Newfoundfreedom

Do bass players use reverb? I've been looking at the pedal board thread and there's barely a reverb pedal in sight (unless hidden within a multi effects pedal). Also many guitar amps come with a built in reverb control, again not so with bass. Why not? Is it a bass sin to use it? I love a bit of reverb me.

Yes! Everyone knows that.

Steve Grindrod created Albion, they have been around for quite some time. The Wharfdale stuff is a partnership between Wharfdale (who provided the speakers) and Albion (for the cabs design and combo amps) to mass produce what was essentially a boutique amp / cab.

We're supposed to practice? No wonder I'm shyte.

Bloody Freemasons!

Take them all out for a beer individually for an "informal chat" as a kind of second interview. If there's nothing in it to separate their drumming then how you get along with them outside the band is the most important factor. In fact to me, that would be the primary factor and the drumming secondary.

I have one. They're not overly heavy or cumbersome, and the neck is nice and slim and fast playing. Sound wise the biggest problem is the active bass boost circuit which ranges from bland to boomy and makes it difficult to find a good true P or J tone. The good news is, if you find you don't like it there's a pretty simple mod on YouTube to bypass the circuit, which supposedly gives the bass a much more vintage and true P J sound. They look pretty nice too if you're into the Fender thing. Admittedly I'm not so it's never really been my cup of tea. I'm currently waiting for my new bass to arrive then I'll be moving the Jag on, although they're so cheap new it's probably not worth it so I'll probably keep it as back up bass.

I absolutely love my Gretsch Junior Jet II. I recently got back into playing bass after many years absence and initially thought it would be an easier choice. Although a few months in and I've found I've kind of automatically transitioned back to full scale. So sadly, as much as I love it I find I don't really use it much now. Although to be honest the thing sounds great and doesn't really have a disadvantage against full scale basses in that regard. I think they're a great choice for anyone transitioning from guitar, anyone just starting out, or someone with a short reach or any kind of problems playing full scale. Having said that, I don't really think there are any real disadvantages to playing one. So if someone is more comfortable playing a short scale I would say go for it.

Show off!

I've just watched the guitar episode and the bass episode. Very entertaining. Although having watched the bass episode I'm kind of worried. I quote "bass players are no longer just the fat bloke standing at the back" That's me buggered then! That's my whole act.

I'm not sure. In the description it was listed as "upgraded with SD's" so that would suggest a retro fit, but as I understand it some of the later ones actually came as stock with the SD's. Either way it's got them so happy days.

What channel were these on?

Guitars? Seems like a pretty obscure premise for a whole TV episode. I mean. How many people actually play one? I had to Google it to even find out what they were. Apparently they're kind of like a mini six sting bass with a built in octaver. That'll never catch on. (Damn! Just seen @Bilbo beat me to it. You snooze you lose)

Thanks @BigRedX Good to hear from someone who's actually owned one (albeit a different model) There's nothing there that sound too perturbing. As it's neither a five string or the flame inlay/bridge version then I have neither of those things to worry about. The pots, along with all the electrics have already been replaced with Seymour Duncans, and hopefully with it being around for a few years someone will have already dealt with any fret issues. If not then I'm not averse to having the frets redressed. If that's the biggest problem on a bass that looks this good then I still reckon I'm on to a winner. 😁

I'm hoping the Seymour Duncan electronics will give it some life.

Nobody? Just me then. Excellent! I always wanted a unique bass. 😁

Just looking at them makes my brain itch. It's like one of those optical illusion puzzles. The neck always looks bent. I don't even understand the point of them.

I've said it before but I'll say it again. The Gretsch Junior Jet II is superb and not a lot of money.

The pickguard IS the bridge. It's all one enormous lump of chrome plated brass. That's the whole point of Trabens. They have massive oversized bridges to (supposedly) increase tone and sustain. That's their party piece.

I did a search and looked through all the threads but everything Traben related was several years old. Probably not surprising as, from what I can gather from the limited information around, the company ceased to exist a good few years ago. Anyhow. I just picked one up from the bay of fleas and it looks absolutely stupendous. Natural finish, Seymour Duncan pups and preamp, Grover tuners with hipshot drop D. Brass nut and supersized brass bridge (a rather tame and dare I say lovely looking, Music Man style oval, as opposed to the more common and garish flame design). 24 full and reachable frets. String through body. From the limited amount of information I can find about them they seem pretty well regarded, extremely diverse sound wise, and very playable. Yet they are ridiculously cheap considering the amount of instrument you get for your money. OK I get that the looks aren't for everyone, especially purists who prefer a Fender shape (one of which I'm definitely not. Bland with a side order of bland) I'd even draw the line myself at the flame bridged models. But this one's an utter thing of beauty. What am I missing? I can't wait for this thing to arrive.

Yup. I concur. Although the logo and Scorpion we're definitely inlays. I scratched then with my thumb nail to see if they were stickers. I've kind of got past the point of caring now anyway. I agree it's most likely one of the cheapo eBay basses having listened to what everyone else has said. Although I still maintain the neck was a thing of beauty regardless. I briefly considered buying it just for novelty value, but it seems it's not quite as unique as I had previously thought. Oh well, it's only a matter of seconds before my GAS takes me in another direction. In fact I have my eye on something on eBay as we speak. 😂

I reckon someone got a bargain there at £250.

Yeah but she's a proper slapper.

Right. Now it's starting to make sense. I think we've probably cracked it. I wasn't playing or even looking at basses 10 years ago so these totally passed me by. I've genuinely never seen anything like it. I agree the luthier connection is most likely coincidental. All the gear, this bass included, came from a music shop closure. The guy who owns it all he's lived here in Bulgaria for 7 years and his shop was in the UK prior to that. So the timeline would fit. It's basically brand new but has been sitting in storage since the shop closed so now he's selling everything off cheap to get rid of as much of the gear as he can. I must admit I'm tempted to buy it on the feel of the neck alone, maybe strip the body back to bare wood, replace the electronics and bridge, and create something truly unique. If I told you I could get the bass for around £100 would you say it was worth a punt?