Boodang

Now £200 including UK delivery. 

This is a version 1 Thunder (hence the 'script' logo) made at the Matsumoku factory Japan in 1982. As a consequence it is proudly displaying some battle scars! Not entirely original as it now has a Bartolini 8S pickup. 

This Thunder has an ash, maple & walnut laminate body (the solid colour models were solid maple), with a dark ash finish. There's a bit of the finish missing on the side of the body where you can see the laminate construction (see pic below). Other than the general wear to the body, there is a nick out of the edge of the fretboard at the 1st fret but it doesn't interfere with the string and in that respect is cosmetic only.

The original pickups and electronics are truly hideous, so although the bass was in original condition when I got it, they got shown the inside of a bin and a Bartolini 8S was loaded. I use external pre-amps, so like all my passive basses the pickup is wired straight to the output jack. The pots and switches are original but they're not connected to anything. 

Other minor alterations; the knobs are from a jazz set (the originals were large brass) and I put in a neutrix locking jack.

So, as the separate basschat thread asks, are Westone basses any good? Well, back in the day Matsumoku used to make the Aria pro ii series, so yes I think the craftsmanship is good but it does feel like a bass from the 80s. The neck is chunky (not necessarily a bad thing) and the thing is HEAVY! My first bass was a thunder so I like the neck shape, it's a sort of flat U shape near the nut and a rounded U shape the higher you go. Different to most modern basses. The electronics I thought always let it down but that's easily solved and I think the Bartolini has an organic sound that suits the Thunder.

It does come with a hard case but to be honest it's knackered (the handle is missing and the finish is peeling). It'll do the job for postage but not much else.

Collection or £20 postage in the UK.

Came across this bass by accident, it was the only one available at the time, but it's actually really nice. If I wasn't overloaded with basses already I'd keep it. Also, I'm moving over to 5 string fretted and only keeping my 4 string fretless basses. It plays really well, so much so that an upgrade in pickups would take it from good to great. Given the price Tobias are doing these for I think they're quite the bargain.

This is a modern Tobias Toby made by Epiphone. I acquired this bass in 2019 when working away from home and just needed something for practice and the odd gig. Considering the price was most surprised by how well it performed. It has a decent neck with good upper fret access (certainly better than a standard Fender) and due to the use of radiata wood for the body (a type of pine!), is very light, so good for long gigs. Despite the light wood it has a very solid sound and performed well live. Currently strung with D'addario nylon strings. Comes with a standard TGI abs hard case.

The bass is in very good condition with no discernable scratches or dings.

Free collection or £15 postage in UK.

It's a ring modulator which basically is a feedback of your signal, which is then detuned by the shift control (the shift control has a 4 octave range!).. It sounds mad!! Janek Gwizdala does a good demo of this on his pedal show youtube channel. As he says, he likes to use these pedals as it stops him playing the same old sh*t!

In mint condition with original box. Have been experimenting with fuzz/od so gave this a go but ultimately I don't think the sound is for me. There's a good review of it on the Andertons youtube channel if you want to hear what it sounds like. Internal trim pots are a nice touch to fine tune your sound and get something slightly different from everyone else. 

Free shipping in the UK.

SA143 bass envelope filter in 'as new' condition. I bought it from a shop on ebay a few weeks ago and it looks like it's just sat on a shelf all its life. Think I prefer a good old fashioned analogue filter so moving it on.

Has a built in 7 band eq which SA sell as a stand alone unit for more than this.

No box but will obviously pack well and no power supply but it is a 9v unit. Free shipping in the UK.

Now £90 including UK postage. 

After watching Gwizdala using one of these, I'd thought I would give it a go but it's not for me (probably due to a lack of talent!). The Hot Rox shop had one sitting on a shelf, so bought this brand new just a few weeks ago. Consequently it's in as new condition, never gigged and comes with original box. Apparently the units supplied to the shop came with a Euro plug power supply so they included a UK adapter which is included (if you're not familiar with the frequency analyzer they need a 40v pus rather than the normal 9v)

Free shipping in the UK.

I play fretless and have been making changes to my pedal board recently. I've been particularly impressed with the Aguilar pedals; the Octamizer has a very pleasing tone (maybe because it's analogue?) and the Grape Phaser has been quite the surprise hit. I know some have said the tracking on the octamizer is not the best but I haven't found it to be a problem especially as I'm using it to produce a thicker organic tone rather than a synthy oc2 type sound and the filter control can take you from a smooth octave addition to something with a bit more grit. The grape phaser is very funky, especially with the use of the color control. 

To top it off, I got a TC Electronic Spectracomp to see if one of toneprints would do as a 'set it and leave it'  arrangement.... loaded up the Nathan East settings and now it's on permanently. 

Not a one pedal solution I know, and not the cheapest, but I think it works particularly well with fretless if you're going for an organic sound.

I can definitely recommend a set of pickups from the Creamery (hand wound in Manchester). I talked to the guy there as I wanted a set for my Squier jazz which were not in his stock list and he was very accommodating. Alnico2 for the bridge and Alnico5 for the neck, scatter wound, and they've turned out a treat. So close to the sound I want I've not bothered with an active preamp. I've also got a '70s style P bass p/u from him for another project and that just needs no eq-ing. If you have p/u response in mind, the guy at the Creamer seems happy to discuss options and he's not expensive. 

For flexibility I've always used a small mixing desk, currently an old Mackie with 4 high impedance inputs. I plug my basses into the channels, my pedal board is connected to the send and return, and I've got enough outputs from the desk to run to several rigs if necessary plus a DI for the main PA if needed. That also means my signals are buffered, impedances are sorted and whichever bass I use, the pedal board and the outputs get a consistent level. 

Well, not quite regret but came across a cheap bass in my local store that rivals my custom Sei for feel and sound. Initially I was looking at the Fender Pastorious reissue (I'm a fretless player) but apart from the price it didn't have a resin fingerboard which for me would be part of the Pastorious feel on a bass. However... did come across a s/h Squier vintage modified fretless jazz at a fraction of the price and this has a phenolic fingerboard (aka bakelite) which has that hard resin feel. Long story short, feels so good I've replaced all the hardware (it now has Creamery pickups; alnico2 bridge and alnico5 neck pu, and Starr guitars stacked knobs) and it sounds awesome. All in under £600 and couldn't be happier. Goes to show! 

PS check out how many fretless basses have a resin board, there's not many.

.... the Grape Phaser has a 'color' knob which controls the amount of signal fed back through the phaser. Simple, but the more you crank it the more it adds a sort of 'wah' into the sound and it's seriously funky. There's a good demo of it on the Andertons youtube channel where they play through all the Aguilar pedals.

When I bought a C4 I thought, this could be special, but there's something about the interface that doesn't gel with me, so disappointingly not to be. Then, out the blue, I came across the Aguilar Grape Phaser. Now I've not really been a user of phaser pedals so I wasn't holding out much hope but.... now I'm finding it hard to switch it off, it's so funky! It could be a combination of 'new acquisition syndrome' and finding a new sound but I'm really enjoying it and it's my new fav pedal. Also, I'm playing it with a pick, rhythm guitar style which I think the phaser responds to very well and unlike a filter I don't sound like a demented duck!

I bought the EHX tri parallel the other month for the same reason, to experiment with different setups. I like it so much it's made its way onto my pedal board. I'm using one channel to blend in some pork & pickle to thicken up my sound, another for the mono synth, and the third for octave & filter effects. For me, some effects work better in parallel, so this setup works a treat.

Have fun experimenting!

Is the Cog still for sale?

Still for sale?

Source Audio's One Series C4 synth. I bought this from bass direct when it first came out but have found it's not really my thing. Very powerful, check out the youtube demos, and you can just download the user presets but to get the most out it you really need to deep dive into the programming which I've found is not for me. Comes with the original packaging and power supply. Postage included in the price if within the UK. Mint condition and never giggled.

This Dean electro acoustic has a lovely quilted ash finish with a bound body and a slim C profile mahogany neck. It has a piezo under bridge pickup with Aphex 'exciter' & 'big bottom' circuitry, with standard jack and xlr output. Currently strung with La Bella 'white gold' nylon strings. Has a nice mellow sound with the nylon strings and a very bright sound with acoustic bronze strings. A reasonable volume if played acoustic and a very flexible sound from the electrics with the onboard eq. Comes with a Gator fitted case. 

I bought this from bass direct about 7 years ago but in truth I don't use it that much, I've never gigged it and just used it for practice. Price does not include postage but happy to arrange. No offers.

The classic TC Electronic SCF stereo chorus flanger. I bought this in the 90's, it saw some action then but I really don't use it anymore and I've just kept it as it's such a classic pedal. Time has come to move it on to someone who'll get some use out of it. Works perfectly, I no longer have the original box but it'll be packed well if it needs posting. Price includes postage if within the UK. No offers.