such

Electro Harmonix Mini POG does that, how natural it sounds though, you have to decide for yourself. Not very, imho, I don't believe I've heard better, though. It's purely a special effect too, cannot compensate for finger stubbiness

are you sure it wasn't Phil from Bass Gear? I had to google that Jeremy Kyle Show's guy, and he looks a tiny bit alike.

[quote name='TPJ' timestamp='1362606942' post='2002193'] Just wish they'd use V V T instead of that pickup switch [/quote] that's what I thought before I got my BB415. I had even bought the balance pot and arranged a soldering-skilled man to do the modification, but started liking the existing design very quickly.

Great basses, I'm getting one later this year. Tried many in shops, and last weekend at the London Bass Show thingy. The difference in quality/sound/finish between 1025 and 2025 is smaller than the difference in price, much smaller.

BB414 is a seriously good bass. I've got a 415 that I bought from a former Jethro Tull bassist, and I'm completely happy with it (will modify and refinish when spring comes, anyway ) 424/425 have the same pickups and overall quality, but have a new 5-piece laminated maple/nato neck and a thru-body bridge. Both those changes should improve string tension, stability and clarity of the lower notes (especially B string in 425). 1024/2024/1025/2025 are of higher quality. They have different pickups to the lower series (identical between 102* and 202* though), and different hardware - bridge had angled saddles made of brass, coated in chrome in 102* and in nickel in 202*. Pieces of wood that body is made of, are spline-joint, to mimick sonic qualities of a one-piece body while improving mechanical stability. Nut is made of the same material as frets (as opposed to plastic in 42*). Finishes are different, imho nicer than in the cheaper series. Differences between 102* and 202*: maple/nato neck in 102*, maple/mahogany in 202*, chrome hardware in 102*, nickel in 202*; 102* are factory made in Indonesia (I think), 202* hand made in Japan - of course the amount of actual handmaking in "hand made" modern basses is a somewhat controversial subject. Plus 202* have those magical treatments called I.R.A. and A.I.R. if I recall correctly. I've tried many of all those series extensively in stores and most recently at the LBGS. Conclusions: I'm keeping my BB415, but buying a 1024 or 1025 as well, as that will be a bit of an upgrade. The differences between 102* and 202* were very subtle at most.

except for the usual slappy noise, wasn't a bad show. One of my biggest impressions: those Finnish basses, Stenback. They only had four at their booth, and a preamp pedal, and that's about it (oh, and that cute tall blonde). Usual passive J-style basses, ash, maple/rosewood etc, nothing special, right? So I kept walking pass that booth until that blonde literally dragged me into it and told me to play, and, I kid you not, those basses have the most comfortable necks I've ever held. And I've owned some nice basses, Fenders, Warwicks, Yamahas, and played some nice ones, like Paul Turner's '66 Jazz many times, which is not only a very good specimen, but also well looked after and worn in and Plek'd, and seriously, those Stenbacks.... They have sold all four already on Saturday, and took orders and deposits for another four, which means something as they are like 3 grand each! What else? Good news from Warwick is that there will be no more Pro-Series Star Bass - it will be Rockbass now (they've had a black fiver, I played it a lot), exactly the same except for the serial number starting with RB-*** instead of PS-***, and Chinese origin intead of Korean. Why is it good? Because of some £400 smaller RRP, that's why. I liked the bass a lot, sounded like a Jazz with more acoustic aspect, and the B string was SERIOUSLY good. Other than that, I re-established my opinion that Streamer LX is the best sounding Warwick model. Had a chat with Andy Irvine and Hans Peter Wilfer, lovely chaps. Chatted Bluejay up too, I forgot to say I'm a basschatter though. My private highlight: Andy Levy came over to the Warwick booth when I was playing that Star Bass, I started playing one of his Brand New Heavies lines, his smile was priceless

yeah, those Yamahas have very subtle fretlines. Really good basses all round, too. When it comes to new stuff, make sure to check out LTD Vintage-214 in fretless version. PJ, very Tony Franklin style, unlined fretless, has just been introduced at this year's NAMM. GAK have them for odd 300 pounds. I'm getting one for my birthday

I'll be doing this: to my Yamaha when weather gets warm enough to do paintwork. The pickup won't exactly be reversed though, the D-G coils stays where it is, while the B-E-A moves by almost two inches towards the bridge.

this particular bass was for sale a couple of months ago, the owner/seller was Gregor Fris of the website basstheworld.com - he also manages FB fanpages for that website and for Sandberg basses. He wanted 750 euros for this bass, you may give him a shout to see if it sold.

thanks!

are the tickets for performances paid separately? Or do they just hand them out due to limited seating? I'm not sure if I understand...

yeah, looks good so far. I was kind of hoping for that Lull review that was missing from the last issue though.

thanks Sean - I was a bit worried about the amount of space between the B-string tuner and the curved part of the headstock surface near the nut. Seems fine Danny - flipping the thing round will do the job in a worst case scenario - but it wouldn't be perfect as the edges would be sharpish and the screws protruding out a bit more than they do when that frame is in "current" position.

some Spectors, Custom Shop option in bolt-on Warwicks. In lower price bracket, Peaveys Cirrus BXP and Grind.

wow, that's impressive. Gives me extra motivation to get on with modding my 415

so, I've decided what I want to do with the bass. Bridge swap, string retainers, possibly lightweight tuners (although I do like the stock ones, they feel nice and are pretty), refinish - still haven't made up my mind with the colour, Burgundy Mist or Surf Green seem possible. And a big job: I want to reverse the P pickup. I want to keep the "treble" coil where it is, and move the "bass" coil towards the bridge. I want more tightness on lower strings, especially when that pickup is soloed, but with both on as well. The J is nice as it is, I wasn't fond of it at all, but it grew on me. Something like this: [IMG]http://i48.tinypic.com/2ihp3jq.jpg[/IMG] I can do the routing, I've done it before (adding J pickups to Precision basses etc). The problem is, that metal frame thing. I would need one in reverse. Anybody knows anyone who could make one? Also, Sean, do you think you could find a pic of the headstock of your 415 with the retainers on?

[quote name='omikin' timestamp='1360021414' post='1963818'] How long do these signature models usually stay in circulation for? I'm really tempted by this. [/quote] well, Marcus, Geddy, Steve Harris seem to be doing fine, so do Reggie Hamilton, Sting, Dirnt etc. Hopefully this one stays a bit, I kind of want one...

I'd say Yamaha BB414 most users agree that those particular pickups do sound better in a traditional passive setup. Although you won't go wrong with a 614. Just a more modern, a bit generic-sounding, versatile instrument.

yeah, it says “lacquer”, which is a wide term...

that looks cool. Luckily, it seems that there won't be any significant price increase for the 214 comparing to 204. I wonder about the Stinson signature though... the LTD Frank Bello is rather expensive, but Stinson has both the LTD and the ESP versions, so I hope the ESP is pricey and the LTD just slightly more than the Vintage-214... Not a fan of current G'n'R, but that bass looks lovely in that distressed creamy white with painted headstock and tortoise pickguard.

Congrats! someone will have a surprisingly lightweight box delivered when they receive what's supposed to be their Nate Mendel bass Anyways - I read somewhere that the body of this bass is made of ash and finished with nitro. Is that the case?

I'm coming too, most probably on both days.

supposedly, it is.

Warwick Streamer Standard wasn't entirely identical - it had the typical German Warwicks' ovangkol neck with wenge fretboard and bell brass frets. But that's not the point here... There are some Bartolinis that use the same footprint and can be used as an replacement. I don't know which model exactly, but I'm positive I recollect at least a couple of people doing that operation at Warwick forums. Mind you, it's not the output that was the issue with them, it was the tone - they wanted something brighter and more biting.

rounds will give you more "mwah", especially on a hardened surface. More bite in high mids. I haven't got a fretless at the moment, but I used to play one even exclusively for a couple of years of gigging in jazz clubs. Some flats might be nice too, I don't have any first-hand experience with them, but probably if you were going for an uprighty sort of tone, flats on an unfinished board might be a closer approximation.