martthebass

[quote name='Marcus' post='278109' date='Sep 5 2008, 06:38 PM']Hi I used to own a skyline BG, it was good, well made but something always felt like it was built to a budget.[/quote] I owned this after Marcus and concur. Howver if I could find one at about 8.5lbs..........

Another painless transaction with the Nickster. Cheers Bud.

I fave of mine - 'It's my life' Talk Talk. And a bit more soulful to help develop expression - 'Will you?' - Hazell O'Connor

[quote name='rjb' post='276216' date='Sep 3 2008, 01:05 PM']I simply can't understand why anyone would waste their cash on a US when for the same price they can get a Lak Skyline that will kick it around the block.[/quote] Don't try to understand - we're all different in our preferences, expectations and requirements. Regarding set ups - I've had 2 warwicks, I could set both of them up better than any Fender (or Lakky for that matter) - didn't make me want to play them on +2hr gigs

[quote name='Doctor J' post='276087' date='Sep 3 2008, 10:44 AM']Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the use of CNC or automated building techniques. The cheaper CIJ basses don't have the route, they still have the proper routing as found on the old Fenders. They are CNC'd too. There are a huge selection of J clones, many of them CNC'd which don't have that routing either. The bridge pickup is routed in the old fashioned way too, so why make such an abhorration of the front of the bass when it really isn't necessary? There are a lot of mass-produced US made instruments which don't have that routing either. Is the cost of running a wire 2 inches under wood really going to drive Fender out of business? I think not. Fender are facing more competition than ever, the availability of instruments to the average player worldwide has never been greater. It mystifies me why they would take such a blatantly shoddy move in the face of this competition.[/quote] Depends who's running the business......the artisans or the accountants. If the cost saving per route is $10 and they make 100000 basses per year - voila an extra $1M profit per annum. Sad really but you have to consider are they there to make basses or money? Personally I don't care if it has a route or not - I'm not taking the plate off, IMHO it looks a bit crap to leave it off. CDB - I'd love to buy a NYC Sadowsky. If I ever derive a sensible 'income' from this hobby and gain a higher level of talent I'll consider it - I don't posess sufficient of either presently and I don't want to be a 'gear snob'. I guess the MM and Fenders will suffice in the interim.

[quote name='Doctor J' post='276025' date='Sep 3 2008, 09:12 AM']Shocking stuff The point is, they used not to do it, now they do it, purely to save a few cents. Did they not learn from what happened in the 70's? One would expect Fender to be continually trying to improve on their old processes, like their competition does, not to go backwards.[/quote] Think there's competition at work here. I bought my first 2nd hand Fender Jazz back in 1987 for the princely sum of £400. I bought a 2nd hand Jazz earlier this year for £475. If CNC and other cost saving initiatives hadn't been brought in over the last 20 years then I guess a new Fender US Jazz std would be +£2000 and I suppose they would quite likely be either out of business (completely out of touch with SE Asian production) or scaled down to a 'specialist' provider like Lakland (US). In the long run if bassists don't think they are as good as or cost effective against Chinese/Indonesian/Jap Fender they will cease production. However, I don't think we always look at 'cost effectiveness' when we buy basses - we're buying musical instruments that hopefully give us a warm fuzzy feeling when we play them. It's easy to knock Fender but they produce the bass equivalent of the Ford Mondeo - it does it's job. If you want perfection go custom.

My MIA Fender Jazz (1999) is 3 pieces of wood and I suspect my MIA P bass (2004) is also. Doesn't bother me too much I've had MMs and Warwicks with3 and 2 piece bodies - maybe it's just pot luck. They are both definately better put together than the 2 MIM Jazzes I've had (particularly neck finish and join) but for me the sound is also somehow much better on the US made. I'd put quality (overall) at about Lakky Skyline levels personally but maybe not up to MM. For me the weight is fairly consistent also - all the recent ones I've played (1999 - 2007) have been around the 8.5 lb mark which is spot on for me. Money..well that's a bit different, I really don't think I'd pay list at £7-800 on the old S1's but with near mint second handers at £500 I think is hard to beat.

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='273940' date='Aug 31 2008, 06:36 PM']My one bug bear is 'vintage' basses. Like when people say, I've got a 1965 Fender Strat in sunburst yadda yadda yadda.... This is the music industry.. not bargain hunt![/quote] Turned up to a mate of a mates jam session the other night. The guitarist in the 'house' band told me 3 times within 3 minutes about the +£2000 1963 Strat he was playing. Just had to say 'bloody hell you could have got 2 or 3 new ones for that' Sorry.................true story tho

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='273919' date='Aug 31 2008, 06:24 PM']Your fender is only .1lb heavier than my first baby at birth... that's heavy! At least you're not trying to push a fender out of your wazoo...[/quote] Never thought of it that way. Still I need the exercise.

[quote name='BassBunny' post='273776' date='Aug 31 2008, 03:52 PM']Now for someone who worked for BT for over 40 years, I find it really strange to be recommending anyone else, but heyho, i'm retired now so what the hell they are a joke. The unfortunate thing with Telecomms Companies is that their Customer Service is all as bad as each other but for Value, Talk Talk or Sky take some beating, particularly as yo get free Broadband with both. Check the Phone section here [url="http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/"]http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/[/url] All the latest deals will be explained.[/quote] Yup. I get a call from BT every couple of weeks (unfortunately you can't block em with TPS) asking me to go back to them (I'm with Sky). I always say sure if I get free broadband - goes strangely quiet then.

[quote name='ARGH' post='273677' date='Aug 31 2008, 01:33 PM']My only bitch about Fender is the weight.[/quote] Pussy. 8.5lbs - heavy..............pffft

[quote name='Machines' post='273676' date='Aug 31 2008, 01:33 PM']His name isn't Nick ! .[/quote] Think Rich means Nick (Old Horse) Murphy

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='273304' date='Aug 30 2008, 07:15 PM']The ones I've played have been pretty nice. In particular, martthebass's black DJ5. That was the nicest quality one I've tried. It also did the old school jazz sound very well. I really wanted to like the Duck Dunn I tried & a couple of the 45-01/02's but they just felt cheap to me. Seems like you have to try before you buy in order to get a really nice one, much like Fenders.[/quote] Think that's what I was trying to say Rich - only you said it better. I think, like you I tried all the Lakkys in Electro. I liked a DJ5 natural because it was nice and light - it was about a lb lighter than my DJ5 but somehow it felt cheap and lacked grunt. The DD just felt cheap. The best of the bunch was a JO4 in 3TS lovely sounding and playing but £825. I picked up a new black MM SR4 that was lying around for comparison and unfortunately (for my pocket) it convinced me to sell the DJ5 and get another MM. I'm not saying I wouldn't buy another Lakky but I guess I wouldn't buy one blind (just like Fenders). I guess it would be boring if we all liked the same thing......

I've come to the conclusion that my GAS is my wife's fault. Reasoning: the wife imposed a 3 bass rule on me - foolishly I accepted. So, I have a 4 banger gigging bass (MIA P bass), a backup 4 (Ray 4H) and a nice 4 string fretless (MIA Jazz) for fun. However I keep going thru this swapping the fretless back and forth for a 5 er which ends up with me changing all basses at some point. I've made the argument to just buy a decent 5 er and go up to 4 basses but I keep losing :-(

My 1999 MIA Jazz 3TS Fretless (No S1) is exactly the same as this one.

Ooooooooooooooohhh. Might have to sell the Jazz F'less to fund one of these.

Fantastic combination! Tho I would say that.......

[quote name='mathewsanchez' post='270958' date='Aug 27 2008, 01:20 PM']I don't like the look of those round bridges.[/quote] Ditto, but then again the MM bridge ain't any better and at least the Lakky's offers thru body stringing (wish my newish Ray did).

[quote name='ste_m3' post='270768' date='Aug 27 2008, 09:11 AM']I had a 55-01 DLX and really loved it but it was just so damned HEAVY! definately something to watch out for![/quote] Just to even out this thread a bit. Regarding Skylines: The weight is definately something to watch for, the DJ5 I had was ok at ~10lbs and nicely balanced. The Bob Glaub on the other hand was a bit over 9.5lbs and not balanced so well - I I only kept for about a week and was glad to go back to my MIA P bass. The positives for me on Lakkys were mainly the sound but for build quality, I prefer the MM's I've had (and Ironically the MIA P bass I currently have) tho TBH this only was with respect to minor paint imperfections and (against the MM) hardware - this is just a personal opinion tho. As with anything try them out and see what you think. Gotta be honest tho, I would love a go on a US JO4.