Mokl

I use one of these to power my kettle, and it definitely comes to the boil more quickly! Take that ye doubters!

I am unfortunate enough to have been in the position of selling Dean guitars, in particular the myriad of Dime Bag Darrell "Tribute" models. Surely, if Dean intended to pay a "tribute" they might try harder than to peddle inferior quality, overpriced tat bearing the deceased's name. I really hope that these basses are better, but I would be utterly amazed. Having said that, a couple of USA made Deans have passed through my hands (on their way to customers), and they were a beautiful quality.

The most righteous slap tone I've ever had comes from my `77 Jazz. You just can't beat the ash/maple/ 70`s pickup spacing IMO. I also have a Fodera Monarch and a Stingray (and I love them both), and although those give good slap tones, the Jazz just has a great depth and punch when slapped, the tone is smooth but never thin sounding. Don't need an active pre-amp in it, the tone is all there already. I was amazed when I got it - I was never expecting it to sound so good lol!

You'd have to be a loon to swap your Modulus for that! I really, really wouldn't do it. 70's Jazzes come along all the time.

Fair point. I have always gravitated towards basses that I like playability-wise. That is the most important thing to me. But I guess the ones I hang onto are the ones which I can get the sound I like out of most easily!

This is a disgusting cliche, but the best players always sound like themselves, regardless of the gear. I was trawling an interesting thread the other day where there was some considerable debate about which bass Bernie Edwards used to record a lot of the Chic records. Some swore blind that it was definitely a Stingray, although someone else gave a convincing argument that it was a P-Bass. Similar arguments about the early Chili Pepper's albums crop up every so often. There will inevitably be subtle differences in "tone" between different basses - eg - try to make a Rickenbacker sound like a Fodera, but there will be a point somewhere in the middle where the player will be able to find that sound they like, either by eq'ing, set up or changing strings, or whatever. Then the phrasing, attack and technique of the payer will surely dominate the tone? In my opinion tone is 80-90% technique. I am pretty crap though lol!

Cheers EBSFreak, but damn you at the same time. Now I want one! Love the look of it.

Having a snoop around google, does anyone think it could be a BC Rich Eagle?

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABLwmYI09Lw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABLwmYI09Lw[/url] (Sorry, don't know how to embed it since they messed about with youtube!) Can you help me work out what Jerry Preston is playing here? I first thought it might be a BC Rich or an Alembic, but I really have no clue. Aside from that, check out the unbelievable groove of these guys... my God. Ta in advance.

Dave Dearnaley in Cardiff would probably do a good job for you. He reretted my Stingray some years back and I was pleased with the results. I don't have his details but think they are on a luthier sticky somewhere on this site.

On a purely practical note, you will probably find that you get more out of your gear as you are forced to "make-do" ("make -do" seems a little inappropriate given your great gear, but you get what I mean) with what you have. I have found myself in this position for the last 18 months now, mainly due to a change in personal circumstances meaning I have zero disposable income. I was already in the fortunate position to have some great stuff, but frankly was guilty of chopping and changing basses, sometimes without even having gigged them. I have grown to appreciate my gear a lot more, and learnt how to get the most sound-wise from it. The results have been so satisfying that I don't even find myself suffering the constant GAS cycle any more, in fact I am much happier. This is very convenient considering that I have no spare cash to indulge myself anyway! Good luck!

Nothing like a bit of gig pressure to tighten a band up, ime.

I can't imagine it will ever look perfect due to the difference in string widths. If I stare at my basses, the gap between the E and A strings looks less than the D and G. Switching to different gauges of string will exacerbate the optical effect, but in real terms this perceived "imbalance" will make no discernible difference to playability or sound. As for the break angle of the strings from the anchor point at the bridge to the saddle, all that stringing through the back has done is visually amplified any divergence in the path of the string which would not be so noticeable when strung through the body.

What about ebony?

I honestly wouldn't bother with a badass - the Gotoh is a great unit. I don't think you'll feel wanting sustain-wise on a Modulus!

Not my usual cup of tea, but I really enjoyed that. Loved his up-beat style.

[quote name='AndyTravis' post='978793' date='Oct 5 2010, 08:42 PM'][url="http://www.kijiji.it/annunci/strumenti-musicali/treviso-annunci-treviso/wal-mach-1-custom-4-string-sims-led/3878850"]http://www.kijiji.it/annunci/strumenti-mus...ims-led/3878850[/url] Do you know what, this is pretty cool, except the bass clef inlay. "Look, it's a bass clef, i'm a bass player, can i play you a song on my bass? can't you see?! I'm a bass player." I wonder if Paul Herman would do a Mach 1 with a Maple Fingerboard...did Pete Stevens?[/quote] Yes, he did a couple as special orders, although I understand he didn't really like to. Fairly spectacular results in my opinion.

Thanks for all the comments. To be fair it didn't look bad in black, I was just keen to see what was underneath and get the bass fully up together. Plus, I have always wanted a schedua-topped Wal, so I just couldn't resist getting it done forever. I don't know if the refinish has affected the tone, although it definitely sounds richer than it did before. This could be due to different strings, Paul re-setting the pickup heights, anything I guess. Gigged it last night and I couldn't be happier with the sound - it always had a nice low mid growl, but it seems fuller across the whole frequency spectrum, if that makes any sense?

My 5 string Wal Mach II from May `88. It was refinished in the 90`s in black poly by a previous owner, although the control cavity informed me that it originally had schedua facings. I finally decided to take the plunge and sent it to Paul Herman for a strip down and refinish. I was a little nervous, not having any idea what it would look like underneath, but I was confident that Paul would make something decent of it even if he found horrible repairs or marks. About 12 weeks later I got the bass back, and I was amazed with how it turned out! Needless to say I'm very happy with the result. I also asked Paul to slightly shave the neck down and finish it in satin as opposed to gloss. I'm glad I did, it feels great.

Just got my Wal back from Paul after he'd had it for a refin. It has come out absolutely stunning! Simply incredible job he did on it. I'll bung some pics in the porn section when I get the chance. I have to say, he was great to deal with.

FWIW my `89 Stingray has a large gap (couple business cards) on the bass side of the neck pocket. It's still one of the most resonant and acoustically "lively" basses I've played, and had no trouble with it at all since I bought it from the original owner in about 1993! I wouldn't have thought this would be the cause of fret buzz on your bass,

Funny enough I've found the necks on the 2 Wals I've owned very chunky, with the Mach I being a very pronounced "V". I understand they do vary a fair bit though... I had a Thumb BO which although chunky depth-wise, felt quite fast to me! My current bass has just been refinished by Paul H. and I asked him to shave the back of the neck for me, so I'm hoping it'll be less "clubby" than it was before. Anyway, sorry for the ramble, lovely bass and admirable playing there!