W1_Pro
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Posts posted by W1_Pro
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19 minutes ago, itu said:
Although I am broke, and this is a 4-string:
- scale length
- string spacing
- weight
please.
Goood questions...all good questions. I'm not with the bass at the mo, so I'll have to park precise answers for now.
It is quite heavy. But it does balance beautifully on a strap. It's 34" scale. The E string sounds like a piano. Its awesome. String spacing: The neck is a little bit wider than my other Originals, they are usually quite Jazzy necks in profile but this is more of a not so chunky P, if that makes sense. When I get it back from The Gallery I'll do some measurements.
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Something slightly unusual. PRICE REDUCED TO £1100 IT'S A STEAL!!!
This is an early Original, according to Chris May it dates from the late seventies. It has the routed edges to the horns that all the early ones had. It's all mahogany construction I believe with a bound ebony fingerboard and a bone nut. It has a Schaller bridge and machine heads and a pair of the superb Bill Lawrence humbuckers which Originals used to come with in those heady days.
The good:
It's generally in good order, low action sounds good and plays nicely. Lovely colour too.
The bad:
A couple of cosmetic dinks here and there. I can provide more detailed pics if anyone wants to see. It's in good condition for a forty odd year old bass.
The circuit and pots were pretty knackered. It's currently with Martin at The Gallery being rewired. It will have per original spec CTS 500K long shaft linear pots for the volumes and log pots for the tone. I don't have the original (original) knobs. I've tried unsuccessfully to buy some from Overwater, so I'll probably stick some gold speed knobs on, which look quite nice.
As you will notice from the pic of the fingerboard, the ebony has shrunk slightly over the years, leading to the 'scalloped' look on the binding strip. I spoke at some length to Chris (May) about this, and he was of the opinion that there is nothing to be done about it. Well, I mean, there probably is something to be done about it, but it would make no sense, I think was the drift of the conversation. Anyway, it makes no difference to the playablity at all.
It's a really lovely bass. I don't normally get rid of basses in any way, shape or form. I love them all like my children, but we may be moving abroad in a year or so and at this rate, I'll need a shipping container for my basses, and that is not sustainable.
That being said I'd be happy to trade for a nice Jazz or Jazzesque bass. (cough)..Ahem...
Ah yes, one other thing, the shot of the back shows the control cavity cover removed, this will of course by back on when it leaves me. I have no case for this particular bass so meet up in London or Suffolk might be best. If it really has to be shipped, I have a proper flightcase (belonging to one of my other Originals) which I would be happy to ship it in but the lucky buyer would need to pay return shipping on the case. Which could work out expensive, but it is kind of a solution...I suppose.
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I've got one the same colour and vintage.
Absolutely fantastic bass. Someone is going to be happy when they buy this. GLWTS.
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Magnificent, quite frankly.
GLWTS.
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That is a handsome bass. Congratulations on a really excellent restoration.
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This might be the best buy on Basschat at the moment...Allowing for personal taste of course, as I know that a medium scale fretless would not be everyones cup of tea. But for sheer quality vs ££. Amazing! GLWTS.
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Evening all,
I have an old Thunder 2, that at some point in it's history has had the jack replaced with an XLR. I am reversing the mod. As guitar wiring is a particulary hazy area for me, I would appreciate some advice as to what wire should go to tip/sleeve/earth etc.
There are four wires:
- A black one, which comes from the LED (Pin 1 XLR)
- A white one and an unshielded one wrapped together. (white to pin 2 unshielded to pin one)
- A black one (pin 3)
Advice much appreciated.
Stuart
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And another...
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Chaps, does anyone know if the C64 reissue had a single truss rod or double truss rods? Thanks!
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Just bought a Steinberger from Loz. Excellent in every respect. A thoroughly nice chap, a pleasure to talk to and deal with. The bass arrived a little late (Loz was already chasing the courier) and turned out to be exactly as described and amazingly well packed. Deal with confidence.
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I just wanted to record for posterity, what a wonderful product the John East MM (3 knob) bass preamp is. My old Wilkes Stingray has had wobbly, grinding pots for some time. I wrote to Doug and asked him to reccomend a replacement, he suggested the John East pre. After a rather unfortunate experience with a Glockenklang pre from Thomann ( quite obtuse wiring instructions but excellent customer service), I contacted John who obligingly shipped me an MM pre. I installed it yesterday afternoon - in about ten minutes with no soldering😀...And it works like a dream. Bass sounds miles better. In fact, it sounds better than my actual Stingray, but there you go. Highly reccomended.
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Balance has been restored to the force...or something....😎
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Just heard from Mike- who was very nice after the intial misunderstanding- the bass has been sold. So good luck to whoever got it.
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PM'd.
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A genuinely quirky British eighties classic. GLWTS.
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What a lovely bass. A real bargain at this price.
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Anyone know what that thing that looks like a tailpiece is on the Greco? I've noticed that all Greco's seem to have them, but they all seem to have three point bridges which make them superfluous. Unless of course, I've got the wrong end of the stick...which is possible....
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The 415v active circuit was a joke. Please don't try this at home.
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1 hour ago, NancyJohnson said:
It always make me laugh the amount of things that suit peoples requirements...maybe it's just my shovel sized hands, but all these questions kind of kill me, 'What's the nut width/neck radius/neck profile/fingerboard material, body material?' It's a nonsense. We've already proved at two recent bashes that in blind tests players can't tell the difference between any basses or even pick their own out in a shootout (sorry, @prowla). I've played hundreds of basses over the last three decades and all that's really important is the constituant elements that contribute the to overall plays like buttah experience; strings, plectrums, low action, adjustability and whether I actually like what the forking thing looks like.
Back on track, I didn't have an issue with the 4003 at all, it was just a bit odd the very first time I picked it up after it was delivered, but thereafter I wasn't going, 'Oh boo hoo, why doesn't this feel like anything else I've got.'
I suppose it's what you as the player/buyer, feel comfortable/happy with, eh? If I macassar ebony fingerboard, 27 LED's in the neck and a 415v active circuit make you feel good, well hey, you're paying for the thing, so have at it.
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26 minutes ago, 4000 said:
Yes, crushed pearl. And checkered/chequered binding. Like these:
I say. Ding dong...
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5 hours ago, 4000 said:
A friend had a John Birch copy which I was desperate to get my hands on (had always fancied one) but when I played it I didn’t like it at all. The neck was a little bigger than my ’72s, but it was the weight and the sound; it was far heavier than my Rics and had nothing of the sound that I love. Of all the thousands of basses I’ve played, it was one of the ones I liked least. It was an incredible disappointment, although others may be more to my taste, I don’t know.
I’d try playing everything, not just C Series, but I suspect the nearest to what you’re after might be from pre-‘73 (or an early V or CS). As I stated earlier, the pre-73 necks have a wider, flatter feel.
It’s a long time since I played a C and I think I’ve only played 2; unlike you I’m not keen on the reverse headstock so never had too much thought for buying one, although I do remember the second one I played sounded very good.
Of course either way it won’t be cheap, but I would advise playing first.Righto then. Pre 73. I'll keep my eyes peeled. I quite like the idea of that as it goes, they were the ones with the crushed oyster shell position markers I think? Very tasty.
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3 hours ago, EMG456 said:
Ahh... the lovely Rickenbirchers. They are one shiny object of bass desire that I’ve never had the opportunity to experience. I suspect they were made to look like Rics but not necessarily play or sound like them. I recall Tony Wilson of Hot Chocolate had a beautiful example
Heres a pic of mine. Found it in a music shop in Swansea in about 1984. Needed a refret. The star markings on the fingerboard are well glam rock I've always thought. The pickups are John Birch's own model. What later became known as the hyperflux I think. The electronics are idiosyncratic to say the least, but it plays well, and I've just restrung it with some tapes, and it sounds very pleasing. Much better with light gauge or low tension strings, as theres very little mass behind the heel of the neck, so it does tend to sit forward a bit.
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25 minutes ago, songofthewind said:
Friend of mine in Scotland had a John Birch Rickenbacker. It was thin and light, and the neck was very skinny, as I recall. It was astoundingly playable, and cost a fortune.
Mine is very playable too! I have absolutely no idea what it's worth. It's beautifully built and the pickups are truly wonderful.
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17 hours ago, 4000 said:
Well relatively speaking, yes, but it depends on your definition of shallow. There are certainly shallower necks out there.
See, I think the recent Ric necks are pretty nice, if scaled up a bit from my old ones. The proportions are similar, although mine are definitely shallower. Unless there was something weird about the one you’ve played, or unless they’ve changed them yet again, which is possible, I wouldn’t consider any of the more recent ones I’ve played anything like “baseball bat”. I’ve played some that are, but that was at least 15 years ago, maybe more. The newer ones are typically a fair bit slimmer than a typical P Bass, for instance. But you won’t get a nut measurement like a Jazz on any of them (although speaking personally, a slim nut does not a slim neck make. I don’t think Jazzes have slim necks, unless you spend all your time on the first few frets).
What in your terms is a very shallow neck? I’ve always thought of most Ric necks as narrow rather than incredibly shallow, although there are exceptions (BTW, for reference I’ve played literally hundreds of them). The shallowest I’ve played was maybe my ‘91 CS, although it was still pretty similar to my ‘72s. The slimmest all round was my old ‘71 21 fretter, but good luck finding one of those. C series should be pretty slim, but it depends what your definition of slim is. You need to play as many as you can and make your own mind up.
Well, with regard to neck shape...I have an John Birch Rick copy from 1973 and thats really lovely. It's more or less the same width as a P but there's much less weight in the 'shoulders' of the neck- if thats the correct term. So the profile is like a shallow U as opposed to a C. I think I shall take your advice and try and play as many as possible. It's finding C64's and C63's that seems to be the killer. Not very common.
Overwater Original Bass Sunburst PRICE REDUCED!!!!
in Basses For Sale
Posted
You'd think so, but not really I'm afraid. The headstock on the Original swerves back at quite an alarming angle, so in a T Bird case the neck won't come to rest on the support in the case. It sort of hovers in mid air resting on the headstock. I tried (and tried) to source a generic- non flight- hard case, but it's an uphill struggle given the extra depth needed. Nevertheless, thanks for the suggestion.