largo

He said he's been lacquering my bass last week and this week, finished now and waiting on it curing before a final polish at the end of the week.

So the race is on ....

There seems to be 3 or 4 Shukers in their final stages and it'll be interesting to see who gets theirs quickest. Pics required to prove it ;0)
Mine is, I reckon a couple of weeks away yet as the sparkle finish meant Jon had to use a different lacquer and more coats of it so it's another week or so over schedule. Buga !

Anybody had close to the 14 weeks quoted before ordering ? Mines been at least 6 months I reckon, probably more.

S

Never tried the Audere but I've had the OBP-3 and the J-Retro Deluxe in similar basses
In my opinion the J-Retro does colour the sound more than the Aguilar preamp but in a good way. That's why I've settled for the J-Retro as my preamp of choice. I found the OBP-3 added a lot of boost to the bass volume so whenever I added bass I had to cut back on volume. The East circuit doesn't do that, it just add bass. Beautiful tone from it too.

Yeah, I was actually thinking the red blocks would have stood out better with a maple board myself when designing it.
However, a Candy Red Jazz bass with matching headstock MUST have a rosewood board. Have you not read the Jazz owners manual ?
S

P.S. Can anybody show me a picture of a CAR Jazz bass with matching headstock AND maple board ?

Hehehe, she's all red & sparkly now ....
Jon's said that the colour is slightly darker than is shown on the pics, probably more a dark(ish) Candy Apple Red
He's also advised we wait a week or so for the laquer to harden then it's on with the wet look glossy finish and I guess then the hardware.
This pic was sent last Monday night so hoping things will be finished in the next fortnight ;-)

As much as I'm happy with my Ashdown ABM 500 I'm still never completely happy. Some people call it GAS !!!
So, anyone own, or used an Aguilar AG500SC amp and got opinions on it.
How does it sound ? Would it match my Schroeder cab ? How might it compare to my Ashdown ?
Cheers, Stephen.

That's what I meant Bass Ferret. If you're after a cabinet that's light & portable then that's different but of all the cabs I've tried, none give me the low-mid bump like the schroeder does, not lightweight anyway.

Just seen the Sei website at £2995, 15% of £2000 ain't £995 unless my calculator's bust .... but have a free bump ...
Beautiful bass by the way, just one string too many for me.

Schroeder alternative ? IMHO there isn't any ... sorry

[quote]I can tell you that Sei's break down a lot and McIntyres don't[/quote]

Have to disagree with you on this quote. Other than James Leech's Sei bass, and I'm not sure what problems he's had.
I haven't heard anyone else have their Sei break down on them. I'm happy to be set straight though !

S

Hi Russ

What's the difference between this and the LMK II ? If TheRev fails to deliver I may be interested.

Cheers

Stephen

Yep Peted, the necks going to be glued in place. More neck-thru than bolt on.
Jon's also going to install the low battery circuit that John East has designed, probably on the back near the battery compartment.
See the post in the J-East section of the forum.

OK, having sold one of my Sei Jazz basses and the 20% hike on Sei's prices I've opted to go with Jon Shuker for my next bass build.
Been a while in progress, more than the 12 weeks quoted but the Nordstrand pickups have held things up by a few weeks.
Anyway, for those that's interested here's the specs and some build pictures too.

The whole idea is a Jazz bass to match the drummers red sparkle Mapex kit. That's show business !

Shuker Jazz 5 string in traditional styling
34" scale
21 frets
Maple set neck with rosewood fingerboard and block inlays
Red side LEDS
Nordstrand Big Single pickups
Shuker 3-band EQ with active/passive switch
Red Sparkle finish with matching headstock
Vintage White scratchplate
Chrome hardware

I also asked Jon for a Fodera-style neck join as I want an oil finished neck but a painted body and I thought this would look good. See the pics ;-)

Fingerboard ...





Body ...




Body & Neck Join ...





And that's all for now. The pickups arrived on Wednesday and Jon was going to be doing more routing then and prepare for finishing. I'll post more pics when I get them.

Until next time .....

Just picked up on this thread.
I always wonder why so many name players, especially in a band play Ashdown gear.
Some of these guys can get any endorsement they like, so why Ashdown ? The Who (past tense), U2, Foo Fighters, Oasis etc. !

By the way my ABM EVO 500 RC II is great.

Played at a wedding and Mike Lindup (Keyboards with Level 42) got up for a couple of songs.
I wish we'd been pre-warned as it's a few years since I played any Level 42 stuff, so we jammed a couple of Level 42 numbers.
Bottled out of the flashy slap stuff but did adjust my strap, thankfully he got the joke ;-)

Oh yeah, and played in a band with Edith Bowman (Radio 1 DJ) for a few years too ...

Are you sure just changing the pickups will alter your tone that much ?

I used to have a GB Spitfire and as nice a bass as it was, it was the preamp that achieved the sound IMHO. Just too much unfortunately as all I could do was get a GB tone and not much else. If you wanna change the pickups checkout the Nordstrand Big Singles, or maybe Fat Stacks. A Jazz bass on steroids I guess with plenty growl if you need it and in a soapbar casing. Or, why not try an outboard preamp pedal like the Sadowsky, Aguilar etc and see if you can change tone that way ?

Good luck !

S

Hi Mike

I'm waiting on a set of Big Singles for my new Shuker too.
I got word from both Jon & Stew at Nordstrand that the pickups have now shipped, so Jon will get them this week.

Cannae wait ....
Jon reckons 3-4 weeks after the pickups arrive my bass will be ready.

I've held back posting build pics for now as it's going to be my "showbiz" bass.
Red sparkle with matching block inlays for a start, designed to match the drummer's red sparkle kit. Hehehe ...

I'm now on my 4th Sei bass, all Jazz-a-likes and in my opinion the 20% hike is too much for this style of bass.
Martin is now more expensive than similar high-end builders including Sadowsky, Lull, Lakland, Fender(!) and others I've not mentioned.
For those who want the more flamboyant shaped basses in 6+ strings I think it's a different market and the 20% brings Martin into line with other builders ala Fodera, Jerzy Droyd etc.

Also Sei basses, like others have said, are only stock parts and fancy woods and plenty of craftmanship.
In fact each Sei bass I've owned has had problems with dead spots, shifting necks, dodgy pots etc. all on £2K+ basses.

I'm now in the process of getting a Shuker Jazz built, 4 or 5 weeks to completion and will be able to compare luthier quality etc. soon.

A big statement but I don't think I'll be going back to Martin for a custom-built Jazz bass again !

Fair Dooz KJB

Quick ebay search found this [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/DR-Strings-Lo-Rider-MH6-30-30-125-Bass-Guitar-6-string_W0QQitemZ200094766973QQihZ010QQcategoryZ41432QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem"]DR Lo-Riders 6 String Set[/url]

37 USD + 11 USD shipping, you'll get 2 sets for £42 shipped and to your door.

[quote name='kjb' post='43449' date='Aug 9 2007, 07:10 PM']Try these, just as cheap as America, less hassle, and no import duty.[/quote]

Sorry, but at 40 euro's a set and 9 euro shipping for my 5 string DR "coated" strings isn't that about £60 for my 2 sets from Germany ?
I'm pretty sure my last ebay set from the US was 32 dollars a set and 12 dollar shipping. No hassle, no import duty and about £38 delivered for my 2 sets.

No brainer I'm afraid !

I used to be an Elixir player but I use the DR Extra Life "coloured" strings now and they are superb.
Way better than the Elixirs IMHO and they don't feel slimey to start with and then go all fuzzy after a while. More like regular strings from the start.
I've used the Black ones, and currently use the Red Devils and feel & tone wise I just like them more.

They last just as long as the Elixirs too.

Check out some of the ebay'ers in the US that ship to the UK.
I tend to buy a couple of sets every 6 months or so and they cost around £40 inc. shipping for the 2 sets and no customs tax to pay.

Let's get this thread back on track .....
Just got an email from Jon to say that my Nordy pickups are 3 weeks until eta, I'm guessing the same for you Mike.
Nice looking bass coming together.

I can do some Sei vs Shuker comparisons when I get my hands on my new custom build.

Me too ... i'm getting Nordy Big Singles and he's waiting 'til they arrive before routing .... i'll chase him for pics after that too ....

Not to put a dampner on it, but my Sei was supposed to take 6 months and ended up being a week short of a year !!!!

Maybe he means EUR instead of GBP ? ;-)