BritBass 2

Haz Lab 9 volt from around 1986.

3 hours ago, BritBass 2 said:

His Pirate bass neck was quite chunky , if I recall the nut width was close to two inches while the  Manticore/Tarkus Bass was definitely narrower. I selected the narrow spacing option on my 8 string , but as with all Alembics you have to develop a more precise playing technique .

The smaller tuning machine heads certainly do the job as well as reduce the potential for any  neck dive.

For the first time in over thirty years I went through and sorted out all the original paperwork , receipts and accessories , including Ron’s circuit diagrams  for this particular instrument .

15 hours ago, Piers_Williamson said:

Can I just ask something as simple as what the string intervals were on his 8 strings and on Brit Bass'.  Is there a reason you can get away with smaller tuning pegs (apart from neck dive)

PS I really really don't have £30k, as much as I like Alembics (cheaper ones at least:) )

 

 

His Pirate bass neck was quite chunky , if I recall the nut width was close to two inches while the  Manticore/Tarkus Bass was definitely narrower. I selected the narrow spacing option on my 8 string , but as with all Alembics you have to develop a more precise playing technique .

14 minutes ago, eude said:

I think new, now, something like that would be in the region of £20,000...

14 minutes ago, eude said:

I think new, now, something like that would be in the region of £20,000...

I’ve just checked the Alembic website - A Series 2  eight string bass with custom inlays RRP including 20% VAT is now a whopping  £37240.00 .

7 hours ago, Piers_Williamson said:

It's now dawned on me that Greg Lake owned more than one eight string Alembic.  There's one with signs of the Zodiac and a second later one (which I think John Entwhistle ended up with) with pirate symbols.  They both look like they had 8 full sized tuners.  They must have weighed a ton.

The one he offered to sell (top photo)  had characters from the album Tarkus on the fingerboard. 
I’ve played his “Pirates” carbon graphite necked 8 string  bass which was sold to John Entwistle via the Bass Centre Wapping back in 1984 for £3500. 

On 06/05/2020 at 19:01, Piers_Williamson said:

My goodness, that is a thing of beauty   ELP tribute band?

Back in the eighties Greg did offer to sell me his Alembic “Manticore” 8 string . When viewing sadly  the headstock/neck joint was badly damaged making it unplayable , it now resides Stateside at the Hard Rock Cafe .

Strum and go.

I’ve only owned and played US Kramer NS 2 basses and definitely think it’s  worth keeping an eye out for one . Generally other players say the Kramer’s have slimmer , faster necks plus the Haz Lab/EMG combination gives you that classic tone . As for prices ,good clean condition examples will probably start at around £2500 to £3500/£4000 for very clean examples, not exactly cheap but still less than those from the Woodstock workshop.  There’s also speculation about the old 1980’s EMG pickups possessing different tonal qualities to those currently in production. 

1 hour ago, ead said:

I'm assuming Talk Bass.  My man tells me that it's some foreign, collonial offshoot.

Now corrected , BC.

1 hour ago, ClassicVibes said:

TB?

Correction , BC.

As my initial post was rather open to interpretation ,I’ve amended it to focus more on those at TB possibly looking at purchasing  an American Vintage Reissue in the future  .   Thank you.

2 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

They could do FSR factory Special Runs of these...

I get your point. I’m not saying I’d buy one every 12 months.

Id be much happier if they introduced the configure your own USA standard thing they run in the US.

Good point , the Japanese regularly produce Factory Special Runs , it should be possible in US .

During Dan Smith’s tenure  at Fender, he  ask the staff and management employed by Fender during the 50’s and 60’s as to why the old instruments were generally better built . Their answer was simple - as many failed quality control back then as did in the 1970’s . It’s just they stopped these reaching the market place where as CBS were happy to turn a blind eye and just release stock regardless of any issues.

2 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

This, to me, smacks of 'Bring back the Morris Minor'. A bass is a bass is a bass, and Fender even more so, I reckon. At the time (back in the '60s...) there was nothing 'iconic' about these instruments, and I don't believe that's changed much over the decades. 'Serious' collectors will want the originals, anyway. A non-starter, for me.

I’ve owned and played several vintage Fenders basses  , some were great and some were truly awful and not worth the money being charged , yes in many cases they are just  pieces of wood . It all boils down to personal taste weather it’s from Wal, Alembic , Spector , Fender etc . They all have something to offer . For some players including Anthony Jackson , Stanley Clarke, Jimmy Johnson ,Les Claypool to name but a few , there must be  good reason   to warrant playing  a  $30,000 bass .Agreed they are expensive but are comparatively cheap compared to classical instruments .

Back in 2012 Fender’s newly launched “Pure American Vintage Series” marked a return to recapturing both the look, sound and feel of some of their most iconic instruments. With the original tooling and templates not being transferred in the move from Fullerton to Corona in 1985 , CNC production took over .Although quality control was generally very good , models including the Jazz Bass had substantially changed in their specifications compared to the original Fullerton versions.
Fast forward to 2012 , Fender introduce their new Pure Vintage range , accurate even down to the exact body/neck dimensions and contouring , new pickup voicing , each instrument was supplied with its own period correct case, accessories etc. Sadly these have disappeared from the range to be replaced by generic 50’s and 60’s models ,still exceptional but not as dedicated to any particular vintage year .
How many here would like Fender to start focusing on producing accurate, date set models again ? Classic years could have 12 month production runs , for the Jazz - 1960 stack control, 1962 VVT control , 1966 dot bound fingerboard with lollipop tuners etc.. While for the Precision - 1951, 1957 , 1960 etc . Would be great to hear from those at BC possibly looking to purchase an AVRI .  Thank you.

On 13/05/2020 at 10:16, cetera said:

 

Phil Lusher (son of Big Band leader Don Lusher) managed Hands for quite a while too at the site in the alley by the Thames. I also remember when Hands was further down the Thames road out of town.... and, before that, just a small concession in the original Bentalls in Kingston (god I'm old...)

Phil had previously been manager at Ivor Mairaints just off Oxford St in London's West End....

The previous Hands  location , now an estate agents.

A few more video stills  from Slough . During filming gravity definitely  got the better  of the window display guitar ,without doubt a headstock reshaping moment.

A few photos featuring Hands Music , Kingston .

5 hours ago, gt4ever said:

I remember ABC well, and then in the 90’s I used to use Hands Music in Kingston near the market.  Bought my first Stingray there.

Hands Music was very much a friendly family focused shop as much as it was for serving the  professional musician. Such a shame for this long established business to now be just consigned to Kingston’s history .

19 hours ago, skankdelvar said:

Bought an Ampeg B15-T from the Slough branch in the 90's.

IIRC, the parking was awful which can't have helped in the long run.

Graham White was the manager of Slough and Kingston back in the eighties and previously worked at Denny Laine Music, Weybridge. Also  appeared on TOTP with Don McLean playing American Pie.

The Surbiton team - including Russell, Simon , Rob, Barry and Graham (RIP).

  On hearing the sad news about Dawson’s Music going into administration I thought it was about  time  to rummage through a stack of old video tapes and reminisce on how the high street was for us over thirty years ago . Back in the 1970’s and 80’s ABC Music became one of the largest music retail chains  in the South.  With branches based in Addlestone , Esher, Surbiton, Slough , Oxford and Bristol , the company was for many the introduction and progression with both music and especially  gear acquisition syndrome (GAS). Countless hours were spent drooling over guitars , amps and effects in that quest for the ultimate set up. With the exception of Esher , sadly too ,these shops are now long gone..
      Anybody here have a few memories or  stories they could share ? Apologies for the photo quality as these were taken from 1980’s video footage.

The Spector NS-2  has been around for over forty years ,still looks fresh  and has had a profound effect on  many of today’s basses. Ned Steinberger as with Leo Fender did not play guitar which no doubt helped in both approaching and creating innovative designs.   

On 18/02/2020 at 19:29, PJ-Bassist said:

The Rebel Bass 😁

You can definitely say this design is light years ahead of the competition!