Lew-Bass

I thought I should start a new thread as I was about to describe my bass of the moment then realised it was actually just an idea that I had, so thought it was maybe worthy of a new thread. There was a similar one that died over a year ago about what your 'signature' bass would be, but personally that implies the bass would suit your personality too and I'm purely on about aesthetics and sound here. So.. what's your ideal custom bass? Include as much, or as little, detail as you like Currently mine is; Body Shape: Standard P-Bass Body Body Wood: Alder Finish: 'Heavy Relic'd' Sonic Blue finish, matching headstock Neck: Maple Jazz Neck (Vintage Tint & Satin Finish) Scale Length: 33" (After reading it's much more comfortable whilst only sacrificing minimal amounts tonally) Fingerboard: Maple Frets: 21 Fret Markers: Black Dot Markers with Light Blue/Pink LEDs Electronics: Rear routed 3-EQ cut/boost active circuit (Vol/Bass, Mid/Treble stacked), LED on/low/off switch Pickguard: Pink Paisley Hardware: Chrome Would only really suit a certain type of gig though, so when I plan to get this spec made up for me in the future, I might wait until I have more of a workhorse bass first!

I think I've just found my new favourite bass line

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' post='504230' date='Jun 2 2009, 09:27 PM']I have a KBA-16 COMBO. I got it when I part exchanged my old peavey TNT combo (that peavey was so crap) Anyway this Kusto is good, and loud and handles 5 string ok too. [b] I think a metal bass player (Trivium??) has an endorsement with Kustom, so they can't be too bad.. [/b][/quote] The bassist out of As Blood Runs Black is endorsed by them. Good player too.

Is that the Limited Edition 'Heartrate' series with the custom fretlines?

[quote name='thedontcarebear' post='627950' date='Oct 16 2009, 03:04 PM']Updated it with what should be the final spec, just got to decide on whether to get something on the 12th block inlay or not.[/quote] One orange LED

BUMP to save starting a new thread. Which amp would be better; the Gallien-Krueger 1001 RB-II or the MarkBass LMII (the 2008 special edition one, but that's aesthetics)? Really need some opinions as I've got the opportunity of either one and I'm torn currently

Had a look and as far as I can see it's just too expensive, even harder with being a lefty. Ibanez SR500 in December ahoy

[quote name='mike257' post='627646' date='Oct 16 2009, 10:49 AM']What have you got Lew? I've got a screwdriver and a soldering iron. I'll have to go the offy for us though, you'd have no chance in my local [/quote] Nothing as of yet Mike, I was just contemplating it as a next bass instead of buying a stock one. I'd only have a budget of £[b]<[/b]500 therefore a full-blown luthier job would be out of the question. I also wouldn't trust myself with anything like this, so that's how the idea came about. I'll have to price it all up but I reckon if I bought sensibly second-hand I'd be able to get a pretty decent bass for my money. P.S. I'd only let you go the offy afterwards, a drunk and a soldering iron don't sound too good to me!!! [quote name='skankdelvar' post='627824' date='Oct 16 2009, 01:07 PM']I'm sure most jobbing luthiers would take the project on board. Cost? Depends on the luthier's rates, but I wouldn't imagine any less than £75 -£100 at the very least, given it's a build [i]and [/i]a set-up. The other guys are right - DIY or post to see if someone here can help, indicating your location.[/quote] Thanks mate. I'm based in Liverpool for anyone reading this

You got all of the parts needed to be assembled to create a bass guitar, how much would a luthier realistically charge to put it all together? And would they actually do this?

Very good points mentioned above, sorry when I wrote this in mind I had an idea of a current item, in VGC. Pretty standard fare really

[quote name='nash' post='624665' date='Oct 13 2009, 06:34 AM']there isnt a formula really. just see if there are any of what you want on ebay completed listings and work it out from there.[/quote] Yeah, I wasn't under the illusion there was a definitive theory, just a general kind of unwritten code. From what I've seen and what I morally think is a fair price, it seems to be around 60% of new price?

[quote name='mike257' post='624731' date='Oct 13 2009, 09:44 AM']Hey Lew, Amps with a tube pre are ok, pre-amp tubes take much less of beating and rarely need changing. I haven't changed the ones in my SVT-3 since I bought it in 2006. Used a Trace cab with my Ampeg head on a gig earlier this year, found it had a lot more mid grunt than my Ampeg cabs, a very different sound - but a good sound! I'm not sure what they've got in Dolphin/Dawsons for bass gear at the moment, but it might be worth having a poke around and trying a couple of things, just to get a feel for what you're after. Oh, and the bands going great thanks mate, the EP is mastered now (some tracks on myspace.com/thebuffaloriot) and we're just getting a couple of dates sorted for Liverpool Music Week. Checked out your band on myspace, some filthy riffs on those demo tracks [/quote] So by that do you mean that its 'aggresive' in the mids? What was the bottom end like? How do you get to try amps/cabs out in shops without purchasing? I'm just weary of pissing the staff off at the moment really Good to hear Mike, I'll take a listen, and I'll make an effort to see you at LMW, let me know where and when . Oh and thanks for the kind comments, as you could tell there's no bass on the recordings (still!) and it is extremely raw, but I think there's a basis for some decent songs there. Went to crash studios for the first time last weekend, seems a decent place and very reasonably priced, think that's gonna be our regular haunt from now on. Where do you guys practise? Lewis

[quote name='alexclaber' post='624741' date='Oct 13 2009, 09:59 AM']The unreliability and short-life of valves is fortunately mythical. They are tough components and even power amp valves can last decades - and unlike transistors can be easily replaced when they die. Lots of great heads out there which have one or two valves in the preamps and are thus well worth considering. A nice thing about valve preamps is that if you're bothered you can try different valves to tweak your sound - when I had an SWR Grand Prix I found that sounded much nicer with a NOS 5751 (a lower gain 12AX7 variant). To give you an idea of the toughness of valves, NOS military spec valves were produced for use in things like air-drop field-radios whilst the MiG-25 interceptor used valves for all its critical electronics because they're so tough and more resistant to electromagnetic warfare than transistors. In fact I would expect electrolytic capacitors (which are found in all amps) to wear out (within a few decades) before preamp valves do. Alex[/quote] Ah, thanks for making it clear to me Alex Ok so, what head would you recommend to pair with a TE 1028H? Thanks

A simple question really; what is roughly the general rule for resale value on cabs/amps? (Used gear price = [b]??[/b]% of new gear price) Just useful to know roughly when scouring the web for potential gear

The GK was collection only unfortunately, so I'm back at square 1 & open to more suggestions. To the suggestions above; I'm just looking for a 1 cab + head solution. And as I've said, graphic EQs are too detailed for my needs, a 4 band EQ is great. No tubes atall either, it's just more hassle that I can't really afford to be dealing with. Look forward to hearing from everyone