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HeadlessBassist

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  1. HeadlessBassist
    My eye (yes, I have two. Don't worry...) was caught by the cool looking lever at the top of the bridge - does this amazingly manly bass have a lever that deploys the string mutes? Bet MusicMan wish they'd thought of that before adding those fiddly tiny metal round screws under the bridges of Classic Stingrays. Seriously impressed by the intonation calibration markings on the bridge as well. If Bang & Olufsen made basses, they would make basses like this.
  2. HeadlessBassist
    This lovely condition 2023 Aubergine Fender American Performer Mustang is up for sale/trade. It's been with me for a few months and is set up beautifully with 40-95 Elixirs (Fender use 40-100 as standard on these.) This Mustang plays like a dream and is in excellent condition with no scratches or dings that I can see. It has only been used for one set on one gig in our live tribute show, so it's not earning its keep and therefore has to go. Comes complete with bill of sale from original owner and the original Fender Deluxe Gig Bag & case candy. The American Performer Mustang is also another instrument in the line (since the Highway 1 series Jazz/Precision) which utilises the 'Grease Bucket' tone control, which lowers tone without losing bass/volume. Using both P&J pickups with the tone control dimed, it sounds like a hyper-jazz bass. Switch to the split coil and turn the tone down to about 70% & you get a very good traditional Mustang/Precision sound. Solo the bridge single coil, halve the tone and you're in burpy Jaco land. It's a very adaptable bass. I would record you a demo, but I'll let 'Nick Campbell Destroys' do the honours below - he does a much better job than me! For sale at £825. (Recommended retail price on these is now nearly £1400 these days!) Interesting trade options considered. Buyer to collect, or can meet half way at a distance of up to 100 miles (total distance of up to 200 miles from DE7.)
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  3. HeadlessBassist
    A bit of a Fender Jazz day today... I picked up a nice Alder/Rosewood 2014 Jazz Deluxe for a friend last night on my way home from the SW. I've been setting it up today, and it plays really well & sounds good, but what I wasn't prepared for was when playing it back to back with my Ash/Maple Elite, how much improved the Elite really was in 2016 over the previous Deluxe. It really is night and day. As folks say, the Elite really was peak Deluxe Series.
  4. HeadlessBassist
    I can get a box from the local music shop by all means, yes. But you take the risk. (I've posted instruments before and suffered a huge loss, so personally I'm very wary.)
  5. HeadlessBassist
    Andertons do an EastCoast Mustang/Precision short scale for about that money. And you're under a tenner away from a Squier Bronco. https://www.andertons.co.uk/eastcoast-msb-short-scale-bass-in-seafoam-green-rosewood-fingerboard-perloid-guard/ https://www.andertons.co.uk/squier-sonic-bronco-bass-guitar-tahitian-coral/ I don't think you're going to get much better for such a small amount of money.
  6. HeadlessBassist
    Aha! They call it a 'carefully aged' Road Worn finish. So maybe it's meant to look old, but pretty well looked after?
  7. HeadlessBassist
    Oddly enough, I was thinking the same thing, Andy. There doesn't seem to be any damage on them. The tuning keys look a little tarnished, but I didn't see any chips or carpark gravel rash in the video. I'll look at Fender's demo in a while...
  8. HeadlessBassist
    If it's a copy of a 60's bass it'll be a glossed neck, but the nitro finish neck gloss that everyone seems to hate will probably be mostly missing as it was on my RW Flea Jazz. I'm lucky to not get sweaty hands, so it's never bothered me.
  9. HeadlessBassist
    Very true - I've often found that Sound Engineers fall into two categories; Those who want to bury you at the bottom of the mix, and those who want to give you equal footing with everything else going on. I had one engineer who I worked with long term who constantly claimed he couldn't "place" my Status sound, whereas others love it, as it can't be buried, so it becomes a feature. I haven't really done many jobs with my current Stingray crop, but I can tell you that mid way through one job with the 95 2EQ Stingray, a gentleman remarked how pleasant it was to be able to hear all the individual bass notes, instead of a woofly mess. So result, I guess. The lack of subtlety is why I don't use a Status or Stingray for the live tribute show. Here, the Jazz basses come into their element, even the powerful active Elite. I can boost out the parts with the preamp in fast walking bass lines, or I can run passive and gently palm mute for sparser, more subtle ballads. There is definitely a difference between instruments where you 'hear' too much preamp, as opposed to those that quietly get on with boosting the actual sound of the pickups and the wood.
  10. HeadlessBassist
    The Charcoal Frost for me, although maybe not - there's no Jazz. 😢
  11. HeadlessBassist
    Empire Music first out of the gate as always. 😊
  12. HeadlessBassist
    Agreed. I don't know how much of it is the 30+ year old ash/maple, or how different the OBP-2 and Aguilar pickup is (I know they modeled it tonally on a late 70's model), but my 2eq 9v is probably the best Stingray I've ever heard.
  13. HeadlessBassist
    I find the same with my '95 ash Stingray with Aguilar pickups/preamp. For a simple 9v bass it sounds huge with sustain for days. It actually leaves my 2023 18v Stingray Special 5 in the dust tone-wise. I think I used to be an 'eq-hooligan' once upon a time as well. Now with the Rays I tend to boost the treble and bass about 30-40%. That gives me all the shove and sparkle I need. The other little known thing about the Stingray preamps is that when you back off the treble a little from your 'sizzle point', the sound thickens considerably. Yes, the Jazz is a more polite and even-tempered beast, but the Stingray's chewy thickness and sparkle is hard to beat with anything this side of a Status.
  14. HeadlessBassist
    That's a fabulous looking thing. Obviously going by the mantra of, "He who dies with the most strings wins!"
  15. HeadlessBassist
    Love this! 😎👍
  16. HeadlessBassist
    Firstly, remember that Reverb prices are always 'jacked up' significantly from what the seller actually gets. I'd say the Cort A5 series are always a better bet than the Squier, which mainly have a very cheap preamp in them. There are some passive ones, but you don't see them come up very often. The CORTs are always really nice and consistent basses. If you get the Bartolini preamp and pickups you're getting a good all-round bass. Some of them even have MarkBass preamps. I'll PM you another option as a buyer, too. Buying sight unseen is always going to be a gamble. But I sympathize with you on the demise of most of the big music shops these days.
  17. HeadlessBassist
    Thanks ProjektWerewolf! Yes, it's a lovely bass, and the sweepable mid frequency is especially useful. These were £8-900 when they were new. It can't go any lower, as this is now priced at exactly what I paid for it.
  18. HeadlessBassist
    Yes, would be good to hear it fingerstyle when you get back.
  19. HeadlessBassist
    Sounds brilliant. Clear as a bell!
  20. HeadlessBassist
    I can lend you a butter knife and you could go at it like Jaco, if you like.
  21. HeadlessBassist
    I've used the 30-90 set of Bass Centre Elites for years on my Status basses. I also recently took a part exchange Jack Professional in a fit of 1988 nostalgia (I bought a new Jack Professional when I was 18), which suited the same strings very nicely. On my main Status, I've recently tried a set of GHS Stainless Steel 30-90s. They're a little higher in tension than the Bass Centre strings, but boy are they bright. They sound fantastic. I've tried to gee up Gore (the parent company for Elixir) to make light DBE strings, as I exclusively use Elixir 40-95s on all my other basses, but sadly they don't seem interested. 😩
  22. HeadlessBassist
    Hey Steve, now we're getting a little closer to fulfillment of the first batch of orders, could you maybe fill us in a little on the story of this graphite neck production odyssey of yours? What made you undertake this brilliantly ambitious project? (Obviously Status stopping graphite production in '22 has hit some of us quite hard.) Are you doing most of the work yourself, or do you have a China-based factory/maker/partner? Questions, questions... So many questions
  23. HeadlessBassist
    I'd hope that most players take a more balanced approach. Professionally, I use mainly Fender Jazz basses - not custom shop fare, but ordinary run of the mill production ones, yet they are instruments that are special to my hands & my ears, and do the job I need them to do over thirty-forty live tribute shows a year. (2018 American Original & 2016 American Elite.) I still have my boutique basses, mainly by Status, because I've been with the brand for 35 years, the instruments fit me like a glove, and I love the peerless quality control that comes from every bass going through the hands of one man, not to mention the snap and howl and how they cut through any mix. They are something I will hopefully always have, and are usually played on highly technical trio gigs where I can really stretch my stuff. They have their place, basically. So I don't think there is any snobbery as such. Just a case of the right tool for the right job. And remember, it's not just a 'hobby' for some of us - It's our livelihood.
  24. HeadlessBassist
    That's a very nice bass, Paul. Congrats! The early 50's P isn't my sound, but I'd imagine it must produce [sonically] exactly what you're after. Enjoy! 😎👍🏻
  25. HeadlessBassist
    Just needs your MiniNinjaRob logo on the ends of the headstock now! Can you do some sound samples of the finished article, please? (Just the voice memo recorder on your phone would do...)
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