Dingus

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1399836151' post='2448206'] I wonder if they intentionally went for a name that wasn't Germanic sounding to appeal to international markets? [/quote] Good point ! I can't think of a more English sounding brand name than "Warwick". Just a thought, but looking at how successful Warwick have been with that strategy, maybe if the Nazis had called themselves " The Windsors" things might have turned out very differently for them ?

I used to live with an American singer who was both dyslexic and practically illiterate . His pronunciation of the words "Alembic " and "Pastorius" were a thing of splendour.

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1399831832' post='2448138'] It was bad enough when I didn't know how to pronounce Hartke or Ibanez. But I always thought I was on safe ground with Status. Now you're telling me there's more than one way to pronounce that! Curses! [/quote] Over the years.I have heard some pretty funny interpretations of how to pronounce Ibanez and Hartke. ( Iy-ban-ez) ( Hart-kee)

I played a Wal bass for years, and then I realized it was really a" Wol". The Wol actually sounded a bit better, too. Status can only be correctly pronounced one way - we all know which way that is- but the wider question of American English and the pronunciation of words like Rickenbacker is a lot more complex an issue. I'm sorry to say that , in many cases, Americans are actually pronouncing the words more accurately according to their origins than us Brits. Americans might speak a form of English, but their diction and , more importantly, their pronunciation owes a great deal to the Western Germanic languages, like Dutch, Low Flemish and modern German, as well as the residual influence of the native tongues of various other immigrant communities. . As a result of that, there is less of a tendency to anglicize the pronunciation of certain words

The phase cancellation thing and the many other idiosyncrasies you get with a typical Fender-style pickup arrangement are caused by a number of factors, not just the design of the pickups. One of the reasonns the Yamaha BB's are not affected in the same way is that the pickups are in very slightly different positions to a Fender PJ setup. The pickup design can also help,but on some basses you are fighting a losing battle in trying to make the sound evenly balanced. An "unbalanced" PJ can still be a very enjoyable and very useful bass , though.

[quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1399812751' post='2447885'] I recently picked up a US DJ in a music store and fell in love. A really beautiful bass and really light weight. Wha'ts the weight of your skyline like? [/quote] U.S DJ's are fantastic basses, but are actually quite rare due to the fact that they are so expensive ,and the fact the much cheaper Skyline version is so good. . Lakland have only made about 65 US DJ's in the last in the last eleven years, including the prototypes .It's worth mentioning that the U.S DJ's has a very different neck profiles and fingerboard radius to the Skyline model. The U.S version has a neck profile that is an exact replica of Darryl Jones 1966 Jazz Bass, and a 7.25 inch fingerboard radius. The Skyline version has a much flatter 10 inch radius and a more generic( but still very comfortable) Jazz Bass neck profile.

[quote name='bobbytodd' timestamp='1399754572' post='2447409'] Pics [/quote] Lovely bass. That pearl white colour really suits these basses. Looks like the machine heads have still got the plastic on them, so that means it must be brand new. In that case , it will have the Hanson pickups, and I think they sound great. The Aeros on the older DJ's were great too, but the Hansons have got a little bit more bite to them, in my opinion.

jgmh, you need to learn how to properly quote other people's posts in your own, because I can'[t quote you quoting me to respond to your point. Anyhow, I think the black album was Metallica's finest hour, but I am not a dedicated fan of the band, as you may have already guessed. There were some really imaginative and well-crafted songs on that album , and, most importantly, it was accessible. By contrast, the rest of their catalog is, by-and-large, pretty stolid and impenetrable to most casual listeners. That black album heralded a new era in that genre of music , coming out as it did at the very time when metal was looking for a new direction after all those monstrous hair metal bands. That was Metallica's finest hour, and they have been trading on the success of that record ever since. I am sure liking heavy metal doesn't make you socially retarded in itself, but Metallica do seem to appeal to a disproportionately large number of electronic engineering students who wear their keys on a fob attached to their belt loops, I grew up liking heavy rock music, and I am indeed severely socially retarded as a direct result. If you give a twelve year old boy a Judas Priest album and a bottle of cider and leave him to get on with it you are unlikely to get a good long- term outcome. I am living proof of that social experiment. That is why I am on my own , up at five am typing bollocks about Metallica when I don't even like them . If I had listened to something a bit more mainstream when I was younger then I might have been on an exotic holiday with Martine McCutcheon right now, or something along those lines

I got a JV Seriies Jazz back in 1983, and I think my dad paid £215 quid for it. I remember the day I got it. A lovely bass for what it was , but not worth anything remotely like some of the crazy money those basses are selling for now. I also picked up a secondhand sunburst JV Precision in 1987 for £30, so the idea that someone would ask me for upwards of £800 for one now is so ridiculous as to be funny. They were very good Fender- style budget basses, but that is all they were. The nearest modern equivalent would be something like the Fender Roadworn basses. One of those would probably be a much better buy all round than any JV Series bass, The legend which has grown up around these Squiers is exactly that, a legend. What people are paying for is largely a mixture of nostalgia and bullshit,

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1399745388' post='2447297'] I thought the reason acts go down well at Glastonbury (or any big festival these days) is that basically the sort of people who go to these things basically don't give a f*** who's playing, they'll jump around & whoop & cheer to absolutely anything because it's about being there & being able to bore everybody shitless for months about what a "great experience" you had there rather than the music. [/quote] Yes, the audience tend to be the kind of people who believe that Britpop was a significant historical event and " Run " by Snow Patrol is indeed The Soundtrack of Their Lives, just like the advertised-on -t.v indie compilation album tells them it should be. I am struggling to see why whatever Metallica do is such a cause for controversy, considering they don't do anything remotely controversial. They are a thick-as-two-short-planks heavy metal band who churn out one dreadful racket after another for an adoring audience consisting largely of the socially retarded. Presumably it is the absence of any real drama or controversy in that scenario that compels their followers to create it. The irony is that Metallica as an entity are quite devoid of controversy because, to be brutally honest, they lack the wit to create any. They just aren't that kind of a band. They make very conservative and predictable music for a very conservative and predictable audience. As far as that kind of sweaty, grinding rifferama goes, I'm sure that Metallica at the top of the pile for aficionados , but in their entire career they have made about forty five minutes worth of worthwhile music, most of which is the black album . The more commercial tracks on that L.P were superb, everything they did before or since is disappointing by comparison. Why should anyone care less or be shocked and surprised if Metallica play Glastonbury ? Their music and their whole act is a commercial proposition just like the rest of the bands on the bill. They put on a show for money. The difference between Metallica and Coldplay is essentially the same degree of difference as there is between a tin of baked beans and a tin of Spaghetti hoops. I'm sure they will go down a storm with the festival goers at Worthy Farm. They are tailor-made for that kind of event.

If you find a nice example where Fender have done everything right , those Am St basses with the CS pickups are as good as "boutique" basses in , my opinion. Sound great, play great, built to last with excellent hardware Sounds like they are already doing a decent price and , as you quite rightly say, all you can do is go in there with the money in your pocket and see what you can do. I would be surprised if you couldn't sort out something that has you leaving that shop with a smile on your face , the bass in your hands and your money in their till.

[quote name='omikin' timestamp='1399649616' post='2446333'] That's sort of what I was thinking. The one in PMT was very nicely set up (unusual for them - they have a Gibson Thunderbird in at the moment where the bridge is levitating about an inch off the body) and played beautifully. Didn't give it the full-on inspection but there was nothing untoward. How much do you think they might knock off for cash on a display model? [/quote] The best price depends on a lot of things, not least of all how long it has been in the shop without anyone buying it. Firstly though , do you know if it is a post-2012 model with the Custom Shop pickup? If it isn't then it is worth a whole lot less . Find out what and where the best U.k online price is and ask them how close they can get to it. Also, see if they can throw in some strings or any other accessories you might need to sweeten the deal . That might make up for a slightly higher retail price.

[quote name='jgmh315' timestamp='1399646576' post='2446278'] Seen them lots of times and they've always delivered. [/quote] Much better than UPS in that respect then...

[quote name='omikin' timestamp='1399648212' post='2446299'] Yeah, and that's what I thought I wanted, but the one I played in PMT was OW/Maple and it was lovely. Now I can't decide. I tossed a coin earlier and it said maple, but only when I went to best 2 out of 3... [/quote] I think OW/maple is a great combination, and looks terrific. Especially with Fenders, where the consistancy from one example to the next is patchy at best, if there is an example in a shop that you can get your hands on and see for yourself how it plays and what the quality control is like then that is invaluable. If the bass in the shop sounds good, is the right weight , plays well and has none of the typical Fender construction issues such as a gap in the neck pocket ect , then I would be tempted to see what kind of deal you can do for cash. The colour of your money can work wonders sometimes.

[quote name='EMG456' timestamp='1399593535' post='2445785'] Are you not answering your own question here? You don't like nylon tape wound. (The dullest) You don't like the sound of the flat wounds. (2nd dullest) The half rounds don't have enough growl. ( can you see where I'm going here?) So it would seem as though you need to be looking at round wounds. Nickel wound would be the next step up in brightness with stainless steel being the ultimate. I wouldn't worry about the boards marking- it's under the strings anyway and provided you refrain from string bending or side to side vibrato ( both pretty redundant techniques on a fretless) it will take a long time before the board needs attention. When it does, a quick trip to a decent luthier will see it sorted out for another few years. I find rounds much more responsive and alive on the fretless and wouldn't consider fitting any other type of string. If you don't want to sound like Pino or Jaco, roll off the high frequencies. Also control exactly how much mwahh you want by varying the action- lower = more mwahh. I use stainless Elites on all my basses but long ago I used Rotosound RS66 Swing Bass. Strings all sound different but it's an expensive exercise so once I find a string I like, I tend to just stick with it unless the quality goes down. One less thing to think about. Cheers Ed [/quote] To echo what Ed has said, it sounds to me that you want the sound of roundwounds, albeit maybe not particularly bright and aggressive sounding ones . Roundwound strings have far more complex harmonic overtones in their sound than flatwounds do, and that is a big part of what makes them far more apt for fretless than flatwounds. Double bass has a completely different aesthetic, and a fretless bass guitar will never give you that, regardless of what strings you use. A fretless bass with flatwounds on just sounds like a dull fretless bass guitar , not an upright, so it's much better to exploit the sound of the fretless bass guitar for what it is than make any vain attempt to sound like a double bass, in my humble opinion. In light of that, I would recommend trying some nickel roundwound strings.There are lots of excellent ones on the market nowadays , but D'Addario XL's are a good place to start. They are relatively inexpensive and have a great all-round sound. I use DR Sunbeams on my Lakland fretless. They sound and feel great to me , and give plenty of growl for all those classic fretless tones.. Also strongly recommended. It's also worth mentioning that nickel rounds are , on the whole, slightly less abrasive to the fingerboard than stainless steel. If you don't mind the high price and low tension feel, Thomastik Jazz roundwounds will probably give the sound you crave, and , significantly, they have a very narrow diameter wire wrap that might wear your ebony board less than some other strings do. About not wanting to sound like Jaco or Pino, they actually sound very different from each other, but that is much more down to the way they play than their choice of strings, because they both used Rotosound Swing Bass RS66 on all those classic fretless tracks. If you want a more muted sound it is quite possible to get that with roundwounds just by altering how you play, but I'm sure you know that already. You just might have to be a bit patient while the brightness of the new strings dies off a bit.

[quote name='Old Horse Murphy' timestamp='1399640053' post='2446172'] ANy idea on UK availability and price? I think I'm in love [/quote] Phone Strings and Things and they will be only too glad to give you all the info . They very friendly and helpful, in my experience. You should be able to shop around and find an EBMM dealer that will do a good price.

Yeah, Rolf Harris played at Glastonbury too, and it didn't do his career any harm...

If these basses were in another colour I would pick the phone up and buy one this afternoon. I love the Bongo ( as you well know Gareth) , and I totally agree that you really can't judge the looks until you have seen one in the flesh and then picked it up and played it, because in reality the curves and contours are actually quite beautiful and the sound and playability are sublime. I liked the look of the Bongo from when I first saw a picture of one at the time they were introduced , and these ones are stunning, but I have an irrational aversion to blue basses. To me, it's just not a colour for a bass guitar that I would play myself . It's silly, I know , but it's true. Ninety nine people out 100 will swoon over the look of these basses, but I just couldn't live with the colour. It's all the more disappointing because I bet the maple fingerboard , steel frets and mahogany body sound remarkable.

[quote name='geofio' timestamp='1399332319' post='2443277'] Here is a comparison between my Walnut 2014 4003 and my 2013 Jetglo 4003. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0arxQI6oy8s[/media] [/quote] Two beautiful basses, George. Surprisingly maybe , the walnut bass sounds quite bit more aggressive than the walnut one . As Hiram ( Warren) points out though, they do still sound very similar overall. One could easily substitute for the other in most situations, I would think.

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1399368559' post='2443411'] That kinda tells you the last time I bought a piece of hi-fi. "If it ain't broke don't fix it" & "It's not the hi-fi that's dated, it's my ears that are knackered". [/quote] Hifi hasn't changed that much in the last twenty years or so, Stu. If you had a system that sounded really good in the early 1990's , chances are it is still competitive with what is about today, contrary to what a lot of magazines and hifi retailers will try and tell you . The 1990's was the Golden Age of two channel audio. Since then, like my body shape , it's all gone downhill.

[quote name='tinyd' timestamp='1399391367' post='2443769'] That's the key to the whole thing - it's at least possible for analogue cables to make a difference to the sound. But once you're digital, as long as the cable is up to the minimum spec (which they just about all are) then a more expensive cable can't possibly make any difference to the sound. Unfortunately, a lot of 'experts' in the hi-fi world claim that they can. [/quote] Yes, there is a growing market nowadays in audiophile USB cables. Scientists say it shouldn't work , hifi magazines say it does. I haven't heard a demonstration yet so can't vote either way. What I do know is that I recently invested a a basic but decent quality analogue interconnect to link my P.C to my hifi and it is a noticeable improvement on the few-quid-off-the-internet no-name cable I was using before.