Doctor J

[size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Q:What kind of bass player are you?[/font][/size] A: An unemployed one

Great colour, really goes well with the maple.

Yow! Lovely bass. Incredible price, too. Well done. Now clean it up and take some proper pics

[quote name='TraceAmp' timestamp='1326971157' post='1504394'] My new one: [/quote]Beautiful!

[quote name='Protium' timestamp='1327956098' post='1519534'] I like what you're doing here. We've all been there, pushed for time at the end of the set, the sound guy tapping his watch, the bar waiting to cash up. Four songs left on the set list, which do you play? Genius solution: Everyone plays one song each. At the same time. IBTL [/quote] Well played

Excellent. People are [i]always[/i] asking me to do solo bass stuff at parties. Now I'll have something to play, which is great, because nothing gets the party started like songs tapped on an unaccompanied bass.

Keep an eye on the u-box, get it second hand from Japan for a whole lot less [url="http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/e/"]http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/e/[/url] Enter 'Fender jb75' as your keywords and it should show you what they have of that model http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/e/eubox.php?word=2&or8=31&or8=32&key=fender+jb75&value5=&select5=down&sort=&print=40&T=gazo

Bit late, but mint green. Go on.

The only video I'm aware of of me playing the false one. I'm not going to be modest about it, I have great hair. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlGC15rgix0[/media]

I thought this kind of thing wasn't a secret? If you want consistent quality, try a different manufacturer, everybody knows that. It's funny when you see ads for Fender from the 80's on, no matter what year there's often a line about "this is the year they got their quality in order" Forget about the badge and buy a good bass instead.

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1327580241' post='1513596'] From the trivial amount of 'work' you describe having to do it, sounds to me like you got let off light! I expect to do at least that to any bass bought secondhand. [/quote] Same here. First thing I usually do with any purchase is strip it down, clean, rebuild and setup the way I like it. I find quite a lot of instruments are set up shockingly poorly and what one guy thinks is great is unplayable to others.

"Have you got any tom mounting arms in your car?" - A genuine question from a drummer at a gig 60 miles outside away from home.

It's their version of a JC120, so it's pretty swish if you want it to be, but the distortion channel is where it really shines. I have the 2x12 combo, the only reason I stopped gigging it was because it's about 40kg Lots of cheaper valve amps have a nasty, fizzy high end once you crank the gain up, as do many cheaper solid states, but this one has a really tasty crunch to it. Many is the sound engineer who ate humble pie once they heard it

A little off tangent but he should have a look for an Ampeg VH-140C head. It's solid state, but it's one of the finest distortion channels you'll ever encounter and would be well under budget while being louder than a jet engine if needs be. Of course, solid-state isn't in fashion these days, but if he sees one around he should let his ears decide. It's the kind of amp that shuts the mouths of valve snobs. Other than that, the 6505 is everywhere, it's a great sound but everyone is starting to sound the same. The Dark Terror sounds great but might not have the volume for a full on live Metal band, he should try to borrow one to see if it will cut it in terms of volume. Tone-wise they're rather nice.

If a Squier does the business for you then go for it. I found the gap in class between a Sadowsky and a Squier to go deeper than the pickups though.

[quote name='Jimmyp28' timestamp='1327500530' post='1512382'] Still though I have not heard one reason for why these high end basses cost a lot more and we are not talking just a few weeks of saving. I know people have a problem with how I feel about this (look at the last few pages ha ha) but the point was to hear how and why these prices can be justified and am still [b]thinking[/b] that they cant. Every post has said about there over heads are high or they are that the skill these luthiers have warrant this price, or have questioned my beliefs or ideas, but still no reason to explain to some degree rationally why there basses cost so much more. [/quote] You see, nobody can address this for you because you [b]think[/b] they're wildly overpriced, but don't have a clue what they actually cost to make. Until you find out what they cost, you have no idea what the retail price should be and, therefore, are making a claim which is entirely groundless.

[quote name='Jimmyp28' timestamp='1327495890' post='1512227'] but that depends on what you call a reasonable profit margin really [/quote] And you've already said you don't have a clue what the individual profit margin is, which is why your crusade is so baffling. Get some facts first, then this might make a bit more sense. I suspect Mr. Kipling of keeping thebest cakes for himself, but I can't prove it, so I let it lie.

Your Wal guy copied their filter preamp and 8 coil pickups for a grand?

[quote name='Jimmyp28' timestamp='1327492767' post='1512123'] I know we live in a very capitalistic society but surly there is a happy medium. Some way in which these very talented skilled artisans can get this to the general populus with out the need for for such high profit margins? [/quote]How do you know what kind of profit margins they're running? Could you get some kind of documentation to show exactly how much Wal, Fodera and Ken Smith make on each bass, or are you just speculating that even though the RRP is high that the cost of manufacture is substantially lower?

A little bit of everything, I think. With the band for the last few years I was playing Metal but now I'm just getting back into recording at home and just going with whatever sounds good (to me). I've got about thirty songs in various states of completion, all different kinds of styles of music and playing all the bass, drums & guitars myself. See sig for details.

Ethical? Each ply represents one of the orphans killed cutting down the trees by hand.

It's worth thinking about the kind of instrument you end up with when socialists are at the wheel too

I'd say there is more of an ethical issue behind buying cheap Chinese (or your low-cost labour hole of choice) made basses. How much do you think your average non-party sweat shop worker gets in a land of human-rights abuses? Do you ever play a low-priced Squier and wonder "how do they do this for so little money"? You should. There are reasons multi-nationals are swarming into China to have their goods produced and it isn't because their kung-fu skills and tasty curries. So I say this to you, brothers and sisters, support skilled labour working in a free (to an extent) society, boycott cheap basses and buy quality! Buy from those whose price is a fair return for the skills, labour and materials involved, not from vultures exploiting a forcibly lower waged and abused workforce. Say no to oppression! Huzzah for freedom!

It's funny, before their takeover they were famed for their QC, that was what the Skylines were reknowned for, how they justified their price for an "import" bass. Only [i]now[/i] their QC is good? OK To be honest, the pic you linked wouldn't worry me. You're never going to hear or notice that the pickup is slightly misaligned in any way other than if you look at it head on. Besides, have you seen how much money 70's Fenders go for these days? QC doesn't matter if it looks good For what it's worth, I used to have a Korean 55-02 and it was top notch, apart from the home-installed pre-amp upgrade, which the guy soldered in so the battery was always on (on drained out within a couple of weeks).

Ever stand in front of an 8x10 at full pelt? It's the guitar version of that