wavemaker

Fiesta Red. What a weird colour. I‘m really surprised by the amount of instruments manufactured and, apparently, being sold in this shade of red. Is it the Pino effect? I don’t know. What surprises me so much about it being so readily available across various price points is not only that it is a deeply weird colour, in my opinion: Is it red? pink? orange? tomato soup? Well … yes, all of the above! But really, in this day and age of buying online based on pictures, there‘s still one problem with digital photography: To accurately capture a particular shade of red is actually really hard for most cameras, at least without careful correction / editing afterwards. Because of this, I‘d assume at least part of the Fiesta Red online buying public might expect a bright red instrument in the mail, only to receive some weird pinkish tomato by courier. I remember aeons ago when I was playing skinny strings, I had a beautifully playing Strat-type with a lovely flamed maple neck and a P90 in the bridge position. Finished, of all things, in Fiesta Red. I abhorred that colour, ultimately let the instrument go because of it and soon after, all other tenors in my collection. So in a way, Fiesta Red might be the catalyst for me growing into my role as a bassist. Possibly. Which makes somewhat a circle with my latest acquisition: A Music Man (US) Classic Sterling in EBMM‘s take on Fiesta, that is Coral Red. (I don’t know if they are the exact same shade of red but they certainly are close siblings.) I bought this bass primarily to switch its maple neck onto my natural Classic Sterling (with a rosewood board), but even after successful surgery, I can’t seem to let it go: That bass, and that colour, are simply too much fun. And you know something else? I actually like tomato soup.

What’s that bridge? Looks just like my cup of tea.

Are you thinking of Zero Mod? https://www.zero-mod.com

I just put my first set of Cobalt Flats on my Classic Sterling because I was curious and … I really kind of can’t believe it: Not only do they have highs (including harmonics Jaco would‘ve enjoyed - we‘ll see how long those last), they also provide an absolutely beautiful rock sound (straight neck, flat action, digging in a bit). What a pleasant surprise.

Glad to be of help! Pretty much, yeah - it’s a rather simple job, really. Google should be able to tell you what to do with which wires pn a Dingwall pickup for the desired result.

Coming from years of experience with other Dingwalls (including Supers), if this is truly the one thing that’s keeping you from bonding with the SP1, I‘d suggest wiring the bridge pickup itself in parallel (I’d assume it’s in series from the factory to be able to compete with the P-pickup - can anyone confirm?) You will lose output, but gain clarity and highs - which I understand is what you’re missing at the moment.

What a fantastic colour. Congrats.

The neck profile is really comfortable, too: Slender side to side, chunky front to back, the latter then again being somewhat remedied by the tiny vintage frets, which I‘ll personally choose over jumbos any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Which it is, and I did, I guess.

… And then, it arrived yesterday, of course. I‘m not complaining, though! Without further ado, here is the catalyst for my shattered intentions: That’s a 2010 Ernie Ball Classic Sterling in coral red with a beautiful birdseye maple neck - and the new stable mate to my 2011 Classic Sterling in natural with birdseye, too, but a rosewood board: I really do enjoy the idea behind these: A smaller body than a Stingray, but slab. The classic 2-Band EQ, but a series ceramic pickup. Beautiful necks, one piece bodies, and the absolutely fantastic bridge with mutes. So rare to catch even one this side of the pond … I couldn’t keep them apart. So, I‘m out - but not too sad about it. To the rest of you, keep up the good work and don’t let me drag you down!

(The big brown truck is delayed until Monday, nothing to see here …)

Well, I‘ve had a good run. I‘m almost certainly out, unless something happens to the big brown truck before its arrival on Friday. I‘ll be back to report on the spoils…

I had an almost fail last week when the thoughts about a used Warwick Thumb available locally started to become intrusive … However, this led me to a revelation while spending the weekend rebuilding the electronics of another beautiful piece of bubinga (one I actually own), as well as rehearsing and practicing with it. My tastes in basses really have become a double-edged sword for my finances: Most instruments simply aren’t even intriguing to me. But whenever something tickles my fancy juuuuuust right, more likely than not, it’s a matter of four figures. And then, it hit me: Whenever I buy something, I‘m not only adding an awesome unique bass to my stable of awesome unique basses - I‘m actually taking another awesome unique instrument off the market. And I don’t want that, at all - I want others to experience awesome unique basses, as well. And with that thought, G.A.S. was gone. Anyone want to recommend me for that swedish medal?

Quoting myself because I just came across a Fodera. I‘m sure they play wonderfully - but can anyone explain the reasoning behind their control layouts to me? It just looks superduper crowded and fiddly to me.

Lots of love for the Thumb, that’s truly the quintessential Warwick! I’m afraid I can’t say anything nice about that other bass you mention 😉

I’m not a traditionalist at all, but if it was my decision, all pots would either a. follow the curvature of the lower bout (e.g. Stingray) or b. be mounted in a straight line parallel to the strings (e.g. Thunderbird). No exceptions. I’ll buy a Wal and a Spector each when I can get them without controls in that ridiculous diamond shape, and two Laklands when they get their stuff in order, thank you very much. Also, the right amount of pots is three.

Do you feel like this wouldn’t bug you as much if you were "free" to make your purchases uninhibited by the challenge presented in this thread? Because for me, I certainly do: I‘ve been totally fine with not buying any basses, pedals, or amps this year for several weeks - and suddenly I find myself engaged in a losing fight against Synth/Groovebox-GAS, having all but convinced myself to surrender by way of the age-old argument that this purchase might actually help me play more and inspire new music. I friggin know GAS when I feel it, and I‘m in absolute awe how it has simply shifted towards another genre of gear, apparently. So, if this was your only bass or one of a few, I‘d give you a pass. If you do have a sneaking suspicion this might just be "GAS for repairs", I‘d recommend putting the thought away for a couple of weeks. Personally, I‘ll re-visit synths in March and try to calm down until then.

I’d say "not in the chain / grey area", and let you off the hook.

This monstrosity was just released by Godin at NAMM and I‘m simply baffled by its existence:

Lovely, I‘m in. After having bought only one pedal and two basses in 2024, I‘m feeling lucky! … I do have to admit, though, to a luthier currently building a fretless neck for me - what with it being long overdue for a cultural reappraisal and such - which should be done around March. Seems like I‘m in the clear according to the rules, though!

trello.com might be useful for you.

Hi there Baloney. Quick question: Are you intentionally misinterpreting my words or do you lack reading comprehension? I offered not only one, but two specific ergonomic comparisons. Regarding the sonic aspects of their design: In short, yes. For further elaboration, please do read up on the differences of single- vs. multiscale by yourself (some of which people, entirely subjectively, see as advantages), watch some videos, or preferably, experience the thing in the flesh. Or don’t, you‘re your own person.

As a resident Dingwall enthusiast I‘d like to point out that all of their basses are optimised not only sonically but also and maybe even more so [editor‘s note: only slight hyperbole] ergonomically. Any Dingwall will have less reach to the "money notes" than a 34" Spector or Warwick Thumb, and that reach can very easily be further reduced by doing this. I don’t think many other manufacturers have understood this aspect of Dingwall’s design or have come close to replicating it.

Oh come on, I had just finished my board … boards, really, to be honest. Very interesting, to say the least. Also found this one on the other side of the channel with a built-in arcade style tap/kill-switches: https://looperwerk.de/shop/Arcade-XYAB-Joystick-Expression-Controller

Dang, you’re right, what was I thinking? I‘ll take my second favourite comp, then: Hyper Luminal, please!