The Funk

To finish off my story, I got the conversion done by a reputable audio electronics shop in Singapore called Well Audio Labs. Swee Lee is the authorised repairer / service centre for Aguilar in Singapore and they contacted Korg for a copy of the schematic which they passed on to my tech. Swee Lee told me that they also could have done the job. It was a relatively simple job for a professional but not a suitable task for an amateur like me. I think it involves swapping over a few wires on the power transformer and changing a fuse or two. In hindsight, I think Korg were trying to prevent me from harming myself or the power amp. It is a great power amp, which is designed for voltage conversion to be done safely by a professional, and customer service at Korg still works after the acquisition of Aguilar. If you are looking for one of these on the secondhand market, don’t be put off if it would require voltage conversion. Aguilar thought of that when they designed them.

Thanks, Paul. What you’ve described there is beyond me so I will try an amp tech here. I’ll post an update once I have one.

Thanks, Bill. I’ll ask around for recommendations over here.

I don’t understand any of it but it looks wonderful to me for some reason!

It seems the potentially lethal stuff is hidden away underneath this top layer, for relatively quick and safe valve changes.

Hi all. It’s been many years since I’ve posted anything. I have recently purchased an old Aguilar DB728 tube power amp from Japan, which is set to 100V operation. I live in Singapore now which uses UK-style 240V power. I know I could get a step-down/step-up transformer to use with this but I was wondering if there is a simple way to change the voltage setting in the power amp. I have an old Aguilar DB680 which I purchased many years ago from the US. I took it to a tech back when I lived in London, who changed it to 240V operation - I think by just changing a fuse but I did not ask him. I also have an old Aguilar DB659 which I purchased from the US a couple of years ago. Aguilar tech support told me how to change the voltage setting to 240V operation and it only involved moving an internal part around and swapping in a different value fuse. The old Aguilar tech support now seems to be general Korg tech support so I’m not getting any answers from them other than to take it to a tech. I am not sure if there are any techs over here in Singapore I would trust with it - and if it is as simple as the DB659 was, then I would be able to follow any instructions and do it myself. Does anyone have any knowledge of how to do this? Many thanks!

Thank you for all that information! I assumed the SG/EB was also from Fujigen Gakki but only because I have seen Ibanez guitar/bass doublenecks from the era which look identical. The serial numbers on the Antoria and CMI both start 76 so I assumed they were from 1976. These guitar/bass doublenecks are very cool but also suddenly started feeling very heavy after my 40th birthday. Amplifying them is also rather difficult as they only have a single output jack.

I have a pair of late ‘70s Japanese doublenecks (guitar neck / bass neck) which were made in the same factory as the Ibanez models of the era but rebadged with a different name on the headstock for the UK market. One of them says Antoria and the other says CMJ.

I’m a bit late to the party but I tried one of these yesterday in Singapore. It seems very much vintage-accurate for the first iteration of the Stingray. I have a Stingray Classic which I picked up around 5 years ago on Facebook Marketplace which does the job for me - but this is still a very cool bass. It is far cheaper here in Singapore than the UK, in part because taxes are much lower, at 8% GST as opposed to 20% VAT. My friend actually put a deposit down on it (and the total here is equivalent to around £2850, not £4200). For a cheaper alternative, if you get a Made in Japan Stingray EX, it will have the correct vintage-style bridge with the foam mutes. Chuck in a vintage-style 2-band EQ, like the John East for example, and then you’re basically there soundwise for a fraction of the cost.

I have the A5 Ultra Fretless. It's a great instrument. It plays great and the killer part is the tone: you get an acoustic-sounding piezo pickup, you get an electric fretless-sounding Lace Sensor magnetic pickup, and then you also get the MIDI capability. You need a (discontinued) Roland-style guitar MIDI interface like the GI-10 or GI-20 and a special cable to connect the two. Once you have that you can just plug a MIDI cable out from the the interface into any MIDI instrument you like.

Hi there. Apologies for resurrecting a very old thread. Do you have one for sale and have you managed to get a patent yet? Thanks!

That’s it - we’re finished!

Hi all. It’s been a few years since I was last on here. I was in Tokyo recently and thought I’d check out some guitar shops and see what they had in terms of basses. I could not believe what I found when I headed down to Ochanomizu, and what is colloquially known as Guitar Street. The place reminded me of my trip to Manny’s Music in NYC as a teenager when I picked up my first bass, except there was an even greater selection. It reminded me of the awe I felt when I first went to Denmark Street, the Bass Centre or The Gallery, except it was a Godzilla-scale version. Tokyo is known for being an expensive city but, when it comes to bass guitars, it is extremely good value for money, not just for the Japanese-made instruments but also those imported from the USA. In many of the shops, you will get a tax-free discount if you show your passport. 1000 yen is about £8. The service is pretty good, although very few staff members speak English. You can get by just pointing and smiling though - the staff won’t laugh at you. Most of the staff are also guitar techs, so unlike here you will be dealing with people who understand how the instrument works and who aren’t just killing time until their next rehearsal/gig after the shop closes. The shops are open pretty late (8pm) most days and you will probably need about 4-6 hours to explore just the bass shops/departments. If you want to look at guitars too, you would need about 3 full days. I tried many basses I’ve only ever seen on the internet, including Sadowsky and Bernard Edwards-style BC Rich, but also noticed that between all the shops they had every kind of high end bass amp available. I didn’t bother looking at effects pedals but I did notice that there weren’t many vintage bass effects available, with an emphasis on the latest and greatest. (There may have been more vintage effects available in the guitar shops). There are Made In Japan models of Fender, Musicman, G&L etc., as well as Japanese brands which are worth trying. I even saw and tried a Pignose bass, which I haven’t been able to find in the UK. One shop also had a good selection of EUBs and double basses. There is also an ESP Custom Shop, where they will build an instrument for you. I did not make it to one of the jam sessions I managed to find online during my trip but there was a different funk jam taking place in Tokyo on each successive night of my short trip. A decent summary of what’s available is at this link: http://www.yangmillsquartet.com/jam-info/ . I did manage to pick up a MIJ 70s Fender Jazz Bass, with pick-up cover, bullet truss rod, blocks and binding on a rosewood neck etc., all for around £350. If you ever find yourself in Tokyo, go to Ochanomizu and spend the day there. Incidentally, if you are into anime/manga/games, then check out nearby Akihabara - but give yourself a full, separate day for that.

The guitarist's hands

She was a great manager at The Bass Cellar - very helpful and knowledgeable. I remember she had a few fans on here. I'm almost 4 years late but congratulations on the Primal Scream gig! http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/blog/2015/09/16/exclusive-interview-with-primal-scream-bassist-simone-butler/

I use GarageBand with an Apogee thing on my iPhone. It's very easy for quick ideas.

There's some sense in the comments about bassists not being used to soloing. It does show sometimes with some players who look like they've been thrust into an operating theatre and told, "go on, have a go". The song in any genre can completely fall apart. Having said that I like many good bass solos. It's all playing, it's all music. If I like a good bassline, a good bass fill, why not a tasty solo? Artists should never fear preconceived notions about where the limits of their medium might be. And critics should be encouraged to voice their criticisms - this is where taste and quality control come from.

I like good bass solos. But in a cool band in which the bass player isn't a virtuoso, I like little breaks or breakdowns. Eg. Free - All Right Now. And if they can't have that, some nice fills. John Paul Jones or John Entwistle style. Or if they can't have that, a nice counter melody line. Duff McKagan style on Sweet Child Of Mine, for instance.

No contribution to make to this discussion other than HOLY F*CKBALLS, that looks amazing. Carry on.