Brother Jones

The Gallery is to this decade what the Wapping Bass Centre was to the eighties...If they weren't there, a lot of London bass players would find it much harder to buy and sell equipment, and find the things and expertise they need than they do now. From time to time in a shop dealing with specialist equipment and set-up, theres just a miscommunication between members of staff which means something doesn't get done. It's a bit crap, but no one means for it to happen and it's often no one's fault really.

I think he's a bit overrated tbh. There are much, much better bassists on YouTube. Also - his facepulling and 'funky guy' persona is getting a bit stupid tbh.

I like this idea, and your mock-up looks...pretty good in a weird way. However, I have a personal theory that on a conventional bolt-on bass, that clunky, annoying headstock has some helpful sonic properties in that it increases the 'resonant mass'. This may have something to do with the reason why many headless designs were either graphite, or neck through, or both. All other things remaining equal, if you do away with it the bass could sound a bit lightweight and thin. I'm not a luthier though, and am probably talking complete b*ll*cks... PS Might look more appealing with a Sadowsky body - which is a bit slimmer than a normal Jazz.

The red stain finish was a bit of a classic for Thunder 1As and those ones always looked the best IMHO...

Charlie Chandler's shop in Kingston always seems to have a sunburst/tort/rosewood Jap '62 reissue in stock. I bought mine there for (IIRC) £450 back in August. I'm assuming it's an export one. It is fantastically well put together, with flawless finishing and a perfect neck joint. The rosewood board is a beaut and I can hardly stop playing it. Absolutely nails all those classic Precision sounds in my head.

Do they still build basses (to order) with the old 80s Explorer-ish body shape? I have serious gas for something like that...

A Kay short-scale in 1985. It was basically a toy, and the action was so high I had to play it on my knee, using my thumb to hold the strings down. But I guess my first 'proper' bass was a Hohner Jazz copy, black, with a maple board and tort guard. My Dad bought it for me for Xmas in 1986. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. Didn't get a proper amp, mind you, until I went to Uni two years later and blew my grant on a Peavey stack...

[quote name='Bogdan' post='397218' date='Feb 1 2009, 08:36 PM']Well I have tried another deluxe jazz that one had rosewood fingerboard and was 2007 production...It was even noisier...I guess I'm gonna do that with more jazz basses they have around there and if they all buzz - then I hope its stores electricity problem.....It would be a major disappointment if it would be noisy when I bring it home..But judging from your replies and price of the instrument , the bass should be working well!! How long does batteries last in those ??? This one has maple fingerboard ?? Is there really a difference between maple and rosewood...I guess this one suits my "slapping" needs well from what I heard p.s. thanks for all your answers!! This is major purchase for me , and I hope I found THE bass to go with [/quote] No, I actually meant a different bass in the shop to the two Deluxe Js. You could be blaming the basses for what is is just a noisy supply/environment. My practice room at home has large amounts of RF noise from my hi fi system/computer/terrible dimmer switches, which affects all the basses I play in it - with the sole exception of my Sadowskys. Rosewood will sound a little 'softer' and darker compared to a maple board, which is a bit more defined and usually a bit brighter. You can get a very good slap sound from a rosewood board - it's just a bit different. I owned my Deluxe J for about six years of resonably heavy use and changed the battery once. Just don't leave it plugged in.

Did you try another bass in the shop to see if was something that affected all of them? I had no noise issues whatsoever with my 2001 US Jazz Deluxe and its, er, 'Noiseless' pups.... It was really good actually - one of those basses I wish I hadn't sold.

[quote name='Beedster' post='366839' date='Dec 31 2008, 08:31 AM']From a few instruments I've seen recently there's huge variation in vintage Fender identification marks, far greater than any of the books would suggest. I'd like to see pics of neck pockets/heels with details of year, board, finish etc (also interested to see whether there are any 70s necks not made by J Torres ). Thanks Chris[/quote] Thanks for the research Chris...

I disagree that it's "luddite" to state that whatever this guy is doing, he's not a bass player - at least in the sense that he's not fulfilling the role most of us play in a band and which defines us as "bass players". I didn't start doing what I'm doing because I wanted to sound like John Williams. I did it because girls danced to what I was doing. Taking the role of the instrument forward (whatever that means) does not necessarily involve playing three octaves above the normal range of the instrument. I'll get back to me cave now.

The thing I love about my Sados is the easy truss adjustment. My RV5 has an exquisitely tweaked, er, rod with a very low action. Most 5s will sound increasingly muddy as you play up the neck on the B. It's not s'posed to go much above the 12th fret IME. The intonation wil get murky up there anyway. Might be worth trying a B with a tapered core though.

I've owned a LOT of bass heads, including Ampeg, Trace, GK and SWR. My little WT300 sounds better than any of them. It's pretty clean, but not totally sterile, with a bit of valve-y bloom in the lower mids. Perhaps that's why it loves my Precision so much. Someone said that Eden made the best pre amp around, but then voiced the amps so you didn't have to use it and this is how most people use them. I only use the parametrics for dialling out bloom with some basses in some venues. The cabs sound outstanding - my 210XLT was a revelation. I really need a 112 to go with it. They are incredibly heavy though...

[quote name='LWTAIT' post='391027' date='Jan 25 2009, 03:50 PM']have you ever heard the 'punk' song hit me with your rythm stick?[/quote] Yes, yes I have. I've been covering it for the past ten years. Even then, the Blockheads were rarely, if ever, described as 'punk', and Norman's line is not a pointless, widdling solo...

[quote name='WHUFC BASS' post='374877' date='Jan 9 2009, 10:43 AM']That would be the one you bought off me That was a really nice bass as it goes and I thought it was active for a long time until I opened up the control cavity. Just in case anyone was wondering what it looked like: [url="http://www.putfile.com/pic/3030169"][/url] [url="http://www.putfile.com/pic/3030166"][/url] If I'm not mistaken its got an ash body with maple/walnut/maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and mother of pearl inlays.[/quote] Indeed it was. I'm gonna pop in to a local tech and have it worked on soon. I'd love to know exactly what those controls are actually doing, as well.

I know these threads tend to deteriorate into a 'what it all really meant/no, really I was there in 1976' thing, but... It is a bit ironic that 'punk' had a strong anti-virtuosity feel, as a stand against the ludicrous cockmongering of prog rock. And now here we are looking at a 'punk' band's bass player widdling away... Some punk bands, especially the crap early eighties ones like GBH and the Exploited, just revelled in being yobs and had the musical imagination of a cockroach. Then they got stuck together with metal in the US during the eighties, bunged in with a bit of skate, and now here are all these 'punks' living in a rather sad cliche.

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='387584' date='Jan 21 2009, 02:56 PM']I'm thinking of publishing a tome about a certain second-hand La Bella flat-wound D string I once fitted to my Jazz bass. It would probably run to 2 volumes ( and one tone....geddit?)[/quote] You, sir, should be on television.

I've played two. Both were an acquired taste, visually. Both were nice and light, if a bit pointy. Both sounded very 'clicky', with little midband.