12stringbassist

[quote name='razze06' post='480803' date='May 6 2009, 11:43 AM']There's an epi explorer bass for sale on edinburgh gumtree, not sure if it's cheap or not... [url="http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/50/38504650.html"]link[/url] Never played one, don't know what to expect And by the way, first post :-)[/quote] My Epi V is above. Like I said, I had to raise the pickups as they are not very strong, plus the awful Gibson style bridge system makes it so the strings are way way above them. The build quality wasn't fantastic. I had to glue the nut in to stop it moving. Occasionally, one of the pickups cut out a little for a while - remedied once and for all a good squirt with some switch cleaner. New bass glitches that shouldn't happen. I may part with it one day as I never take it out with me. To be honest, I would not pay a lot for an Epiphone. Check net prices out so you know how any price for one you may find compares with what else is out there.

Dep gig with Flamin' Slade at the Robin 2, Bilston.

[quote name='Musky' post='479530' date='May 4 2009, 10:09 PM']Good point - the pound was seriously overvalued in the early eighties so that would have made any US made basses relatively cheap.[/quote] When I was starting playing in the mid 70's, my dream guitar was a white Fender Strat with a maple neck and trem arm. A shop near me, which, to this day has a reputation for being stupidly overpriced, was charging £425.00 for it. They justified the price by saying white was a custom colour (+ 10%), a maple neck was custom (+ 10%) and a trem was also an extra 10%. When I signed on for just a few weeks at that time, after leaving school, my weekly payment was £6.85. That gives you a clue of what that would have meant to buy that guitar at the time. My first bass cost me £35.00. The fact that the shop put it up by £5 while I was saving up for it, nearly made me give up the idea of buying one and learning to play. I don't want to sound like an old misery, but kids are so lucky now not to have to pay stupid money for decent quality instruments.

Aria ZZB. I've had this for 20+ years and it's still a great bass. All I ever did to it was change the strings, raise the pickups to max and also change the volume and tone knobs from the original plain ones. At one time, I wanted to be John Entwistle. How would you guess? Epiphone Flying V bass. Needed the pickups raising to the max again. Has a Thuddy Gibson growl. Got the action to be fairly ok after a bit of messing about (I hate that style of bridge). Neck dive is there but I always rest my arm on a bass anyway, so no problem. I bought this because I watched too many Marc Bolan videos one day and sometimes I have a stupid passion for pointy guitars. The best thing about this bass is that it once literally gave a wuss I was playing in a band with a migraine as the look of it didn't fit in with the 60's look of the band, according to him. It's based on a 1958 Gibson Flying V, which dates it from around the period of the group's music. The same people objected to a 5-string Fender Jazz bass, because it had 5 extra notes on it. Dullards. Gordy XR Custom fretless bass: I spotted this one-off bass at the now-closed A1 Music shop in Manchester and I couldn't resist it. The lowest string action in all of the known Universe. Effortless to play. It's not used very often on stage, as the case is bigger than the group van (!) but I took it into the studio for use on our version of 'Need your love so bad' and it was just the right bass for the job.

[url="http://www.crazeeworld.plus.com/kerbcrawlers/pages/gear_ian.htm"]http://www.crazeeworld.plus.com/kerbcrawle...es/gear_ian.htm[/url] Aria ZZB Deluxe Bass (blue sunburst) Burns Bison Reissue Bass (white). Cort Violin Bass (antigue sunburst). Danelectro Longhorn Bass (green burst). Dean Rhapsody 8 String Bass (natural bubinga wood). Dean Stage Acoustic guitar (natural). Epiphone '58 Flying V Bass (black). Epiphone Firebird guitar (white). Fender USA Standard Jazz bass (Candy Apple Red 2008). Fender 60th anniversary USA P Bass (3-tone sunburst finish). Fender Precision Lyte Bass (Toffeeburst). Fender Squier Modified Vintage 50's Precision Bass (Sunburst). Fender Squier Classic Vibe 50's Precision Bass (Lake Placid Blue). Fender Squier Precision Special Bass (Red sunburst). Gibson SG Supreme Bass (Quilted maple top). Gibson SGII guitar (Natural mahogany, 1974). Gordy XR Custom fretless 'Explorer' style bass (natural wood finish). Gretsch White Falcon guitar. Hamer B12S short scale 12-String Bass (Translucent cherry flame). Hamer Chaparral long scale 12-String Bass (Black) John Birch SCDR stereo bass (greenburst). Rickenbacker 620 12-string guitar (in Jetglo finish) Rickenbacker 4003 (in fireglo finish) Rickenbacker 4003 (in midnight blue finish) Rickenbacker 4003 (in limited edition Blue Boy finish) Tokai TST 50 guitar (Stratocaster type, fiesta red) Warwick Streamer Chrome Tone Bass. Warwick Custom Shop Thumb bass (Walnut gloss). Hartke bass rig (HA3500 350w head, plus Transporter 2x10 and 4x10 cabs) 2x Trace Elliott 715 combo amplifiers

His ego was bigger than Maradonnas. If he didn't think of a song, he left the stage while we played it. And he liked some complete sh*te.

[quote name='lozbass' post='475910' date='Apr 30 2009, 11:35 AM']I had a Pangborn Warrior that looks a lot like a Wal - I think there's a similar Pangborn Chieftain for sale at the Gallery[/quote] I had a Wal Pro1e years ago and sold it. Never had anything that sounded like it since. Wonderful setup but I found it impossible to get a dirty sound with it. Far too 'nice'. It had to go.

[quote name='redstriper' post='473853' date='Apr 27 2009, 11:36 PM']PS: Don't suppose you want to sell yours...............?[/quote] Hiya, I have sold a few basses over the years. Mistake. Never again!!

If you want a lovely deep thumping bass, the VM is probably the one you need. It's a very nice, sweet soft round bass tone with no 'clank' to it. 'Graunch' to me is a little bit of distorting / growling treble top end, when I play that bit harder. Have look at the 'Money' video at [url="http://www.crazeeworld.plus.com/kerbcrawlers/pages/video.htm"]http://www.crazeeworld.plus.com/kerbcrawlers/pages/video.htm[/url] There's a bit of farting about at the beginning and the depth of the Rickenbacker's tone isn't quite there, because of the video camera mic limitations, but the graunch is!!!

I just got a new (unissued stock) one from PMT in Salford a fortnight ago. It is a custom shop Thumb NT4 in a unique walnut hi-gloss finish. It should have been around £3500, but I got it for £1995. The Bargains are out there!

[quote name='redstriper' post='472899' date='Apr 26 2009, 08:06 PM'][quote name='12stringbassist' post='467048' date='Apr 19 2009, 09:01 PM'] I have a few Squiers and they are pretty good on the whole.[/quote] I like all 3 of those basses, probably prefer the 50s precision for looks. Which gives the smoothest, deepest sound suitable for reggae, (I would fit high gauge flatwound strings)? [/quote] I have responded to your PM. Looking at the basses as supplied stock, without getting into switching out pickups: The best one for reggae (for me) Would be the Precision Special (Try to get a standard one with US P/J pickups - it says 'standard' in tiny script on the headstock). The 50's vibe bass is a truly sexy beast but the pickup is neither fish nor fowl in that it has a thick mid, to the exclusion of deep rumbling bass and much in the way of biting treble. The VM Precision has a very LOUD bassy humbucker, which I had to lower flush to the body, it's THAT loud - and you will struggle to get any treble under any circumstances with it. Great for blues and possibly also for reggae, I guess, but while it sounds great, I always end up changing it after a couple of songs for something with a bit of graunch to it. This one would be great for reggae: My Fender Precision Lyte. This one wouldn't be bad either: Fender 60th anniversary P bass with s1 switching. and I guess I use my USA 08 Jazz for that sound too. ............. but we're getting away from the Squiers now!

[quote name='Zoe_BillySheehan' post='470088' date='Apr 22 2009, 09:02 PM']wow.. now a hamer 12 string would be nice.. Tom Petersson fan? Z x[/quote] Hi, I'm a big Cheap Trick fan. I'm not a great fan of TP. His playing can be excellent or rubbish. His sound is ecellent, though. I have met him a couple of times but am just not keen on his constant sarcasm. Jon Brant was a better player for CT on the whole.

[quote name='OldGit' post='470209' date='Apr 22 2009, 10:40 PM'] Hey you know your "12stringbass" Does it have really, really thin strings?[/quote]

Ooops! Not a bass! Ah well....... never mind!

Gas the drummer.

[quote name='thebeat' post='467729' date='Apr 20 2009, 05:35 PM']..maybe when i have a bit more spare change i'll give it a twirl, though the weight issue kinda puts me off.[/quote] The weight is not insurmountable. I've done several gigs with mine. Worth having a look for one to try.

I broke this one, totally and completely by accident - and I have never forgiven myself. I have tried to replace it, but am still looking for one...

[quote name='RhysP' post='467060' date='Apr 19 2009, 09:23 PM']Hello there! I'm a HUGE fan of Hamers - I've got two guitars (a 1995 Standard & a 1982 Special) and I used to have a Chaparral 12 string bass too. I've just had a look at the link to your gear - LOVE the John Birch! Did you get your Chaparral 12 string off Ebay a few years ago? I have a funny feeling I might have sold it to you.....[/quote] The Chapparal was a local purchase (bankrupt stock or something) from a shop in Bolton - last year. It was new, still had some wrap on bits of it. The Birch IS nice isn't it? Made in 1976. I have actually had some daft offers for it from the USA end, but I'm not wanting to sell it just yet, though it doesn't get out that much.

[url="http://www.crazeeworld.plus.com/kerbcrawlers/pages/gigs.htm"]http://www.crazeeworld.plus.com/kerbcrawlers/pages/gigs.htm[/url]

I bought a lovely new USA 08 standard Fender Jazz in Boston last year. It came back on the plane with me to Heathrow, then British Airheads (sorry, Airways) managed to 'lose it' in Terminal 5, so it didn't get on the plane to Manchester with me. I found this out when miserably standing jetlagged and semi-coherent by the baggage carousel at Manchester Airport, watching for a bass case that never showed up. The customs people called me over to say my bass case had 'missed the flight'. It was on a long printoff of list baggage that somehow had not managed to turn up at the gate at the right time. They said that it would be arriving in 2 hours. I already had transport booked and waiting to get me home and so they said that they would courier it to me later on. They asked where I had flown from? I missed out the bit about buying the bass in the USA and said [b]'London'[/b], as that's honestly where I'd flown from. I told them that this bass was my oldest friend and asked couldn't they have misplaced something else instead? It arrived at 7.30 in the evening. I never paid a bean in duty. Bargain. The remainder of our adventures with BA on that return trip is on my blog at [url="http://12rants.blogspot.com/2008/07/advantages-of-flying-club-class-with.html"]http://12rants.blogspot.com/2008/07/advant...class-with.html[/url]

The action on mine is fantastically low, fortunately. With very light strings, it's fantastic to play.

I have a white Bison with gold gardware. The shop put it under the lights. They knew how to make me pay!!! Not sure where it was made (It's in the lockup as I type) but it's about 5-6 years old now. It sounds great onstage and has more of a Ric sound than any of my Ric's! It has a very long reach on the neck and a superb variety of sounds. It also weighs a ton!

I have a few Squiers and they are pretty good on the whole.

Suzi Quatro (with Suzi on bass) The Bangles (formerly with Michael Steele - end right - on bass)

Hi, I [i]have[/i] used the 12er all the way through, but it doesn't suit everything we do. Both of the Hamer 12's I use are quite heavy, too. I have a nice Dean Rhapsody 8 which is lovely to play, with a nice big sound, but that comes out in its turn. I'm into my Warwicks at the moment.