scrumpymike

In my experience, Chinese quality is often pretty damn good nowadays. Obviously, there will be exceptions - as Muppet rightly points out that there are with MIA stuff. For me the beauty of the Chowny deal is that Mr C comes across as the sort of guy who knows how to spec a good bass, has a personal relationship with the Chinese manufacturer, and takes personal responsibility for ensuring that each bass he ships is up to snuff. If Scott Whitley manages to do the same with the SWB-1 he's commissioning from the same manufacturer, then us short-scale fans will have two great instruments to choose from - both offering exceptional value for money backed up by personal service. How good is that?!

I think it's good to be open to stuff that is thought-provoking, arouses strong feelings and stimulates debate. In any case, we're free to choose whether we perform/listen to this and other songs - no-one makes us or stops us. I was recently discussing performing Sympathy For The Devil with a guy that I knew was an active christian. When I asked him whether he was ok with that, he said: "Hey, it's just a song!" I thought was fair enough.

Great gesture - just hope that deserving owners aren't too shy to step up to the plate.

Thanks Scott - I thought the Roto's sounded OK on your demo vid. I'd be interested to hear how the Jazz Flats compare when you get some on.

Great vid Scott - what made you go for one of your least-favourite sets of flatwounds?

Interesting to see how the song found its way to what is definitely the right tempo. You have to wonder why Bill was side-lined tho - surely that bass part wasn't beyond his capabilities at that point?!

What a nice, NICE bass is this!! Very tempting... especially following Scott's recommendation.

"There are a few Stones tracks where Bill is off making the tea when the bass in being done..." Isn't that just typical of the way us bass players are under-valued within the band. I bet when Mick Taylor went off to make the tea the lads politely declined Bill's offer to do the lead break and waited til he came back .

Just Googled Sympathy For The Devil as may be having to play it again soon after a rest of several decades. Couple of interesting (to me anyway!?) things came up. First of all, how much better Bill Wyman's original groove was than the Darryl Jones re-invention. Secondly, what was that cool-looking bass that Bill W was playing on the 'Rock & Roll Circus' vid? Looked like a violin bass that took some steroids, got a Vox headstock transplant, and joined the circus. A brief on-line search revealed that the head-stock was the clue: it was a 1968 Vox V273 Astro IV, also referred to as "the Beggars Banquet bass". And I want one. [url="http://www.frettedamericana.com/product/1968-vox-v273-astro-lv-electric-bass"]http://www.frettedamericana.com/product/1968-vox-v273-astro-lv-electric-bass[/url] Hope the link works - if not, maybe somebody out there can do a better job.

Wot a stunner!

Re the balance/reach thing, I've just got a Gibson Les Paul Junior DC (EB 11) and it is much better for balance and reach to the lower frets than my SG re-issue. I compared the relative positions of the top strap button and it's 2 frets further down the neck on the EB 11 (from memory, F15 versus F17 on the SG). Obviously, there are a number of other variables but the improvement in feel/playability is considerable. Scott, glad to hear that you're making progress. May even consider selling my lovely black SG in favour of a MIC SWB-1!? I'd prefer the MIB original (Made In Bacup) but sadly funds won't allow.

[quote name='gsgbass' timestamp='1428068620' post='2737715'] The action is quick. The neck feels very good. With my smaller sized hands, and fingers the girth of the neck is very slight. Fretboard radius is 12", and again with short fingers, the flatter board plays great! The Babicz Bridge is a real plus, and has a shim plate that can be removed if you want to lower the string elevation height. [/quote] Thanks!

It was action/playability I was wondering about.

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1427974225' post='2736496'] I've got a horrible feeling that was Lennon on the Bass VI... [/quote] Even if it is... I still like it - Paul was probably playing drums the at the time!

Following this thread has reminded me just what a huge part of my life The Fab Four were, and still are. I was born in the North-West of England not far from Liverpool and was just entering my teens when they exploded onto the scene. My relationship with them is not just on a musical level - it's emotional. My life was evolving in parallel with The Beatles, and I always really 'got' what they were doing on an instinctive, kind of visceral level (maybe this is the point that Blue was trying to make). I remember the first time they played live (no recorded programming then) on British tv. It was an early-evening 'regional' current affairs programme, and they played one number - Love Me Do. The programme presenter was a very straight older (probably mid-30s!) guy and, to him, this was just another news item arising from the waves they were making in 'The Pool' and beyond. He didn't really get the music - but I certainly did, and the impact was [i]IMMEDIATE[/i]. From that moment on, my young life revolved around listening to Beatles music, trying to play it, waiting with baited breath for their next single or album to come out - and then being amazed at their ability to produce stuff that was always different, always better. I'll tell you someone else who [i]REALLY[/i] got it: Brian Wilson... which, at long last, brings me to one of my favourite Macca bass-lines: Back In The USSR (hope you didn't all fall asleep in the meantime).

Thanks Will, that's drop-dead gorgeous.

Will, I bet the SG Supreme is a real work of art. Any chance of a pic or 2?

Hey 2x18 - so there's at least 2 of us in the UK! Seems like the bass came out in 2011-12, have you had yours that long?

Just found this while trying to find out stuff about the new toy. This guy is awesome!! Might do the same mods to mine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=g3oaZ8_Bhgo

Once again, my weakness for short-scale Gibsons got the better of me over the weekend, and I've re-homed another one. [url="http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/scrumpymike/media/001_zpsqy6n7gow.jpg.html"][/url] Sort of a cross between my '70s Les Paul Triumphs (both now gone) and my current SG re-issue - best of both, I'd say. Wasn't sure about the Pelham Blue custom-shop finish but it's starting to grow on me. Used it for band practice on Saturday and I just [i]LUUUURVE[/i] it. Extortionate RRP at £1029, much better at the £799 asking price - better yet at 20% deposit and 10 months interest-free credit. Happy days

[quote name='three' timestamp='1421141218' post='2657457'] As a long-time short-scale player and advocate, I'd just add a word of caution: some SG type shortscales can feel a lot like a (very) long-scale as a result of strap pin positioning. Alembic SC types are a case in point (though absolutely my favourite basses by a mile). The Spector Shorty is a delight with fabulous ergonomics and a 22 fret board - I'm fortunate to have one and it gets more play than anything else. Not cheap though and the Warwick suggested above sounds like a brilliant alternative - hadn't seen these previously. Good luck to the OP - shorties can be a lot of fun and are very player friendly - a decent one will not imply any compromise in tone [/quote] That's a very important point! No doubt about it, the positioning of the top strap button off-sets the body towards the left resulting in poor ergo's - neck dive and extended reach to the lower frets. For me it's the one (fairly big) fly in the SG ointment.

That's really nice - more comparative info would be great when you're ready.