan, just pointing it out incase you didn't realise[/quote]
Me too - my entire machine froze trying to pull the pictures in and my BlackBerry completely refused to load the page
The DPLE was mine for a while, absolutely lovely bass & great to play, gave my NYC Sadowsky a run for its money. Only sold (by me) because I decided to move away from 4 stringers. -
Pleased you like it B5
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[quote name='WHUFC BASS' post='542494' date='Jul 16 2009, 06:44 PM']f***in' 'ell.
[/quote]
Don't think he'd get away with this outfit on the streets anywhere near the Boleyn ground eh? -
Sounds lovely - will look forward to the pics
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Had some interest & a couple of possible trade options.
I would be prepared to take something that's relatively easy to sell on at a future date as a PX if that helped anyone at all?
E.G. US Fenders, Stingrays, Rickys etc -
[quote name='Gwilym' post='538061' date='Jul 11 2009, 06:27 PM']used to have a MPG Level 5 - which funnily enough is back in the US now and up for sale on TB at the moment. anyway - it was/is a really nice bass, as is this one too from the looks of it!
have a free bump. not that you need it - Barrie has probably bought it by now[/quote]
Nah, I really can't handle 6 strings - there is a nice poplar burl 5 string Spector due to arrive at my place next Wednesday though -
That top really is lovely - well worth the effort!
If this was a 5 I'd be seriously tempted, maybe it's time to brush up my C string skills -
Any more pics of the MPG?
I am such a sucker for blue basses! -
[quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='537408' date='Jul 10 2009, 06:39 PM']Bump for one of the best basses to be found on sale in this wonderful community. Being sold by one of the best 'chatters' too.
[/quote]
Cheers Phil - looks like I could be living in a 3 Spector bass household soon -
So was each person pictured individually & then comped together?
I think that's what you were implying but just checking
Anyway - that's how they look to me. I'm afraid the first thing made me think was that the band weren't very 'together' and almost as if they didn't want to be pictured in the same room etc.
Not sure why that came across to me but that was very much my first thought
In terms of music, and I'm afraid I'm going to sound both racist & sexist here, but any band shot with a coloured female singer immediately says funk/soul band to me? -
That's just bought back a lot of memories from when I saw him at the Jazz Cafe earlier this year
This song was a bit of a highlight in the set
*Sold MTD 535 *Sold
in Basses For Sale
Posted · Edited by molan
This really is a lovely bass. Feels 'just right', looks great & loads of tonal flexibility as well

Of course, Josh is a great guy to deal with too!
Here's a few more pics to whet people's appetites
Please note that there's some flash used in some of these pics to highlight the spalted effect - the flash makes the core body colour look a little darker than it does in real life (but this does also mean that this is a bit what it looks like under stage lights as well!).