Mokl

I reckon a Lakland 5 string would fit the bill perfectly here. The one I had was absolutely perfect for a functions band playing a very diverse set. It was very playable and I could always find an appropriate tone to suit the music. Great basses!

Charge as much as you think you can get! Personally I think you should be aiming for at least £150 each, although it depends very much on the gig and how much you want to play it! I'm lined up to dep for a band this New Year and we are looking at about £300 each - this is after agents fees etc. We have to play a quite a few sets mind you, so we're going to have to work for it, I also find the material is pretty tedious, even for a function band. Anyway, no getting drunk for me until it's all over.

... oh yeah. And I hate bass players who hate stuff

[quote name='escholl' post='274089' date='Aug 31 2008, 10:28 PM']two for one!....if someone can just slag off graphite nuts and hand-wound pups now, that will be everything i own, trashed in this thread i don't know why i'm enjoying that...[/quote] Errr... I think someone did slag off hand-wound pups a few pages back (can't be arsed to look back and tell you who though). Having been through large piles of gear, I hate to admit that I always seem to sound mostly the same no matter what amp or bass I am using. Sure, there are subtle differences, but, in the end, I always seem to strive for my particular sound. I also hate that this doesn't stop me thinking about getting new or different instruments. Having said all that I really couldn't get a sound I liked with my Rick 4003 when I had it - it was a beautiful object though. I particularly hate (although "hate" is too strong a word) the way this forum feeds an illogical desire within me to acquire gear that I certainly don't need, nor am likely to benefit from. Yet, I still keep coming back for more!

[quote name='jensenmann' post='272329' date='Aug 29 2008, 10:28 AM']Still no reply from Paul. Maybe my mail got spammed? Did someone over here actually have email contact with him?[/quote] Bear in mind how busy he must be! There must be hundreds of people who have either been waiting for news on a Wal order, need spare parts or are desparately keen to get their hands on a Wal that have all been denied any point of contact for well over a year now! I realise this is frustrating - I need some bits myself, but I'm sure he will get in touch with you in due course. I hope you have some luck soon FWIW I would also be interested to know if anybody has actually made successful contact with Paul via email.

That's good news, thanks for the info. I need some bits and bobs for my 5 string, but I'll not bother him for a few weeks as I expect he must be having to deal with an absolute deluge of enquiries!

I regret parting with almost all of the basse I've sold, but the ones I lament the most are: F Bass BN4 (I thought I had to sell it due to a pending move aborad which hasn't happened ), S/B Fender 76 P Bass (this was immaculate with all the original guards etc - the amount of times I've wished I had a P Bass since, and that one was a corker) and finally my Warwick Thumb BO 4 (sounded simply brilliant in a band setting, couldn't coax a bad sound out of it. Played wonderfully as well). There are others, but those are my biggest regrets.

As above, I've seen that quite a lot on 70`s Fenders!

[quote name='obi 2 kenobi' post='262466' date='Aug 14 2008, 02:48 PM']Paris is great. Lived there for 10 yrs. Go to rue victor masse in pigalle. Loads of music shops and at least 3 bass only. Better selection than london.[/quote] Bugger! How did I miss those?!

I spent quite a bit of time in Paris last year and was surprised by the lack of impressive music shops. It's quite possible I missed some though - Paris is quite large after all. There seem to be a few centred around the "Pigalle" district, which is neat as you can check out Le Moulin Rouge and numerous other seedy emporiums whilst you are there (at least the exteriors)! The Sacre Couer is just up the hill too, and is worth checking out for the views across Paris if nothing else. I must admit, I was underwhelmed by what I found music-shop wise, I was hoping to stumble across a Parisienne equivalent to The Bass Gallery, but failed miserably

[quote name='JimD' post='257364' date='Aug 7 2008, 04:38 PM']Hello I have a Wal question. Watch this clip. After about a minute the left handed guitarist, who is on the left, switches to a bass. The video quality is not great, but I think he's playing a Wal. Any thoughts on whether he is? [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYhTgRhKDS4&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYhTgRhKDS4...feature=related[/url] Jim D.d.d.d.d[/quote] Yes, I'm sure that's a Wal. Maybe a ProII, although I can't make out how many pickups are on it!

Here's my old beast, an '88 Mach II fiver. Did a trade on this for my lovely Mach I with Walplayer (Pete) - a legend of a bloke (hope all is well Pete!). At some point in the nineties it was refinished in black poly, God knows why, although I suppose it does look pretty good in black. Underneath all that black are schedua facings, and I hope to get it restored back to a natural finish by Sims Custom (or someone like that) as soon as finances allow. One thing I'm slightly nervous about is what I might find once the black is stripped off, although there are no discernible signs of damage underneath the finish when held to the light. Perhaps someone on here might be able to shed some light on the history of this for me? It's on the Wal database: W3074 This doesn't sound as punchy as my old Mach I (which I miss *sob*), but has an incredible low-mid growl. Very dark and lovely sounding bass this one. Sorry the pics aren't that great, but you get the idea:

It's quite possible that the guy with the Drozd may well use just the one bass for live and studio work. Perhaps he prefers to keep as consistent a sound and feel as possible? If you feel inclined to splash out for an expensive axe, you might as well get the use out of it too!

Good choice!

Sorry for going ot, but I fancy knocking myself up a nice 12 incher Any top tips, billynoband?

[quote name='WalMan' post='251755' date='Jul 30 2008, 11:51 PM']The attached file might help. It's a Wal flyer. Not sure where I got it from, perhaps at the old Music Show when it used to be at Earls Court, but presumably when I was dreaming [attachment=11435:Wal_Flyer.pdf][/quote] That was an interesting read, thanks for posting it

This amp shouldn't really sound like this. You've probably tried this already, but have you checked the input gain isn't too high? The Laney should sound pretty good, certainly not as you describe.

Yesterday my friend knocked an orchestral stand squarely, and with full force, into the body of my Zon. I couldn't actually bear to look at it for a minute or so, but when I did examine it there was no discernible damage whatsoever! Either the finish is extremely durable or I was unbelievably lucky. My friend was somewhat distraught at what he'd done and very apologetic, but I tend to take a fairly pragmatic view of such things - a bass is only an object after all. I'm glad I didn't get angry and shout at him Glad your bass is okay too; having been an active bass user for a long time I always try to make sure that I have a spare PP9 in my gig bag.

[quote name='martinbass7750' post='231813' date='Jul 3 2008, 10:18 AM']yes - I now own that very Highway One Jazz - I played it for a couple of hours last night and really love it. I've been playing 5 string for 4 years now after a few months on a 4 string, so was a bit scared about going back to 4 string. I started 5 string on my Ibanez, then changed to the Lakland just over a year ago. I love the Lakland, but I don't think it will be used much now. I'll probably hang on to it for a while in case I've made a mistake though. Mark reckoned the Highway One was not very different from a USA Standard in all the ways that matter - maybe that was a bit of sales pitch, but I'm pleased with it anyway. Seems really good value for a USA Jazz, I think list for Highway One is £649, list for a Standard in sunburst is £1035 ish. Don't know what the going rate is for them, but I was pleased with the deal we did. I'll have to find out what you get for the extra £400. I know the Standard has a hard case, strap and toolkit whereas this one only has a gig bag - so I guess that's £100 of it.[/quote] I thought that bass was a corker - in fact I preferred it to most, if not all of the USA Standards I've played recently. The neck was like a proper Jazz should be - nice and slinky. I thought it sounded superb as well - quite light in weight and very resonant. So far as I know the main differences (from the US Std) are in the hardware, finish and case, but fundamentally they are very similar instruments. You also got a badass bridge with your Jazz which is a great upgrade from the standard Fender model IMO. I'm sure it'll do the business with your band!

Glas you got it sorted Martin, which Jazz did you go for? I have a severe hankering for one of the new US Standard models. Mark had a really nice Highway One Jazz in the shop last time I was in there, was it that one you bought?

Nice looking basses - those Deluxe Jazzes sound great. FWIW those pickups are standard on that particular model.

That's funny, I used to live in Churchdown until about 5 months ago! I live just the other side of Newent at the moment. PM me if you fancy meeting up at some point (one of us will have to brave the A40 road works lol!). Can't promise I'll be a lot of help, but I do have a Bart-equipped bass, a good passive Jazz (w/Seymours) and a few other bits and bobs.

martinbass, where abouts do you live? I live in the Gloucester area and used to own a 55-01 with NTMB. If you want to hook up one evening and try some comparisons against some of my motley selection you'd be more than welcome. I could probably tell you whether I think the Lakland is behaving properly compared my experience with one as well, if that would be any use to you?