Cosmicrain

On 11/05/2020 at 07:13, RichardH said:

Liking that darker "seam" down the middle, and a lovely bookmatch!

Yes, getting the book-match on that Jarra was not easy, but well worth the effort, as the end results show.

The headless Zoot was an interesting and fun build to do, I may do more in the future.  Many thanks Geoff for placing the order.

Excellent work, looks a great bass and sounds brilliant. Very impressed with the pickup tones.

Great work, and the cab looks fab in a natural finish.

I'm pleased the new scratch plate worked out Pete.  The bass looks excellent with a real retro vibe to it.

19 minutes ago, GreeneKing said:

I would like to thank Mike publicly for going beyond what would normally be expected to resolve an issue that was none of his making. Mike made me a tortoiseshell scratch plate for my Lakland Skyline P/J. The plate was superb but while gently easing a couple of radii with a file I noticed that the tort was delaminating slightly. Mike checked the offcuts and he wasn't happy with the material. He went into battle with the supplier and has since discovered that the material has been a problem for several other luthiers and users of tort. Mike sourced an alternative and got it made and out to me before Xmas free of charge. It also happens to look completely stunning, even better than the first in a retro 50's way. Thank you Mike.

Many thanks Peter, I appreciate the kind words.  The new plate looks absolutely fantastic on the Skyline (very retro).  I'm pleased we got it sorted.  Again, many thanks. Regards Mike.

On 06/11/2019 at 22:37, Cat Burrito said:

Nice job & great thread Painy. Zilla never replied to my email but did read my Messenger, which they couldn't even be bothered to reply to. 

Even a "sorry, can't help" type reply would have been something but I'm seriously disappointed with them. 

If you run a small business, customer communication should be be your No.1 proactive priority, especially if it's a price quote request.  The golden rule is "lose customers = loss of business"  Or maybe they have a sales prevention officer....... 

Nice amp, I loosely based the all valve preamp of my PC750 heads on this amp, which when I checked was also not dissimilar to the original Fender Bassman front end.

5 hours ago, BassBunny said:

Thanks for updating on the history of this bass Mike. 

No worries Stuart, you basically had all the details correct anyway.   Cheers Buddy.

The bass above (Ebay sale) was indeed a hand made bass (Made in Essex).  Out of all the Iceni Zoots that were the same as this one, I only made 3 in this peacock blue.  The reason for this was I used up the left overs from the bass bodies I painted for the Mark King basses he endorsed for Fender  (Martin Simms did the necks and LED's etc and final assembly)  I remember at the time I had some heavy swamp ash in stock and that got used on these Iceni Zoot basses as well, I seem to also remember they were as punchy as hell.   The original Zoot Chaser was indeed made in Japan by Nanyo Beakoi (bass collection, Deviser basses etc)  However, we did the final setup in Essex, and fitted with  a John East 2 band E.Q.  and our own custom made "Iceni CSD" pickups (or you could have Bartolini / Seymour Duncan's as a cost option upgrade)  Here's a picture of the Mark King bodies being painted at my old factory.  Note the colour.  Also a picture of one of the other 3 that had a pickup option upgrade and is still being gigged every week by Bassist Steve Clark.  The King bodies are in fact the same colour as the Zoots, it's just that the King basses are waiting for the second and third colour coats to be applied, that's why they look a bit lighter in the pictures.

Yes, Hipshot Kickass is my main choice of bridge for custom builds and retro fitting.

Bass hand over day.  Here's Martin this morning collecting his new Zoot Funkmeister 32" custom build.

Here's a shot of the back of the headstock.

If I'm available on the date/s,  I'll bring down some Zoots & Funkmeisters and if I get one done in time my new Zoot Artemis.  I may bring down some basses and/or bass necks that are in the process of being made, so people can get an insight in to how I do things.

Depending on what date/s I'd love to attend and to bring down some new Zoots and Funkmeisters, It would give me a chance to support the charity as well.  Bury is not to far from me if I go across country via Halstead from Silver end.

Here's another I made for Andy Reeve last year in Candy Apple Red with cream edge binding and a Hipshot 'D' tuner on the low E string, which was heavily  based on the original that Mike and I designed.  Anyone considering buying Mikes white one will not be disappointed.   

Merton has asked me to colour the headstock face black to match the body, which I think will be a very nice touch and make the bass look more retro'.

6 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

I agree with Chris above. 500w ideally but a bare minimum of 300.
A cab and head would possibly be more versatile than a combo - if you have a problem you only need to sort out one component. Its also potentially easier (lighter) to cart about. People say good things about Fender Rumbles and TC combos's if you go down that road.
And buy secondhand from the classifieds on this site - its full of good people so probably lower risk than from auction sites or Facebook. If you find it doesn't suit you it can be resold with minimal loss.

Totally agree with Mudpup,  Personally I would try for a 500W setup as that will also give you some clean headroom.  But good advise from Mudpup and Chris-b.

https://www.facebook.com/zootbass/videos/251221669091193/

3 hours ago, fleabag said:

I can remember being at a bass bash in Reading some years ago. Cant remember who organised it.  John East was there fiddling with my Peavey RS and Richard H of these hallowed forums was also there. I remember someone bringing a Zoot bass, natural wood body IIRC, and a few of us had a twang on it. It had such a wonderful tone. I couldnt afford it at the time, but i wish iu could have snapped up that bad boy.

You may have been there Mike ? Was it you that brought it ?   I  sort of remember you being there, but alas, all the crack & Jack Daniels has taken it's toll

Yes and here is a picture of Richard H tuning it up.  It was a great day.  

3 hours ago, Bass Culture said:

Looking sweet.  Beginning to regret not having blocks on my last Funkie.  This is getting the brain going about a new build myself. 

Speaker cab first Mark.....Let's not get ahead of our self's 

The body will get it's top coats of Hi-gloss black tomorrow, then when completely dry (two days) a flat and polish.  Umm... I might do a quick video of me polishing the body.😉 

B/W/B scratch plate coming soon

From Tony Strudwick's personal stock of Idigbo from the barn days.  I popped round to see him at his new place in the week and purchased the rest of his Idigbo stock, and for an extra £10.00 he planned and thickness it for me (BIG RESULT) and yes, it's lovely and light in weight as well.

1 hour ago, Bass Culture said:

I had a play on this fiver when I was there.  It's superb!  Did it stay in South Wales or go back to sunny Essex with, Mike? 

Hi Mark, Stayed in Wales, I sold it later that same afternoon to Ian (Dan) one of Daz's bass playing mates.  He loved it and could not resist, so a deal was done.