symcbass

Nice bass for a laminate, the price.......the last excelsior I saw sold for about £500. That was a later one though. Golden strads(the earlier ones ) come up now and again, It would need to be really special for that price. PS Mine cost me £250.

[quote name='steviedee' post='447988' date='Mar 28 2009, 11:39 AM']Hey Sy that would be great cheers, I'm going to try and catch you guys at the Glasgow Rhythm and Blues festival looking forward to it. The Chihuahuas are playing in the Griffin next Friday if you are around, we have a new fiddle player but haven't been able to get the box player and the him playing in the same room yet so it might be a bit of a rammy![/quote] Great stuff Stevie, I'll try and get in next Friday, no had a good rammy fur a while. The Silver Slaps are good if you're playing mostly slap, for more pizz the Inno Rockabilly' are probably better. They project a bit more & are a bit growlier, not tried the Super Silvers though, could be nice too. Not tried bowing the Silver Slaps.

You can also pick up the shadow underwood clone cheap, sometimes on Ebay uk, and on Ebay.de also.I bought one not long ago for about £15 unused. Good pickup for the dosh, picks up the slap ok, depending how It's EQ'd. I use an underwood, with a pintech drum trigger or Schaller Oyster for the slap. I mix It with a D-tar Solstice(pricey but the best mixer/pre amp I've used and I've tried most). Stevie, about the Silver slaps, I've got them on one of my basses just now, If you want to try them before you buy give me a shout, and you can try them on my bass sometime.

The JJ's are a very good replacement for the money. I also managed to source a NOS Mullard 12ax7 & 12au7 for less than a fiver, in v1 & v5 made a big difference to the warmth of my amp. Just my findings, but the JJ's are very good for the price.

I've got an old German ply. I've got a Planet Wing on the bridge and a schaller Oyster under the fingerboard mixed into my D-tar Solstice, that into my old SVT3PRO then my Aguilar DB410. Also a Nortoncustoms Sam Shen ply, which I've got an underwood on, both basses loud and woody sounding through this setup. The D-tar is nice for my uprights. I used to use the Fishman Pro EQ Platinum, but prefer the D-tar.

I've had a Shen SB100 I bought from the now ceased trading Norton Customs in the US. Brent's basses were beautiful Light weight, very well made bass. Nicely finished, has good bottom end, and projects well. Very happy with mine, made in 2003 and still going strong after being gigged for years. Only upgrades I made were a new thick endpin and a Pecanic tailpiece, strung with Innovation RAB E and A strings, and Gotz gut G & D. Lovely bass to play. for those of you not familiar with Brent's work, www.nortoncustoms.com

Check out Rockabillybass.com for good feedback ideas. I've got 2 laminates and a carved top, through the years I've tried everything, from high density foam between the tailpiece and body, to sealing the f-holes with foam too. Now It's careful EQ'ing, choice of pickups and a good preamp. I'm using the D-TAR Solstice as a pre, and as much as It sounds nice, the Realist does not like volume. I still use my Underwood, much louder than the Realist, more aggressive sounding, also the Rev Solo 11 is about the same output as the Underwood, just a bit more natural sounding. Just my two cents..........

[quote name='Clarky' post='264738' date='Aug 18 2008, 05:12 PM']Can I ask if you think the E and A are better than on Weedwackers (if you have tried them)? I have put a set of Weedwackers on my DB and after a month or two of settling in they are still too quiet and undefined for my liking. Thx[/quote] I love the sound of plain gut E and A, not so much the weedwacker E and A. Just more fundamental with the guts, but for me, I find they just don't have enough sustain, and I can't dig into them. They are OK amplified, but not for me when played acoustic. I use Innovation Rockabilly or Silver Slap E and A strings with plain gut G and D strings(weedwackers are very similar) to get a balance I like.

If you like them, they're great for the money. poor man's gut strings. They behave quite like gut, once they are stretched in they hold their tuning a little better than gut, especially at a hot humid gig and they don't need the same care as guts to make them last. I just find the E and A a little flubby, but if they amplify well, a great set of strings for the dosh. They don't snap easily, as long a your nut and bridge are neat with no sharp edges etc. I used similar Rad Dragon strings in the 90's and they lasted for years.