4000

50 minutes ago, Kev said:

Yeah that's fair enough, but response time to emails and enquiries is almost always how I guage my initial impressions of a guitar shop, so in that respect they have fallen behind almost anyone else.  I've also made a number of offers in the past on instruments, both by email and on Reverb, and to this date not a single one has ever been responded to.  Offers expire on the Reverb platform and emails go unresponded.  But if they have such high walk in trade, I guess internet trade may not be their target.

 

Regardless of who I’m dealing with, my first line of enquiry is usually by phone, probably because I’m old and that’s the way things used to be done. 😂

They get a lot of calls too, tbh. 

8 minutes ago, Kev said:

I've had little dealings with the gallery (I live 10 mins from Bass Direct so haven't had much reason to), other than any time I've emailed them, I've either had no response or a response days later.  Bass Direct usually respond within the hour on a working day.

See my earlier statement about how busy they are, pretty much constantly. They’re the main bass place in London and an easy casual drop in, unlike BD. 

47 minutes ago, Kev said:

Highly opinionated and blunt, but that's just who he is, and I'd rather have that than a salesman.

But that’s what I love about Martin at the Gallery; he’s none of those things. He’ll offer advice, but only as a means to getting to where you want to be. 

3 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

I'm always surprised when musicians have such appreciation for music which is so far from their own genre but I'm starting to think it's quite common among a lot of most creative musicians. 

Most creative musicians I know aren’t focussed on a genre at all, beyond what they’re doing at that moment in time. I always think that to assume that because someone is playing or is involved in a particular kind of music, that that’s all they’re interested in, is a bit strange, although we’re probably all guilty of it at some point. It’s like assuming that because someone is making pizza for their tea (or for a living), they only ever want to eat pizza. 😂

Imagine him saying that to Jean-Jacques Burnel back in the day. 😂😂😂😂

1 hour ago, bartelby said:

 

Oh he doubled down on it too when I said I had an old Warwick and an Aria SB Elite. "Yeah, Sell them all and get a proper one. My aim is to educate people with multiple basses, to sell them and get a premium bass that covers it all"

It took me a few years to buy something from them again.

Having just got to this post, it really wouldn’t have ended well at all. I’d have shoved one of his premium basses where the sun doesn’t shine. 

2 hours ago, bartelby said:

My first experience with them was back in 2010 when I went to buy a Mono Strap. Mark asked me what bass it was for, when I told him a Fender Steve Harris P he scoffingly told me I should buy a proper bass. 

 

 

Jesus. If he’d said that to me - assuming it wasn’t a lame joke - I dread to think how I’d have reacted. It wouldn’t have ended well, let’s put it like that. 

1 hour ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

Wasn't that the case over the entire Warwick line? My 2000 Thumb had a monster neck - even bigger than my Yamaha Attitude LTD2 (my 2001 Corvette was relatively chunky too).  Comments regarding neck dive with Thumb basses are quite common over the years, and I seem to recall someone mentioning that the older models had smaller necks and balanced a lot better but the necks over the entire line up were reprofiled to be bigger c2000, and back to a slimmer profile c2010 (IIRC).

That’s true, but what I was meaning is that even in roughly comparable eras they were different. My ‘91 SS1 had a slim neck, the Thumbs from around that time were very slim IME, but the Dolphins were big (by my standards) even then. Nowhere near as big as some of the later baseball bat-necked Warwicks, but a lot bigger than the Streamers and Thumbs of the time. The late ‘80s Thumbs have some of the slimmest necks I’ve ever come across (which I love). Some of the Warwick experts on here may be able to give more details. 

For me, this is a pretty nasal tone, although not necessarily in a bad way. I’m not the biggest Jaco fan but this is easily my favourite thing of his with Weather Report, I love the drive and propulsion of it. 
 

I think that as with all things, it means different things to different people. My Stage 1 - at least with me playing it - fell into the ‘thin and nasal’ category. Some people might class Chris Squire’s tone  or Lemmy’s tone as nasal, whereas to me neither are anything like nasal. I was hoping for something more towards Zender’s sound (which I loved) from my S1, but it really wasn’t like that at all. Could just have been my bass though, or more likely a combination of the bass and me. 

1 hour ago, NickA said:

Not really.  I've only played a thumb ( an NT five) a few times and it goes from dolphin on bridge only to somewhere beyond that.  Sure, they overlap a bit, but the dolphin ( my 2001 one anyway) is much more "polite" / "refined" sounding.

Very different necks too, certainly on the earlier ones. I think my 1st Dolphin was a ‘91, but I’d have to check. It had the brushed aluminium (?) hardware. Both my Pro 1s had big (if surprisingly comfortable) necks, by my standards. Whereas the earlier Thumbs have necks like pencils. 

10 minutes ago, NickA said:

Me neither!  Usually have the dolphin set as a jazz ( balanced bridge and neck, eq knob out)

 

Need to try more Wals!  Since the days of trying them out in Denmark St ( a place of much lost time) I've only played my own.  Maybe a Wal bash 🙂

Yes, if anyone wants to lend me several to compare, maybe over the course of 6 months, just let me know. 😂

2 minutes ago, 40hz said:

Agreed. My Stage One was the grindiest, grittiest bass I think I've owned!

I wish mine had been! It was a bit ‘meh’, a bit nasal. 

1 hour ago, NickA said:

I've two Wals, bought at random.  The MK2 was disappointing at first, but much tweaking of the setup later, I really like it.  Every "post pro" Wal I've seen for sale has stated much the same weight and mine are both 4.8kg.  I conclude that a lot of these "differences" ( from good to dead as) are either perceptual or down to setup (eg tightening up the neck bolts does wonders for sustain and clarity).   Still, I wouldn't buy one at today's prices and they don't do everything.  My Warwick beats it hands down for some things ( ergonomics for one). 

 

Aggressive sound needed? I'd probably use the dolphin with both bridge pickups in.

Well I think all individual instruments differ, and my experience of Wals has been exactly that, just more so than some other brands. I used to go and play them in Denmark Street when they first came out and were all the rage, they often had several on the walls, all set up pretty much the same. All the many Wals I’ve played since haven’t changed that opinion. They were still all different, just like all the Rics I’ve owned, regardless of setup, have been different. And the weights definitely vary a lot. My Custom was half the weight of the Wenge-faced one in the Bass Centre, which was also inexplicably far more head-heavy! 

Ive had 3 Dolphins, 2 x Pro 1s and a Pro II. My first early Pro 1 was great, but not super-aggressive IMO. The second ‘96) I didn’t like. The Pro 2 could get pretty aggressive, but still probably not as much as the early Thumbs I’ve played, IMO. Of course YMMV. I’ll add that I never use a back pickup only sound as It’s not something I’m keen on….😉

1 hour ago, falling_in2_infinity said:

I can't help but agree.  I might be wrong, but I get the impression he's one of those kinds of shop owners who has a very fixed idea of his business.  I can't blame him, as it probably works well most of the time, and it might mean that his regular customers get reliable and consistent service.  It's certainly better than the Gallery: he keeps the website mostly up to date and isn't downright unpleasant.

Well I agree that The Gallery’s website needs work, but I’ve been going there since 1996 and have yet to have a bad experience (yes, I know others have had). The thing is, The Gallery is not just a shop, it’s also the main calling point for most of London’s - and elsewhere, given I’m up North! - bass repairs and customisation. Most of the times when I’ve been over the years, it has been incredibly busy. 
 

Given the choice between dealing with BD and the Gallery, it’d be the Gallery every time, by an absolute country mile. 

The Seis I’ve had worked in reverse, but I know Martin went to a different rod type at some stage so don’t know if they still do. 

Nightingale?

4 minutes ago, RhysP said:

Here's the photo of the Geddy Lee potato. 🙂

Apologies for the terrible quality, it was taken over 40 years ago on a crappy little camera.

Genius! 🤣

5 minutes ago, RhysP said:

I tried so hard to like it. I couldn't believe it when I got it, I just used to gaze at it lovingly for hours.

I borrowed the money from my sister to buy it & paid her back out of my Saturday job wages.

It cost me £206.00 & my Hondo which I P/X'd against it. 🙂

Think mine was £295, but I could be wrong. I was the same, couldn’t believe it. Used to hang it on my bedroom wall. I remember opening the shipping box in the (tiny) shop and all the polystyrene bits falling out. It came with flats and a ridiculously high action. Of course I didn’t know any better at the time. It was a revelation when I finally fitted rounds and had it set up. 

9 minutes ago, RhysP said:

Only a really crappy secondhand thing called a "Raver", which had a shorter scale than most guitars, and a Hondo II SD Curlee.

I did actually like the neck on that first Rick, I just found it very uncomfortable to play. I couldn't get on with the overall layout either.

Well like I say, nothing is for everyone. Everyone is physically different. That’s why I never really understand “which bass should I get?” threads. Try them and get the one you like! 
 

My first Ric was the first bass I’d ever played. Had never even touched one before that. I had to order it, so hadn’t played it before I bought it either. Common these days, but not so much then. 

I’ve had a few interactions with BD over the years and have come away utterly dissatisfied every time. The worst was when I was considering ordering a custom Wood & Tronics from them and specified 4 string, 16.5mm spacing as a requirement. I was told by Mark that I didn’t want that, I wanted a 5 string with 18mm spacing. 🙄 That was the end f that. 
 

2 hours ago, RhysP said:

My mid 70s 4001 was my first "proper" bass, I bought it used when I was still in school.

Did you play anything prior?

14 hours ago, alittlebitrobot said:

I played an Aria Feb fretless acoustic in a local music shop and it has me split in half.

The GAS-having musician part of me is bursting to own it.

But the pragmatic, sensible half is saying "what would I play on this that I can't play on my 34" scale fretless I already own (whose tone I love)?". Also, where would I put it? It's pretty big..

 

Some day, when I'm having a rough time, I know I'll snap and buy it in a rush of retail therapy. Plus, the shop have made it perfectly clear that if they've sold the one they have in stock, it's no problem- just say the word and they'll order another one for me...

NOT HELPING, lads..

I played one of those. It was great!

7 minutes ago, LeftyJ said:

 

Ha, I had to Google it but found it explained in an old review that's on Statii: apparently the designation "Matrix" was used for the headed bases. There were a Matrix Series I (which includes @LouieM's bass, which is a rare JJ version when most had PJ pickups). Then there's a Matrix Series II, which is essentially a headed version of the Series II, and a Matrix Empathy which is like the Series II but with matching facings on the back of the body and overall more luxurious. 

 

The one above is currently for sale at Bass Connection in the Netherlands: https://reverb.com/item/13590017-status-matrix-series-ii-bubinga 

You know, I was thinking exactly that earlier about Matrix being headed, but wasn’t sure if my memory was correct. 

3 hours ago, prowla said:

I guess I've been lucky with Rics; I have '64, '72, '78, '88. 2010 x2, 2012, and 2013 ones (4001, 4003, 4004 models) and I like them all; the one which is markedly different is the 2013, which has a noticeably thicker neck, but it was for a project with a whammy bar so I'm OK with that.

I also had one of the newer 5-strings, but I didn't really bond with it and found I preferred other 5-strings instead; it felt like a 4-string with an extra appendage rather than an integrated unit, so I sold it back to the person I bought it off.

I guess some of it is what you've become used to; a lot of folks seem to criticise the Ric for not being more Fender-like (just a generalisation, not saying that's you!), but it isn't and it shouldn't be, so the answer to that is to just buy a Fender! (Actually, I have more Fenders than Rics...)

Some people prefer the mid/late 70s basses, which typically have a narrower, rounder neck profile, but I prefer the wider, flatter feel of the ‘72s. I also don’t like the fatter body wings and I’m not a fan of the 1” neck high gain; I need a 1/2” toaster for my preferred sound. I tend to find the ‘73 onwards 4001 basses a bit nasal, personally.