markdavid

As per a previous thread I have recently bought a lovely Violin bass copy, looks gorgeous, sounds even better, seems solidly built.
The one thing that is bugging me however is the intonation, I understand that generally floating bridges tend to have fairly funky intonation

I have a few questions about this type of bass

1. Why is the intonation on these type of bridges funky? I understand you cannot individually move saddles but as you can move the bridge this should not matter

2. Why are the measurements for the position of the bridge so different, to illustrate what I mean by this a typical Fender bridge has the saddles maybe approx 1-1.5 cm from the ball ends of the strings, the violin bass often has the bridge (and corresponding saddles much further forward, surely the fact that the bridge is floating shouldn't really have much of an impact

3. The scale length thing confuses me, a violin bass has a 30" scale but surely the fact that the bridge is much further forward than say a Fender mustang (another 30" scale bass) means that the scale length is actually shorter than the 30" ???

4. String tension should be lower on a violin bass than most 30" scale basses as the speaking length of the string is shorter due to the bridge being further forward, am I correct in this assumption?

5. How far forward is the norm for the bridge on these basses?

6. What is the best way to intonate these basses?

[quote name='Grahambythesea' timestamp='1495129230' post='3301545']
Looks ace. Was it new? When I have seen previous Violin basses of this brand I thought they had the incorrect Y tuners, but this has proper small tuners which I have always suspected were just guitar tuners on Hofners.
[/quote] Yes, was new, i was impressed by the accuracy of the copy when i saw it, most copies i have seen have the Y tuners and tend to ditch the switches, sounds great too , my only gripe with it is the slightly funky intonation but i know this is extremely common with violin basses

Now just need to sort out this wacky intonation that you get with Violin basses

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1495009838' post='3300325']
Not tried a vintage brand violin bass - but that one looks nice
I had a brief flirtation with a Hofner - Not the ignition, but the 500/1 series, with the solid block in the body
That had an amazingly "big" solid sound for such a diminutive bass, I was shocked

Enjoy your NBD
PS. I wonder why violin basses are in short supply in London?
[/quote] Yes this bass sounds really big also, i think partly due to semi hollow construction and partly due to the location of the 2 pickups which are both close to the neck, (i think)because they are quite closer together you don't get that big mid scoop that seems to occur on basses with 2 or more pickups.

Regards to Violin basses being in short supply in London a guy in Wunjos told me it is because of the new rosewood restrictions which are causing supply issues

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1495004116' post='3300275']
Oh nice can I ask how much? Not that I have a birthday coming up at all
[/quote]
Was £330 new with a hardcase, I probably could have bartered with the guy in the shop and got a cheaper price but I had a tough time finding a violin bass in London so wasn't in the mood to mess about

[quote name='therealting' timestamp='1494760839' post='3298334']
Where in London are you based? I have one you can try if it's convenient.
[/quote] thank you for the offer, i ended up buying a Violin bass copy by Vintage as i loved the feel and tone but thank you anyway,really got the itch to get more violin basses now lol

Aquired this lovely bass at the weekend, was after a Violin bass , went originally looking for a Hofner Ignition but due to the recent rosewood regulations there apparently has been a bit of a supply issue.
Was about to give up and go home when I spotted this beaut.
Plays great, is nice and light and it has loads of low end, and it came with a hard case

Hi, am after getting a hofner ignition violin or club bass and was wondering if anyone knows which shops in London stock these, if anyone knows i would be very grateful, thanks

Hi, yes gone now

Am considering a Hofner , either a Violin or a Club bass (they seem to be essentially the same thign just in different shapes) but common sense tells me I should not blind buy one, anybody know anywhere in London where these are stocked so I can try one out at the weekend? Thanks

Thanks for the input is so hard to choose, on the one hand I would like a bass that I can still get a bit of growl from, on the other hand something hollow or semi hollow would be cool to get that kind of plummy McCartney kind of tone and it would be cool to have something very different from my other basses.
Have wanted a Hofner for ages but kind of concerned as they have a reputation for being a bit fragile and cheap feeling, could pick up a used Hofner CT bass which is supposed to be a step up from the Ignition but I wonder how close it comes to the proper hollow body tone being a bass with a centre block? The Epiphone Allen Woody looks cool but my concern with that is the crappy Epiphone 3 point bridge (they have a tendency to pull away from the body), I think maybe I need to spend an afternoon in Denmark street and just play a shed load of basses

Thanks for the suggestions, the Chowny chb1 is a good suggestion but i am wondering how much of the growl from tree strings it will keep, for that reason i am edging towards the Chowny swb1 which has j pickups

Am expecting to receive some money in the next couple of weeks and have decided to get another short scale bass, will have about £400 and wondered what is good for this amount?
I currently have the Squier jaguar ss and Fender mustang pj bass so not looking for another pj bass, i mostly use flatwounds now and would describe my tone as old school but growly.
Am currently considering the Chowny swb1 and the Epiphone Allen woody rumblekat.

Have called them this morning and they have emailed me a returns label, the email communication has been non existent but to their credit I received the label minutes after speaking to them on the phone

yes still within the 30 days period, I will give them a call tomorrow morning, really not impressed so far

[quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1493148472' post='3286101']
Horse With No Name by America doesn't half sound like a Neil Young song.
[/quote]
I thought it was until fairly recently

Hi
I don't usually post regarding customer service issues with websites, i try to give them a reasonable chance to rectify but Thomann have been worryingly flaky with communication.
Have recently bought a Beatbass from them, I have basses already (obviously) but I thought for the price why not, anyhow received the bass all in one piece, tuning was a little out so as anyone would I got out the tuner and proceeded to tune the bass, tuners felt kind of junky but is not an expensive bass, anyhow before I reached pitch on the D string the tuner managed to strip itself and the screw came out of the tuner, tried to screw it back in but it was not holding so contacted Thomann through the returns section on the website and sent a separate email shortly afterwards to describe more about the issue. The following morning I received an email asking me to email a video of the issue which I did first thing, sent a separate email shortly afterwards to try and help move things along saying hopefully the video makes the issue clearer and describing again the issue , no response just an automated email from them.
This morning came and I dropped them an email to chase up on my returns request and sent a message through the website and nothing from them apart from an automated email, I know I am probably being impatient and I know Thomann have a good reputation so I am confident that they will sort out the issue but I have never had to wait this long to get a response about an rma

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1493116029' post='3285678']
Was listening to the radio this morning and a clip of Dave Edmunds and Queen Of Hearts came on... a song that to me, could quite easily be a Traveling Wilbury's track. It's certainly got that signature sound... and they all kinda give a nod to the Everly Bros and Buddy Holly too I guess.

Has anybody get similar parallels when they hear tracks that aren't by the artists that you would expect to be performing them - give examples.

And yes, it's inevitable that the Beatles/Oasis thing is bound to come up!
[/quote]

Oasis are imo possibly the most overrated band ever, they manage to rip off countless other bands without actually capturing what made those bands so good in the first place

Hi
Have not been successful selling this rather battered Ebo copy and am now looking to pass this on as i really don't have the space for a bass that never gets played. Bass in need of some tlc.
Collection from Croydon area

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1491983523' post='3276871']


Yes indeed. The odd thing I find about a low action set-up, and related "fret buzz" - is that on some basses, I can really hear fret buzz when amplified, and on other basses, it's less noticeable. I'm really not sure why this should be? I mean, it sort of defies logic really, doesn't it? If you get fret buzz on two basses, if you hear it clearly when amplified on one, you should surely hear it to the same level on another bass... discuss! lol
[/quote] There are a number of factors, the condition of the frets on both basses,whether they have the same neck relief, even things like how bright sounding the pickups are and how bright the bass is accoustically can affect this.

One thing i have found is that fret buzz that is heard when practicing at home is often virtually inaudible when playing live with a band

So does this mean more maple fretboards? I hope so, much prefer maple to rosewood

[quote name='markdavid' timestamp='1491823873' post='3275584']
My vote is a new set of pickups , these will make the most difference in my opinion , maybe some Dimarzio Model J's , also a series/parallel switch would be a good thing to add
[/quote] come to think of it , model j are split coil in a jazz bass shape pickup so i would be amazed if those pickups wired in series were still too bright

Hi , am seriously considering getting one of these but was after some feedback from people who own one of these.
I know about the neck dive, the intonation issues, what I am really after finding out is what the tone of these is like? any feedback issues? how adjustable is the action at the bridge? can you get low to lowish action with these basses? Thanks

My vote is a new set of pickups , these will make the most difference in my opinion , maybe some Dimarzio Model J's , also a series/parallel switch would be a good thing to add

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1491809298' post='3275425']
Changing the pickups will probably have the biggest impact. Some pickups are voiced with way too much treble and high mids, even on PJ's and P's sometimes.

And then you have to also deal with the stupid amounts of treble on most amps as well. I will never understand why bass equipment has to have so much treble on tap, I spend way too much of my bass-playing time fighting against 'crisp highs' (= nails on chalkboard) and 'punchy high-mids' (= annoying nasal honk) in various rehearsal rooms.
[/quote]
I always find that most amps have the midrange voiced too aggressively, always seem to spend a lot of time trying to dial out the mids on most amps