kwmlondon

Ah... just saw this. Well, I'll give it a go and I'll be very gentle and if they don't work I'll just get a refund. That's the good thing about amazon.

Right, yes. I followed the link above and got a set through amazon. I'd been looking on eBay but the amazon set seems fine and for £8 or whatever I'll stick with them. A little project for the weekend!

Thanks for this, everyone - I'll see how I get on!

Yeah, I think that'd work for the heavier gauge strings, but I don't want the first string rattling about. One of the needle files has a nice oval shape so it ought to make a good groove, still, it's just a cheap plastic nut so if I mess it up it won't be the end of the world.

Hi. I've got a replacement neck and need to file the nut for the strings. This is something I'm not likely to do again so I'm reluctant to pay for a specialist set of files, but I do have needle files. Could I cut the grooves with those? Or some fine sandpaper folded over, say, the edge of a credit card? It's just a cheap plastic nut.

Got a couple of pickguards of Dave, all very straight-forward. Look at it. LOOK AT IT! Isn't it nicer than the white one it used to have? Thanks Dave, you made the bass much better!

This may be why the emails didn't get through... No. Actually for Graham Park, a very good luthier in Lewisham. Well, if people find this review for him anyway he was/is really good.

I had a bass setup by Graham. He's a lovey chap and knows his stuff, for sure. He's expensive, but he's good. My only criticism is that my emails to him weren't getting through (for some reason they were ending up in spam) and he didn't give me a phone number so I ended up having to call round to approve the work! I'd happily use again, but only on an instrument I valued enough to take to him or had such big problems it needed someone with his skills.

Those strings are on that bass for life. I'm not paying that amount of money for a set of strings ever again.

Well, they've been on a few months and it's had a fair bit of play but I kinda like it - it's really not a Bernard Edwards tone though, that's what it sounded like before. Now it's so tight it's like nothing else really. It's taken me a while to get used to it but yeah - it's very much its own animal!

I got a cheap set of Olympic things off amazon to try and they were lovely, then I put a set of LaBellas on and they sounded and felt so different, really tight and rubbery, my 'ray sounds like an upright bass now. It's astonishing. I think they'll take a few years to calm down...

Can confirm. Have played something very similar to this and it was one of the best bass guitars I've ever tried out. Personally I think it sounded great with well-worn rounds. It was knackered, gigged to hell and back but the tone and the feel was out of this world. Could have done with a re-fret but if it was for sale I'd have bought it then and there but the owner cherishes it as it was her dad's. If I ever see one in a store though...

I would buy an early 80s Ibanez blazer or Roadstar. I can't believe how epic these bases are. I'd be on the hunt for a hellish well worn one with loads of mojo, ideally either a P-type or maybe a 24 fret job. As long as the neck was good then anything else just adds to the vibe for me but I'd have to try it first.

What did ya get? And pics please!!!

Well, we're all getting old and if you've got a rig that sounds 90% as good as the old one but takes up a third of the size and weighs a quarter... well... I mean I can actually carry my rig on the tube!!!! Sure, it doesn't sound as good as a solid state 500w and a big old 4x10 but I can take my bass and my rig on public transport. It's unbelievable. We are living in days of wonder!

Well, this isn't going to help but the Hartke amp with the GK cab please!!! Seriously though, the Hartke amp is bulletproof - I had one and it was built to last. Sounded great too, just too big and heavy for my requirements. I've got a MarkBass and it's fine but that one being advertised is WAY too complex, unless you need something that can store loads of settings so I'd go with the rest of the people here and say get the Hartke rig.

Look, I know those things sound fantastic - I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time in the 90s gigging through an AH500 and a pair of TE 4x10s. The whole lot was flight cased up so it took quite a lot of space in the transit... Cutting edge for the time, but I CAN'T believe how tech's moved on. I had a GK CX210 that sounded fantastic, and loud, and light and cost under £300. I'd really suggest a 2x10 cab to recreate something of the sound you're used to, and yes - you could take the amp out of your combo and put it in a new case but it will still weigh a lot, once you've felt how light a class D amp is you'll never want to go back to carrying an old-school amp around. I used MarkBass now and it's.... okay. Not that charismatic but it's very light and sounds fine.