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kwmlondon

⭐Supporting Member⭐
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Posts posted by kwmlondon

  1. 36 minutes ago, JPJ said:

    I’ll chuck in my two’penneth with a vote for the Fender Tony Franklin fretless P bass for no other reason than it’s a fantastic fretless P bass, so much so that mine has become my no1 go to bass. 

    I've never had a signature model before, is it obvious? Is there a signature somewhere?

     

    I mean, if I liked the bass it'd have to have the name of someone I really despised on it for me to turn it down, and then I'd probably still buy the bass but find a way of getting the signature off!

  2. 3 hours ago, Japhet said:

     

    A bit like buying a football shirt with a player's name on it. I see blokes wearing them and snigger to myself 'blimey, Lionel Messi's let himself go, and I didn't expect to see him in Aldi'.

    But the Les Paul is a signature guitar. Every bass made by Sire has Marcus Miller on the headstock - if you wanted a Les Paul or a Sire bass would you really be that put off by the fact it's got an artist's name on the headstock? Or do you think those are maybe different to a signature model where it's a pretty standard, off-the-shelf instrument e.g. a Roger Water Fender Precision or Guy Pratt Betsy bass?

     

    Don't you think with a lot of signature instruments you don't have to advertise the fact? Sometimes it's a canny purchase - The Bass Centre Betsy bass is supposed to be an absolute belter of a j-bass...

    • Like 1
  3. 11 hours ago, LowB_FTW said:

    Thank you for saying this.

    I see here it mentioned quite a lot that this or that bass isn't suitable for this or that type of music and I just think to myself "WTF", because a bass is a bass is a bass and a Thunderbird can be used for country just as a Jazz can be used for doom metal.

    I've been reticent to speak up on this though until now because it seems to be some sort of perceived wisdom that I've been counter to the notion of.

     

    Mark 

    I agree. Unless you're in a very specific tribute type of band where the audience expects a certain look (imagine a Beatles lookielikey with "Paul" playing a Status headless) then you can use whatever you want. It's all in the fingers, after all... Can't play disco on a Rickenbacker? *cough* Bee Gees? Can't slap on a Precision? *cough* anyone heard Forget Me Nots? 

     

    I play disco and funk on a Dingwall with a Darkglass ADAM pedal. Go figure...

    • Like 1
  4. And which would you feel pigeon-holed playing? 

     

    I'm gonna kick off and say I'd happily own a Fender Geddy Lee Jazz bass. I love early-to-mid-70s Fender Jazz basses and the GL ones have a great reputation. They're proper disco funk machines, as well as being great for rock. I'd feel able to use one of them in pretty much any situation I'd use a 4-string.

     

    I don't think I'd get a Dingwall NG as it seems just a bit too focused on the hard-rock/metal genre, though I think they're awesome instruments. I own a Combustion and I can kind-of sneak it into a lot more situations than the NG without looking like I'm in the wrong band! The darkglass tone capsule is also less versatile than the EMG. 

    • Like 4
    • Thanks 1
  5. Look, I've been banging my head against the screen for ages trying to get some music recorded but I've got the start of something that I actually quite like the sound of. I don't know where it's going to go - I'm going to leave it for a while and come back to it and maybe think about some vocals and an arrangement, but this is a sort of starter/demo/

     

    • Like 1
  6. 8 minutes ago, Dood said:

     

    Also, love the Stingray in your avatar! Red and Maple,  nice!!!

    Right. I'm gonna go off and have a cold shower and think about those pickups.

     

    Yeah, my 'Ray is an absolute doozie! It's a 1989 2eq and when I got it in '93 it had already had a hard life, but it's just added to the thing's mojo. It's the only instrument I don't think I could ever part with. It also doesn't sound good quiet. It only sounds good LOUD!

    • Like 1
  7. 19 hours ago, madshadows said:

    Anyone needing any work in South East London for bass or guitar I would recommend John from STRING KING GUITAR WORKS in Charlton, my Sire M2 bass had a problem with the wiring on the jack socket, he fixed it (after my bodged attempt !!) in under a day, I dropped it off yesterday at 10.30am and picked it up at 10am today, great work and all for a reasonable £34 inckuding two new batteries for the active circuit :) 

     

    Website link below :) 

     

    John 

     

    https://www.stringkingworks.co.uk/

     

     

     

    This is really helpful. Been using Bass Gallery in Camden and they're fine, but this is a lot closer to where I live!

    • Like 1
  8. 5 minutes ago, Tim2291 said:

    I used to have a Marshall 2x15... great cab, absolute pain in the arse to move anywhere though!

    Well... if I had a rehearsal space or if a venue had back(breaking)line that never got moved it'd be awesome! I mean, if I trundled into a regular pub with something like that I'd get looks...

  9. Bought an octave pedal from Mike. Arrived in good time and exactly what I was expecting. Great process, smashing to deal with and I'm very happy with the new toy - many thanks!

  10. 8 hours ago, tauzero said:

    There's another one I'd like - an unlined fretless Sei Flamboyant 5-string. However, @Boodang seems reluctant to give (or even sell) me his.

    Yeah, I've had hankerings to get a fretless 5 string. God knows why. It took me two years to be able to get to grips with a FRETTED 5 string... probalby the mission for the rest of my life to make a fretless work but hey. 

  11. 3 minutes ago, tegs07 said:

    There are some exceptions but GDP and salaries are increasing in many East Asian countries. Simultaneously there are some demographic issues (eg China) where the workforce is aging. Labour is getting more expensive, particularly skilled labour.

    I wonder where the next bargain basement country of manufacture will be? Pakistan? Bangladesh? A newly independent Wales?

    • Haha 1
  12. 3 hours ago, neepheid said:

    But I can get a South Korean made Reverend which does more (ie. has two pickups) and will be excellent quality for less than £900.  The grand is quite the psychological threshold to cross, so manufacturers had better provide reasons why I should.  This bass doesn't provide any reasons why I should when you stack it against cheaper instruments of excellent quality which are manufactured in places with theoretically higher labour costs.

     

    Hard no from me.  Sorry, EBMM/SBMM fanbois, but their pricing has been ridiculous for a while now.  I'm still prising my jaw off the floor at >£1000 SBMM Rays.  What is this market segment they're aiming at?  The affluent cheapskate?  Does it even exist? 

    I don't define myself as a fanboi. I do think that as long as you can get a Sterling Sub Stingray for under £400 you have a choice. I see Sterling 'Rays at under £700 which puts them roughly in the same ball-park as Sire, Ibanez or Yamaha. The MusicMan brand has a fair bit of kudos but it's not like Fender or Gibson who can trade off the name and sell some utter cr*p for top dollar so I'm not going to write off the buying public as idiots and MusicMan as con artists. 

  13. 13 minutes ago, 40hz said:

    You know what. I kinda like this in a weird way. Nice to see SBMM do some weird(ish) stuff. The short scale Ray in Fiesta Red they revealed at NAMM is absolutely glorious, and on my wish list for the next few months.

     

    Problems for me though are twofold;

     

    The price.

     

    A shade under £1100 for an alarmingly basic instrument that's made in Indonesia (no issue with country of origin, but we know labour costs will not be commensurate with the price).

     

    The naming convention SBMM use.

     

    Does anyone within the Sterling by Musicman company stop to think about how bad it's become? The Sterling By Musicman Sterling Bass. The ego involved in this is comical. 

    Yeah, it's the Sterling Sterling. But then it's got us talking about it so while it may annoy people it's not going to actually put anyone off buying one? 

     

    The £1100 for an Indonesian bass? Well. I don't know. I'm holding off judgement. If you'd asked me four years ago would I pay top dollar for a Chinese made bass I'd have laughed but then I got a Dingwall and I have never had a regret about that so... Maybe the wood, components and build quality will be up there but they'll be competing with much cheaper Sire and Yamaha basses that are flawless so good luck.

    • Like 1
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