Sean

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1413710835' post='2580995'] Over-priced and over-rated dogshit. The only reason anyone would ever buy one over another brand is purely because they want a Fender in their hands. Even the US ones don't provide much over competing brands of a lower price point. All the CEO has to do is keep Fenders in the public eye and the jobs done. No need to worry about actually making instruments that sound, look and play better than other brands. People buy Cadillacs because they're cool cars. Not because they're better than BMW, Audi, Lexus or Mercedes. Nothing wrong with it of course; I'm just saying that these days in brand identity that gets the sales; not the product itself! Truckstop [/quote] I've got two Fender guitars. One's a Richie Kotzen Telecaster and it's absolutely outstanding in every way. I bought it because I like well made, beautiful instruments that sound and look fantastic and play nicely. I've never been particularly swayed by the brand, I've paid over £2k for a Yamaha (more than once) that casual observers think are cheap Asian instruments. The Kotzen Tele is manufactured by FugiGen Gakki in Japan (MIJ rather than CIJ) so it's not Fender manufactured and it's about the best guitar I've ever played or owned and is even better than then USA Peavey Wolfgang carved flame top I had. I hope they don't start manufacturing this model in house. My other Fender is a 1987 USA Standard Stratocaster, E Serial number and one of the first of the new model and that's a good guitar, not outstanding but I've had it since new so it's got a lot of sentimental value but if the right FugiGen MIJ Strat comes up, it'll be on eBay. Not everything with the F word on the headstock is dog sh*t.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1413729779' post='2581285'] Hmm, the names in the poll do seem to be aimed at the D&D playing crowd! Still, EBS did OK with a similar naming scheme and it's probably better than sniggering-blokes-in-a-tour-bus style innuendo (as pioneered by Electro Harmonix). [/quote] It's not too late if you're feeling creative.

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1413700730' post='2580930'] You may want to check the spelling on Cthulhu [/quote] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu I did. Thoroughly. Read loads about it too. I'm a spelling/grammar/pronunciation pedant and also a pragmatist. And a huge Metallica fan.

Poll time!

That spec looks cool. There's a few bits of bocote there, I wanted the facing pice from mine to make a guitar but it's lost. I saw Jon on Thursday, he was very busy doing some parquetry for a top, it looked a bit over complicated to my tastes but you can't deny the attention to detail and skill involved. Good luck with the build. We expect to see daily updates.

[quote name='monsterthompson' timestamp='1413560436' post='2579614'] I had a Walkabout for a short while with my G3 Compact. It was very limited in volume output. Not a gig worthy rig. I bought the WA used and then sold it recently; the buyer picked it up as a backup for a WA he already owned, and we each suspect the original owner did a tube-roll causing the output to be lower than average for the WA head. [/quote] Sounds like a fault to me. Even with the 12" WA Scout I've played good sized venues without PA support.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1413556816' post='2579551'] out of interest... does the walkabout have enough power for it? [/quote] Sounds fabulous with the Walkabout and loud enough for any stage/venue/room etc. easily. I was astonished but then again those Boogies have loads of balls.

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1412929003' post='2573309'] The only way Alex is going to improve his product and stay in business is if he receives and accepts valid criticism. [/quote] From what I can see from my own experience, he has. The Gen 3 stuff is fantastic. I wasn't a fan of the earlier gear mainly down to build and as a result didn't buy one but with the Gen 3 I'm converted and I'm stupidly fussy about the function, quality and value of stuff.

I bought a pedalboard from Shep, great bloke to deal with, had a good chat and learned enough about some interesting effects pedals to whet my appetite to find out more. Many thanks a great deal.

Channel 1 does clean to warm overdrive with a Baxendale/James tone stack and a four-way voice control. Channel 2 does overdrive to really filthy (more so than my MXR pedal) and also has a character switch which changes it from vintage sounding to modern. This channel does Motown to Megadeth with ease. The power section is switchable from 4 valves to 2 and also can be switched to half power in both modes. Half power on four valves sounds very different to full power on two valves. Running it flat out on half power with two valves about 50 watt) gives the dream tones at pub gig levels. There's a presence control on the power section that brings in amazing harmonic richness.

Pics from today. It's in its carcass and has a few tweaks that need to be done but it's very close to completion. Yes, that DI will be changed to male for the final build. [IMG]http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd462/Stoker1/imagejpg3_zpsb8a6b31a.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd462/Stoker1/imagejpg1_zpsaee1e4f8.jpg[/IMG]

[quote name='verb' timestamp='1413415245' post='2578160'] After seeing the pics in the build thread,how about Metropolis [/quote] I like that a lot. Poll tomorrow.

[quote name='Mr Anthony' timestamp='1413387050' post='2577803'] Hi Sean, did the hipshots just drop right in, or was there a bit more to it than that? [/quote] They were very close but I used a bit of 240 grit paper around my finger to ream out the holes a bit. It only took about two minutes a hole of gentle sanding. Two of the screw holes match, the other two are close but not quite so I drilled a tiny pilot hole and screwed the other two in. No holes can be seen and if you put the old tuners back on no-one will be any the wiser.

[quote name='jassbass' timestamp='1413383124' post='2577740'] So are these j&d jazz's good enough to gig? [/quote] Yes, absolutely. Mine's got Hipshots, Hot Rod (Wizard) '74s, replacement loom, new bridge and a proper fret job. It's good enough to have a career with.

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1413376319' post='2577645'] Where? [/quote] Fixed

Although I like the sea gods and monsters references, which are linked to the fact that this am is going to be sea foam green, any future ones could be any colour so I won't include them in the poll unless they are seriously cool. Like Kraken. I'm currently liking [i]Taranis, [/i]the Celtic/British god of thunder and king of the gods.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/232473-british-built-mjw-200w-all-valve-custom-monster-13-oct-pics/page__view__findpost__p__2575980"]Here's [/url]the build thread with photos of it as it was on Monday. Might give you inspiration. I'm going to see it tomorrow and work on the pre-amp settings; when I get back I'll put a poll up for the names.

My bass is quite heavy so make sure Jon finds a nice light piece. It's northern ash, which is quite dense, swamp ash could be lighter. 22 frets was a mistake as access to the truss rod is difficult, Jon told me this at the time but I wanted 22. I can see me cutting it back in future. The frets are stainless jumbo fret wire, I like it but it's not for everyone so make sure you're happy with such big frets if he suggests them. They're also much harder to fit than nickel. I'd highly recommend the pickups. The Basslines MM is very Stingray, the P is a Seymour Duncan SPB-2, very hot and balances the MM well. Moving the high coil of the P toward the neck gives a very different character, this is most evident when playing disco octaves as the D and G sound much fatter.

[color=#141823][font=Helvetica, Arial,]It's giving 205 Watts clean and about 380 Watts fully clipped! [/font][/color] [color=#141823][font=Helvetica, Arial,]That should give my Big Twin 2 something to help it move air! [/font][/color]

I've done a build course with Jon. Fabulous week, you'll really enjoy it. Looks like your spec is achievable however I'd check if that paint job can be done in the time taken; finishes are usually the limiting factor. Another thing I'd suggest is that you have a good idea (rough sketches) of headstock shape before you go. And be prepared for hours upon hours upon hours of sanding - it's like [i]wax on, wax off[/i] in the Karate Kid and it [u]will[/u] make you a better man.