Dingus

Are Doc Martens expensive nowadays? The world has gone mad...

What is it about the 1970's spacing that irks you Geoff, is it the slightly tighter, more aggressive tone? Do you play a lot with the bridge pickup soloed? At the risk of stating the very obvious, if you are using both pickups on together or the neck pickup, needless to say, the influence of the rear pickup positioning will be minimal. Put a better way, what and why is it that you prefer the '60's positioning ?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1400059885' post='2450239'] So true, and here's a pic of footballer El Hadji Diouf's gold-plated Escalade as proof. [/quote] Talk about a pejazzle on wheels ! That car is all the more appropriate when you consider that he is driving it around... Bolton.

Geoff, I have no idea if a Geddy Lee neck will fit on another Fender body ( actually, I expect it probably will fit on at least some , maybe all standard four bolt fixings ) , but if it does, bear in mind the chances of getting a tight neck join are a bit hit and miss, if that matters to you. However, let me ask you, how wedded are you to the Geddy neck profile? Do you find a regular Jazz Bass profile to fat? Myself, I find the Geddy Lee profile [i]way[/i] too skinny, and it doesn't feel particularly stable to me either. There just isn't enough wood to be stiff enough, and that must influence the tone, too. Have tried one of the Roadworn Jazz Basses? Very slim and vintage-correct neck profile , feels incredibly fast, light weight and an lot of fun to play. Fender got it right with theses basses. You could very easily pick one up on Basschat, put a Badass on and , if you feel it is necessary, whatever pickups you fancy and you have got a killer Jazz Bass. My other recommendation would be a used post-2008 American Standard Jazz. A bit fit fatter neck profile than a Geddy Lee,( probably more typical of a genuine early-to-mid 1970's Jazz Bass than the shaved-down feel of the Geddy Lee , ironically enough) but still very playable and with the benefit of graphite reinforcement. 60's pickup placement , and a great all-round Fender bass. The High Mass Vintage bridge is perfectly good too, so no real need to swap for a Badass. Either of those basses might be a better option for a Jazz with '60's spacing than a cut and shut job involving a Geddy Lee and some other Jazz Bass.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1399993578' post='2449685'] I'd say not, it's a mass produced instrument that has aquired a similar price tag to a modern "High End" bass on account of it's supposed desirability. That's just me though. [/quote] [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1399993643' post='2449687'] This question came up recently in another thread, I forget which. It depends on whether you view vintage Fenders as collectible antiques as well as instruments, in which case they can be high-end collectibles. If you see all basses as purely instruments to be played then vintage Fenders are not on a par with modern uber-basses as such if you're comparing versatility, equipment and build quality. But they can be very playable and some sound fantastic [i]if that's the sound you're looking for.[/i] [/quote] I would tend to agree with both of you on all these points. I suppose one testimony to what a great design the Fender bass is would be that, despite all the subsequent innovations and trends, the basic sound of a good Fender bass from whatever era, still holds its' own against anything that has been created subsequently, at whatever price or level of craftsmanship. That Fender sound will always be a great sound. And with a bit of skilled work, they can usually be made to play like a boutique bass.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1399996109' post='2449720'] Just a quick note on the 'age' factor. The most recent Fodera I sold was to a student. It was a £12K instrument and he's worked several evening and part time jobs, gigged in covers and function bands plus loads of private teaching to be able to afford it. It will be his sole instrument for all his playing He's an amazing player and I'm fairly certain he will become a professional player of some description. And yes, it did have a very expensive top and gold hardware In the last year I've sold another Fodera to a music student (this was about &5K) and a fretless 5 string Wal to another. There's definitely some young guys out there throwing everything into pursuing a career in music who are prepared to buy what they believe to be the very best instruments they can afford. Personally I think these guys deserve a lot of respect and not the derision they seem to attract from some quarters. [/quote] I certainly wouldn't deride them. When I was younger I used to spend every penny I had on bass gear and was quite happy to do so. It was far, far more important to me than buying a car for example, or anything like that. I do wonder though, what this lad thinks a £12000 bass will give him over say a £5000 one? If he wants a Fodera then good luck to him and I hope it exceeds even his best expectations, I'm sure it will , but it does seem a little excessive, even to me . It's a lot of very expensive eggs to put in one basket, so to speak.

Just let me clarify: Metallica at Glastonbury. If you like Metallica or you like Glastonbury , it will be great. If you like Metallica [i]and[/i] you like Glastonbury then you will be so happy that you can hardly chew your tofu burger. They will put on a great show. It's what they excel at. Big corporate rock group plays big corporate rock festival. There really isn't a news story here.

[quote name='megallica' timestamp='1400001187' post='2449795'] I wouldn't comment on a genre of music I knew nothing about. I would definately not make negative sweeping generalisations about the fans of this genre. I find most of your post offensive but I'm assuming it was intended to be humorous. Although I wouldn't regard Metallica's career as being very controversial, they have explored other musical areas, like their collaborations with Ja Rule and Lou Reed, performing with the San Francisco symphony orchestra, performing accoustic sets. [/quote] You are quite right that my comments are intended to amuse rather than offend, and indeed to draw a contrary response from Metallica's loyal fans. There are many. However, you are well wide of the mark when you say that this is genre of music that I don't know anything about. I know plenty about it. I grew up listening to it, albeit in an era before Metallica were a well-known established act. What's more, without wishing to give too much away, I know far more about Metallica than you give me credit for. Suffice to say, our paths have crossed over the years, and I am well aware of their career trajectory. Metallica are not a controversial band quite simply because they don't do anything remotely controversial , for whatever reason that might be. What interests me and what I thought might interest other people to consider is that, in the absence of controversy, their fans feel a need to create it in their imagination by over-analyzing them and being hyper-critical . Metallica themselves cannot be held responsible for that , but nevertheless it is one indication of the [i]milieu[/i] they operate within. There is something faintly ridiculous about the kind of schisms that exist between Metallica fans over what was their best era and best music when taken as a whole, to the uninitiated most of their music from whatever era sounds like the same old ear -splitting heavy metal-by-numbers.

To ask a slightly provocative question, is a vintage Fender a high end bass? Even the controversial late 1970's Fenders are commanding price tags comparable with exotic boutique basses. Do the best examples of older Fender basses have certain inherent qualities in their antiquity that puts them on a par with modern uber-basses?

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1399987797' post='2449615'] To be fair, it's only a tiny minority. I'd imagine 99% of BC-ers ignore all that nonsense, preferring instead to take pleasure in the idea of other people enjoying their instruments - at whatever price point. [color=#ffffff].[/color] [/quote] Well said, Skank. I expect most people are interested to see and hear about high end basses, whether or not they are in the market to buy one themselves, for whatever reason that may be. I personally don't necessarily categorize basses as high end or otherwise. Nowadays when I look at a bass, I am wondering how much fun I could have playing it. And you can have just as much fun playing a relatively inexpensive bass as you can playing a "high end" one.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1399985400' post='2449584'] Your sounds a bit further down the line than mine... mine currently looks like this.... Only a year to go! *Edit* I'm also not a postman.... [/quote] That decking is going to look fabulous when it's finished Rob. Four grand though?

Yes, there is plenty of reverse snobbery and resentment about owning relatively expensive instruments. How much it is motivated by jealousy, I wouldn't even want to speculate, but let's call a spade a spade. As well as people who work hard and save for a bass there are people who have plenty of money to whom three or four grand for a bass isn't a particularly huge outlay. Plenty of people spend more than that on a luxury two week holiday and have nothing much to show for it at the end, and with no guarantee that they will have enjoyed themselves, either. On the other hand, as well as being a gobsmackingly fabulous bass to own and play, a Wal is a great investment nowadays. Look at the prices of the ones changing hands on Basschat. Just because someone aspires to the best quality instruments, that doesn't make them a dilettante. Of course, you don't necessarily need an expensive, high end bass to play, but if you can afford one then why not?

For the record, I really like postmen.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1399922811' post='2449053'] That isn't quite true. [/quote] Yeah, I play bass and I attract loads of women . Admittedly, nowadays a lot of them suffer from a combination of mental health problems and cellulite, but it's still nice to be asked . If you are a naturally sexy man, playing the bass can only enhance that.

[quote name='geoham' timestamp='1399928614' post='2449151'] Sounds like one of my rants to him! [/quote] What's the point of having children unless you don't get to rant about how much tougher ( but better) life was when you were young? It's mandatory.

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1399932728' post='2449213'] If he likes metal and thinks bass is easy, show him this: [media]http://youtu.be/4x0sVpfRBf8[/media] [/quote] Hang on a minute, isn't this that Austrian fella that won Eurovision the other day?

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1399880339' post='2448464'] And which is more likely to inspire a young player to want to play ? [/quote] Funnily enough Dave, I started playing bass when I was twelve and one of the players I wanted be like back then was Percy Jones. I didn't know what he sounded like, but he was in an advert for Wal basses in International Musician and Recording World magazine, and so I though he must be good ( he is). I suppose the equivalent to Oasis back then would have been The Jam, but, good as they were, they never captured my imagination in the same way.

[quote name='great harry' timestamp='1399914082' post='2448918'] Get him Rocksmith [/quote] Get him a clip round the bleedin' ear more like! Kids nowadays want everything right now or they think that life has been just too cruel to them and they give up trying . Then they expect the school to provide counselling and an week long adventure holiday to improve their confidence and self esteem. Back when I started playing the was no You Tube or internet to help you, and if you were rubbish ( I was) then everybody would tell you so and you just had to get on with it as best you could. If were in the same position as the O.P I would try and explain to my son that, unless you are gifted, it takes years and years to learn any instrument properly, and in reality bass isn't any easier than guitar. I would tell him that you need physical strength , stamina, and above all , a massive wedding package to be a convincing bass player, and the fact that you are whining about how hard it is to play guitar means you probably won't be up to the job. Tell him if he wants instant results then buy a scratchcard, because playing the guitar or anything else is a long-term project.

If you seriously want to know what constitutes a" high end" bass then what you are considering is a combination of craftsmanship, marketing strategy and psychology. It's a combination of those three elements. It's about a certain degree of manufacturing excellence, the area of the market which a product is intended for , the overall perception of the brand and the associations that people make with their merchandise.

[quote name='GrammeFriday' timestamp='1399897043' post='2448701'] I guess that rules MTDs out, then: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmemaALCvac[/media] [/quote] [quote name='GrammeFriday' timestamp='1399897584' post='2448710'] And Mike Lulls: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh7tAHHB_zo[/media] Or weren't they ruled in either? [/quote] Little bastards.

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1399717584' post='2446914'] Looks like you're going to have to put a bid in for that JV then! Taking inflation into account, £230 back in 1983 is the equivalent of £678 in today's money... [url="http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1633409/Historic-inflation-calculator-value-money-changed-1900.html"]http://www.thisismon...anged-1900.html[/url] [/quote] If the JV Series Squiers were being produced today exactly the same as they were , made in Japan like they were back then , then £678 would be a fair price for one. That sounds about right to me .However, I am sceptical about paying upwards of 800 quid for a bass that is over thirty years old and may have all kinds of issues associated with such a passage of time . Nice as the JV Series Squiers undoubtedly were, the plain fact is that there are plenty of nice basses about today made much more recently that you could buy for similar money that are a much better proposition. I would choose a used Post-2008 American Standard Fender over a JV Series Squire in a heartbeat, and a Roadworn series bass is probably a lot better bass , too. Like I have said before, the Roadworn basses capture the overall vibe of those JV Series basses pretty well, albeit with a distressed finish ( and if someone would have done that to my Squier back in those days, I certainly would have been distressed. ) Their is a tendency to attach romance to the unattainable, and dwindling supply means the JV basses have now attained that romance . They were excellent basses for what they were, and a lot of fun to play, but you can get a better and more practical instrument that is just as satisfying in every way for that kind of money nowadays.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1399837743' post='2448230'] The Nazis [i]did [/i]call themselves 'The Windsors' - they're the royal family now. [/quote] I knew you pick up on that! Let's be clear though, whatever you might think about some of Prince Phillip's views, the Germans in Buckingham Palace were never actually Nazis, although Prince Harry did have a stint in the Africa Corps a while back , if I remember correctly.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1399836332' post='2448210'] Yes - one wonders if they would have been as successful had they been called 'Schicklgruber'. [/quote] Maybe now that they are an established brand, Warwick could introduce a model called the Schicklgruber. Sounds like it would be good for metal. The irony is that Warwick ought to play on their German heritage more, instead of trying to hide it. If I was manufacturing basses in Germany I would make sure that there was at least some kind of reference to a Panzer tank in my advertising. The word "blitzkrieg" would also feature somewhere. It is quite simply too good an opportunity to miss.