Grand Wazoo

[quote name='mikegatward' post='1367799' date='Sep 9 2011, 04:11 PM']I've just got one in a trade and like the range of tones it gives me but I need a bit of advice It's been set up with a really low action which is fine but the action at the neck end on the 2nd /3rd fret is so low that I'm getting some fret buzz, particaularly from open strings. Looks like it's stringed 45-105 but it maybe lighter but the strings sit really really low in the bridge I don't want to fiddle too much and i like the action so wondered of moving to 50-110 would sort out the issue any suggestions ?[/quote] One of the easiest fix on the Bongo is to adjust the trussrod. Give it a quarter turn and it'll do the trick, you need to have a little bit more relief as in the attached pic

[quote name='Benplaysbass' post='1368146' date='Sep 9 2011, 10:30 PM']Think I have just found a problem with this G30 relay, nothing major and it won't trouble me when playing live. But using it upstairs and went to find a track on youtube that I need to learn for next week.........and no wifi signal on computer...weird me thinks, check the Ipod no nothing on there either. Ask the good lady if she still has the internet and nothing on her laptop. Switch the G30 off and they all come back on again. So great bit of kit with no noticeable loss of tone and also does a fantastic job of being a wireless jammer. Still keeping it though.[/quote] Ben the unit has 6 channels, if it jams the wireless internet on CH 1 for example, switch to the next channel. I find it a bit of a rare freak accident, we are all on wireless here and I've tried all 6 channels and none of them interrupted the broadband wilreless connection. I blame it on the french haha.

So Steve, do you want me to send you some foam mutes? You'll be surprised at the result specially when playing "reginald"

[quote name='billyapple' post='1367977' date='Sep 9 2011, 07:23 PM']I've said earlier that the shine wore off the moment, and I lost the impetus. I certainly don't think that I deserve a lot of attention, and it's not about the money, at the time I felt like I was somewhat invisible. Buying something like a Wal is an emotional purchase to me, and one which I would like to feel positive about. But, in fairness to Alex, he has come on the thread, given his point of view, and offered an apology, which goes a long way in my book.[/quote] So all you have to do now is accept Alex apology in person, find the time to go back there, shake hands with Alex and forget about the Wal, instead ask him to put a Dingwall ABZ 5 on your lap... then you'll have played something that will impress you for rest of your life. Guaranteed

Great news Gareth, I am glad you've got one and at a decent price.

... and I've just not got a call from Nigel at Guitar x 2 Epsom saying my new Fender American Standard Jazz has arrived, and I'll pick it up tomorrow. So that was ordered directly from Fender UK on Mon 5th Sept and arrived today 9th = 4 days! Top marks to Guitar x 2 Epsom!

I am very happy with my LINE 6 Relay G30, as Ben knows, since I have recommended it to him. No issues with the old cable / radio debate, this has a 3 settings cable simulator to cater for most picky people. Right Ben?

Yes I know what you are saying, and not wanting to gloat I can reassure you that the Ashdown Drophead 30W (which can be considered a copy of the B-15) sounds just as good which is why, while I appreciate the fact that the Ampeg is the bueprint from which the Drophead was designed from, I wouldn't want to own one and pay 1000's to have it imported and modified with a 220-240V transformer. I am more than content with this:

Played with what looks like a MIJ Precision with a varitone circuit, it sounds exquisitely good. (to me at least) Apparently these are rarer than hen's teeth.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1366073' date='Sep 8 2011, 09:26 AM']I have asked where my order is for my American Standard Jazz, but its still on order. I think ill call them again today to chase. I have to agree, although I have still played a few dogs from the past few years production. I am tempted to get another P bass and as much as I dont want to shell out for another American Standard, I havent come across anything as good.[/quote] Gareth, when you said you are still waiting.... you made me think... unless you have ordered one with a custom feature which I doubt, there should be no reason for you to wait that long because with such a popular instrument I would expect Fender UK to have a large stock ready to be sent to the stores pronto! So, just out of curiousty I've called the store I have ordered it from (Guitar Guitar in Epsom) and asked why was it so easy for him to call Fender first thing on Mon 5th, order my American Standard Jazz 3 tone sunburst with maple fretboard and for Fender to confirm that it will be there by Friday, whereas I've heard from someone (you in this case) that they are waiting for ages for one? The reply you might not probably like: Fender delivers on the spot to clients (stores of course) who pay their invoices on time. That sadly is your answer. Your loyalty to that particular store is not paying dividends. Think about it If you remember I once told you that the same thing was answered to me by another manufacturer of basses as to why they don't want to start deliver their instruments to that particular dealer. It's a bit above my head, and none of my business, but it does look like a recurring issue. Good luck mate

It has been just over 3 weeks since Ive owned this lovely bass and I must say, I am very impressed with it. After many years of trying all the different new models that Fender kept re-vamping, I can finally confirm that this particular model has restored my trust in their new production of Made in USA Fender basses. These are definately built with the"player" in mind for once, with few but effective improvements as follows: 1.) The Hipshot reduced size style tuners retain the traditional clover leaf peg but while being much lighter than standard machinehead, also work very well in keeping the bass in tune. 2.) The Vintage / Modern Hi-Mass Bridge is very functional and offers me a lot of versatility, I particularly like the fact that the saddles are slotted which allows me to set the spacing slightly wider to suit my taste, and of course it also allows you dual stringing option, either top loaded or through the body, perhaps not a lot of people have experienced or realized that this feature permits you the option of stringing the E and A through the body for deeper beefier resonance and sustain, while keeping the D & G strings top loaded for a brighter, snappier presence if you to pull them when playing slap style. A nifty yet clever touch 3.) The pickup is another interesting feature, I am not sure exactly what pickup Fender are fitting in these basses but one thing I've learnt is that it's sh|t hot, which explains why from factory it comes screwed in so far down in the body that I initially thought they over did it by keeping it so low but the moment I tried to adjust it up a little so I could just about anchor my thumb on it when playing, I realized how much louder it became. However I have had to reach some kind of compromise, I do need somewhere to rest my thumb so I've had to raise it just enough and I am playing the amp and bass volume down a bit, so that it's not too powerful when plucking the E and A strings. 4.) The neck on this bass was one of the main thing that sealed the deal when I was debating whether to buy or leave it, even though it's a brand new neck it has very lived in feel to it, with nice and rounded smooth edges, it just feels right, like you've owned it for the last 10 years or something, and finally this might not mean a lot but having two different textures on a maple neck for someone like me who loves a maple neck, is both pleasing to the eye and the feel of it, in facts the back of the neck has a smooth satin finish while the front has a shiny hard lacquered one. Perfick for me! 5.) Lastly the controls as we all know are the most basic you could ever have on a passive bass i.e. Volume and Tone but that tone control is quite effective, it has a wonderful sweep from a throathy growl all the way to a raspy bright bell like sound. If you play a note and then quickly turn the tone control knob from 0 to 10 on and off it sounds like a wah-wah pedal. What can I say I am so happy with this bass that I have ordered the exact same one Jazz Bass which should arrive the weekend, so... review and pics to follow soon Well done Fender USA

[quote name='redstriper' post='1365928' date='Sep 7 2011, 11:38 PM']Good point.[/quote] Oh Steve! Harsh tut tut....

I loved the piece and the execution, although I appreciate the technique and of course the music, I am left wondering when does a bass stop being a bass i.e. playing low register driving harmony & rhythm and becomes something looking just like a bass but strung with thinner strings and sounding like a guitar played by Stanley Jordan who has been boring audiences worldwide with that very style for the last 20 years? Oh and if Stanley Jordan wasn't enough Michael Manring gave us a few years of the same wishy washy stuff before he returned to play proper bass. So its all Deja' Vu to me. Horses for courses and all that.

These notes are my favourite always... they all sound good to me, never had a dull one

I am sorry that you have had a bad experience, I have nothing but good things to say about the Bass Gallery. And I also have some very good reason for why my experience with the Gallery has been always a profitable one. Let me explain my case: Just like you I walked into the Bass Gallery one hot day on Aug Friday 13th 2010 having never been in there before in my life. But... I had phoned the Gallery a few days before, asking if they had a Mark Bass Compressore pedal because I wanted to try one before buying it. Alex said yes we have one, come in anytime, I said to him, I will be probably be free on the 13th, he said fine, looking forward to! I walked into the store and asked for Alex (never seen him before in my life so I didn't know who he was) He said hi, I am Alex how can I help you, with a smile on his face, I said blah blah phone call, last week, Mark Bass Compressore, try, can I, sure? He said sure what sort of bass do you want to try it with, something that perhaps you have and feel more at home with? I said yeah why not, have you got a stingray 5, (please note that at that point I had never tried a Dingwall before in my life and up until that day I was a sworn MusicMan devotee, Stingray 5 / Big Al 5 / Bongo 5 / 25th Anniversary 5 the lot.) So sure enough he takes a Stingray 5 from the stand and hands it to me, I plug it in a small LMII 1x10 Mark Bass combo and proceed to try the pedal with my favourite settings on both Bass and Amp which I was very familiar with. I immediately loved the pedal, I believe it's one of the best compressors I have ever tried, so 20 minutes later I went back up the small steps to the counter are and said to Alex, here's your stingray back mate, thanks, I'll take the pedal. Great he said and as he moved to put the Stingray back he revealed these two very odd basses with wonky frets called Dingwall. (bear with me please this is leading to a very important point) I said to him "oh you've got those funny basses, I've read a lot of good things about them, never tried one before, what are they like?" - He said they're great, very very good, why don't you try one? There is two of them, one is the 100% made Canadian ABZ 5 strings in natural ash and the other a lyme green Combustion Made in China which is £200 cheaper than the other. Ok so I said ok if you don't mind I'd like to start with the more expensive one and then see how the cheaper one compares. The moment I tried the ABZ my whole world shattered, in so many years of bass playing I had finally reached an instrument which was for me the easiest ever to play and the BEST low B I had ever heard, again it took me all of two minutes to get immediately accustomed to the fanned frets and 20 minutes later I was in love, I didn't even want to try the Combustion because that lyme green colour was never one I could have lived with, but just to understand what the extra £200 gave me, I also decided to tried the Combustion, I soon realized it was worlds apart from the ABZ, I didn't find the same neck feel, the low action and the tonal response of the ABZ so I put it right back and said to Alex... hmm you see that ABZ? Yeah, he said? I want it, - he said ok cool, how you wish to pay, I said wo wo wo slow down... before I agree to pay I want to make 2 phone calls! So I'll get out of the store, make those 2 calls, one to the girlfriend and the other to the other store I knew was the main Dingwall distributor, Bass Direct in Coventry to see what was his going price for an ABZ 5 just to see how I could haggle a deal with Alex... So I said to him, work out the best price considering I am also buying the MB Compressore and then I'll come back in and we'll bang our heads together, mkay? He said ok... Off I go out of the shop and call my gf Mandy (r.i.p.) and I tell her about this pukka bass I found, that will make me sell off all my MusicMan ones, I remember her saying oh wow, that good?, really? go for it then. That's brilliant, can't wait to see it. Now I didn't call to get her permission, as we have had different accounts and incomes and both are (or, were R.I.P.) well off enough to account for our own expenditures, but I called her to share the excitement, and because I always involved her in my hobbies Anyway the other phonecall was to Bass Direct to find out what their best price was... ok so he gave me that price and I said to him are you sure, that is the best price, cause I've found one here in London at the bass gallery, he said how much he wants for it? I said err I don't know yet but I am asking you so I can compare and if you are cheaper than him, I'll be coming over to Coventry tomorrow. He said ok so... I can do it for cash for.... £xxxx ok thanks I'll let you know. I went back inside the store and I said to Alex - well the girlfiriend is over the moon about it, so that is cool and also I have had a chat with Bass Direct and I got a price for the same bass so now it's up to you to perform and give me the best price, he said how much did Mark quote you, if you tell me, I can probably match it. I said to him, well please give me your best price first and if Mark's is better I tell you. He stood there, with a calculator punching in numbers and said..... ok you can have it for... £xxxx I said Alex congratulations, you've got yourself a deal, please wrap her up and here is the cash! Job done. Ok I have not disclosed any prices but Bass Direct was £200 dearer, so I saved myself £200 plus the diesel I would have had to spend to drive the 212 miles round trip up to Coventry or Warkick whichever it was to collect it. All is well what ends well and this is my point, Alex will always try to give you the best deal, which it was not just a one off but it was repeated when I ordered my other Dingwall Super J 5 also on that occasion Alex was once again £150 cheaper than Bass Direct. I did tell Mark at Bass Direct and he said well there you go, I don't know how they (The Bass Gallery) do it, but I couldn't afford to sell it for that price, so yeah, well done, you've got yourself a good deal not once but twice. In conclusion, it is unfortunate that you've had a bad experience with the Gallery, who knows why, we all have bad days from time to time but I assure you the staff at the Bass Gallery are very pleasant. I hope you'll give them another chance but if you can give 'em a call before you turn up on them out of the blue or you could be easily taken for just another "tyre kicker" because I believe on a Sat they might get 90% of punters who just go there to bleed the staff ears with an insignificant slap fest and perhaps only 10% of real business clients, put yourself in their shoes they have to run a business at the end of the day to be able to survive. So if you pre-announce an interest by phone you might probably get the time you deserve. I know it shouldn't be like these but shop staff are having to deal with emo' and punks who just go in a store show of picking up loads of basses, do your head in with the crap they play and leave the store having not spent a penny. I would hate to be in that line of business.

[quote name='bremen' post='1364097' date='Sep 6 2011, 02:15 PM']I'm hurt.[/quote] Don't be hurt, you need to learn to take it as "large" as you give it, mate. Personally I know your video is a mockery which you concopted, but I for one find it really funny, and I have enjoyed watching it, never for one minute I thought you meant any of it but for entertainment purpose, I rate it, as it made me chuckle. When's the next one?

just a tip... in your first post with the list of all the links, unless you put an http:// before the www. bit the link won't work. Cheers

[quote name='Mike' post='1362385' date='Sep 4 2011, 10:51 PM']I bought one a few weeks ago. Loving it - only one gig so far but it sounded great. Need to properly roadtest it but preferring the tone to my old TC Electronics RH450. Shame about lack of footswitch etc but that's Markbass for you![/quote] So Mike would you say this amp more of clean amp as opposed to one that distorts easily, I know the video shown above from Pete Murray sounds like it's quite dirty and have no idea why Pete would demo it like that, but I couldn't get it to clip unless I'd turn the gain from 7/9 onwards. What are your views on the main use of this amp, dirty or clean?

Well that particular Bongo 5 on ebay with some minor scuffs went for a very good price and free delivery incl all for £628.60!! Not bad, whoever bought it did well, the original case was also included in the sale. Attaboy! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110736275467"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=110736275467[/url]

if one of these [b][i][size=3]lands[/size][/i][/b] near me, I'll go and check it out.

[url="http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/bass_guitars.asp"]http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/bass_guitars.asp[/url]

[quote name='cocco' post='1361539' date='Sep 4 2011, 09:37 AM']I think they look good, but I bet they sound sh*t.[/quote] Trust me cocco, they do (sound poo)