scrumpymike

Newtone strings look interesting - there's a thread about them on the forum at the moment.

[quote name='grandad' timestamp='1465653986' post='3069977'] I looked at these, the ivory one appealed to me but I resisted. How does it play? [/quote] Not bad out of the box, very good after a full set-up and change of strings. Had this done by my friendly local luthier, as I don't touch nuts (except pistachios) myself. He said it was a "nice little bass" - the highest praise I've ever heard him give anything he didn't make himself. He added that, if he was asked to make exactly the same thing, he'd have to charge his customer £145 for just the wood.

Forgot to say, at £145 it's the same price as the hand-knitted woollen throw (made and sold by the missus) that I photographed it on!

"I tend to go for the looks and feel and weight of a bass rather than price. Put a bit of work into most mid/cheap models and a decent instrument can be had" +1 Here's my cheapy-but-goody (shorty), an Ibanez Talman TMB30. Just released in the UK and available in any colour as long as it's black (Thomann had the lovely ivory one last time I looked). [url="http://[URL=http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/scrumpymike/media/003_zpsd4rfyoav.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o598/scrumpymike/003_zpsd4rfyoav.jpg[/IMG][/URL]"]http://[URL=http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/scrumpymike/media/003_zpsd4rfyoav.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o598/scrumpymike/003_zpsd4rfyoav.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/url] Mahogany body, maple neck with rosewood fretboard - made in Indonesia (I guess the relevant trees grow there).

Steve, diet is a factor that's been mentioned in a couple of posts - including my own. Have a good think about that one; there's a body of anecdotal evidence that suggests a radical change in diet may improve conditions that you wouldn't expect to be affected. In my case, the low-carb diet I adopted to combat T2D (without resorting to medication) has reduced my bass-playing handicap. This type of diet is generally recommended to obese diabetics as a means of losing a lot of weight and I was hesitant to try it, being 'only' a couple of stone above my ideal BMI; so I didn't do the low-carb 'full monty' - just enough to lose the excess baggage - but felt hugely better in all sorts of ways! I have a hunch (two, if you include 'the bass-player's hunch) that what goes on inside our guts has far-reaching health implications that we are only just on the threshold of understanding. Interestingly, the early indications are that it's disorders involving the immune system that benefit most. Of course, this may not help you - in fact I may be talking a complete load of tosh - but it's a relatively low-risk option. In any event, please accept it as a genuine attempt to be helpful.

I've got a Mikro too for practice/travel - nice bit of kit and a bargain at £145 I think.

Hi Steve. I've got excessive 'wear and tear' at the base of my neck and the bottom of my spine causing nerve issues and similar symptoms to what you and others are suffering: in my case, hands turning 'wooden', sciatic pains, muscles across shoulders/neck knotting up. I'm not treating with pharma's or natural drugs, but I'm finding that the lifestyle changes I've made since being diagnosed with t2 diabetes 3 years ago are helping, along with occasional remedial massage and stretching exercises courtesy of the local NHS physio dep't. (The alternative suggestions already posted on this thread have been gratefully received, thanks!) Bass-wise, I've gone 'short-scale lite' including 040-095" strings and a home-made contraption that improves the balance/positioning of my SWB-1 main gig bass. Can't say I'm enjoying the feeling of playing on borrowed time though.

Just want to add my congratulations to the owner and compliments to the craftsman - I LOVE it!! I'm a great fan of projects that breathe new life into something that's so obviously been pre-loved, abused and then abandonned.

I agree with naxos10. I would guess Scott has owned many and probably played most of the short-scale basses available in this country. He obviously has case suppliers he's using for his own basses and if you contact him will I'm sure do his best to help. You may not get an immediate reply though as he's a working bassist and on the road a fair bit.

OK, not managed to play it much since the 45-min try-out in the shop (through a nice 500W Ashdown rig) but absolutely definitely a keeper (just don't know how Ibanez do it for the price). I was looking for a bass that looks nice, is easy to wear and play, has decent quality at a reasonable price and potential for upgrading later. I think that's exactly what I've got with this baby. Very nice out of the box - fine for gig back-up as is - but can be even better with a bit of time/money spent on it to get it just right for me. Here's a couple of pic's. [url="http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/scrumpymike/media/003_zpsd4rfyoav.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/scrumpymike/media/031_zps2eejli7e.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/scrumpymike/media/022_zpshks1b89v.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/scrumpymike/media/021_zpsgk6nszc9.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/scrumpymike/media/018_zpskpmc5t3s.jpg.html"][/url] ...and a bit if info: mahogany body; maple neck with 9.5"-radius rosewood fretboard; 30" scale; 20 medium frets; weighs 3.3kg/7.25lbs; nice balance with top strap button at 12th fret. And I'm really starting to like the black finish btw!

Did I really say black would be my last choice? Well, that's the only colour coming in to the UK (and all that's on offer from Thomann so far) so I've bought one anyway! My local guitar shop phoned me the yesterday to say theirs had arrived - tried it this morning and really liked it! I'll post some feedback and a pic or two over the weekend. As I sit here looking at it, the black finish is kinda growing on me...

Popped up, and snapped up (not by me - I was too late!).

Hi Tom! Can't help with pedals, as I haven't got any but the Ibanez Mikro bass would be a good travel companion. Just what I use mine for and they're great provided you don't expect too much for your £145.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1463423084' post='3051270'] It's been seven hours and fifteen days. [/quote]

[quote name='deksawyer' timestamp='1462992823' post='3047709'] All this talk is very interesting, but I'd like to know why you were charged £150 for the small amount of work you had done. Not saying it isn't top spec work, but that just sounds like an awful lot of/or expensive workshop hours.... Glad you're happy though, and it's a great looking bass as well. D. [/quote] Kim charges £95 for just a set-up, which is fairly typical for a good luthier 'down south'. Plus he's a 20 minute drive from me.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1462979844' post='3047518'] I would have liked to have bought something like this as my first bass - just under £200 for a 4 string, neck through bass with exotic woods??? The 5 string is just £210. Look at the rest of the spec. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Caraya-SPB-3213N-4-String-Neck-thru-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Natural-w-Free-gig-bag-/161945468284?hash=item25b4b3bd7c:g:10MAAOSwT~9Wlen4"]http://www.ebay.co.u...0MAAOSwT~9Wlen4[/url] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Caraya-SPB-3214N-5-String-Neck-thru-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Natural-w-Free-gig-bag-/151948537256?hash=item2360d6ada8:g:xhkAAOSwoydWldbl"]http://www.ebay.co.u...hkAAOSwoydWldbl[/url] The game has changed... [/quote] Wow, that looks like a lot of bass for your Australian bucks - through-neck too.

"On a slightly different note - I had one of their "hanging" stands for my Ashbory, to adjust the height you'd squeeze the handle - after a while this got sticky so became unusable. I contacted Hercules UK (owned by StringandthingsUK) who were aware of the problem and supplied a replacement FOC." Thanks for that info, mine's gone the same way. I was thinking of contacting them about it so now I definitely will.

"I can see peoples houses' filling with Bass after good quality affordable Bass! ;-)" That's my house you're talking about! I bought my first bass in 1964 and I don't think there's ever been a better time to buy than right now. The only frustrating thing is that short-scale production runs are often very short nowadays and IMHO some extremely good basses get killed off before their time has come - i.e. before they've appeared on my radar and I've made my mind up that I simply MUST have one!!

That's really nice and I'll buy one if I can find one - and haven't got an Ibanez Talman TMB30 first.

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1462145404' post='3040656'] He probably will be upset as he does come across as a nice guy in his videos etc.. which I like a lot, and I never really intended to make my disappointment at not receiving the bass yet public, but having read this thread, I thought I would air my frustration as I really wanted to try out the bass today at the gig which I've just got home from. [/quote] Understood - and I'd feel the same under the circumstances. No criticism of your post intended on my part, just wasn't sure how much you knew about Scott. Hope you won't have to wait much longer.

Nice to see Stephen Chown's contribution to this topic. He's based just up the road from me in Bristol and I went to meet him and try one of his basses just before the SWB-1 came out. The Chowny is equally good quality and value and reminds me of the Epiphone Rivoli that I've always hankered (OK, lusted!!) after. When I saw Scott's bass, I decided to stay with the solid-bodied construction that I have always played, but both Stephen and Scott are top guys and I'm totally supportive of what they are doing. Just picking up on thebrig's post, one of the ways they keep their prices reasonable is by buying against customer orders and not holding stock. Trouble is that any delay on the part of the Chinese factory inevitably gets passed on to the customer. All I can say is that Scott kept me up to speed with my order from start to finish and I know he'll be upset that someone feels they've been let down.