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kodiakblair

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Posts posted by kodiakblair

    New Bass Day - a 2021 Tokai Made in Japan Hard Puncher.

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    On 11/12/2022 at 11:31, Jackopie1 said:

    This Tokai was one of the first I played, and for me, none of the subsequent Ps I played felt or sounded as right to me. It also has a feel of sturdiness and quality to it, that many of the basses I played did not.

    Back in the 80's I was shopping for a Fender P. Played a bunch of them then , just for something to gauge against, tried a Tokai HP.

     

    Never gave Fender a 2nd thought for the next 30 years 😃

     

    Congratulations on your wise choice. 

    • Like 5

    Harley Benton MB 4 SBK mods?

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    7 minutes ago, mr4stringz said:

    In terms of mods all I did was replaced the pickup with a Warman pickup.

    A pal asked to do that on his sunburst version. No idea if it was an improvement as I never got the chance to play it before the swap.

     

    Another 2 jobs I did were wire the Warman in parallel and knock up a Stingray preamp. Nothing wrong with the stock tuners or bridge so left them alone.

    Fender, Where is the Value?

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    1 hour ago, miles'tone said:

    The Wealth attached to that bass, on the other hand, is how it improves your life, by inspiring you to play the thing everything time you look at it. Good for the head, good for the soul, everyday, for life.

    I've one of those basses, Harley Benton PB-50.

     

    Seen more play in the 9 year I've owned it than anything else. Fenders are in cases upstairs while the Benton always remains within reach 👍

    • Like 1

    I don't have a fender but should I?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    17 minutes ago, TimR said:

    Who else doesn't have a Fender but thinks maybe they should have one?

    I just posted about this half hour back.

     

    The day I made the decision to go and buy a Fender put me off buying one for nearly 30 years; now I've three  😃

     

    You need to put in some effort and go play a few, if one feels/sounds right then buy it 👍

    Fender, Where is the Value?

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    8 hours ago, Japhet said:

    Best Precision I've played is a Tokai. Best Strat I ever played is also a Tokai.

    Many years back I felt the time had come to up my game and buy a Fender P.

     

    Headed to Denmark St and played a fair few. No real idea what my expectation was but I wasn't blown away. Tried out a Tokai just because there was one handy, won't say it was the best P-bass I've played; it was the best played that day 👍 

    Warman P bass pickups, anyone here use them

    in Accessories and Misc

    Posted

    5 hours ago, PaulThePlug said:

    Brighter Tone... Ceramic rather than Alnico?

    Not really true but it appears that way. It's down to perception.

     

    A bright jangly roundwound puts out the same information when run through Alnico or Ceramic. Difference is Ceramic has a stronger pull and that translates into a higher output . Human brains are hardwired to hone in on certain conditions , higher/brighter/louder = better.

     

     

    • Like 2

    Fender, Where is the Value?

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    I don't see much value in Fenders except with resale, even then only if you've bought it used in the first place.

     

    That said you can still take a hit with 2nd hand, not many folk clamouring to buy Dimension models.

     

     

    I like the look of the AV II 54 but £2050 is a hell of a price, then there's the fact demand for chubby neck single coil P-bass is limited. You could lose £500 if selling on.

     

    For that £500 hit I could easily build a 51/54 style P-bass. Truth be told with £500 I could , and have, build 2 of them 🙂

    • Like 6

    50s style P bass, single coil, tele headstock. Any lightweight, non-slab ones?

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    6 hours ago, Paul S said:

    Have you dealt with them or even own one?

    Limited dealings with them.

     

    There was a £20 difference paying in Czech crowns to paying in euros , when I questioned it there was some talk of them using a different exchange rate. Work around would be invoiced for crowns 🙂

    Requested invoice was never sent 🤔

     

    Next attempt was to buy a bundle of necks in a blow out sale, "we prefer to sell parts locally" was the response.

     

    Asked Czech fella at work what he thought the deal was, Jan reckoned they were getting shafted over currency rates and looking at ways to deter UK business.

    Plan then was I'd get Jan to do the order but his sister became terminally ill so he returned home; poor bugger ☹️  

    • Thanks 1

    Thomann Experience?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    1 minute ago, JosephMartyn said:

    The frets do feel a bit raised and sharp edges...but nothing major.

    Probably 'fret sprout'. Not a sign of poor workmanship, shoddy QC nor Thomann not giving a hoot, it's down to climate. 

     

    No idea where in the world you are but if the weather is cold and dry then the wood has contracted leaving the fret ends exposed.

     

    When the weather gets warmer and more humid the wood expands again, if you trim those fret ends now you'll never experience the issue again.

    • Like 2

    Chinese Necks off eBay.

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    Bought necks from Kmise UK and Jinwan.

     

    The Kmise necks were something daft like £24, 3 maybe 4 year down the line still well impressed by them.

    I also found the Kmise UK folks to be up front and honest. I placed an order just as China went into lockdown then had a message from them saying they expected some delays and it'd be best to cancel and find the parts elsewhere. Being an derrière I told them it was OK and I'd wait , took them 6 weeks of messages before I followed their advice 😆 Another time they miss some eBay time limit for shipping, that message was " We've run late with dispatch so refunded your money but goods are in transit. Could you contact us when the neck arrives so we can issue an invoice."

     

    Couple of days later the neck turned up, I asked for the bill and happily paid the balance.

     

    Have 4 necks from Jinwan, not through eBay but their Ali-Ex store front; worked out cheaper  🙂 

    Proper chunky 51 P-bass necks, been very happy with those as well.

     

    3rd eBay seller to look at is 'twincam'. Willie gets the same necks/bodies as the 'Musicily' brand sells, ships from England so you won't be waiting long.

    • Like 1

    Thomann Tease

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    11 minutes ago, stewblack said:

    It's a weird one. Pick it up and it feels like a bit of a lump. Strap it on (ooer) and it feels fine.

    It's all down to balance.

     

    I work with 15mm Soundbloc fair bit of the time,  boards weigh 36 Kg or 40 Kg depending on the length.

    No masking the weight when you draw them from the pallet but flip them horizontal, get the balance they're easy to handball about the place.

     

    It's the same with timber.

    Length of 4x2 CLS is 11.5Kg, way heavier than any bass yet look at building sites; there's lads wandering back and forth carrying 4 at a time without a care.

    • Like 1
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