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bassmayhem

⭐Supporting Member⭐
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Posts posted by bassmayhem

  1. We have some really stellar bass builders here in Sweden: Anders Mattisson, who builds for Henrik Linder (Dirty Loops) and Janek Gwizdala is one. Another one is Christian Olsson, who has built for Mark King among others. His company is called Unicorn Bass. There are others too...

     

    I have just placed an order for a custom instrument: my very first such.
    So now, Unicorn Bass is building me an all passive no frills tone monster, a bass to play - not to display. I am really thrilled, since I've never owned an instrument built especially for me before. Unicorn has some models that are custom shop in all aspects; this one, called the Purist, is the bass to use if you don't want any fancy stuff, if you prefer passive electronics, bolt-on neck and straight ahead solid foundation. The neck profile, number of strings, spacing, body wood, pickups and their placement and finish are made or chosen to my liking and preferences. I.E. all that counts for is custom made....

     

    A month ago I visited Christian Olsson in his workshop and tried some of his instruments: both Artist Series and the Purist, but really fell for the simplicity, yet versatility, from the Purist. Now it is just some months wait for the beast to be born...

    Pic's will come. Here is the link to the Unicorn site: https://unicornbass.se/site/

     

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    • Like 10
  2. Since everybody wants to know: the weight is 4.7 - 4.8 kg according to my bathroom scales. (10.35 - 10.56 lbs) The weight is what gives the bass its tone. Still, it ain't that heavy. It hangs well on the body, well balanced. I have a slipped disc and back surgery, and play it without problems.

     

    Spacing 18 mm.

     

  3. Dingwall Afterburner I HS (Heavy Solid)
    I have a custom made instrument in the pipeline, but I may regret selling this bass if things are resolved in another way...


    Anyway, a Dingwall Afterburner I HS, where HS stands for Heavy Solid. Yes. It is heavy, but even my old operated back can handle it. Passive, three pickups, whole Wenge neck, like the finest chocolate. With the small miniswitches in the "right" position, you have four useful tone characters from this bass: Jazz bass' focused bridge tone, Stingray, Jazz bass "in the middle" and P-bass. Not exactly, but very close. It can be played with a loose touch as well as rock hard à la Geddy or The Ox. Sounds good whatever your style is...

     

    If anyone is wondering about the small "hole" on the back of the body, well, it is an extra strap lock to place the bass a little further to the right, or for small bassists. Smart!

    The three miniswitches are for series or parallel connection of each pickup. I found the position with the two outermost pickups in serial mode (higher output) and the middle one in parallel mode the optimal. Then you got a relatively even volume in the four different positions on the pickup switch. Also: Luminous dots on the side of the fretboard !!!

     

    It is an odd model that no longer exists. The closest I have come to price considerations is that if you were to order a new one similar to this, you would end up in the area around £3900/4560€. Then you usually say easy sellable instruments in good condition can be sold for 70% of the new price, which would end up around £2740/3200€. I let this beauty go for £2250/2625€ plus shipping. 4000 extra for a real Canadian is perfectly fine, right? Just a tad over the price for a Chinese Dingwall...
    As I said, I reserve the right to regret...
    Serious bids are considered! And - The bass lives in Sweden...

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    • Like 6
  4. Well, well, well...

    Since I just by chance - or something - happen to have TWO Monique preamps, I've decided to sell one amp setup, the one to the right in the picture.
    The Jule M700 power amp is practically the same as one of the Spartan's power amps. Both are Hypex modules, and I can manage with just the Spartan's two Hypex power amp modules; they can drive all four Genzler cabs. No need for double amp setups.

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    I don't have to publish a lot of specs; all you need to browse can be found on the internet. (Not that there is much to browse; easier rig to handle is hard to find...)
    Everything is as new, except for a minor scratch in the lacquer on the power amp. I covered that with a Sharpie, but it can be seen if you want to see it.
    The Birdcage has the original soft case, and the power amp has a plastic camera case type of "briefcase". No speakons or patch cable, just the European type of power cables are included. 

    The price direct from Jule is $3175 for the pair PLUS shipping and VAT and customs costs. That's around £2300 or 2700€ plus VAT and customs costs. No trades!

    I sell the set for £1500/1770€ plus shipping at buyer's expense. Unfortunately, Brexit made shipping to the UK a very bad affair for the buyer... :( 
    And: I use Transferwise for swift money transfer and minor costs. Never PayPal; they should be called ChargePal. Or the old fashioned bank transfer way. Here is my feedback page: 

    Have a nice weekend, folks!

    • Like 3
  5. No - it's not Geddy's old; however, I bought it from the UK before Brexit (Those were the days) ...

    The condition is excellent, everything works, everything is original except for replaced wear'n tear parts in bridge/tuners, which are sold as original parts from https://www.headlessusa.com/bass-jaws 
    I think Babicz is the maker of these...

    The old worn parts are included for those who are interested in such things. The detachable leg rest a memory from the previou- s L2 model - remains. The newer XL2's have that ugly hinge support permanently mounted. This one is called a "transition model", due to some DNA from the old L2 as well as from the XL2...

    String holder/adapter for single ball strings is included. The original bag remains and is in a condition like fly infested mummy; it can be used if you get a new zipper and are a little good at sewing. The bass also has an original Steinberger hardcase.

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    Note that the tuners are at a bit of distance from the string holder / string jaw holder, due to use of washers in the new mechanics...

    I have checked prices on all XL2s that are for sale around the world and see that the average price of these is just over £3400, the condition not taken into account, and without considering any cost for shipping, customs and VAT. This one is in pristine condition, no dings and scratches, just a little black worn off on the string holder up on the neck. (Sharpie pen fixes it ...)
    Since the bass and I are in Sweden, I set the price to 30000 SEK (£2550 / 2950€) plus shipping. Since I bought it, I have spent about 4000 SEK (£340 / 400€) in renovation and extra accessories.

    Now open to partial trades! At least £1700 / 2000€ in cash! Serious bids are considered!
    Can be shipped at buyers expense. I use Wise (former TransferWise) - not PayPal, since they charge a LOT. Or bank transfer!

    My feedback page: 

     

    • Like 9
  6. I've had a crush on Steinberger basses since the early 80's. I got my first, a fretless lined L2 in 1984, in Hamburg at Bernhard Kurzke's Music Center N:o 1. It was an early one with three digit serial number. I owned that bass until 2006, when I sold it to a nice guy in Berlin. After a few years the itch started, so I got another one, an XL2 1986, but I traded it in a weak moment. Then I got my third: a 5 string XL25, but I couldn't cope with the VERY narrow string spacing, so that one went on a one way trip too. Then I found a nice four string XL2 from 1984 here on BassChat and bought it. It is in pristine condition, but it had a serious failure when I was preparing for a gig: one of the threads in the bridge/tuner broke... Anyway, I have changed all the tuner parts for new made in much better material and construction, bought from https://www.headlessusa.com/bass-jaws I kept all the original parts in a drawer, but they are really worn out. Now the bass works as a dream; I also bought the string adapter from them, not the ugly ones you see here: https://www.headlessusa.com/string-adaptrrs but a black sleek model that looks like it belongs on the bass.

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    The bass has the old style detachable leg rest; I believe this is one of the so called transition models, with some DNA from the L2 and some from the XL2.

    But...
    I don't use the bass. It just stands there in all its glory. I also try to thin out the stock and only keep the basses I really use. I tend to go to two of my five strings most of the time. I am seriously thinking about selling it, but I'm not sure about that. The value on these basses is steadily increasing, so selling it may be a very bad idea economically. (Or maybe not.) Also there is some affectionate value, but not that hard, since this isn't The One I got when I was young and hungry; now I am only old and well fed. ;) 

    So my question is: What would you do?

    • Like 1
  7. I am glad we are different and have different preferences...
    The amp is really good if you like Mesa and all its "peculiarities", but personally I am not comfortable with that. Good quality, a lot of possibilities. My preferences are somewhat simpler, without the bells and whistles. ;)

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    • Like 1
  8. Well, I ordered one, got it, tried to like it but couldn't stand an amp that DEMANDS a lot of tweaking to sound good in the way I like good sound. I found the amp very shrill with no bottom. I had to twiddle the life out of the knobs to find a decent tone. I don't like decent - I like good. After a month trying to like the amp I traded it for yet another Jule Amp Monique and matching Jule Amp M700 power amp. Still, yesterday I traded a bass for an older Mesa combo with just a few controls: the Carbine M6 212 combo. Maybe that one is a keeper...

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  9. 50 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

    Interesting phrase. 

    Are you disappointed with it? I found it took me a time to get to grips with the 400 eq when I first got it. Take some time to see how it all works. 

    Well, put it this way: I have some tweaking to do... ;) 
    I listened to the DVD Rush in Rio tonight, and the tone Geddy has is kind of clanky too, just way sharper...

    • Like 1
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