NickA

Is there any oil left in the wood after 150 years? (apart from that absorbed from my sweaty fingers)? Tried turpentine (the proper pine tree derived stuff) once, possibly less "drying"; worked much the same as vodka but smelt nicer.

What does it do? I've been using neat vodka.

twas (reportedly) 5000DM new; he wants 5000USD used. Ie it's £3,800 which is, frankly, bit much below the price of a real alembic: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ALEMBIC-20TH-Anniversary-Bass-USA-1989-Limited-200/183427435037?hash=item2ab5208a1d:g:CtEAAOSwrcxbe~7l) One of Wolfgang Kist's guitars here: https://www.befr.ebay.be/itm/EXTREMELY-RARE-VINTAGE-80s-WOLFGANG-KIST-ELECTRIC-GUITAR-HANDMADE-IN-GERMANY-/231790392237 Less amazing woodwork & lower price than the bass. This one also seems to have had the pickups replaced (check out the screw holes); but Kist Guitars really were built with DiMarzios - I guess it was what you could get in the late 70s. Seems the man Wolfgang was quite fond of them.

No offence intended; I'm just a bit of a coffee table perv. Nothing like having a nice bit of wood in your hand :¬) My 2001 Dolphin Pro1 has "gold" hardware; but the "gold" rubs off revealing grey "stuff" beneath. Solid Brass, now that is a bit different.

Bit of a choice in the BC classifieds right now. We can have 4-string, 5-string, MJ, or soap-bars, Seymour Duncan or Barts, natural wood or Nirvana Black. Stage 1 or Stage 2, "1990s" or "German Team-built". Even a glossy white one (not my thing). The one I think dyerseve means is the same price as the Stage 2 and ... gold hardware. Black is so much nicer IMHO. Anyway .. off the e-bay topic; should be in a Warwick thread. Thanks for the advice.

There is a certain byzantine OTT charm to those early Alembics (for me anyway - who used to dream of something like Stan Clark had). But the (crooked) crappy DiMarzios are quite a let down. Certainly not worth the cash.

What pray is a Stage 1 "GPS" (German Pro Series perhaps?) and why is it so cheap? All the other stage 1s here and on ebay are £1k to £1.6k. All these different build designations (master built, custom-shop, pro-series, team-built, rockbass, GPS, FNA etc) do my head in. Not to mention all the designations of Pro1, Pro2, SNTC, NT etc (and that's only dolphins). Then add a few confusing sub plots (eg my Dolphin Pro1 which is NOT a Pro-Series). It's almost as bad as Fenders ..... There is a streamer on ebay that caught my eye; but I can't really tell if it is a £1500 master build or a £650 team built ... or what! It has the Seymour Duncan soap bar pickups, so probably the former. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Warwick-Streamer-Stage-1-NT-5-String-Bass-Guitar/132763132712?hash=item1ee94ca328:g:O7EAAOSwLVFbh8tw Some of them (at least) are fantastic basses and a joy to own. So shouldn't grumble. :¬)

The description is just SO good; I felt obliged to preserve it for prosperity on our fine pages as A VERY FINE example of google translate mis-use: Shaft stiffness aside ... I particularly like "When sending the neck is separated from the body" Who's Neck? The senders or the receivers? Active Electric Bass "Borisov BASS-1" has three induction pickup , improved design , universal stand that allows change the length of the strings and their relative distance pickups, adjusting screwdriver Encased in guitar ,effects card. Grief has a shaft stiffness , tension which made nut. In the control device electric pickups mechanical vibrations of strings into an electrical signal . To extend the range of sound and color in the radio circuit used electric phase effect on the PCB The spectrum of the output signal at the output device is changed by switches and knobs effects. With the inclusion of three switches produced tones and pen next to them is used to adjust the volume. The operates in the presence of the battery "9V" . When sending the neck is separated from the body.

Only 11% of the population are left handed yet I'm sure at least a third of advertised Wals are back to front and they all say how rare they are! Weird. Probably they just hang around longer so i'm more likely to see them. Strangely you never see a left handed violin (though I have seen a left handed double bass!) Anyway, a nice thing if a south paw wants a Wal - that Padauk looks almost like ebony.

Don't really know enough about streamers to know if this is a good deal or not; I think it's a tad over-priced. But is does LOOK very nice. I'm kinda tempted ... but too many basses already. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Warwick-Streamer-Stage-1-NT-5-String-Bass-Guitar/132763132712?hash=item1ee94ca328:g:O7EAAOSwLVFbh8tw

I saw that one. An Alembic copy that's even more beautiful than the real thing. Kinda wonder what it sounds like, but not stumping up £3800 to find out! Pickups look a bit off mind (like 1980s DiMarzios ... surely not).

I am no fan of thuddy low sustain flat wound strings. However, round or flat is irrelevant here as the EB Cobalt Flats are not the norm for either flat or round. They are just good and interesting sounding strings that feel pleasantly smooth and slippery under the fingers too with a rich tone, lots of punch and moderately bright highs. Perfect for fretless. I have them on my fretless J and tempted to put them on the fretless Wal too. Though they are maybe a bit "coloured" ie having a tone of their own, and I don't want the strings to dominate the sound of the bass, so holding off on that and sticking with neutral sounding (round wound) D'Addario NYXLs for now. ... not that anyone bar another bass player would notice the difference methinks.

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So in my personal case of MM GAS ... we can narrow it down to Stingray 5 (or possibly a Sterling). Kind of like the idea of two pickups, but already own one $$ bass, a $J and a JJ so don't really need anything beyond the classic stingray single $. But even then, we have 2EQ, 3EQ, different necks and don't some have a piezo pickup under the bridge too? Ash and Alder bodies as well. The ideal would be to go to a shop that had lots and try them all out .. but no-where has more than a handful. .... and as a "do I like it or not" exercise, would buying a cheapo "Sterling by Stingray" give any indication of what the real thing would be like?

There is nothing about the build quality or sound of my 2001 dophin pro1 I'd complain about. Well .. hmm, the brass coloured lacquer on the tuners and bridge have rubbed off leaving glimpses of the true monkey metal beneath (why or why did they use "gold coloured" hardware - looks naff new, looks worse later) and it had a truss rod issue for a while (now sorted). Also the electronics look like a kids tech project not a professional job - but so do those in the older ones. But, lovely wood work, lovely feel and a great sound. Warwicks of any age (German built anyway) are fantastic basses and while they remain out of fashion are something of a bargain too.

Easy solution, just don't look at your fingerboard or fingers! Incidentally, many years ago when I had our local guitar makers (Northworthy) make me a fretless neck, they asked if I wanted the dots "as normal" or "on the note" and I had them "on the note"; apparently some people who look at the side dots on a fretted find shifted dots on a fretless confusing. After all, fretted or fretless you are supposed to put your fingers very nearly in the same place. I think if I had a fretted bass made I'd have the side dots on the frets rather than between frets - whereas on my fretted Warwick (which started life as a fretless) the dots have been very carefully, and neatly, moved to between frets. Hey ho. PS: lovely photos (as usual) Sylvia :¬)

I've owned a (4-string fretless) Wal for 20 years; and sadly it has not made me a better player. It's made me a better SOUNDING player though ;¬)

.. or just keep your eyes open for a Wal; prices fluctuate quite a bit often nipping below £4k and you can always sell them for about what you pay. Sure, a new one or one in mint condition with all the fancies (gold hardware, LED markers, highly figured top wood) will cost a load, but a lightly beat up 4-string one in one of the more common finishes will sound much the same. There have been a couple recently for €4000 or so and one at £3250 (check here and the Wal Owners facebook page). Or just say to hell with ever having savings and buy this (may appreciate faster than an ISA anyway, so you can pretend it's an investment ;¬) ). If I were a good enough bass player to justify the basses I already own, I'd have this one in a shot.

Used to play my Wal (fretless) through a trace GP12SMX with a 15" speaker; ALWAYS had to put a smiley curve on the (12) EQ sliders to get a listenable to sound. More mid than I could ever quite use. Even with a very flat response PJB rig, I sometimes turn the "mid" knob down a tad. I guess it's that bridge positioned $ that does it.

What? In a rubber naked-suit in the middle of the road?

@Grangur Took my grades on the cello through school 'cause that what classical music people did (and also my dad was a/my cello teacher). Stopped aged 17 and never took another grade on any instrument. I did have a few lessons on the double bass a couple of years ago and, to my suprise, was given a bunch of grade 8 pieces to play - that didn't seem too hard, so I reckon I'm now grade 8 "ish" on that too, though I'd really struggle with the aural tests, scales and arpeggios (of which there are many kinds I have forgotten) and wouldn't dare enter myself for the exam! Yes I do play the electric, have done since 1982, but never even considered grades and lessons, it just didn't seem that sort of instrument and I reckoned I'd just adapt 'cello technique! Plus there didn't seem to be any formal technique, certainly no associated board exams, and the few books I looked at were based on double bass technique of the day (don't use the 3rd finger etc). I decided a few years back that the electric bass deserved more formal study and started reading jazz standards, plus some Bach for fun, which leads to working out some proper positions, shifting strategies and chord shapes (beyond major / minor chord blocks). I'm no fan of grade exams frankly and took up the bass to get away from that formal stuff and just make some noise ;¬) Do they do grades for electric bass now then? Anyone on here taken them? Fretless / fretted? Four string / five string? What kind of pieces are set ie what is considered to be the bass equivalent of Elgar's Cello Concerto and Bach 2 prelude, Portrait of Tracy?