chriswareham

There's some serious signs of aging to the body and it looks like it's been refinished in a horrible bronze colour.

eBay has pretty much killed the Cash Converters bargain. The only exception I've had recently was a Logan String Melody II, an almost forty year old string synthesiser, that must have been obscure enough that they didn't know what it was. The guy in the shop thought it was some sort of electronic organ, and I got it for £75. Stick it through a phaser pedal and it sounds awesome. And on the subject of the HM2 pedal, a 12 string electric guitar sounds great through one of those. A more typical distortion pedal just turns a 12 string into a wall of toneless noise, but the HM2 kind of makes it "sizzle".

Simon Gallup's one of my main influences, along with Peter Hook, Stuart Morrow and JJ Burnel. I even played in a Cure tribute band a couple of years ago, and if anyone's interested the bass tabs I did can be found here: http://www.chriswareham.demon.co.uk/curetabs/index.html Favourite album is Faith, closely followed by Disintegration.

Whenever I've stored amp and cabs at rehearsal studios I have always removed the fuse from the amp. Even when we had a dedicated cage to ourselves I suspected someone else had access, since things would move about. In that instance I replaced the studio's padlock with my own.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1392932833' post='2374521'] I found the same with the Kubicki Ex Factor. And that was definitely not a vintage bass. [/quote] Not sure whether the Jolana qualifies as a vintage bass, since it's probably late 1980's. Plenty of dents and chips on it, so using earhook's car analogy it's a bit of an old banger that's surprisingly good to drive.

Brilliant song, and amazing bass line. I think it's played by former Cure bassist Michael Dempsey: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZSMDaewz2A"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZSMDaewz2A[/url] Nice semi-acoustic bass as well.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1392886143' post='2373737'] The fingerboard radius seemed more extreme than on later basses... I've often wondered what 'plays like butter' means and now I know. [/quote] Had this experience with my Jolana D Bass. It has quite a curve to the cross section of the fretboard when compared to my Stingray, and it seems to make it much easier to play.

More weirdness from behind the Iron Curtain. An odd looking violin bass: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VERY-RARE-VINTAGE-SOVIET-Bass-KRUNK-75-Yerevan-factory-/281185167559 Love the descriptions on some of these auctions, presumably run through something like Google translate.

Was there any inappropriate fingering going on?

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1392635109' post='2370788'] The Russian bass is a fantastic looking thing. If it was a sensible price (under £100 delivered) I'd consider buying it to use as a template to have a decent one made (with 5-strings!) [/quote] If you do a "worldwide" search then these weird Soviet things come up quite often and usually for very low prices. I've bought various music related bits and pieces from Russia (as well as Ukraine), and never had any problems - posting *to* Russia is more risky, as the customs officials that have a reputation for stealing stuff on its way into the country.

I had a Brandoni assembled Vox Phantom guitar, and it was a great instrument. I don't recall it suffering from neck dive, although I do tend to wear a strap even when playing seated, and the "wedge" on the bottom of the body rested between my thighs so it's not an awkward shape either. Perhaps the earlier models were made from different materials to the Eko made ones, which could account for the differing opinions of the Phantom with respect to neck dive.

Nope, not a frothing at the mouth Daily Mail rant about imaginary hordes of immigrants, but a link to a nice looking Eastern European P-Bass: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80s-unique-Vintage-RARE-ORFEUS-ORPHEUS-PB-Soviet-USSR-Electric-Bass-Guitar-/171226580659"]http://www.ebay.co.u...r-/171226580659[/url] I love the look of the wood, but it seems very overpriced for a Communist era bass. Same seller also has this USSR made bass, which I wouldn't touch with a barge pole, but it certainly qualifies as weird: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-RAREST-Tonika-ural-First-Soviet-USSR-Russian-Electric-Bass-Axe-Guitar-/181307699334

On a Rickenfaker related note, my Jolana D-Bass got its first live outing last Sunday. I foolishly decided to change the strings on my Stingray earlier in the day, but thanks to a sharp edge that's developed on one of the tuners the top string snapped as I tried to bring it into tune. I retuned the Jolana to drop Bb and was relieved to find that it wasn't just playable, but actually felt even more comfortable than the Stingray! We videoed the gig, but sadly the best shot I can provide of the bass is this one: The Jolana did me proud though, really punchy sounding.

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1392164663' post='2365639'] If that is a date in the dark stamp, it would translate into a Western calendar as 12th November 1979. [/quote] I'm intrigued by the year - I hadn't realised that the system of numbering years relative to the era had been retained after the Second World War.

Played a kind of battle of the bands thing at the Purple Turtle in Camden, North London last night. Four great bands (and my lot). A night made much more memorable when the stage caught fire! There are a couple of fans under the stage that I assume are there for the smoke machine, but one of them went up in flames as the headline act were partway through a song. The bar staff were useless, wandering off to find the manager once they realised what was going on, so I had to vault over the bar and grab a fire extinguisher. Passed it to one of the promoters who then put the fire out.

The only answer is aversion therapy. Start to associate your bass guitars with the most unsettling things you can imagine, like Simon Cowell playing them whilst he's clad in nothing but a tight mankini. Once you're thoroughly terrified of the sight of them I'll be happy to come and take your bass guitars away.

Simms-Watts AP100 into just about any cab. Clean sound that seemed like it could punch holes in a brick wall! Had to sell it as a hard up student, but recently acquired a Sound City 120 that has a very similar sound, and I've been told that Hiwatt DR103s are along the same lines. The Sound City is paired with Ampeg 410 and 115 cabs, relegating my SVT CL to being a backup.

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1391383494' post='2356650'] Rickenfakers have been around for a while - the earliest ones probably date from when John Hall was in short pants. The Italian-made Shaftesburys (made by Eko) were mid 60s and amusingly were sold through Rose-Morris, official importer of Rickenbacker at the time. [/quote] I've actually got "Shaftesbury bass" as a saved search on eBay in the hope of snagging one of those! Didn't realise they were made by Eko, but it makes me even keener to track one down as my other short scale bass is a semi-acoustic made by them. I got it as my 21st birthday present, bought in installments from Macaris on Charing Cross Road. It was around the time that the occasional Eko instrument would appear for sale from the guy who bought their stock of parts when they went bankrupt. [quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1391383494' post='2356650'] Not a big fan of these funny little Kays, but this one looks very tidy. Some of these early Taiwanese instruments are better than you'd expect. [/quote] Judging by my two their quality control was completely erratic, and things such as bridges were pretty crude. They do have a certain charm though, and if the blue Kay proves beyond repair then I'll probably transfer the electrics into another bass.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1391381765' post='2356633'] This is a common problem with the K-20B. There was one on ebay like that only recently. Many of them i've seen over the years have broken pickup surrounds as did mine when i bought it. I got the Bass Doc to make some for me and although they aren't recessed like the originals but what he made for me does the job superbly. [/quote] Thanks for the tip - I'll have to get in touch with the Bass Doc to see if he can make me replacement pickup surrounds and a scratch plate that actually fits. Hopefully with that and an appropriate bridge I can get the blue Kay into good playing state. Then I can give it to the singer from my band, as she seems quite keen to learn bass and a short scale would probably be a great starter for her.

[quote name='gsgbass' timestamp='1391374975' post='2356506'] A bit of a Rickenbacker body shape, and PG on it. [/quote] I think it might qualify as the first Rickenfaker as this model seems to have been made between 1971 and 1973.

If I was you I'd play safe and buy a Squier Jazz. They can be had new for around the £200 mark, or a little more if you go for one of the fancier "vintage modified" ones. The neck is narrower than a Precision, and should be much easier to get used to. The quality of the Squiers I've played has been excellent.

Despite the occasional dalliance with other basses, I keep on coming back to my Musicman Stringray. It has what is for me a perfectly proportioned neck, and I find the whole bass comfortable to use either sitting or standing for a considerable length of time. Sound wise, the EQ means I can get it to fit well in most of the rock related contexts I play in. I have tried Fenders for extended periods, and while I like the Jazz neck I found the one on Precisions feels like a tree trunk. As for the tone control(s) on a Fender Jazz or Precision, I found myself wondering what they're for as anything other than fully clockwise sounds awful!

I've actually had this bass a couple of months, but it had a couple of issues that I only recently sorted out. It arrived with a bridge cover, but on closer inspection it wasn't the original but a Fender style one that was hiding an equally unoriginal Jazz style bridge. Since this had wider string spacing than the original Kay bridge, the E and G strings were precariously close to the edge of the fretboard. The other problem was that the pickup surrounds were cracked, as the pickguard was such a bad fit that it was exerting pressure on them. I managed to snag another K-20B, and proceeded to put together the best of the parts from the two. The result is a completely original one in "tobacco burst": The scale is 30", and it now has a set of roundwounds rather than the rusty flatwounds it arrived with. The pickups are frankly amazing - I was hardly expecting a great sound from such a clearly budget bass, but it sounds extremely punchy with both pickups engaged. With just the bridge pickup it has more of the short scale sound I remember from my Gretsch Electromatic, and the neck pickup on its own is deep without sounding muffled. The body is some kind of plywood laminate, while the neck looks to be a single piece of wood. Thankfully it hasn't warped unlike many of the necks on these early far Eastern instruments. The bridge is extremely primitive, with two screws to adjust the height and another two to adjust the intonation of all four strings. The intonation is fine though, so I'm not sure why someone felt the need to put the Jazz bridge on it. I'm now left with another K-20B in blue, but minus a suitable bridge and with two broken pickup surrounds. Not sure what to do about the pickup surrounds, but I'm going to try and find a more suitable bridge - Googling around suggests a Bronco one is a good fit.

That's shaped exactly like the cat egg that one of the furry feline babies deposited in my slippers this morning.

In the building industry it's typical for the big building firms to stave off paying the small subcontractors until they go bust. Questions have been asked in parliament about this, but since the building firms give so much money in donations to the political parties bugger all has been done, That's why I didn't follow in the family tradition and go into the building trade, as my parents were determined I wouldn't have to put up with the late payment shenanigans. And that's before you even consider the Kafka-esque rigmarole of retention payments ...