BassHappy

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1403073189' post='2479369'] With a version of the hellborg s pre in it or is it look,more than sound you are after? [/quote] Of course, I love the sound that Jonas gets out of it and I love the fact that it is medium scale. Frankly, with that confounded ramp on there, I have never really been able to give one a proper spin. Here is what I had to do to the Alien, and what it looks like on the spruce top after removing the ramp: and with the veneer strip applied: The Hellborg would probably be pretty much the same under there. As a pick player, the ramp is simply debilitating and I don't think the music store or Warwick is gonna pull it off for you to try it! I am already quite spoiled: BassHappy www.innertainment.net

Thanks to all for chiming in! Now and then when you are treated on the unfair side - it is great to have a support group! Shifted my GAS focus a bit - now thinking along these lines.... Thanks again, BassHappy www.innertainment.net

The funny part is - I am not asking them to "mod" anything - I just want them to leave off the ramp - IF they are actually building them. I did ask Warwick about leaving off the ramp - and the answer to me reveals clearly that they have no intention of making any more. On the ones that exist and remain unsold - removing the ramp will cause cosmetic damage (like my Alien) which they can't really repair - they would only be able to cover it up with a strip of veneer like I had to do, a cobb solution on a $12K instrument to be sure. No biggie, I would be a fool to pay that kind of price for one with a ramp or an ebony board, so all is good! BassHappy www.innertainment.net

[quote name='bassmayhem' timestamp='1402860597' post='2477377'] Or - simple as that - the bass is a signature model. Jonas Hellborg's signature model. Not yours. They won't change his specs for you. Maybe that simple. [/quote] Yeah, right. In this economy? Let's all say no to $12K. We can afford it? I think not. They already made the run of Hellborg's and it's over baby. Simple as that. Just my opinion, I would love to be wrong. BassHappy www.innertainment.net

Hey Bass Chatters Just wondering, as a New Yorker, trying to figure out something. I have only seen what seems to be about a dozen Jonas Hellborg basses floating around over the past few years, at least in the U.S. Anyone know how many of them Warwick actually made? I was hoping that maybe a used one would come around now and then, but next to nothing. I love the whole concept of the bass, although pricey, and I love medium scale basses. The thing that has me wondering is this - I had emailed Warwick and asked about the Hellborg model - and asked if they would consider two pretty minor changes. First of all, I wanted them to make one without the ramp - I am a dedicated pick player (sorry, no apologies) and I had to have the one on my top shelf Alien removed. The ramp makes it literally impossible to play with a pick on the E string. When we applied the proper amount of heat the ramp fell off, only to leave a series of exacto knive cuts like this in the spruce top /////////////// - so the glue would stick. I solved the problem by cutting a very thin slice of rosewood veneer the exact size of the ramp, and glued it to the body to cover the unsightly knife cuts. Question one was - would they be able to make me one without the ramp to avoid the unsightliness? Question two was - being a pick player - I have always found that fretted instruments with ebony boards can sound really "klacky" in the mids. Of course, finger players have an amazing advantage here - my experience is that finger players and fretless players can do no better than ebony boards. They are perfect. But for us pick players the combination of the pick and the frets just create an overly bright mid range that is hard to dial out without tampering with the overall timbre of the bass. So, I asked if Warwick would consider building me a Hellborg with a rosewood board. Rob Allen happens to agree with me on this issue, and on my "Mouse" we used rosewood, but dyed it black to resemble ebony: So, my question is - what is the deal on these Hellborg basses? I get the impression that they made up a couple dozen and they have a few waiting in the wings or something - and don't want to make any more. My requests seem absolutely reasonable with respect to the outrageous price of the instruments, seems like if they were actively manufacturing them, they would be happy to honor my requests. I was more or less told - the bass is what it is - take it or not. Anyone know what the deal is? Best, BassHappy www.innertainment.net

I have always felt that the Fenders are the hamburgers of the bass world. Unfortunately the vintage ones have somehow turned from burgers into lobster, steak and caviar plus prices. I must admit, I do like a burger now and then. BassHappy www.innertainment.net

[quote name='BigBeefChief' timestamp='1222163627' post='289741'] They are the only 2 Warwicks I've ever found slightly attractive - probably because they look nothing like Warwicks. I prefer the JH one to be honest. Its also good to see basses with thumb rests. A lack of thumb rest puts me off owning most acoustic basses. That and the fact I've never heard one that was loud enough to compete with an acoustic guitar without amplification. Kinda makes the whole idea of an acoustic bass pointless really? [/quote] My experience - just the opposite, - couldn't get around on it because the thumb rest was always in the way - but I am exclusively a non-apologetic pick player. I also have one of the high end Alien's: So, I had John Ingram formerly of PRS remove the thumb rest for me. Unfortunately, after he got the thumb rest off the body, we found that they used an exacto knife to scratch and scrape the top /////////////////// like this - totally understandable, one of the best ways to make sure the glue would hold: The solution I came up with was to shave off a very thin piece of the thumb rest and glue it back on: Now I am a VERY happy camper! BassHappy

Great Harry Thanks so much for the kind words. Yeah, I always wanted a violin bass but I never felt comfortable with the Hofners. The necks were short scale (mine is medium) and I found them to be really cramped in the upper register and so light they just were not for me. So I designed one and had it built for me robbing and transplanting the electronics kit and bridge from a Variax Line Six bass. Build is here if you want more: [url="http://www.innertainment.net/kennelldesigns.html"]http://www.innertain...elldesigns.html[/url] Thanks again! Cheers, BassHappy

Maybe someone will like one of these? BassHappy

Nice Suggestion Wayne! I scored a Hammy a while back. John Page who designed it with Stu says this one was either a prototype or an employee build. SIngle V V T controls, active EMG from the factory and no input jack on the face of the bass. My drummer Ron Riddle toured with Stu in the early '90's and I saw the tour. The bass was smokin! Here is mine: Love the only full two octave neck Fender ever made in medium scale. BassHappy

[color=#888888]In the 1980's when Fender Japan WAS Fender, they started making the medium scale P Basses. Fender US did not like the idea at first and only granted them the rights only to use the Squier brand. Eventually - down the road - Fender US approved the idea and allowed the Fender decal to be planted on the headstock. The interesting thing to note is that all Fender Japan Squier and Fender medium scale P Basses from the era were literally identical. On the same assembly line crafted by the same people using identical hardware. Only difference was - they used alder and ash sometimes on the Fender brand bodies - instead of basswood - and the maple from the nicer stack was used for the Fender necks - although I have seen some pretty amazing neck wood on the Squier necks on some medium scalers. There were eventually a few more color options on the Fenders too.[/color] [color=#888888][color=#EE0000][size=4]FENDER JAPAN IN THE 1980'S[/size][/color][/color] [color=#888888]"Back at Fender headquarters in the United States, the early ’80s was a busy time. Most significantly, CBS appointed former Yamaha executive William Schultz as president of Fender in 1981. Passionate about the brand and eager to reverse its ailing fortunes, Schultz immediately recommended modernizing Fender’s U.S. manufacturing facilities, which largely meant halting production while machinery was updated and staff was re-trained. Concurrently, he suggested building Fender instruments in Japan for the large Japanese market. This would keep Fender instruments in production and combat the cheap copies that were voraciously eating away at Fender’s Far East sales. Accordingly, Fender Japan was established in March 1982 and began building quality Fender instruments while U.S production was reorganized."[/color] [color=#888888]Here is mine after being modded:[/color] [color=#888888][/color] [color=#888888]With apologies to those who may have already been versed in this.....[/color] [color=#888888]BassHappy[/color] [color=#888888]www.innertainment.net[/color]

Or you can simply record the box you are triggering in real time and skip recording the midi data. BassHappy www.innertainment.net

Congrats - may you have many long hours of enjoyment and smiles - spending time with your new baby. She looks awesome! Best, BassHappy www.innertainment.net

Both of my custom Roscoe basses are equipped with RIchard McLish (RMC) midi/piezo systems and they track very well. But I must admit, for comparison's sake, I would love to try the industrial radio stuff out. I do find my self climbing up on the beat just a bit, but it is very workable. They both have 13 pin jacks right on the bass. Plug in and you are off and running. I do it to trigger orchestral sounds. BassHappy www.innertainment.net

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1398342017' post='2433137'] Thats a fantastic picture [/quote] Thanks for the kind words! BassHappy www.innertainment.net

BassHappy www.innertainment.net

Coupla Jazzers: BassHappy www.innertainment.net

A couple of Roscoe's one in birdseye, the other buckeye burl - both have RMC midi systems, drop D tuners and LED's on the side of the fretboard: BassHappy www.innertainment.net

Thanks so much for the tip fellas.... I will check it out! Best, BassHappy

Howdy and Greetings to all Quite new to the board, and I think some of you may have seen my posts in the short and medium scale bass posting threads. I was wondering if there were any UK offerings in the area of medium scalers (32") which is my preferred reach and addiction? Does anyone in the UK offer them "off the rack" or are they always a custom order? If so, which luthiers might be game for a medium scale custom order? Thanks in advance, for the information. BassHappy www.innertainment.net

The truth is - Fender used ash exclusively on P Bass bodies from 1951 up until about 1954 - and you will notice that they pretty exclusively finished them in butterscotch. They discovered alder and began using it in 1954 - it was a much more friendly wood as far as finishing goes, took much less filler to fill the grain and a much less "finicky" wood - and they found they could successfully and relatively effortlessly apply sunburst and other finishes on the alder that they struggled with on ash. They also felt the alder bodies sounded good enough - and did not degrade the sound quality of the P Bass at all. There is a book available by Hal Leonard that details most of this here if anyone is interested: [url="http://www.amazon.com/The-Fender-Bass-Illustrated-History/dp/0634026402/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398215433&sr=8-1&keywords=fender+bass+book"]http://www.amazon.co...ender+bass+book[/url] Certainly not the end all of Fender bass books, but great photos and very informative text, even though it rarely speaks to the issue of the non-US Fender manufacturing etc. '51 in ash: '54 in period burst: Best to all in the UK BassHappy

[color=#888888][color=#888888][size=4]Here is some stuff off of my website. I don't know how readily available some of these are in the UK, as I am US based - but some of the "off the rack" short scale production basses are shown from left to right below. As pictured below, Gretsch has their short scale Electrotone and ThunderJet models - along with a JuniorJet and a Billy-Bo Thunderbird bass. Gibson has released a Les Paul Junior and an SG Faded short scale. Fender has recently released short scale Squier versions of it's Jaguar, Bronco and Mustang models to go along with the Fender Mustang, Bronco and Music Master models. Gibson's Epiphone division has an Allen Woody semi-hollow RumbleKat, an EB-0 and a Hofner type knock-off Viola Bass. Not pictured below, Gibson has released a short scale version of the popular Thunderbird bass [url="http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Bass/Gibson-USA/Thunderbird-Short-Scale-Bass.aspx"]here [/url]- while Fender Japan has released - along with their full and medium scalers - a short scale version of their iconic 1962 Jazz Bass replica [/size][/color][url="http://www.fenderjapan.co.jp/jb62ss.html"]here[/url]. [color=#888888][size=4]There was also a Fender U.S. Precision Bass Junior - with an extra short 28.5" scale - but it has been discontinued.[/size][/color][/color] [color=#888888][color=#888888][size=4]Other manufacturers in modern times such as Ibanez, Yamaha, Guild, Kubicki, Aria, SX (Essex), Hamer, Dean, Cort, Warwick, C.B. Basses, S.D. Curlee, Alembic, Birdsong, and others - have offered some short scale basses - and even the occasional medium scale model over the years. [/size][/color][/color] [color=#888888][color=#888888][size=4]Website is here for those interested: [url="http://www.innertainment.net/"]http://www.innertainment.net/[/url][/size][/color][/color] [color=#888888][color=#888888][size=4]And my little commentary on short and medium scale basses is here: [sup][url="http://www.innertainment.net/medium.html"]http://www.innertain...net/medium.html[/url][/sup][/size][/color][/color] [color=#888888]Good luck with all![/color] [color=#888888]BassHappy[/color]

[quote name='Telebass' timestamp='1396300849' post='2412163'] I have a Warwick Alien, my only non-34" bass. Am growing into liking it a lot. [/quote] Yeah, I have one too, and love it. You using the original bronzers on it? I am hearing that the Alien with tapes sounds very much like an upright if you are looking for that sound. Best, BassHappy

[quote name='pantherairsoft' timestamp='1396213513' post='2411102'] Hey, sorry for the late reply! Mad weekend. Width at the nut is 47-48mm (I don't have a caliper for precision measurements), so roughly the same as your wider one! I find it very comfortable for a 5 string. Actually fairly narrow compared to other 5's I've owened and used! [/quote] Thanks for the info! I was wondering if my buckeye Roscoe was wide enough at the nut to be a five string. Mine also have LED's on the fretboard and drop D tuners. Thanks to all for the postings, the two basses just above are CRAZY nice! Would love to know who crafted those? Thanks for posting! Best to all, BassHappy

Gorgeous! May you have many fine long hours playing that beauty! BassHappy