Mister RLP

That is so cool. Nice. Love it.

Hi George. Sorry to hear about your bass. The swines! Completely 'get' going with Fender Vintera 60's + flats and a Lakland covering the modern tones. One of the best basses that I have every heard (apart from lots others, of course) was a green Lakland p-bass in Guitar Guitar. Almost bought it. (Not sure if it sounded good because it was green like some on this forum might suggest!) However, I walked out with a Fender Standard Fretless. I had been listening to Jaco on the drive up to Epsom...Mistake. I think the setup of these basses and pickups are done in house in the UK before being shipped out. Yep - just checked: Completing the circle, every new Betsy bass will have its pickups installed and be set up by none other than Chris Ward, still taking care of business in the Bass Centre workshop after 35 years!! Might explain why the set up was good and the action was low. I am really enjoying it as it has surprised me. I am a real lover of 60s/70s music and thought that flat rounds were all that was needed. My experience of round wounds (especially on Jazzes) have been they are too bright and brittle - if that makes sense. However, I am finding the Betsy different. The Elites are sounding good. It has punch - for sure - but it just sounds great. Right, if that makes sense. I love the EMGs, too. I can really connect with the sound the bass is making.

Thanks. First experience of EMGs. Really loving them. Now, what would the Flea bass sound like with them in...

What was the real thing like to play?

Good call. I've tried a few of these and really, really liked them - both how they feel and how they sound. Enjoy!

Agree. Love 'Rattle That Lock' - especially the title song (cool video as well) and 'Today'. He's covered 'Today' on his Lockdown videos. Be good if he could do 'Rattle That Lock'.

Oops - I forgot to mention the price of the bass and the shape of the headstock of the Betsy bass. Will add to the review later. Both very attractive. The headstock is fairly close to the Flea bass compared to some of the other BC basses.

Roughly the same. Haven't yet weighed them. Will do.

Neck The neck is really comfortable and in shape and feel is not too dissimilar to the Flea. They are both based on 60s basses – a ’64 (Betsy) and a ’61 (Flea) – with the Betsy having a Super Slim Sixties’ Profile. I’m not usually a fan of satin necks as all of my guitars and basses, by complete chance, have had either glossy necks or painted ones. However, I really like this one. It is smooth to the touch and easy to play. It feels right. The frets are well dressed and there are no sharp ends. It is easy to play. The frets are medium and are larger than the vintage-style thinner ones on the Flea. The Macassar Ebony fingerboard looks lovely and I prefer it to the lighter Pau Ferro on some basses at the moment. Hardware The four bolt engraved chrome neck plate has the new Bass Centre logo on it, which is a nice touch. The vintage control knobs have screws to attach them rather than pull on/off ones. The bridge, like the Flea bass, has a traditional roller bridge and the tuners are more substantial than my Matt Freeman P Bass. Body The body is rather lovely. It’s a burgundy mist (pink) with matching headstock. The fit between the body and neck is perfect. No gaps here. The paint job is great and I think I can just see the wood grain. Really like the headstock that has ‘Betsy’ and Guy Pratt’s signature on it. The headstock is fairly close to the Flea bass compared to some of the other BC basses. It’s a good weight – about the same as the Flea. The body on the Betsy seems a bit more substantial, a little bit thicker? Pickups and Strings Now here’s the interesting bit. I rather like both the strings (Bass Centre Elites Stadium Series Roundwound Standard Gauge .045 - .065 - .085 - .105) and the EMG Pickups. I usually use flatwounds or nylon tapewounds and only roundwounds if playing in the pit band of a musical if needed. (I have the Flea to play 50s/60s music - ideal for 'Hairspray' and 'West Side Story' - and the Betsy for more contemporary musicals like 'Billy Eliot' and 'Our House'. Likewise, when playing in our band - the two basses cover both contemporary and non-contemporary songs.) This is a bit of a game changer. The strings and the EMGs (powered by a 9 volt battery under the control plate – just like the real Betsy) are really consistent and I haven’t yet heard any buzzing. Are EMGs noise cancelling? Not sure. Anyone help here, as I've never had a bass with EMGs or with a battery? Price The cost of the Betsy is £595. The Flea bass is nearly twice the price. I am glad and lucky to have both but would be more than happy if I just had the Betsy as it is a really well made and fantastically sounding bass in its own right. What next? On the basis of how good this bass is I am now sorely tempted to go with a fretless Jive after playing the Betsy for a few days.

Nope. Just what the underside of the control plate looks like. I really like the Flea bass that's reliced as they (along with the roadworn series) seem to have a better tone and can be a bit lighter in weight. I also live new shiny basses like this one.

What about a Gail Ann Dorsey Marilyn bass:

Hadn't even noticed. Good call. Not sure. The one to the right looks slightly further away but maybe that's how they fit. Never had a bass with an ashtray.

Thanks. I love the matching headstock. Will have a go at putting up a recording. If I can Zoom an do Teams I can manage to do this.

Came via Bass Centre.

Wish I had visited the Bass Centre in Wapping in the 80s/90s. Used to pop into Wapping quite a bit as that was where the Doctor Who Shop was.

Going to add to my original post with info about the build and playability soon and more pics. The short answer is very favourably: I have TI Flats on my Flea which sound great. I tried putting on a set of nylon tape wounds on the Betsy bass as I don't usually favour roundwound strings but the Elite Stadium Series sounds and feels great. I haven't yet played them side by side but the EMGs sounds similar (to my ears) to the vintage '64 Jazz bass pickups. This could of course be because of my playing. Or the 9v battery.

Thanks. Although when I got it out of the box both my wife and daughter both said 'another pink bass'.

I got one! See here.

Agree. It's a lot of quality bass. Highly recommended.

This arrived today! I can’t believe that I haven’t gone down the Bass Collection route before. They are stunning basses. I am a convert. I have been very tempted in the past - from positive posts on here and seeing bassists like Bedders from Madness playing the Profile bass, etc. I knew that they were highly rated and now I understand why. Went for the Betsy as it’s a beauty - burgundy mist with a matching headstock. It was well packaged and in a really neat Bass Collection gig bag. Really neat. And, I kid you not, it was in tune when I took it out of the box! It's well set up with a good action and EMG pickups sound great. The build quality is excellent. When I have played it a bit I will update this in more detail. Unlike my Squier Matt Freeman Precision and my Flea Jazz bass (both brilliant bassists in their own right), I got this as I really like Guy Pratt’s playing and his, erm, his Betsy bass. The other two I bought as they were great basses rather than me being a fan of the players – although I appreciate their playing. Now, can Bass Collection now do a Herbie Flowers signature bass or a Klaus Voormann one? Whilst I wait I might check out their Profile, and the fretless Jazz, and the option to customise… Thought it would make sense to add the more detailed review here: Neck The neck is really comfortable and in shape and feel is not too dissimilar to the Flea. They are both based on 60s basses – a ’64 (Betsy) and a ’61 (Flea) – with the Betsy having a Super Slim Sixties’ Profile. I’m not usually a fan of satin necks as all of my guitars and basses, by complete chance, have had either glossy necks or painted ones. However, I really like this one. It is smooth to the touch and easy to play. It feels right. The frets are well dressed and there are no sharp ends. It is easy to play. The frets are medium and are larger than the vintage-style thinner ones on the Flea. The Macassar Ebony fingerboard looks lovely and I prefer it to the lighter Pau Ferro on some basses at the moment. Hardware The four bolt engraved chrome neck plate has the new Bass Centre logo on it, which is a nice touch. The vintage control knobs have screws to attach them rather than pull on/off ones. The bridge, like the Flea bass, has a traditional roller bridge and the tuners are more substantial than my Matt Freeman P Bass. Body The body is rather lovely. It’s a burgundy mist (pink) with matching headstock. The fit between the body and neck is perfect. No gaps here. The paint job is great and I think I can just see the wood grain. Really like the headstock that has ‘Betsy’ and Guy Pratt’s signature on it. The headstock is fairly close to the Flea bass compared to some of the other BC basses. It’s a good weight – about the same as the Flea. The body on the Betsy seems a bit more substantial, a little bit thicker? Pickups and Strings Now here’s the interesting bit. I rather like both the strings (Bass Centre Elites Stadium Series Roundwound Standard Gauge .045 - .065 - .085 - .105) and the EMG Pickups. I usually use flatwounds or nylon tapewounds and only roundwounds if playing in the pit band of a musical if needed. (I have the Flea to play 50s/60s music - ideal for 'Hairspray' and 'West Side Story' - and the Betsy for more contemporary musicals like 'Billy Eliot' and 'Our House'. Likewise, when playing in our band - the two basses cover both contemporary and non-contemporary songs.) This is a bit of a game changer. The strings and the EMGs (powered by a 9 volt battery under the control plate – just like the real Betsy) are really consistent and I haven’t yet heard any buzzing. Are EMGs noise cancelling? Not sure. Anyone help here, as I've never had a bass with EMGs or with a battery? Price The cost of the Betsy is £595. The Flea bass is nearly twice the price. I am glad and lucky to have both but would be more than happy if I just had the Betsy as it is a really well made and fantastically sounding bass in its own right. What next? On the basis of how good this bass is I am now sorely tempted to go with a fretless Jive after playing the Betsy for a few days.

I tried one in Bonners in Eastbourne and was very impressed. Punched not only above its weight but matched a Jazz bass x10 its price. Almost went home with it.

Update: An E string arrived today! D'Addario customer service sent a new one - from New York! I thought it would come from UK customer services. Very impressed. The string matches the other ones in looks and touch. Very happy.

Class.

This hurts. A lot! Spent about 2 hours trying - and failing - to get a ticket on the day they were released. Was absolutely gutted. Given the frenzy over buying them, never even occurred to me that any would come up sale at a later date. Jeeeeeez. That’s up there with turning down a ticket for DC with Bon Scott saying I’ll catch them next time and there not being a next time. Except even then I’d sooner have seen Kate! I wanted a ticket but they all 'sold out' so I forgot about it until I watched the Kate Bush documentary on BBC4. I then really wanted to go. My wife reminded me that the tickets had sold out. That made me want a ticket even more. I told her I considered myself going until Kate had played her last show. I found out on one of the Kate Bush forums that tickets (unwanted press or not needed guest tickets) were often released in the afternoon and early morning. So I stayed up late until 3 and 4 in the morning. Got very close on a number of occasions. I tried this for a couple of weeks and one afternoon I got 'lucky'. My wife couldn't believe it. I just wouldn't accept 'no' for an answer. In the politest possible way. Interestingly, I've managed to get other tickets for 'sold out' shows too just by sheer tenacity. On another note, my mum famously turned down tickets to see The Beatles at the Hippodrome in Brighton because she 'didn't like creepy crawlies'. Go figure.

First concert – David Bowie, Wembley Stadium, 1987 Last concert – Madness, Brighton Centre, 2018 Best concert – Kate Bush, Before the Dawn, Eventim Apollo, 2014 – didn’t expect to be going. Got a front row balcony face value ticket from the venue on the afternoon of the show and jumped on a train 20 minutes later. Amazing! Worst concert – Bob Dylan – Brighton Centre, 2002 and O2 London, 2009. Just bad. Thought the Brighton Centre gig might be a bad show so gave him another go a few years later. Still bad. Musicans were great. Singer wasn’t so hot. A shame as I love Bob! Loudest concert - They are all loud these days…or most things at Wembley Aircraft Hanger... Seen the most – David Bowie: Glass Spider 1987, Wembley Stadium; Sound and Vision, MK Bowl, 1990; Tin Machine, Brixton Academy, 1991; Outside, Wembley Arena, 1995; Earthling Tour, The Que Club 1997 and, A Reality Tour, Wembley Arena, 2003. Madness catching up though… Most surprising – Leonard Cohen, O2 Centre, 2008. Made a large venue into an intimate gig. Amazing. Next concert – Maybe Madness if they tour this year… Wish I would have seen – Apart from The Beatles (not going to happen) or the Kinks (unlikely to happen) – Tom Waits – could happen? Wish I could see again - David Bowie