Muzz

PMd.

Yep, I agree, though damage is a little easier to spot. Good point about setups, too - I've seen some shockers. Wobbly necks due to shop temperatures? Where was this, the Sahara branch of Music Ground?

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1345124739' post='1773878'] With any bass you try in any shop, a lot can have happened to it in between leaving the factory and you picking it up to play it in the showroom. [/quote] If you read the first post, it was chiefly paintwork issues on more than one bass. Can't think how that might have happened in transit...

My Fortress sounds just like my FrankenP/J (plays a whole heap better, doesn't look half as good), but I'm using the Wizard Big pair in both (Thumper/84) so I guess they're so hot they overpower any other factors. That or my ears are shot, which is definitely a possibility. Eh? With respect to the OP, still not seeing any evidence of coolness returning to the Warwick fold any time soon. Unless you count Adam Clayton, obviously...(tin hat)...

Bought an amp from Mark, and unfortunately the courier bent it in transit. Mark was a complete gent about the whole thing, chased the insurance claim regularly, and ensured a happy outcome for me. Big thanks, and proof he's one of the good guys. Cheers!

Sold a bass to John, couldn't have been easier, great comms throughout and a nice bloke. Deal with him in confidence, he's one of the good guys. Cheers John!

QC is not on a per bass basis, it's about maintaining standards of production and finish. If ropey basses with the fundamental issues described earlier are on sale with the Lakland name on, then Lakland have QC issues. The QC is what is supposed to stop ropey basses leaving the factory, that's what the "control" bit in Quality Control is for. Not that other manufacturers don't have/haven't had similar issues (Fender have been called out on this before, and our very own Musicman20 has had fun and games with Stingrays), but it's surprising (and therefore remarkable) that a bass at £1000 does in the terms described. I should add that the 2006 DJ Skyline I had was a terrific instrument, a class above any of the Fender Jazzes I've had.

I've had two, and while I love the look of them and I'd have another if I had a shedload of spare cash (I guess it'd be about number 15 on the Want List, given unlimited funds), I never really warmed to either of mine. Dingwalls and P/J Frankenthings for me...

OK, anyone used the DiMarzio DP126 set? Any good?

Ok, I'm mid-build, and looking for a set of passive P/J pickups. I like the Thumper and 84 I've got in 2 other basses, but I'm after pickups without exposed pole pieces. Unfortunately Andy at Wizard can't help, so does anyone have a recommendation for similar-sounding pickups (hot, quite dark, not modern-sounding) I could look at which don't have exposed pole pieces? Cheers.

Glad you posted that, I was looking at one of these, but none (neither) of those sounds in the vid would be any use to me. Ta.

We do a version of that Gotye thing which is very well crafted, and people (OK, girls) sing along, but it's dancefloor death.

Just received some parts from Lee - well packed and on schedule. Deal with him in confidence - he's one of the good guys. Cheers, Muzz

I got my ACS ER15s from Boots - handy, because they've plenty of branches for you to get the casts of your ears made. And cheap, there's a money off offer if you sign up for some scheme or other. I forget what, exactly, but it isn't anything problematic.

I really liked the JB-2s I've tried, if they did a black one with a maple neck (yeah, I'm shallow and easily influenced by looks ) I'd have bought one when I was looking at them.

I think it does depend entirely on the individual bass: my old 78 Jazz was a shocker - 11lbs 13oz, and not a great player, either, but it was mint and all original. The buyer spent a fortune on it, so they must have wanted it (they played it first), but for the life of me I don't know why. I think it speaks volumes that the highest prices are commanded by the ones which are most 'original', which have the ashtrays, and the original case. Says more 'artefact' than 'instrument' to me...

I've had a long-standing urge to buy one cheap (£290! Blimey...that'd do) and gut it, then build the bits into a better bass. It was the physical bass itself that put me off, especially at the £700-mark. There's a couple of builds online where people have done just that.

I've got a Wizard 84 in the bridge position of my (coincidentally black/maple) P/J, and it's the only bridge pickup I've ever considered using solo. I still don't, because I've got a Wizard Thumper in the neck position, but it makes a more effective contribution than many bridge P/J pickups I've heard. Great pickups.

Yep, I've found the -15db at 30Hz on my M-Pulse a useful setting. It's about all I use the para for on mine, though - the basic Bass Mid Treble are enough to get a great sound.

First proper gig was 1979, tons through university and when I was single, then I had a decade or so off, been back on it for a few years now, I'd worked it out last year around the 1000-1100 mark